10Tipsto spifupyourresume

By Melissa Schembri

As many of us are now homebased, it is time to work on your resume and online branding to get ready for the revival of our industry. Here are a few tips to assist in getting your resume to stand out: Ensure your resume has key contact information: Include your name, address, phone number, Linkedin profile link and email address. Address is one piece of information that some people feel isn’t relevant however future employers what to know what the journey to work may be for you.

Length of your resume: I would suggest maximum three pages. I love seeing resumes that have a career summary table on the front page that gives an overview of the person’s career.

Don’t get too fancy: You may want to add lots of creativity, however the simple designs are generally easier to read. Most importantly, lots of businesses are now using an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) which will look for certain keywords on your resume to assess suitability for positions. Having text boxes, images or hyperlinks may prevent your resume in scoring high in suitability for a position, even if you would be a great candidate.

Show your career in chronological order and have all your jobs on your resume. Even if they aren’t relevant or are 30 years ago, you need to add them on them and fill the gaps in your timeline.

Re-read and proof read! Typos are so common. We completed some research last year and found that one in three resumes has a spelling or grammar errors. It is so obvious, but shows lack of attention to detail if you can’t get the resume right.

Add in any technical skills you have – hiring managers want to know what GDS you have used, mid-office system, marketing tools and finance system.

Try and use these power words when writing a resume: created, influenced, achieved, improved, launched, increased/decreased, and negotiated. They will stand out to whoever is reading your resume and are great to explain clearly some of your particular skills and assets

Make sure you avoid words that we see over and over again: go-getter, dynamic, team player, hard worker, go to person, detail-orientated and so on. They are overused and don’t really say anything specific about you.