Resume Tips from HR Professionals

You’ve been job searching for a while; you’ve have created a dynamic resume, but you’re still not getting responses.

It could be that your resume is not as dynamic as you think!

While attending a workshop a few months back, a panel of HR directors and hiring managers discussed a few important tips about what they would like to see in a resume.  A few of these tips are:

·       Be creative; a resume needs to catch the eye of the reader.  It should be out of the ordinary to make it into the “yes” pile.   Add your own touch of creativity, but also keep it professional.  A small image of something that relates to your skills can go a long way.  For example in the corner of your resume beside your name you could place a small image of a chef hat if you are a Chef.

·       No errors; this includes grammatical and spelling errors.  Also make sure that you check your dates of employment/education and don’t include months; only years.

·       Don’t include unnecessary information; the employer wants to see that your skills/experience match what they are looking for.  Ensure you are reading the job posting and job description to find out what the position entails.

·       Be descriptive.  Show how you have excellent customer service skills; don’t just write that you have them.  Show that you have sold xxx amount of product, or increased company sales by xxx amount

·       Include your interests; this may be what makes you stand out in the crowd

·       Include the associations and affiliations that you belong to, provided that they match the industry you’re applying for.  If appropriate, include your blog address, LinkedIn information and Twitter.

·       Keep the fonts and layout simple; make sure that your font size is the same throughout your resume (aside from heading font size) and readable.  Don’t use fonts such as French Script MT (Which looks like this) or Algerian (Which looks like this).  You can use a fancy font for your name, but it should be readable.

These are all just basics.  Over the next few days we will post articles on how to effectively tailor your resume to match job postings and other important aspects of creating your resume.

                                                                                                                   -Sunny + Sassy