Writing resumes is a crucial part of your job application process. It is the first thing that companies will use to determine if they should hire you or not.
Let’s say you’re a nurse and you keep applying to different hospitals and healthcare clinics but without any luck. Maybe your resume isn’t as impressive as you thought it is, which is why you need helpful nurse practitioner resume templates.
Give your resume a makeover so you can finally land that job you want. Here are crucial things recruitment officers look for in your resume that you should keep note of:
- Work Experience
Work experience is vital for every recruiter. Whether or not it is related to the job you’re applying for, add it to your resume. Sometimes experiences outside of the industry can help you develop skills that could be useful to what you’re applying for now.
It’s important to write it down in a way that it proves its relevance to the job. If you’re in the medical field, for example, you can read the latest healthcare news to see if you can spin it around the topic in a way that will make you useful amidst the recent happenings in the field.
However, don’t stretch the truth. You have to find a way to make your work experience relevant to the upcoming tasks you’re expected to do.
- Knowledge and Skills
You need a particular set of skills when applying for any job. Recruiters will match your skill set to the position to ensure that you’re competent in the workplace. The key here is to be specific with what you can do. For instance, don’t just say you know how to edit videos. Give them examples like adding links to the videos you edited.
So, instead of filling up your resume with unnecessary information, provide proofs to increase your chances of getting hired.
- Content and Readability
It takes a recruiter only six seconds to consider or reject your resume. You have to keep in mind that you’re not the only one applying for a particular job. The content and design of your resume can make or break your application.
Your resume has a better chance of getting read if it’s attractive and easy on the eyes. It’s also much better if it’s only one page. Two-pages is acceptable only if everything that you put there is relevant.
Present your information in bullets because no recruiter will bother reading block paragraphs. Make sure to use keywords that are relevant to the industry. However, don’t use hard-to-understand terms. Don’t try to act like an expert and bombard them with words that are not familiar to them.
- Spelling and Grammar
Never forget to proofread your resume. Recruiters can easily spot misspelled words and improper tenses and may shake their head in disappointment. It would make the impression that you are not serious in your application because you can’t even bother correcting simple mistakes.
Take the extra initiative to research specific terms to check if you are spelling them correctly. Keywords from the industry are impressive but not so when you don’t know how to spell them right.
- Personality and Work Values
Listing your personality and work values can give the recruiter an idea of how you will dwell in the workplace. Some of the usual terms used are:
- Detail oriented
- Team player
- Fast learner
- Friendly
However, everyone else uses these terms that they lost their impact. You have to provide examples where you have showcased these values. You can tell them how you lead your team to close the deal with a particular investor or that you saw the loopholes in work contracts or actual situations that are relevant.
- The Red Flags
Aside from your strengths, recruiters also watch out for your weaknesses. Be careful in presenting the following information:
- Short Employment – A list of numerous work experience is not always a good thing. Even if you’ve had several jobs, if they are only short term, it could signal that you can’t stay long at the company. It could also mean that you keep shifting career paths, which means you don’t have focus.
- Employment Gaps – Long gaps in between jobs is also not a good thing. It could signal laziness, lack of drive to work, or inadequate skills. Recruiters may think you’re uninterested in finding a stable job or you’re not skilled enough to get hired on any job.
These red flags can have a negative impact, which is why recruiters are wary of them. These don’t automatically get you rejected, but they will keep these in mind.
Writing a resume is a daunting task for any applicant. You need to showcase your skills, but you can’t overdo it or lie about the extent of your capabilities. Read the job description first, do your research, and then list down your skills that are relevant. And remember not to put any fluff.
