It’s time to brush off the resume and land a great new opportunity now that employers are rebuilding their teams for a post-COVID-19 boom. Instead of just picking up where you left off, though, you may be due for a resume revamp. Applying some of the following tips may give you the best chance to break away from the pack and get noticed by recruiters.
- Hyper-Target Your Resume. Whether you’re planning to apply to jobs similar to the one you lost or something new, you need to do some research. Many recruiters use an Candidate Tracking System (ATS) to manage the large quantities of resumes they receive for their job posts. Those computer applications look for keywords to determine whether a candidate is a good fit or not and in order to “talk to” the ATS, you need to learn its language. Find a handful of job descriptions for the role you’re seeking and highlight the skills and terms they share. Use these as keywords within your own resume. (Of course, make sure they are part of your actual work experience.)
- Include a Summary. The introductory paragraph at the top of a resume used to be called an “objective” but there’s no need to explain that you’re seeking the job for which you’re applying. It’s obvious! That section is now a “summary” and you should use it as a brief overview of your experience. This is a great spot to use some of those well-researched keywords as your tell your story in a way that makes you sound like the very best candidate for the job! If your experience for the role is lacking in any way, you can also use this paragraph to provide a simple explanation of how your experience or other traits transition well into this new position
- Highlight Your Skills. Including a section that lists specific work skills are especially helpful for filling out a resume that’s light on work experience. Use it to list computer applications, certifications, professional memberships and awards, language skills, technical skills, and anything else that applies specifically to the job. This is also an excellent opportunity to include those keywords you discovered while researching job descriptions.
- Go Beyond One Page. There’s no longer a need to stick to a single-page resume. If you have job experience worth sharing, share it! As long as you keep the summaries of your work experiences concise and meaningful, there’s no reason to be concerned about submitting additional pages.
