In this digital world, job seekers find thousands of fantastic opportunities. But, getting selected is so difficult in this highly competitive era.

As there is a large number of job seekers lined up in every job application, a resume is the first thing that hiring managers consider when shortlisting the candidates. Thus, your resume decides the fate of the first step in your future career.

You can make a powerful impression by crafting a clean, clear, and concise resume. You don’t need to be a professional writer for this purpose. Just use the following strategies to craft a standout resume that can build a lasting impression and convince the hiring manager that you’re the best fit for the job.

• Customize Your Resume for the Specific Industry

There is a misconception among many people to highlight their personality in their resumes, which is a completely wrong practice.

The remote position criteria are not to select individuals based on the personality of the applicant but on the qualifications, skills, previous experience, and capabilities of the individual. But, the first impression is held by the layout of your resume that should fit the specific industry you’re applying to.

For example, if you’re applying for a designer role, there should be creativity on your resume. If you’re applying for a web designer or a writer role, related design elements can enhance its looks. For finance applications, digits would be better to make the layout attractive for the position.

• Include relevant Keywords

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how well you’ve prepared your resume. Some hiring managers set the criteria of conducting keyword research on the resumes and sorting the resumes based on it. They prefer shortlisting the candidates who incorporate the keywords in their resumes.

It means you should do keyword research and include it if you want to secure an interview call. It sounds hectic, but doing it would be great and increase the chances of your selection.

• Be Clean and Concise

The view of your resume should be clean and concise from the hiring manager’s perspective. Simplicity speaks louder on resumes, especially when you have great skills and an incredible experience profile.

As, whether the resume can go up to 2 pages if you have a long working experience, it is the best practice to fit your resume into 1 page to increase its visibility and easy-to-read.

• Make it Visually Appealing

Recruiters appreciate the creativity shown by the employers in their resumes to make them visually attractive. So, besides selecting a well-designed template, you should craft and modify it professionally. Here are a few things to consider while designing your template:

• Font Style: Choose the font that looks good. You can use modern fonts such as Georgia, Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman for your words.
• Font Size: Font size should be big enough to be easily readable by hiring managers without any difficulty, and the words shouldn’t be overlapping. Font size 11 or 12 is more than enough to make words readable and save space.
• Color Choices: An attractive yet prominent color combination stays best for the resume. White is best for the background which could highlight the text written in dark colors such as black, dark blue, or green.

• Add a Brief Objective & Summary

Below the header that includes your name and position, you should add a precise summary or objective. An objective should have mentioned your goals and skills that can contribute to the company's growth. It should not exceed 3-4 sentences.

A summary should review your experience in two sentences that can help the hiring manager learn about you quickly at the start. Adding one of them with the best word selection and format stays as a positive point to be your resume reviewed completely by the recruiters.

• Detail Research About The Company

You should try to move beyond considering only the job description. Always invest some time in researching the company's culture in detail to get to know what it prefers and promotes. For example, many companies believe that there is a strong connection between leadership, strength, and volunteering.

So, if you find their posts appreciating the charitable works, you should add your volunteer experience if you have any. Including it in your resume can influence your profile, and you may get an interview call because of it. If the company's culture profile doesn’t have such a thing, adding your volunteering work profile is up to your choice.

• Add Relevant Skills

The skills you want to add to your resume should be appropriate and valuable for the position. Check out the skills requirements the job description is searching for, and only add those you have that fit with it well.

• Add Portfolio and Social Media Profiles

Many hiring managers look for the original work visuals and social media strength of the candidates for the selection. It is better to hyperlink your portfolio to give your resume a better look and save space. If your social media profiles such as LinkedIn or Twitter only display your professional presence, input its URLs in your resume to enhance your incredibility and credibility.

• Submit a Cover Letter

Some companies might ask for a cover letter along with the resume and some not. If it is not required, sending it with the resume can help you stand out among many candidates who have not sent it. Try to use the same color combination and design that matches your resume to provide it with an organized look.

• Proofread Your Resume

The use of irrelevant, incorrect words or spelling can have a strongly negative impact on the recruiters. Give close attention to every detail you’ve added and proofread your resume multiple times. Demonstrate your professionalism by making your resume error-free and highly readable.

Conclusion:

There is no doubt the new opportunities excite you and convince you to apply for them as soon as possible. But, if you don’t have a good resume, your application will not be worth it at all. Crafting a standout resume requires focus, time, and the right approach.

By tailoring the job description, incorporating keywords, integrating appropriate skills and experience, highlighting achievements, and linking to the properly built portfolio and other profiles, you can make your application shine among thousands and increase the chances for your selection!

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