Impress Hiring Managers: 5 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out

A great resume doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a job, but you won’t get a job if you don’t have a great resume. Your CV is often your first point of contact with a potential employer—it speaks on your behalf and tells hiring managers whether you’re qualified for the position they need to fill. Do your applications make the right first impression?

If you don’t know the answer to that question, you probably need to make some changes. Hiring managers put their reputations on the line when they sort through applications, and they won’t take a chance on a candidate who looks out of sorts. Even a bland document will fail to catch their eyes, which just prolongs your job search.

Your CV needs to look modern, clean, and polished if you want to get a great job. Fortunately, this article can help you draft a document that will impress even the strictest of employers. These simple tips will help you substantially improve your applications.

1. Write a New Resume for Every Position

Every job comes with a very specific set of responsibilities, so you can’t afford to be general on your application. You may have previous experience in the very same role you’ve applied for, but the duties may differ drastically. Never assume you can get away with sending the same document to multiple employers. That strategy is bound to result in rejection.

Write a new CV for every position you submit for, tailoring your application to the job. Read job descriptions carefully and try to determine what each employer wants. Use your application to show how you can fulfill these expectations.

2. Use Keywords Properly

When hiring managers post job ads, they get so many submissions that they don’t have time to sort through them all. As a result, they often use software that combs through documents to see if candidates meet basic criteria. These programs choose applicants based on particular keywords, so it’s important to include these terms in your application.

At the same time, you can’t go overboard with these phrases. Employers will probably read the applications that the software selects, so you need to anticipate that a human being will read your CV Choose and use relevant keywords, but be discerning about it.

3. Be Specific with Your Qualifications

You won’t impress hiring managers if they can’t immediately see the impact of your experience. Show them how you contributed to your past employers’ successes. Use specific metrics that explicitly show how you improved your last workplace. These numbers demonstrate that you’ve achieved great things before, which convinces hiring managers that you’re capable of doing spectacular work again.

4. Tone Is Important

An application is a lot like an introduction. Think about who makes the biggest first impression on you. When you get to know new people, do you remember those who seem distinct and interesting, or those who spout the same stock greetings?

Your CV needs to convince hiring managers you’re worth meeting. That won’t happen if you write like a robot! Inject some personality into your writing while maintaining a professional voice. Establishing the right tone is essential to ensuring your application’s success.

5. Work with a Recruiter

Even the best applications can get swept away in a flood of competition. You need to take every step possible to ensure your CV ends up in a hiring manager’s hands.

Recruiters can help you do that. They maintain direct contact with employers, which means they can give you direct access to decision makers at a variety of organizations. The right firm can help your applications go further, so you can launch your career faster.

Connect with a recruiter now.

For more Resume tips check out these blogs:

Impress Hiring Managers: 5 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out 

Prêt-à-porter or Made to Measure? Upgrade Your Resume for a Custom Fit

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