How to vamp up your resumé!

It’s not often that we have free time to spend and think about the one person that is often forgotten about…YOU. Why not spend this time concentrating on yourself, your future, your next position? This is a perfect opportunity to recreate your resume and focus on what you’re looking for next!

• Where do your strengths lie?
• Where do you thrive?
• What’s important for you in your next position/ new company?
• What are you missing/not missing from previous positions?
• Here are my top tips on how to really make your resume stand out.

1.    Summary- Tailored to the Hiring Manager

Include a summary at the very start of your resume. This will grab the hiring managers' attention. Sum up your years of experience, where your skill sets lie and what you are looking for now in your next position. Make sure you tailor this to the job you are applying for!

2.    Format Correctly

Never ever use “I” when writing your resume. So, remove the “I did x, y, z” and replace it with “revamped, developed, lead” etc. Make sure you use bullet points and make sure your spelling and grammar are all checked over and over. Even ask a friend or family member to have a read through for you.

3.    Chronological Order

I can’t stress this enough how bad it looks when a resume is not done in chronological order. Always have your most recent experience at the top. If you have any gaps in your resume, make sure you can fill them in when a hiring manager asks you (which we always do!). If you went travelling for a year it is good to include that in your resume to reduce the gaps.

4.    Achievements and Figures

To really make your resume stand out from the crowd, make sure you include all your achievements and numbers. If you have overseen multi-units, boosted sales, reduce costs or even one employee of the month – include it.

5.    Magic Words

Don’t use the same word over and over again. Try and spice up your action words by using magic words. Improved, succeeded, accelerated, optimized, exceeded… the more the better!

6.    Keep it Simple

Don’t use fancy templates that you spend hours making – simple is better.

7.    Skills

Make sure you tailor your skills to the job you are applying for. If they are looking for a General Manager who has to have P&L experience, hiring, scheduling, etc make sure you have those skills in your resume.

In this current market, hiring managers get hundreds of resumes in a day- make yours stand out!

If you’d like advice with your resume or want me to have a look over yours, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, katie@corecruitment.com