Trouble Landing an Interview? Time to Revise Your Résumé

Millions of people in the United States are in the job market. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than three unemployed people competing for every one job opening in the country. Is that intimidating? Yes. Should that deter you from looking for employment? Not with the résumé tips that the young professionals at the Jaycees have for you! Aside from your experience and education, a well-written résumé can help you stand out in a sea of applicants. Here are some guidelines to follow when making revisions to your résumé:

·         Readability – A pretty résumé is not going to solidify an interview, but you better believe that if it comes down to two people with the same credentials, the person with the more user-friendly résumé is going to get the nod before the person with the lackluster CV. That means it is time to give your résumé a more personal touch. Whether it is your header or some sort of visual tool to display your information, employers would rather be wowed than underwhelmed.

·         Specificity – No two jobs are created equal. All open positions tend to have a specific skill set requirement that accompanies a job listing, so wouldn’t you want your résumé to reflect the requirements for the job you are applying for? Take the extra time to go through your job duties to ensure your work history jibes with the job listing. Employers are known for weeding out applicants by searching for keywords that were listed in their job postings on applicants’ résumés.

·         Frequency – Our talents, skills, job titles and responsibilities change often, so why aren’t you keeping your résumé up-to-date? As young professionals, we owe it to ourselves to keep our eyes open for newer, bigger and better opportunities. Don’t be counted out just because you didn’t have the time to update your résumé – or worse, making a simple mistake because you rushed through a revision.

Remember – a good résumé can only get you an interview. After that, it’s up to you to make sure you are doing what it takes to be considered for the position. Do you have any interviewing tips that have helped you land a job in the past? Visit the Jaycees’ Facebook and Twitter pages and share your wisdom with us. Every little bit of help counts!