How To Create A Resume Recruiters Will Read

Are you struggling to create a resume that helps you stand out? You want your resume to be professional in both appearance and tone, but you don’t want to put the recruiter to sleep. 

Whether it’s your first resume or your umpteenth, getting everything right isn’t always easy. However, these tips on how to create a resume can help ensure your job application gets noticed.

Choose a Format

You don’t want to throw all of your information into a few rambling paragraphs since this is a great way of ensuring your resume stays at the bottom of the pile. 

To stay on track, you can typically choose from three accepted formats. If you’ve been steadily working in your industry without any gaps in employment, a chronological format can be a good choice. This type of resume starts with a chronological list of your professional work history. 

However, if you occasionally take time off between jobs or are switching to a new industry, you may want to go with a functional format. You’re still listing your professional experience, only your personal summary and skills are the highlighted sections.

The other type of commonly accepted resume format is a combination of the other two. When you want to showcase your skills and work history, this is often the most effective way of ensuring the recruiter pays attention.

Don’t Forget Your Contact Information

Forgetting your contact information can be a common resume mistake that many people make. You spend time crafting an engaging introduction and list every skill applicable to the open position. Everything about your resume is impressing the recruiter until they’re ready to contact you. All they have is your name and physical address. You forgot to include your email and contact number.

Since mailing an interview request is rarely an option, you may be missing out on a great career opportunity. So, where should you include your contact information? Since you don’t want to hide it, aim to place it at the top of your resume. Don’t be afraid to use a larger font. You may even want to bold the text. 

However, if you’re using a larger font for your contact information, don’t go overboard. A good tip to follow is to keep the font around a 14-point size.

Formatting is Crucial

Don’t confuse formatting with choosing a format; instead, think of the format as the template. Formatting refers to your margins, font, and headers; bullet points can also be part of your resume’s formatting.

An ATS (applicant tracking system) will also look at your resume’s formatting. If the automated system can’t easily scan your resume, it may never make it to the recruiter's inbox.

To help ensure ATS doesn’t ignore your resume, you may want to add some relevant keywords. What are relevant keywords? These can be words and phrases that apply to the industry and the open job position. For example, if you’re applying for a nursing position, your keywords will focus on the healthcare industry. 

However, don’t start blindly stuffing keywords into every sentence you can. Remember, you want your resume to be readable and engaging so that it draws the right type of attention.