5 Ways to Make a Killer Resume

Before you even get to meet your potential employer face to face, your resume is giving them their first impression of you. With this in mind, wouldn't you want that impression to be the best it can be? Here are some resume tips to make sure you put your best foot forward in your job search with a killer resume.

Make Your Layout Professional

The first thing an HR professional will see is the layout of your resume. However, lots of job seekers forget how important this first impression is. Just like what you'd wear to your interview, your resume should look clean and professional. If you're trying to show your potential employer that you're organized and efficient, you should make your resume reflect that with clear headings, enough white space, and easy-to-read font.

Know Your Audience

Just like any other piece of written communication, your resume should be tailored to the person reading it. In job-hunting, this means that you need to gear your resume towards the job you're applying for by using words and phrasing you saw in the job posting. This makes you seem more professional and knowledgeable. You also don't need a different resume for every job. However, you should make sure it fits the industry by studying sample resumes.

Organize Around Your Unique Skills and Experience

If you look at many sample resumes online, you'll get a good idea of how to organize your resume, but don't think one size fits all. Maybe you have gaps in your resume. Perhaps you're fresh out of college with little industry experience, or maybe you have some certifications that need their own section. That's okay. Don't be afraid to delete or add resume sections whenever you need to; make sure the ideas are organized, and the layout is clean and readable.

Keep It Simple

So you picked a nice professional font, you chose your sections, and you got your template looking fresh. Now, what about the actual writing? If your resume's look is your very first impression, then the writing in your resume is the impression you make during the verbal interview. Just like in an interview, you need to be concise, professional, and organized. Use only the words you need. Make sure you put the most important information first, and always use active voice, focusing on what you did.

Make It Flawless

You're not going to walk into your job interview with toilet paper stuck to your shoe, right? Your resume should also be free of embarrassing mistakes like misspellings, missing words, transposed words, or grammar errors. Since you're following the advice above and using a few words, those wrong words will be more pronounced, so always proofread multiple times.