How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

If you read our blog post on job applications: (Tips for applying to jobs at the right time), you also read that the best times to apply for jobs are in January and February, early in the morning, and earlier in the week. If you have not, make sure you read that because there is no point in sending those applications off if you do not have your resume ready.

As you gain work experience, you will notice your resume growing and becoming more detailed. You will also notice that everyone has their own style. Everyone has their own experiences. So how do you make yours stand out from everyone else's resumes? You can do a quick google image search to find a plethora of options out there for you to copy. Although your resume should be clean and easy to read, what really matters is the content that you have on that resume of yours. Find one that works best for you and play around with the layout.

Ask yourself, what is the point of a resume? Are you trying to tell a story? Show your qualifications? Trying to get a job? The answer should be yes on all of those. You clearly would not be applying for a job if you did not have any intention of possibly taking the job. The point of a resume is to show the job you are applying for that you have the qualifications to do said job or you have the skills to develop the qualifications. Over time, you want your resume to tell a story – In bullet points of course. By doing so, you are letting the employer know who you are and what you have to offer.

As mentioned above, every resume is different, some will have qualifications or the skills that you specifically have listed at the top, or a professional summary, that is entirely up to you. What SHOULD be included in your resume is your education and employment history. If you have more education than you do employment history, you want your education to be near the top. Vise versa, if you have more employment history or it pertains more to the position you are applying for, you can have that at the top of your resume. Regardless, you have to ask yourself, what is the story you are trying to tell?

Your education experience section should be short and sweet. List your major(s), diploma, certifications, and/or higher educational degrees, if any. Make sure it is easy to read. You do not want to overwhelm the reader.

Next, your employment experience section. Employers do not usually have a ton of time to look at resumes so you want to make it worth their time. To incorporate a storytelling style, make sure it is in chronological order. If you are applying for a job at a grocery store, make sure you have bullet points to show your customer experience, unique personality traits, and list the skills used that may apply for your new position (interpersonal skills, technical skills, professional skills, etc.). Check the job posting and read the job requirements to see if they are asking for any specific skills/experience. If you have done those, add them to your resume. For example, if you are applying for a cashier's job, and you have experience working with customers, credit/debit card machines, cash registers, or money in general, add that to your resume.

The big question is, how long should your story be? I think it is easy to say that you do not want to hand in a novel. It is too long, people are too busy. However, keeping it down to one page is key, especially for entry-level positions. You can likely take out or combine bullets if you see that your resume is a bit over one page. Keep only what will make you stand out. If you cannot do just one page, two pages are perfectly acceptable; you just want to make sure it’s either one full page or two full pages. That is, 1.5 pages are not recommended. Why? There is way too much empty space with 1.5 pages. It is considered unprofessional. If you find yourself having a 1.5-page resume, it is time to take a step back and focus on what is really important versus what is not. This leads us to the next tip, making your resume visually appealing.

When designing your resume, you want to make sure the font style, font sizes, and font color are all visually appealing. For example, if you have your name in a tiny font, your education in the largest font, the employer's eyes will directly go to the education section, and your name may completely be missed and not remembered. Same with using color. Keep your resume black and white, and if you want a third color, make sure it does not take away from your story. Using color depends on what type of job you are applying for as well. In graphic designing positions, you might want to choose a color to show your creativity. If you do choose to use color, this could absolutely help you stand out, but keep it simple. Use it to direct attention to specific content from your Knowledge/Skills/Abilities associated with the specific job. The best colors to use are blue or green. The worst color to use is yellow. It is too bright and often considered unprofessional. Oddly enough, many people have trouble seeing the color yellow so you do not want to take your chances.