Do these things to get your resume ready for the job market this year

When you are entering a job search, the first thing you must do is ensure that your resume is ready for the job market. If you apply for jobs with an outdated or generic resume, you will not be able to pair up with an opportunity worthy of your skills and expertise. If you have not had much luck with your job search this far, making a few small alterations to your resume may help you achieve better results. Here are five things you can do to ensure that your resume gets the attention it deserves from the hiring manager:

Incorporate important keywords into the resume

Have ever noticed how different employers use different keywords to describe the same open position? If you apply with the same resume to multiple employers, you will not be able to impress any of them because of this reason. Different employers value different things on the resume of an ideal candidate. The keywords you find in the job description will point you in the right direction. Always incorporate the keywords from the job description into your resume to make your job application more relevant to the position.

Create your resume with the ATS in mind

Optimizing your resume with keywords is important when you are applying for a position at a large or mid-scale organization. A majority of these employers use ATSs to filter the right candidate. The more keywords your resume mentions, the more chance you will have of getting noticed by the hiring manager. Other than the use of the right keywords, you should do a few more things to keep your resume ATS-friendly. These include using a single-column design, removing tables from your resume, avoiding pictures, skipping text boxes, and staying away from busy design elements.

Include links in your resume

A modern resume always carries a link to the job applicant’s LinkedIn profile. Today, hiring managers are in the habit of searching for job applicants online to learn more information about their careers. Adding your LinkedIn profile to the resume makes it easy for hiring managers to search for you online. If you share content related to your field of work through your social media accounts, you should add links to them to your resume as well. Also, many job seekers benefit from adding a link to their digital portfolios to their resume.

Use good vocabulary

Your resume should not be just a list of your qualifications. It should be a compelling narrative of your career progression that is interesting to read. Your vocabulary plays a major role in deciding the attractiveness of your resume. If you use bland, lukewarm language, your achievements will come out as subpar on your resume. But if you use strong, compelling language, your accomplishments will come out as impressive. Use a varied mix of action verbs and adjectives when writing the content of your resume.

Make the top bit powerful

The hiring manager will read the top portion of your resume first. Some of the first-read resume sections are the headline, summary, key skills, and education sections. You should saturate the top half of the first page of your resume with the most impressive qualifications you have. Mention 10-15 relevant skills in the key skills section so that employers see them first when viewing your resume. Enrich your resume headline and summary with keywords for better impact. If you have pursued higher education which are relevant to the job, mention them on your resume.