A resume is a core part of every job application. Not only your high school diploma but also your skills are required to land a dream job. And what’s better than the opportunity to present your main professional accomplishments in one document?
But the creation of a resume is one thing, and updating it is entirely different. To spark an interest in potential employers and find yourself a spot in the corporate world, you have to make an effort and pose as an outstanding candidate for a position.
In this article, we will share the professional insights and secrets from resume writers on updating your resume. You’ll create applications that will be both engaging and ATS (Application Tracking System) bots-friendly. Let’s begin!
Why Editing Resume is Your Problem
If you don’t know how to edit a resume, you’ll most likely miss some information inaccuracy. An applicant might often lose some great job opportunities because of an outdated or copy-pasted resume.
Here are the reasons to convince you to update a resume now:
- It enables you better highlight your qualifications;
- It can tailor your job search to specific vacancies and companies;
- It may improve your chances of moving faster in the hiring process.
Resume editing is a free tool to create a winning and bot-beating resume. Why do we say it’s free? Because you can do it entirely by yourself, and if you’re not on good terms with grammar, you can always use the error-checking web resources.
Edit Your Resume: Step-by-Step Guide
The experts from resume editing services suggest you leave the ready paper for a while and let it “rest” before you get to the proofread. So, the initial action to do before you edit your resume — is don’t do anything. Go for a walk, go shopping, or meet with your friends. Drowning into your laptop won’t help, so take a break and look at your resume later.
Format a resume accordingly
You can highlight your career path in different ways. On the one hand, you can simply list your experiences and skills, just as in thousands of other resumes, or you may change the format to improve the hiring manager’s perception of your application.
For example, if you have less to zero experience, you’re a new graduate who only embraces the job market requirements, and you might want to emphasize your educational accomplishments.
Or, if your qualification is high, you have no reason to hide your employment history. One of the options is using a chronological format, listing the last workplace first, and so on. It allows you to highlight the most prominent achievements and show that you’ve grown professionally over this period.
Check for grammar and spelling errors
Even if you’re not a grammar pro, at least read the paper a few times. Maybe there are places where you repeat information or are unclear with the numbers. Look at the resume with the recruiter’s eyes and see if it has enough credibility to move you through the hiring process.
You can also use online tools (such as Grammarly.com) to check grammar or spelling. Many of them have free options and can help you to correct errors quickly and easily. Sometimes even your career growth depends on it, so keep in mind such things as mechanical errors that spoil the whole picture.
Make sure you update the keywords
Remember we’ve mentioned the ATS bots? Many recruiters, especially in big companies, pass every resume through a tracking system to identify if it has the word set that matches the in-demand positions. It’s necessary, considering that hundreds of resumes are coming through daily.
Besides, industry jargon is also evolving, leading to changes in keywords. Why is it so critical to use precisely the matching keywords? Because they highlight your specific skills and qualifications, allowing the recruiter to see if you’ll fit nicely into a company’s structure.
Match your resume with a specific job opening
Okay, we’ll repeat this: don’t copy the resume templates available online. We know it’s very tempting, but using them won’t impress the hiring managers, who’ve probably seen these formulations thousands of times.
Try to customize your job application and show that you care for THIS position. To do so, take notes from job descriptions, see what the employer highlights in a skill set and work experience, and what will be your primary duties.
If you have additional certifications or speak a few languages, don’t forget to mention that too. Who knows, maybe you’ll qualify for an even better role. Tailoring your resume is essential because it makes you sound more authentic.
Use active verbs only
Active voice is one of the most accessible tools to highlight your strengths. It makes your resume more interesting to read and may land you an interview in no time. Your strong characteristics also demonstrate your suitability for specific jobs and enable you to focus on your accomplishments instead of your daily tasks.
Try combining the action verbs and quantifiable results to create an effective resume. For example, instead of saying, “responsible for managing a team of customer service representatives,” you could say, “managed a team of 15 customer service representatives and successfully resolved customer complaints”. Sounds way better, right?
The Bottom Line
Resume editing is a necessary thing to do when you want to apply for a job. As long as you use the matching keywords and avoid grammar mistakes, you’re okay, but make sure you proofread your job application for any discrepancies that might confuse the hiring manager.
You can proofread yourself or ask resume writing services to do it for you. Either way, you should let the resume “rest” for a bit to take a fresh look at it later.
Don’t bother to list all the career achievements you’ve acquired so far. Be authentic, keep it terse and professional, and use more active verbs to highlight your strengths. Remember that the primary goal of every resume is to prove you’re the perfect candidate for a job and that you’ll be an excellent fit for a team.
