Writing A Job Resume That Stands Out

Your job resume will be the first part of you that a prospective employer will ever see. With the economy and unemployment being what they are these days, you will find yourself competing against plenty of applicants when searching for a job. Due to this, you must understand the ways by which you can make your job resume stand out. Of course, on the surface, it might seem like the only thing you can really do is list your previous jobs and hope for the best. But in so doing, you will be limiting yourself greatly. Instead, you should write a resume that causes a prospective employer to feel like they have to call you; you can do this by learning to make your resume stand out.

When writing your resume, it is extremely important to consider its design. This might seem like an odd place to begin - after all, you are applying for a job, not applying to be a document designer - but you have to consider the prospective employer's perspective. The person reading your resume has likely been at their desk for hours, poring over a huge pile of resumes. Studies have shown that the initial look at a resume lasts about 15-20 seconds. You will not make tired eyes feel kind toward you if you fill the resume with small font and big, blockish paragraphs. Instead, you should aim to design your resume in such a way that it sports clear headings and lots of white space. When tired eyes come across such a resume, it will seem like an inviting escape; you might even get them to spend more than 15-20 seconds on their first glance!

The next thing to consider is the qualifications and accomplishments section, which will go a long way in setting you apart from other applicants. Never fabricate this section, but make sure you dig deep to uncover things that might not have popped into your mind right away. Think about everything that might lead a prospective employer to pick up the phone and give you a call, and include all of it in this section!

Finally, the section of your resume where you list your qualifications will be a big selling point. This is where you set yourself head and shoulders above your competition. This section should be thought of as an advertisement; you should use this section to convince the prospective employer of all the reasons why they should "buy" you.

Job hunting can become a whole lot easier, even in these uncertain times, when you know the steps necessary to make your resume stand out.