How to Make Your Resume Stand Out to Recruiters

12/05

Recruiters are sent and review hundreds of resumes a day to find the best candidates. The daily influx of applications requires recruiters to scan through resumes in seconds, which means strong candidates need resumes that stop recruiters in their tracks. Whether you are an experienced professional, recent graduate or an entry-level novice, having an attractive, clear and concise resume is essential to grab the attention of recruiters and hiring managers. Consider the following ideas to boost your resume and get that call back.

A Career Summary Section
- A career summary is a great way to introduce yourself by stating your long-term career goals, your most sought-after skills, and accomplishments. Use this section to summarize in two to three sentences why you would be the ideal candidate, using key action words and descriptions related to the job you are applying to.
Metrics
- Use numbers to highlight your accomplishments and quantify your achievements. For example, if you were responsible for the budget of your organization mention the specific amount of funds and people you were accountable for.
Hyperlinks
- Be sure to include your email, LinkedIn profile, and/or personal website or online portfolio. You can also consider adding links to your social media accounts if they are relevant to the positions you are applying to. Most applications and resume submissions are done online nowadays, so making your online professional portfolio accessible with one click is a plus.
White Space
- Your resume should not be longer than a page if you are a recent graduate or have limited work experience. It is okay to have white space on your resume because too much text and detail are visually intimidating and overwhelming.
A Dash of Color and an Interesting Font
- Resumes are supposed to be clean and to-the-point, but that does not mean they have to be visually boring. A quick and easy way to have your resume stand out from the rest is adding one or two accent colors along with a more elegant font.