Source: pexels.com

5 Expert Ways to Make Your Resume More Interesting

An interesting resume is your ticket to your next job. Yet, a resume isn’t the first thing most people will admit to reading in their spare time. The question is, how can you make yours interesting?

Whether you are writing your own from scratch or using a resume builder like ResumeCoach, it is crucial to get yours to catch the recruiter’s interest as quickly as possible. You’ll often be up against dozens if not hundreds of other qualified candidates and will need to stand out.

In the following article, we’ve identified 5 methods to make your resume as interesting to the reader as possible. Read on to learn what you need to include to make your application as attention-grabbing as it can be.

1. Catch the Eye of The Reader

Source: pexels.com

A good-looking resume is a big advantage when you’re searching for a job. However, first, let’s be clear that you don’t need to create something visually spectacular.

A simple template and well-organized information are the most important features to focus on. However, there are a few ways to make sure that the resume is easy on the eye as well.

You can use the following techniques to make your resume look stylish:

  • Use white space to break up information
  • Include clear headers and subheaders
  • Keep the styling consistent
  • Add a little neutral color to the main header or borders
  • Use an organized template format

2. Make The Information Tell Your Story

A resume helps an employer get a complete picture of you as a worker. In many ways, it’s your autobiography.

However, you obviously don’t need to publish your memoirs to get hired for a job. You only need to summarize the outline of your career history.

Yet, that doesn’t mean a story can’t be told from your information.

It is important to help recruiters see how you’ve developed your career skills over time and presenting all the information in reverse-chronological order can help you do that.

When you create entries for older jobs just focus on fundamental tasks you learned then. You won’t need to repeat these for each subsequent job you’ve had. Instead, highlight newer abilities you’ve learned since.

From this, the recruiter can get a sense of your direction of growth and how you’ve developed your abilities over the years. You can also build this sense of narrative from the resume summary statement at the top of the page to tell potential employers about your goals and motivation.

3. Tell the Recruiter What You Achieved

Source: pexels.com

According to Monster.com, a key way to prioritize what you include on the page is to focus on achievements rather than just listing the skills you possess and duties you’ve performed.

This is important as simply posting the tasks you should be doing in your current job often isn’t enough alone to convince an employer. You will also need to show why you’re good at what you do.

These achievements should be quantifiable where possible so the reader knows straight away that you know your job well.

4. Keep Things Relevant to Your Reader

Generic resumes don’t make the cut. If you’re not taking the time to prepare your application for the specific job you’re targeting you will lose out with at least 18 percent of recruiters.

A hiring manager’s most important priority is to find the best person to fill the precise job specification. Your resume needs to help narrow down this choice to you.

Always take note of the job advert before you start to prepare your document. This will work as a crib sheet to help you learn what the company really wants to see from candidates.

With this information in mind, look over your resume to make sure it addresses these needs as effectively as possible. This can mean cutting or adding some details but it is well worth the effort.

5. Add a Touch of Personal Flair

Source: pexels.com

Your resume is all about you, yet isn’t ALL about you. Your main focus is showing that you can fit the role being advertised effectively. However, that doesn’t mean your personality and outside interests don’t count towards getting hired.

Employers are keen to know more than just how well you work. Understanding you better as a person will also inform them of how well you will fit into the organization.

There are plenty of ways to help the recruiter get to know this about you. Adding a couple of small additional sections about any awards you’ve won or your main hobbies and interests can help build a clearer picture of who you are.

Of course, this is always space permitting. If adding these details makes the whole document too long (over 2 pages) then it’s better not to include them as long resumes can make you 72 percent less hirable.

Reviewing the Key Ingredients to an Unputdownable Resume

These five techniques are your best shot at getting noticed by the employers you target. Engagement is key in the hiring process and your resume needs to work that to its advantage.

To achieve this, all you need to do is remember the fundamentals of:

  • Keeping your document eye-catching
  • Making your resume tell a compelling story
  • Highlighting key achievements
  • Focusing on relevance to your reader
  • Adding a few personal touches

This will require a bespoke approach to each resume you send out. There is no one-size-fits-all document you can send out. Using generic files will only slow your progress and mean that you miss out on the best positions.

Each resume you send needs to be carefully tailored for the different interests and desired criteria of different employers. By having an easily accessible, customizable, and effective template this task can be a lot easier.

In the end, an interesting resume for a reader is always the one that addresses their concerns and requirements and is easy to read. Your task is to show that the job shouldn’t go to anyone else and your resume is the perfect tool for doing that.

About Nina Smith