What do HRs think when they read a resume where there isn’t a word about working experience? Does it make them feel sad or disappointed? Actually, every candidate has a personal start of a career path and there’s nothing to be afraid of when sending a resume. If you want to make your resume stand out and attract attention, have a look at the advice from HRs on how you can do it.
How to write a resume to make a good first impression?
When you have your resume in front of you, you may feel confused about what should or should not be there. It’s good to ask someone to have a quick look at your resume without a thorough reading and tell you their first impression. You should be ready to hear unpleasant information that can be related to the position of your photo, the amount of space, the choice of fonts, etc.
Social networks - we want to know you better
Mentioning links to your accounts in social networks will do good for you. If you are not registered anywhere, you can state this fact. In most of the cases, HRs will google your name, surname, email, and phone number to find more public information about you.
If you have an account at least on one site, you can add it and let HRs visit the page from your resume. It can be a link to a LinkedIn page.
It’s so cute - we love this design
If you spend a bit of your time thinking over a nice design of the resume, you will surely make a positive impression on the HR team. It’s good to visually separate different blocks of data, add a good photo of you, or introduce some colors. It’s important not to overdo with it as your resume may have a look at a picture that was made by a kid with pencils. If you’re not confident in your designing skills, you can ask for help.
So much information - what do you want to say?
There’s no need to state that you walk your dog each morning, so you can be in the office by 10 AM. It’s not good to write long sentences about how good you are or why you are the best fit for a new position. And you don’t need to make a story of your life for a few paragraphs. Your resume should contain only precise information that will reflect your hard and soft skills.
Wordiness - what job do you want to get?
If you state a lot of facts without using the name of your future job, it won’t do any good. HRs advise students to add keywords that are related to the future position or the company you want to work in. For example, if you want to become a software engineer, you should mention not only the degree but also stacks that you can deal with. You can also add technologies you wish to learn in the near future.
How can you predict if HRs love your resume?
It may happen that a person that is reviewing your resume is tired or had a bad sleep. There may be some distracting factors that cannot let this person concentrate on the words you have written there. What can you do with this? There’s only one thing you can do - making your resume short and clear.
Here we mean that you will state your first name, last name, contact information, add your photo, information about university and experience if you have any. Additional issues may comprise hobbies, interests, plans for education in the near future, certifications or other credentials that could prove your expertise. If you have a lot to say, it’s better to put this information in the cover letter.
In simple words, here are the key things you should do that will make your resume stand out:
- Be short and clear. If you can remove some words from your resume without changing the context, you should do it.
- Add a photo. When you get acquainted with someone new, it’s always better to have a picture in mind of how the person looks like.
- Add links to social networks. You can show your professional or personal interests here.
- Add credentials. If you have gained certificates, it’s good to list them.
- Add hobbies and interests. They will represent your soft skills that will be useful for a new job.