How to Make your Resume Stand Out in 2020
If there is just one resolution that you must fulfil this year, it is to update your CV. As job hiring trends evolve and the job market becomes more competitive each year, updating your resume will ensure that you stay relevant and ready for new opportunities. We also have some tips to make your resume stand out.
How to Make your Resume Stand Out in 2020
If there is just one resolution that you must fulfil this year, it is to update your CV. As job hiring trends evolve and the job market becomes more competitive each year, updating your resume will ensure that you stay relevant and ready for new opportunities. We also have some tips to make your resume stand out.
1. Edit your address
As we have more presence on the internet than ever before, adding your business profiles to your resume is a good idea. It gives employers a picture of you as a professional and what you would be like to work with, and that helps their decision as to whether to pass you for the interview.
Alongside your physical address, you may want to add your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or any other SNS account you use professionally. Be careful not to put in your personal accounts, though, or you may end up oversharing information.
2. Update your design
Hiring agencies and managers may be scanning through hundreds of CVs each day. Keep your information pertinent and your points short to ensure you don’t waste their time.
It is recommended that a resume not take up more than a single page, and include a brief describing yourself and your competencies. You may want to add some simple design elements, and use a bit of colour to highlight important information. There are plenty of free design templates available, so look around for something that suits you and make it your new CV.
3. Take a good photo
The photograph on your resume is the first time your prospective employer will see you, and you want to impress. It pays to prepare a little for this business photo, which will be different from the selfies you take with your friends.
Be sure to dress professionally, and take a headshot against a solid background in a neutral colour. And keep it up-to-date! Don’t use a photograph taken five years before, no matter how good you look in it.
Consistency is key. Remember to use the same photograph for your resumes, LinkedIn profile, and other business communication. That way, people – and interviewers – will know who to expect when they meet you.
4. It’s in the name (of the file)
Hopefully, you have not been sending prospective employers “Samanatha23112014final_v2”. Make things easy for the person doing the hiring by naming the file something simple, like “Resume_name_position” so that they know exactly what it contains and who it belongs to.
And remember to save your resume in an acceptable format such as .doc or .pdf. (Some older PCs have problems opening .docx files, so try to save as a .doc instead.) Also, some AST software may not be able to read pdf files, so the safest option is the handy .doc.
Business photo created by ijeab
