Are you looking for a career change? Do you want to advance in your career and you are looking for a promotion? Well, you probably know already that you need a resume that will help you stand out from the crowd. This is valid if you are looking for better opportunities outside your current company.
Starting a new job at a new workplace comes with a lot of positive emotions and experiences, especially if you find the right environment and co-workers. But given the fact that the competition is so fierce in the work market, you should have an extraordinary resume. How could you do this? Find out below a few tips and tricks offered by the best resume writing services.
- Find out your career goals
- Conduct information interviews
- Highlight achievements
- Be concise
- Be clear and use an active voice
Find Out Your Career Goals
To craft a resume that will catch the attention of the recruiters and will promote your experience and goals, you need to know them. If you are looking for a career change, take some time to think about what you want to do. This is part of the career planning each of us has to do in order to accomplish what we want.
Think about what you love about your current job and what you would like to do in a few years. This way, you will know what to highlight in your resume and cover letter to get the job you want. Knowing your career goals is mandatory for career advancement and promotion, so make sure you take the time you need to set them.
Conduct Informational Interviews
If you know your career goals and the position you want to obtain, then the next step would be to find out more about it. And how can you do this other than by talking with those who already have those jobs? Conducting informational interviews helps you find out more about the tasks you have to do and the requirements for the job.
This way, you can assess if you would be a good fit and what skills you need to improve. To advance in your career, you need to be in a constant process of developing your skills and expanding your knowledge. But you also need experiences that help you grow and apply the knowledge you already have.
Highlight Achievements
Recruiters see hundreds of resumes daily, so you need to craft one that catches their attention and helps you stand out from the crowd. One common thing candidates do in their resumes is to mention their previous work experiences and the tasks they had. This is something everyone can do and unfortunately, it does not say anything about your work.
Instead, you could present your work experiences and highlight the achievements you had. For sure you have been part of a project that had remarking results. Maybe you helped with the development of a product that solved an important issue. Either way, focus on your achievements rather than on your tasks.
Conciseness Is Key
There are jobs where you need to submit a cover letter too, so you can expand more about your goals and objectives there. However, most jobs do not require a cover letter, so candidates try to mention everything in their resumes.
Even though there is no right or wrong resume length, it would be wise to have it at two pages maximum. Avoid presenting redundant information and aim to be concise. Keep in mind that recruiters spend only a few seconds skimming your resume, so you need to be concise and present relevant information that catches their attention.
Be Clear and Use Active Voice
One common mistake a lot of candidates make when they build their resumes is to use vague expressions and a passive voice. Some of them want to use fluffy expressions too, to impress the recruiters and earn their chances for an interview. However, you should aim to be clear and use an active voice.
Be specific as the way you convey the idea has an impact on how you are perceived by the recruiter. A lot of candidates only mention the skills they have developed, but there is no evidence that they have those skills. To boost your resume, you could mention the achievements that prove or highlight the experiences that helped you hone those skills.
Final Thoughts
If you want career advancement or promotion, you already know that you should craft your resume. The competition is fierce in the work market, so you need to catch the attention of the recruiters and stand out from the crowd.
Make sure you know your career goals and objectives as these will help you choose the relevant information to include in your resume. Conduct informational interviews to find out more about your dream job. Highlight achievements instead of tasks and be concise, clear, specific, and use an active voice.
