Smiling when you meet for an interview establishes good rapport.
Impressing an employer is every job seeker's goal. Since the resume is typically the first impression made on a prospective employer, it must "wow" the hiring manager in the first 30 seconds to guarantee an interview opportunity. With employers reviewing hundreds of resumes every week, they often skim through the text looking for relevant experience, quick to reject any resume that does not immediately seem like a good match. Given the importance of the resume as your first contact with a company, a job candidate should customize each resume to fit a particular job opportunity, omitting extraneous information.
Instructions
1. Review the job description or advertisement that describes the job. Note the buzz words used and experience requirements. Take notes to be sure you don't forget key information.
2. Craft your resume incorporating the same buzz words and job specifications present in the job posting. Hiring managers are skimming your resume for these words, so it is crucial you make it easy for them to spot the same important buzz words and experience requirements in your resume. Writing a short summary at the top of your resume that incorporates all the relevant buzz words is one great way to grab a hiring manager's attention immediately.
3. List major accomplishments or relevant career highlights at the top of your resume. Since the top of your resume is sure to be read, it is best to place the most important information strategically in that position. Quantify your accomplishments to impress the employer, focusing on achievements that would most likely benefit the employer you are trying to impress. Use a bullet format instead of paragraphs to make the text easy to read.
4. List your previous employers and job responsibilities that closely relate to the position at the top of the first page. This information should be listed in an easy-to-read format. List less relevant information lower on the page or on the second page, eliminating irrelevant positions all together if they are positions held more than a decade ago.
5. Use boldface print to emphasize relevant buzz words and experience that matches the employer's job description. For example, if the employers wants 10 years of cost accounting experience, then you could highlight that exact experience in boldface print to be noticed. When using boldface print, use it sparingly, or it loses its impact.
6. Be concise to make the resume easy to read. The job applicant needs to focus on preparing a resume that gets to the point quickly, so that busy hiring managers are not distracted by extra information.
