A resume may not be able to get you a job on its own but, if it’s done correctly, it can make you stand out from other job seekers which is exactly what you want. Here are eight (8) tips that you can use to help make your resume stand out from the rest and bring you one step closer to getting hired. Let’s get started!

Tip # 1: Feel free to use a free/paid template available online or in Microsoft Word.  Find a template that suits your style, meets your needs and is appropriately formatted with a nice layout. You could also use an online resume builder.

Tip # 2: Mention your personal details (name, title, address) and contact information ie. telephone numbers and email addresses. Please make sure your email address is one that is appropriate/professional and not a goodgaltishevahot@gmail.com or brogaduncledemon@yahoo.com for example because these may very well be a turn off for some employers. Oh, for your address, you can just put the parish that you live in.

Tip # 3: Use a resume summary, objective or profile after you’ve done tip # 2.

Tip # 4: List all your relevant work/volunteer experiences, internships, achievements and extracurricular activities.

Tip # 5: Highlight your best hard (physical/specific skills like qualifications) and soft (personality/character traits) skills, especially those relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Tip # 6: Tweak your resume based on the job you’re applying for instead of using the same resume for every single job application. So, have a general resume with all your work/volunteer experiences, achievements, skills, educational background and references that you can pull from to create job specific resumes that are valid.

Tip # 7: Be creative but keep it appropriate. The traditional layout of resumes might be a turn off for some employers but that may be dependent on the type of organization or company that they represent.

Tip # 8: Try not to go over the 1 page limit as a general rule of thumb but if it’s necessary, go for it!

Please note that these tips are in no particular order so apply where needed and happy writing! Did you find these tips helpful? Want to share your own resume tips?

Tell us all about it in the comments and do keep an eye out for our next post!