Craft a resume that stands out

You have probably been writing resumes since you took a business course in high school or uni. You likely know what it needs: your name and contact information, your skill sets, your experience, and your education information.

But, do you know how to make your information stand out from a sea of other resumes that look more or less exactly like yours?

Mention your customer service experience

As the way people consume products and services changes, businesses are more focused on the customer experience than ever before. Even if you don’t think that you’ll need customer service experience for the jobs you’re applying for, it’s still a good idea to play it up where you can on your resume.

Whether you’re working face-to-face with clients all day or you tend to stay behind the scenes, potential employers want to know that you have the company’s best interests in mind, and that means having the customer’s needs at the forefront.

Consider your communication skills or times you went above and beyond to help a client who was otherwise unhappy with service.

Tailor your resume to the job description

Believe it or not, employers can often tell when you’re using a regurgitated resume that you send to every employer who lists a job that you’re interested in applying for. If you want to get the most out of your otherwise well-written resume, be sure to tweak it every time you submit it somewhere.

Tailor it to the job for which you’re applying by focusing on keywords. Is the employer looking for a “customer service specialist?” Avoid using the phrase “customer service representative” in its place. Use the same keywords the employer does, mention any specifics the job description does, and don’t be afraid to put a personalized tidbit in your cover letter as well.

Keep your resume concise

Unless you’re working in an industry that requires very long resumes, such as applying to be a professor at a college, you can keep your resume concise. Hiring managers look at dozens if not hundreds of resumes per day, so ones that get straight to the point are more likely to be memorable than those that drone on.

Stick to only the most relevant work experience and skills, avoid using over-the-top phrasing based on your thesaurus, and avoid listing high school information unless you haven’t been to college. The ideal resume will fit on one page whether you’re reading it online or printing it out to take to a job fair.

Focus on your accomplishments

Everybody has responsibilities at their past jobs and most people do them to an acceptable degree. If you want your resume to stand out from everybody else who knows how to do exactly what you know how to do, focus on your accomplishments instead of on your responsibilities.

Everybody knows how to answer a phone, but do you do it with a smile? Do you keep customers on the line? Can you upsell items? Are you able to retain customers who call to cancel services? Focus on what you do particularly well in your industry, not on what you know how to do. 

Make your resume visually appealing

No matter how well-written your resume is, it won’t be noticed if it looks sloppy at first glance. Create something visually appealing but without going over the top. Start with a professional font in a size that is easy to read. Georgia and Times New Roman are excellent choices. Use a size 12 font to make it readable without creating something that is too large or glaring.

Consider your colour choices as well. Use a white background with black text to remain professional, but don’t be afraid to use another colour, such as blue or green, to help your headers stand out. Avoid anything too bright or using a lot of visual elements unless you’re applying for something in the creative design industry. 

Conclusion

If you’ve been looking for a new job for a while and haven’t seen much luck, it might be that people simply aren’t seeing your resume. Use these tips to help yours stand out, then have it instantly reviewed with Rate My Resume. With any luck, the interview calls will start coming in in no time.

Featured image courtesy of Pexels