Beat the Resume "Filter" Game
/We've all been there. You see your dream job, you're the perfect fit, you want to apply as soon as possible!
There is a small pause in your spirit as you realize - R E S U M E (!!!) - panic instills. In order to apply, you need to submit this dreaded document that isn't nearly ready for submission.
"When is the last time I updated it? Where does it even live on my hard drive? How will I ever carve out some time to revamp and update and sell myself etc. etc. etc. ETC."
There are indeed a couple quick tricks to not only update your resume with your most recent information but ensure it doesn't get filtered out of the wide world web and lands in the lap of your future employer.
Pen to Paper, First: That's right, I said it. Get a pen and paper out and jot down all of the fun, interesting, impressive things you're doing now in your job or have done in the past. It's helpful to write it out before typing directly into your resume. This allows your brain to not overly scrutinize the grammar, spelling, context, etc.
Everyone Gets a Number: And by everyone I mean everyTHING. Take each of your bullets that you wrote on paper and make sure you have something quantitative to include. For example, instead of: "Assists in firm's new hire on-boarding processes" - "Led X number of new hires through orientation and on-boarding sessions resulting in 100% retention after first year"
Keep it One Page, People: I think this goes without saying but as you add more content from your current role be sure to remove the least important and impressive information to keep your resume to one page. Additionally, be sure you save all of your drafts. You never know when the experience you're deleting could be a perfect for a different job submission.
Reuse THEIR words: Okay, okay, okay. This is the main piece that many people do not know. In order for your resume to float to the top of the internet submission filters, try to incorporate key buzz words listed in the JOB DESCRIPTION within your own resume experience. You have these traits already, you just need to explicitly show them from your experiences where you've displayed it. This one is a little known secret, please - use it!
Convince Them You're a Real Person: This point is something I've learned from the best resume reader I know, my mother. She reads resume after resume after resume in her career and her nugget of knowledge is to always include something FUN and authentically you in your resume. Make it something that stands out and makes the reader think, whether this person is a good fit or not, I want to meet them in person. For me, under my "Interests" category I include that I am a Wheel of Fortune Fanatic.
I hope these 5 fast tips to beating the resume game gets you one step closer to achieving your dream position.
Go Forth!