Tips for Making Your Resume Stand Out

You're looking for a job.  You've got some qualifications.  You've got a resume.  So does everyone else.  Did you know that even if you have stellar skills, if your resume doesn't shout "Hey, look at me!" your chances of getting an interview are diminished?  Here are a few small, but effective things you should pay attention to when working on creating your resume.

·       Your name and contact information front and center - This is about YOU.  Your name and contact info should be in a larger font than the rest of the resume, and looking your potential new employer right in the eye when they see the resume for the first time.

·       One section that points out your most valuable skills - this section can be headed Valuable Skills and each skill should be bulleted.  It is very effective when placed at the beginning of the resume.

·       Bold Print - Not everything in bold, but your name should definitely be in bold.  You can use bold print for the heading of each section (skills, employment history, etc.) and the title of each previous position also.

·       Bullets - Bullets point out succinctly your experience and accomplishments

·       Italics - Italics may be used in conjunction with bold print or instead of bold print.

·       Short and Sweet - Not too wordy, not to short.  Put yourself in the place of whoever will be viewing your resume.  They want the facts, and they want a taste of your personality.  They don't have time to read the story of your life, though.

·       Good, clean font - Arial, Arial Narrow or Times New Roman are always good choices.  By all means stay away from anything too fancy.

·       Spelling, grammar and vocabulary - Spell check is there for a reason - use it.  Make sure you are very aware of the meaning of words you are using and if you do choose to use some of the less used words in our language, don't overdo it.  A sprinkling makes you sound well read, too many sounds contrived.

To summarize:  Clean, bold, succinct, points out valuable skills at the beginning, and your name big and bright.  Don't overdo it, too much of a good thing is, well, too much.  Read and re-read with the eye of an employer.  Once you are happy with your resume, let a trusted friend look it over.  Sometimes others can see things we miss, especially if we've been looking at the resume for a long time.  Good luck!

Posted:Monday, August 06, 2007