Enhance Your Resume

Your professional resume is the most important document in finding your new career.  Many people do not realize the necessity of an outstanding resume.  Your resume is the first contact you will have with a prospective employer.   Therefore, you want to make sure this first impression is not only good, it’s great.  It has to be superior, since the majority of resumes an employer receives will only receive a cursory glance.  They might receive hundreds of resumes for a particular position and simply will not have the time to read them all thoroughly.  Only the ones that grab their attention will receive further scrutiny.  You must make sure your resume is one of the latter if you want to make it to a personal interview.

Do you have a polished LinkedIn profile free of grammatical errors, utilizing industry keywords while ensuring it matches your resume?

Format your resume

Because of the limited time an employer might spend reading your resume, you want to try to entice them to read more.  One of the most effective ways is proper formatting.  Visual appeal is an important factor that should never be overlooked.  It is not only the information presented in your resume, but the presentation itself that plays a role in how much is actually read.  Choosing a readable font, formatting paragraphs or bulleted lists correctly, and even adding a splash of color all add to the visual appeal of the overall resume.

Always list your most recent employment experience first, followed by preceding experience in reverse chronological order.  Employers are usually more interested in your most recent experience than your past experience, so give them what they want first.  After your experience, list your education.   Education should be presented in a slightly different order than experience.  List your education by order of importance as it pertains to the position you are applying for.

Focus your resume

Many people make the mistake of creating a general-purpose resume.  They typically list all of their experience and previous positions in the hopes that a prospective employer will find something of value hidden therein.  One of the greatest enhancements you can make to a resume is to focus its subject to the exact position you are applying for.  A simple rewording of your resume goes a long way.  Describe your experience as it will pertain to the new position instead of simply listing everything.  Employers are looking for a candidate that meets their specific needs, not a general-purpose employee.

Your experience should be concise, but informative.  It is important to identify acquired skills and knowledge that will be beneficial in the new position.  Always list your experience at each prior position in order of importance to your new employer.  If a specific skill acquired at a previous position is a requirement for the new position, make sure to list it first.  Do not make an employer search through your experience in the hopes of finding a match, show them you are that match immediately.

Refine your resume

Once you have completed your resume, look it over thoroughly.  Ensure that it is free from all spelling and grammar errors.  One of the best methods is to have another set of eyes review the resume.  Many times they will have an objective opinion on it and may be able to offer some constructive criticism. The more people you have review your resume, the greater the chance of finding all of the errors before sending to a prospective employer.  Our staff recruiters at Nadine Bocelli & Company, Inc. – New York Legal Staffing, Inc. are always available to offer you an objective opinion and help you with any modifications.