A compelling resume

A resume is your personal marketing tool, and by design, should sell your experience, skills, and abilities to a potential employer in the best way possible.  Research has shown that on average a resume might only get scanned for about 20 seconds, so it is important to keep it simple and clear but compelling.  A winning resume needs to show that you are the best candidate for the job within that initial glance.

An effective resume should at a glance:

Match the Job Requirements
It is best to make the reader’s job as easy as possible by showing a clear match between your skills and the job requirements. Clearly demonstrate skills that show you are the best match, emphasize relevant strengths, and edit out details unrelated to the position. You could even customize your resume to use similar words to the job description itself.

Emphasize Achievements
Emphasize the achievements and accomplishments that set you apart and contributed to other organizations. Draw specific attention to achievements that saved time, money, met or exceeded goals, or increased sales etc.  Where possible, use numbers & percentages to further illustrate your key responsibilities and achievements without listing day-to-day tasks.

Present Confidently for Compelling Reading
Presenting yourself confidently with an enthusiastic and professional tone will help make your resume more compelling. Put your strongest and most relevant points up front and use words such as “managed” or “developed” together with superlatives like “best” or “highest”.  Making your resume a more compelling read will ensure it gets the attention it needs.