How to Write a Resume That Will Get You Hired

You might be the perfect candidate for a particular role, but if your resume does not reflect this, you may not be successful.

Your resume is the first and only thing that a hiring manager will see before rejecting your application or inviting you to interview. Therefore, submitting a poor resume may be detrimental to your application.

But writing a perfect resume is not always easy. In fact, it’s something that millions of job seekers struggle with. Many people turn to professional resume writing services to help them formulate the perfect application so they can land their dream roles.

Prior to contacting a professional writing service, it’s worth attempting to write the resume by yourself. A few hours of in-depth research are often enough time to formulate a professional and effective resume that will impress potential employers.

When it comes to writing the perfect resume, the information that you include is extremely important. The information needs to display your qualifications while also showing your growth and progression throughout the years.

If you are struggling to know where to start when it comes to your resume writing, here are some top tips to get you started.

Use Relevant Keywords

Employers receive hundreds of resumes for each job vacancy. They often don’t have time to read through every single resume in detail. Instead, they scan through each resume searching for keywords. The resumes that have not included these keywords may be immediately dismissed.

When writing your resume, do some keyword research. Find words that are relevant to the industry and the specific role that you are applying for. This will show the hiring manager that you are an ideal candidate and you have some knowledge about the industry.

A great place to find keywords is on the job listing itself. Take a look at the job description and pick out some relevant keywords to incorporate into your application.

For example, if you are applying for a job in the healthcare industry, employees might be searching for words like ‘patient-focused care’ or ‘communication’ or ‘empathy’.

Pay Attention to the Fonts You Use

When you’re writing a resume, the fonts that you use matter.

Employers have such a short time to review applications nowadays, so it’s important that you choose a font that is professional and easy to read. The best fonts are Arial and Times New Roman.

Keep the font consistent throughout the resume and also pay attention to the sizes of each font. Your heading should be larger than the rest of the resume and your subheadings should be slightly larger than any paragraph text.

Use the Appropriate Format

The format you use is just as important as the fonts when it comes to writing the perfect resume. Choosing the perfect resume format is essential if you want to succeed with your applications.

Hiring managers are looking for professional applications and they’re likely to dismiss any resumes that look messy, cluttered, or sparse.

There isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to the format of your resume. The exact format that you use will depend on the amount of information that is included as well as the types of information.

For example, if you are including a long list of previous jobs and work experience, you may need to split this section up into a series of subheadings. Or if you are including additional information that wouldn’t be found on a standard job application, you might need to adjust your format accordingly.

It may take a little while to organize your resume in a neat and eye-catching way. It’s best to format your resume once you have written all of the content. This way, you know exactly how many paragraphs and subheadings to include when you’re formatting everything.

Hiring managers don’t want to read huge blocks of text, so keep your paragraphs nice and short. There should also be a number of different sections within your resume, each of which should be denoted by a bold subheading.

Don’t be afraid to use bullet points or numbered lists when necessary to break up any long paragraphs.

Avoid leaving any large gaps or areas of white space around your text. This can cause your resume to look incomplete or sparse. Keeping the white space to a minimum (within reason, or course) improved the readability of your resume.

List in Order of Relevancy

If you haven’t caught the attention of the hiring manager within a few seconds of reading your CV, they’re likely to dismiss it and move on to the next applicant. You need to make a great first impression.

Although some of this first impression will come from your formatting and fonts, the content of your resume also makes a significant contribution.

If you want to impress your potential employer, the best thing to do is keep your most relevant qualifications and work experience near the top of the resume. This means that the hiring manager won’t miss this information.

No matter how extensive your resume is and how much work experience you have within the field, if you don’t include this information at the start of your resume, the employer may not read on.

A great way to format your resume is to list your qualifications and work experience in order of relevancy. This might mean listing your previous employment in chronological order or it might mean that you need to shuffle things around a little.

Only include the achievements that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Omit any irrelevant work experience, as this will only distract the hiring manager from the important information.

A great trick that very few applicants consider doing is highlighting the most relevant information in the resume. You can highlight key achievements or work experience by making the font bold. This will capture the hiring manager’s attention and encourage them to read this information first.