An average corporate job posting receives 250 resumes.
And from that, only 3,4 candidates get shortlisted for an interview.
As 40% of the employers nowadays deploy ATS software to sort resumes, breaking through the competition needs much more than a strong work experience.
In the present word including industry-related keywords while emphasizing hard skills on your resume are not sufficient to get past the ATS software.
If you don’t know how to create a well-crafted, ATS-friendly resume, it will never land on the recruiter’s desk for human scrutinization thus minimizing your chances to get shortlisted for a personal interview.
This guide will cover the essential tips for creating a resume to get noticed by recruiters in 6 seconds.
Craft a professional header section
The header is the first thing a recruiter lays their eyes on in your resume. Formatting a clean resume header is imperative to hook the recruiter to read your resume.
Here are some tips to craft a professional header:
- Do not put “Resume” or “CV” as the resume header. Instead, put the candidate’s name in the resume header, such as “John Doe.”
- Include the job title below the candidate’s name.
- Write the contact information such as a phone number, professional email id, and residential location on the header section—no need to write the full address. Just write the location in “City, Country Code” format.
- Optionally, add a Linkedin profile link on the header section. If you are a tech professional, include the GitHub portfolio in the header section. If you are a creative professional, include the Behance portfolio or personal website in the header section.
- Avoid adding unnecessary information on the resume header such as date of birth, complete address, father’s name, etc.
Create a perfect resume summary
After glancing at the resume header, the summary is the first thing hiring managers read in a resume.
- Ensure the resume header is not more than 3-4 lines.
- Use a third-person perspective to craft the resume summary. Avoid using first and second persons’ perspectives.
- Begin the resume with years of experience to hook the recruiter’s attention.
Note: Always keep the resume summary on top of the resume. It will help the recruiters understand the candidate’s core competency easily.
Include keywords from the job description
Recruiters don’t have the time to read every resume with a fine-toothed comb.
That’s why they deploy AI-based ATS systems to do the initial resume sortings.
These ATS systems scan the resume for relevant keywords that are mentioned in the job description. As a job hunter, you need to ensure that relevant keywords are included in your resume.
For example, if you apply for a job where the requirements are Machine Learning skills, Project management skills, create a “Key Skills” section in your resume and include the keyword in that section clearly.
Read the job description carefully to find more of these keywords. Match these with your relevant experience and include the skills on the resume.
Craft the resume professional experience section well
A well-crafted resume professional section effectively communicates the candidate’s skills and accomplishments to the recruiter and increases the chance of getting an interview.
Tips to craft a professional experience section:
- Craft the professional experience section by following the reverse chronological order
- Write the responsibilities and accomplishments in single-line bullet points.
- Use numbers and stats to quantify the accomplishments and bold, essential keywords in the professional experience section.
- Club 3-4 statements under a single sub-heading
- Craft the bullet points using the Context-Action-Result (CAR) method.
Format the resume professionally
If you nail the content but do not format the resume professionally, it will not generate the expected result.
Use the following tips to format the resume for maximizing your chances of getting an interview:
- Do not use a fancy font in your resume. Instead, use simple professional fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Verdana, etc., to write the resume. These fonts improve the readability of the resume.
- Keep the resume font size between 10-12 points.
- Ensure the resume does not exceed a single page.
- Keep the link spacing in the resume between 1-1.15 points.
- Leave at least 1” margin on each side of the resume.
- Cut down on unnecessary information when writing the resume.
Key Takeaways
Getting a job definitely is a daunting task. But it does not have to be if you follow these tips and create a perfect resume for yourself.
Here are the key takeaways from the blog:
- Do not include unnecessary information in the resume header section.
- Start the resume summary with years of experience and wrap up the summary within 3-4 sentences.
- Optimize the resume for ATS by including job-specific keywords in the resume key skills and professional experience section
- Use the Context-Action-Result method to craft professional experiences.
- Format the resume professionally before sending it to the hiring manager.
