How to highlight your strengths on your resume
Theater starts with a coat rack, and a job search starts with a resume. It would seem that today even a university graduate knows how this fateful document is being written without exaggeration. However, for your resume to assure the employer that you are a valuable specialist, it is not enough to simply list the places of work and study.
The resume should be composed so that your strengths are immediately visible to the recruiter.
What experience to describe?
This happens to many applicants: it seems that they have experienced, and the education is suitable, and the resume is sent daily to several places, but there are still no invitations for an interview … What’s the matter? Before submitting a resume for a specific vacancy, revise it. Are your strengths as a specialist and a person clearly visible?
Carefully read the vacancy announcement and try to understand which of the listed requirements you meet one hundred percent. These will be your strengths. In your resume, you should demonstrate them as clearly as possible, without spreading thought along the tree and avoiding what is not important for a recruiter.
For example, a candidate for the position of sales manager in an IT company requires the experience of successful sales. And you just quit a software company where you sold a software product and technical support services. In the relevant sections of your resume, describe your experience and education in as much detail as possible: what exactly you sold, what results in you achieved, what means went to the goal. But it is not worth writing in detail about your experience that is not directly related to sales (for example, about working as a programmer at the beginning of your career) – a simple mention is enough.
Another example. If your employer requires the job seeker to be fluent in English and you meet this requirement, do not limit your resume to the phrase “English is above average.” In the “Education” section, write where exactly you acquired your knowledge, in the “Work experience” section – how you used language skills in your previous job. In the “More Information” section, mention keeping yourself in shape, such as by reading Salinger in the original. All this will highlight your strong side – knowledge of a foreign language at a high level.
If the match is incomplete
And what about those requirements for a candidate that you meet, but not completely? Of course, the employer may not consider your resume if it does not fit into some specific parameters. However, if the vacancy is really interesting, try to modify your resume in such a way as to attract the recruiter to your side.
For example, an employer requires three years of experience in implementing PR projects in the financial sector from applicants for the position of a PR manager, whereas you have been working in the public relations department of a bank for only a year and a half. In no case do not attribute extra work experience to yourself – it is easy to check, and, as you know, they try not to hire deceivers. It is better to describe in detail those functions of yours at your current place of work that can show the employer that you have learned a lot in a year and a half. Add to this other information that characterizes you as an excellent candidate (information about education, if it is a suitable or long experience of PR-activities in related fields), and, quite possibly, your resume will interest the employer.
Personal qualities: to write or not to write?
“Responsibility, communication skills, punctuality” – these words are found in many resumes. Are they really necessary? Are these commonplaces distracting from your true strengths?
The “Additional Information” section, of course, is useful for a recruiter, and you should not completely exclude it from your resume. However, before filling it out, think about which of your personal qualities may be of interest to the employer, and which do not matter. For example, if you are applying for the position of accountant, do not focus on your love of photography and travel, but rather describe those qualities that are important for work – responsibility, diligence, love of order.
Show the product with your face
Recently, more and more job seekers accompany their resume with a photograph. Can this help you in your job search? There is no consensus among recruiters on this matter. On the one hand, why not show what is called a product with your face, especially if your face is pretty? First of all, this applies to those professions where appearance matters: secretary at the reception, sales manager for perfumes and cosmetics, PR manager. On the other hand, choosing a photo to post on a resume is not easy. For most positions, photographs on the beach, weddings, with children, dogs, collective, with a cigarette, etc. are categorically unsuitable.
Experts recommend attaching a photo to your resume only if you are sure: photography Is your strong point. For example, if you have entered the pre-retirement age, but are active and young at heart, attach a photo confirming this to your resume. Let it be a fresh photograph in a business suit that favorably emphasizes the image of an experienced and mature specialist who is also in great shape.
Obviously, revising a resume to showcase your strengths for a particular job requires revising your entire professional experience. This work takes a lot of time, but we assure you that your efforts will not be wasted: a well-written resume will open up new career horizons for you.
