A resume is your key to a world of opportunities; it is something that will either get you hired or leave you wondering “Hey how come that less qualified guy got the job and I didn’t?” Well, that’s because you might not have been following the latest trends that have emerged as the base of a rock-solid resume.
All over the world, hiring managers are scrutinizing resumes more than ever and have become very selective about the people that they hire for a particular job; therefore, you need to wake up to the fact that in this current global economic slowdown, just having a fancy degree is not enough!
So what is it that you need to do to get that job you have been eyeing? Let’s find out…
Tell them why they should hire you
If you have ever looked at the resume of anyone who’s on a job portal; all it talks about is what the candidate expects from the organization, where he wants to see himself 5 years from now and the likes. Well, “this is not what hiring managers want to see anymore”—you need to tell them why they should hire you and what is it that you can do for the organization; moreover, most of the hiring managers are too busy to go through the entire resume—15 seconds tops is all you got to impress the hiring managers!
Therefore, just keep in mind that whenever you create your resume; you highlight your strengths briefly and tell the hiring managers exactly what they want to hear right in the beginning of your resume. Make sure that you:
- Talk about how much experience you have
- Tell them your strengths
- How you can contribute to the overall growth of the organization
- What they can expect from you in the long term
Highlighting all these things in the beginning of the resume will entice the hiring managers to delve deeper into your resume and increase your chances of being actually called for an interview.
Either include a killer cover letter or don’t include one
Cover letters were kind of a prerequisite earlier; but not anymore. These days most of the cover letters are not even read by hiring managers; but, just in case you decide to include one anyway– make sure that it’s killer.
The primary mistake that people make on a daily basis while looking for a job is to approach a one-cover-letter-fits-all strategy. And this can prove disastrous if you are trying to desperately get a job; therefore, make sure that if you are going to include a cover letter; it is tailored to the organization you are applying to. If not, then there is only one place it’s going to end up, and that’s the bin.
# Rearrange your Resume if Needed
There are times when it is a good idea to rearrange your resume to highlight certain aspects of your skillset; therefore, it’s very important that you read the job description carefully and understand what kind of skills the hiring manager is more likely to seek out.
For example, ‘if the job requirement is for a management position and you have included the resume as it is; which actually highlights your sales skills and not your managerial skills; then you are less likely to get the job, since your skillsets are talking about how good you are at sales.’ Therefore, it is a good idea to rearrange your resume to highlight those specific managerial skillsets of yours more than the others; that is more likely to get you noticed.
Getting a job in today’s world is all about marketing yourself in a proper way. Believe it or not; but you got to advertise yourself as a potential candidate to organizations and most importantly—Hiring managers. With the rise in unemployment worldwide and huge losses being incurred by companies; the companies have become very picky about hiring new talent. These days, they are more likely to hire someone based on their skills and experience; rather than just qualifications alone.
So, get your resume’s out and take a deep look at it and ask yourself “would I hire someone if they had a resume like this?” if you answered yes to the question then well and good; but, if your answer is no, then it’s high time you really started paying some serious attention!
