5 Tips to Make Your Modern Resume Stand Out - Innova Resume

A lot of people question if you must have a professionally written modern resume? Answering that question is quite easy.

You do need a professional modern resume but what many people don’t say is that resumes only account for a limited part of the hiring process. Resumes are the beginning of the interviewing process and need to be an effective marketing document.

We see dozens of resumes each week from people, and the vast majority of these remain unopened.

So we know, it takes a lot to impress a demanding potential employers. The goal is to create a targeted resume that has no gimmicks.

Here are 5 tips to make an outstanding professional resume stand out from the rest of the pack.

1. It is simple to read.

The perfect modern resume template has lots of white space and is no more than two pages long, which can be anticipated in case you’ve got more than a decade of experience. Everything is nicely organized: Spacing is appropriate, business names in bold, roles italicized and project details organized using bullets. And without fail, no mistakes anywhere. Employers like the font was nothing fancy. Too many people waste time obsessing over which font to use. We will not comment on the topic of Helvetica versus Georgia font selection, but it should remain simple and easy to read, whether that means on a screen or printed out.

2. It tells an engaging career success story.

A document tells a story about the candidate’s professional journey. There are not any information gaps. In just a couple of moments, employers manage to see a exact pattern of the candidate’s career growth. To put it differently, the chronological list of work history in sequence of date, with the latest position at the top which shows a clear progression of more senior roles and much more responsibilities.

3. It states accomplishments, instead of only responsibilities.

What companies really want to know is whether you’re an above average candidate who is capable of producing real results. It’s always preferred to highlight your duties by detailing your most impressive achievements.

Let’s look at some examples:

Instead of “Ran operations for global markets” say “Expanded operations to eight new counties in the Northeast region.”
Instead of “Led sales and marketing department” state “Supervised marketing and sales team and attained 22% yearly growth while only increasing the funding by 6 percent.”

4. It tells the facts.

When an employer reviews a resume there should never be discrepancies that raise a yellow flag in their mind. Everything reads as credible and the statistics are not a tall tale. Even better, the professional resume has links to the person’s LinkedIn URL and personal website, which includes a portfolio of his work. This makes it simpler for firms to check the resume, which in turn make the candidate look to be an honest person.

Really, there is no room for debate on this issue.

Tell the truth. All the time.

While big accomplishments and recognizable business names will give you an edge, make no mistake: Employers will likely complete a background check and should they learn that you lied about something, it’s game over.

5. It doesn’t include any well-worn claims.

Adding Any Of these overused terms will make a hiring manager shake his head. Skip the common adjectives and overused phrases and use action verbs instead.

More real world examples:

Instead of “excellent communicator,” say “Presented at customer meetings and spoke at leading recruiting events.”
Rather than “highly inventive,” say “Designed and implemented new global application monitoring platform.”

The most effective way to receive a professional resume is through a recommendation.

Not everybody will have a connection with someone at their dream employer, but knowing somebody who can refer you is the best way to get an hiring manager’s attention.

The simple fact that when your professional resume comes through a recommendation from a familiar colleague, it causes that person need to find out more about your background.

Broadcasting your resume anyplace will not get you a job. That might sound hard, but here is the truth: You should always go out of your way to get a warm introduction if at all possible. If you don’t have a connection at the firm, do some research and find someone who knows somebody who has a connection. Then, ask your potential referral for a call.

Once you’ve created a genuine relationship, tell them about the job opening you are considering and ask if they can recommend you. If it’s possible to make this occur, your resume will probably get read.

And, of course, make sure you have a beautiful resume template.