4 Practical Strategies To Strengthen Your Resume

Though they may seem mundane — especially in the LinkedIn era — resumes are important because they are the easiest way for an employer to get a snapshot of your skills and accomplishments. But despite how much weight we put on them, employers spend an average of 6-10 seconds on your resume, so it’s important to make sure that yours stands out in the pile.

Latesha Byrd, Grow With Google Digital Coach, shares a few key strategies to help you land your next job!

Choose a professional format.

The style of your resume can say a lot about your professional demeanor (or lack thereof). Subsequently, your resume should present itself as professional, clean and easy to read from top to bottom. Learning to create excellent resumes requires significant effort and is an ongoing exercise, so if you’re still having trouble getting started, consider using an online resume builder, such as Google’s pre-built templates.

Highlight your skills and accomplishments.

Highlight don’t list all your accomplishments. What are the top things you want employers to know to prove you’re an impressive candidate? “You don’t need to include everything on your resume,” she emphasizes. She says they want to see skills and accomplishments that are relevant to the job that you’re applying for. Focusing on accomplishments instead of just responsibilities is one of the best ways (if not the absolute best way) to make your resume stand out.

Add specific examples.

“What specifically have you done, and how has it impacted your co-workers, team and the company?” says Byrd. This context helps employers better understand the magnitude of your accomplishments. Byrd says to use measurable details whenever possible to quantify the work that you’ve done. So instead of “Increased revenue,” say: “Increased revenue by 56%, triple the company average.” Numbers and percentages provide employers with the scope of your responsibility, as well as insight into your accomplishments.

Tailor your resume to fit the specific job description.

Submitting the same resume for every position can’t possibly meet each employer’s individual requirements. “When you create a resume for a particular job, you want to incorporate as many keywords as possible,” says Byrd. The most efficient way to create customized resumes is to develop one general resume and then tweak it for each particular job opportunity. 

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