11 WAYS TO CREATE A MORE EFFECTIVE RESUME!

Having an effective resume is the first step to finding that job you been searching for months. Many job searchers focus less on the resume and more on the job itself. If you want to land that dream job of yours, start from crafting an effective resume that will get you to the door for an interview. Here are 11 ways to create a more effective resume:

Let someone else proofread your resume:

Having someone else read your resume is always better. Asking a friend, colleague, or mentor to proofread your resume will help you make it sharper and catch mistakes you might have missed. Ask them to be unbiased so you can get their honest opinion.

Focus on your Achievements and outcomes/results:

Doing anything without a positive outcome or result is kind of useless. You want to show all the achievements or effort/work you have done but you also want to show the outcome/result it created. Make sure to highlight the results that you achieved by doing some actions. example: you organized the official document which resulted in being more efficient.

Do not lie

Be truthful about all your information such as contact, graduation date, work history etc. The last thing you want to get caught is lying on the resume. That will raise more questions about your work ethics.

Use VAR to create the sentences in your Resume

VAR or Verb, Action & Result is the best practice way to write up your sentences in a resume. Make a list of action verbs that you can use to describe your experience. Use such action verbs to describe your work/experience and end it by showing the result you achieved by doing so.

Example:  Developed  & designed the automatic program to create the online product orders which saved our company 15 hours/ week and made us more effective.

In this sentence “Developed  & Designed” are the action verbs used. “automatic program to create the online product order” is the action taken and “saved 15 hours/week” is the result of your action. These kinds of the structure provide a clear message to the reader and add more value to your resume.

Always use the Actual Resume Paper:

If you print your resume in regular A4 print papers and send it to the hiring manager, you are just 1 among the 1000’s that are doing so. if you want to stand out, use the resume paper that is actually made for a resume. They are made of water marker cotton paper and has that extra fee compare to the regular paper.

Have Multiple Version of Personalized Resume:

Sending the same resume to 10 different jobs is the worst thing you can do. Each job descriptions are unique and you need to personalize your resume accordingly. if you personalize the summary section on your resume by using the title of the job you are applying to, the hiring manager will immediately notice that you have put an effort and not simply sending same resumes to another job.

Having more on a resume is not always good:

I have been on the other side of the hiring and the last thing I want to do is look at your second page of the resume. It’s simply because you should be able to tell who you are on one page. Unless you are a P.h.D candidate with 10 years of experience. Keep your resume within 1 page. Personalize it to the key points to match the job you are applying for.

Keywords in Resume: The Modern Era:

Yes, it’s the modern era. Your resume probably never made it to the hiring manager and got kicked out of the pre-screening process. Most resume scanners are looking for keywords that closely match with the job description they posted. When you create a personalized resume, it increases your chance for your keywords and key points to match with the resume and is most likely to land you an interview.

BONUS:

Are cover letters the deal of the past?

Not a big fan but if the company is asking for it, please do provide it. A cover letter is a great way to show that you are fit for that job.

However, personally, I believe these cover letters are the talk of the past. Hiring managers these days are looking for more action than words. As a data scientist, any candidate who submits a cover letter might have a hard time competing with another candidate who actually provides the link to his Kaggle or GitHub where his work, projects, competition queries are done. Hiring managers are looking for actual work rather than a paragraph that says you can do it.

Show them the work, not just the words!