Here at Alpha North Group we see hundreds of resumes a day. Over the years we have become extremely efficient at evaluating them. Here are some tips to make sure your resume doesn’t get overlooked.
1) No pictures, attaching a photo of yourself to your resume is unprofessional and sends the wrong message. Your appearance doesn’t have anything to do with your qualifications.
2) Use a proper email, [email protected] makes you sound unprofessional, if this is your primary email create a new email account for resume purposes.
3) No irrelevant information. On average a recruiter or employer will spend only a few seconds skimming your resume before deciding if you are a good fit for a position. That being said you don’t want those seconds to be wasted on irrelevant information. For example, listing your hobbies can sometimes be an asset, if you are applying for a coaching position and list soccer as one of your hobbies then this can be an asset. However if you are applying to a position completely unrelated to your hobbies it is likely that your hobbies list will simply take up space and not benefit you in the long run.
4) No pronouns. Using words like I or me wont work to your benefit. Your resume should sound subjective as if it is unbiased.
5) Use keywords. Many companies, including Alpha North Group are utilizing digital databases. When a position becomes available recruiters check the database using keywords. For example if we are looking for an electrician with a +442A license, we will simply type in +442A and only look at the candidates who have listed this license on their resume.
For more info on how to utilize keywords check out http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_keywords.html
6) Don’t lie. If you get caught lying on your resume it will prevent you from ever getting a job at that company, if a recruiter catches you in a lie then they will not risk sending your resume to employers as this will reflect badly on the agency. Regardless, it is easy to background check a candidate to see if they are telling the truth. Lying on your resume is an unnecessary and un-beneficial risk.
7) Keep it short. As we mentioned above, when someone is reading your resume they will most likely make up their mind in the first 5-10 seconds. So make sure that all the important information is visible. Instead of writing long paragraphs, write everything in point form. Highlight important words. Make sure that in those 5 seconds, the reader has read all of your essential information.
8) No fancy designs. Fancy fonts, colorful paper etc make you seem childish. An employer is likely to immediately throw your resume away since they are looking for someone serious and professional.
9) Name and contact info are essential. After all the hard work that goes into writing a resume, we still come across many resumes that are missing an email or phone number or even the candidates name. This should go without saying, your name and contact must be on your resume. Preferably at the very top. Without this information even if an employer likes your resume, how are they suppose to call you in for an interview?
10) Proofread, proofread, proofread. Once you are done writing your resume you should let at least two other people proofread it for you. Spelling errors make it seem like you don’t care enough to check your work. If this is how your resume looks, how many mistakes will you overlook if you are hired for a job?
Can’t find anyone to proofread your resume?
No problem, we can help.
Send your resume to [email protected], write Resume Help in the subject line.
Good Luck with the job hunt!
