Your resume is most crucial thing that you will need in your job search.
They are the first thing a hiring manager or recruiter looks at, and hence you need them to be one that conveys a good story; YOUR STORY.
As a recruiter with over a decade of experience, I often hear from candidates that they are qualified for the role… but are still not getting calls for interviews. In a typical market the main issue is their resume. Even IF you believe that the ATS is not pushing your resume to a human (which may not be the case) you still need the human to believe that you are qualified.
Here are 5 common mistakes that jobseekers make when writing their resume:
· Your resume does not line up with keywords that match with the job description
· You didn’t list your tangible skills
· You are not providing quantifiable achievements
· Your resume is full of generic content or pictures that don’t really tell your story
· You’re worrying about the wrong thing
Let’s dive deeper into these.
Not matching keywords to the job description: When people talk about keyword matching, they often think of it from the perspective of ‘beating the ATS’, however there is a human who’s reviewing the resume. You need to match the keywords for the human. Say you’re applying for a Benefits Specialist position. You’ve done the job; however, your most recent title is HR Generalist. It’s okay to change your title in your resume to Benefits Specialist. You don’t have to, if you choose not to. You also want to thoroughly read through the first paragraph of the actual job description and the first few bullets of the key responsibilities.
What is the employer asking for? Now go to your resume and see if you are listing the key responsibilities that is needed in the job you’re applying to.
Not listing your tangible skills: Jobseekers often focus on showing non-tangible skills rather than the hard tangible skills. You might be talking about being professional, or dedicated or even driven, however these are not skills that you can show on your resume. What needs to be called out are the tangible skills.
· Do you have experience with the same qualifications that’s listed on the job description? Are these qualifications listed on your resume?
· If the job is asking for GAAP experience is that listed on your resume?
Look at the complete job description and read what software skills or job skills are listed. Do you have experience with them? Have you listed them on your resume at all the jobs you have used those skills at?
Quantifiable achievements: Resumes are no longer just a piece of paper that list all your job duties. They need to have your achievements. What projects did you work on? What improvements did you make? Even if you are in a role where it’s hard to put numbers to the outcomes, you still want to list your achievements.
You’re using generic verbiage and unhelpful pictures or charts: I haven’t met a single recruiter or hiring manager who likes the use of pictures or skills chart. You are adding things to your resume that add no value to it. The infographics and/or skills chart don’t tell the other side who you truly are. And most ATS can’t parse them properly.
You’re worrying about the wrong thing: Most jobseekers are worrying about their resume length. Should it be 1 page or more? (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t truly matter). Should they have a “professional” email? (Meh) Should they add a summary? (It’s dealer’s choice) Jobseekers should worry about whether their resume is telling their story to the other party who doesn’t know them.
Recruiters and hiring managers often will overlook minor details if the person is well qualified and shows it on their resume. That doesn’t mean you give them a grammatically incorrect resume, however the biggest differentiator between a person getting interviews and a person not getting interviews is how well their resume is written to showcase HOW they are qualified for the role they’re applying to.
If you are looking for professional help on your resume we are happy to help.
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