Creating a Resume to get you Noticed

Compact creating impact

Hiring managers spend a mere 7 seconds reading resumes, making it imperative your resume is impactful. Your resume needs to become an instant snapshot of your skills and expertise, grabbing attention and making a lasting impression.

Using clear and standard resume headings makes it easy for recruiters to find the information they need.

• About
• Contact
• Experience
• Achievements
• Qualifications
• Training
• Interests (if relevant and you have space)

Hiring managers could recite these in their sleep. Don’t waste time creating catchy resume headlines. Stick to the standards to avoid confusion and time wasting.

When writing your tasks, try extracting the key word(s) from each point and put it at the start of the sentence. E.g. Customer service – Provided exceptional customer service, consistently achieving and exceeding monthly sales targets.

Here, the recruiter can easily identify your skills without reading the whole sentence. If you need help deciding what key words or duties to include, refer to the essential skills/ selection criteria in the job advertisement and try to weave their language and ‘buzzwords’ in as much as possible.

Don’t feel like you have to include every task, training course, achievement, or even every job if it’s not relevant. Job mobility has changed drastically in recent times; people are more transient than ever with most people staying at their job for only 1-4 years. Whilst this certainly provides a great diversity of experience, it can mean your resume is jam-packed.

Remember- be ready in your job interview to explain any gaps in your resume or elaborate on positions where the description was brief.

Landing on the right language

Using appropriate language can be crucial when writing a resume. Language should be clear and easy for anyone to understand. Avoid using abbreviations, workplace or industry specific terms. Even if they are relevant to the job, make sure to put as much as you can in layman’s terms, as you don’t know who will be reviewing your resume and their level of technical knowledge. If mentioning internal software, programs or systems, it is always best practise to briefly highlight what they are or do.

Best to bespoke

It’s not just your cover letter that can be tailored for your prospective job, your resume can also benefit from some customisation. As previously mentioned, your experience section should be relevant and align with the specific job application you are applying for. As well as matching the selection criteria/ essential skills to your own, you might also want to think about the order in which you list these tasks. Rearranging your tasks and experience to align with the order of the selection criteria can be helpful to the reader as it often corresponds to the priorities of the new role.

Sell-ebrate

Your resume is more than just your work history, it’s a selling tool that should be used to spruik your personal brand and celebrate your successes. Having an achievements section on your CV is a great way to do this. Make sure, where possible, to add quantitative/ measurable achievements as this is a great way to gauge the success of the project.

Dress to impress

Last but certainly not least, the all-important CV format and presentation. With such limited time to impress, creating a visually appealing CV can certainly help you stand out and hold attention. Not only does it help get you noticed, but it can also showcase your word processing and presentation skills, making it paramount that you nail the layout.

Here are some quick tips and tricks to consider.

• Try templates – Resume templates are a great and easy tool to quickly create your CV without the hassle. You can find some free resume templates on Microsoft Word or on our Resource Hub.
• Use bullet points - Don’t be afraid to use them under each of your headings. Bullet points make it really easy for your potential employer to find the relevant information quickly, utilising that precious time.
• Show consistency – Make sure each heading, section, bullet point or paragraph is formatted the same throughout. These little mistakes can be obvious to employers.
• Colour with caution – Use colours sparingly throughout your CV as they can make it hard to read or be jarring for the reader. Subtle and pale colours are a good option, helping to break up text whilst still looking professional.
• Fonts beware – Be sure to stick to 1 or 2 simple fonts only, nothing too decorative or fancy as they can be distracting to the reader. Fonts such as Calibri or Arial are typically a safe choice.
• Give it some space – While it’s tempting to try and cram in as much content as possible, using adequate spacing will make your CV easy to read and more appealing. Less is more.
• Set a page limit - Be sure to also set a page limit for your resume. Two pages seems to be the sweet spot, providing enough detail without losing your audience’s attention.

Remember, If the information doesn’t fit on two pages, you either have too much, or your formatting is not utilising the space.

Ready to Resume?

At Workskil Australia, we have been helping our customers create their perfect resume for decades. Our Employment Coaches support customers at all stages of their employment journey, from new entrants to well experienced workers, we are here to help.

Whether you’re creating a resume from scratch, updating an old version or just need a second opinion, Workskil Australia can assist to make sure your CV gets noticed.

Be sure to visit our Resource Hub where you can find all sorts of tools and advice on how to write a resume. You can also contact us or speak to your employment consultant to discuss how we can revamp your resume and support you through your employment journey.