Are you actively seeking a new opportunity but not receiving a positive response from potential employers? Perhaps it’s time to take a step back to evaluate your resume and the quality of your application. As a Recruiter, it is often easy to identify which job seekers have taken a considered approach to their application, compared to those who may be submitting the same resume and/or cover letter for multiple positions. To improve your chances of landing that next role, it’s important that you take the time to focus on the details.
1 - Update the Content
It is critical that you make sure your resume is up to date and if necessary, explains gaps between jobs. If your resume stops at 2016, or has large gaps between jobs, your potential employer will need to try and guess what took place during that period of time. Often this will lead to them assuming the worst and moving on to the next application.
2 - Consider the Look
One of the first things a potential employer will notice on a resume is a poor layout. Make sure that your resume is well structured, has the appropriate fonts and is easy to follow. If you’re not confident and need help, there are thousands of free resume templates for you, available online.
3 - Keep It Relevant
Focus on your experience that is relevant to the position for which you are applying. If you are applying for a job as a Software Engineer, don’t write half a page about your Retail Sales experience back in 2005. Keep your resume relevant and to the point, it doesn’t need to be 10 pages long.
4 - Highlight your Achievements
I think it’s safe to say that most employers are looking for job applicants who will ‘achieve’ great things in their business. To ensure you stand out from the crowd, provide details of your achievements in specific positions. This is even more important for your experience which may be relevant to the role for which you are applying. If possible, use data to give it more substance, for example; reduced expenses by $50,000 p.a. by renegotiating contracts.
5 - Check your Work
Last but not least, before you hit the ‘submit’ button, have you checked your work? If the answer is no, then you may just have wasted all of that time updating and improving the content of your resume. An increasing number of employers are looking for job seekers with great attention to detail. If your resume clearly has multiple spelling or grammatical errors, then you’re already demonstrating that you might lack this skill.
There is no single answer on the best way to write your resume. However, if you cover the basics and put in the effort, your chances of making it to the next stage will significantly improve. If you are looking for a new opportunity in supply chain and operations, please get in touch with me directly on +612 8270 9717.
