Twelve resume tips for an outstanding job application

Your resume is the ticket to your dream career. If you want to be noticed by your favorite employer, you should write a winning resume. Many things go into creating the perfect resume, and we can’t sum it all up in just one article. Today, the expert resume writers at Resume Mansion share their best resume writing tips for a great job application.

Personalize the content and the feel of the resume. Depending on your job and industry, the look and feel of your resume should change. You should also try to address the specific requirements of an employer when creating a resume.

Emphasize results on your resume. A good resume highlights quantifiable results of the applicant’s achievements. Instead of focusing on tasks, you should give more attention to accomplishments when writing a resume.

Use bullet points instead of paragraphs. One mistake many job seekers make is writing paragraphs to convey information. However, bullet points help you summarize information effectively for your resume and save space.

Keep it short. A resume is a concise piece of marketing material. You should aim to keep your resume between one and three pages. However, if you are writing a resume for academia, it can stretch beyond this limit.

Highlight what’s better for you. When deciding the order of resume sections, you should highlight the information that’s beneficial for you first. If you are writing a student resume, you can highlight education. If you are a seasoned professional, you should highlight your work experience. If you are a career changer, highlighting transferable skills is good for you.

Explain career gaps. Does your resume show a gaping hole of two years between two jobs? Then, you should explain it upfront. Never try to hide career gaps by stretching the dates of other jobs. List your career gap on the resume and highlight what you achieved during that time.

There’s no need for a resume objective. The objective of your resume is pretty obvious: getting the job you applied for. There’s no reason to waste valuable resume space to add an objective to your resume. Go for a resume summary instead.

Use a professional email address. Many employers say that they reject resumes because the applicant has used an unprofessional email address. Use a professional email address that has your first and last names. Avoid using your work email for job applications.

Use proper grammar. Huge grammatical errors on your resume send a negative message about you to employers. Always use good grammar for your resume, and remember to proofread it before sending it out.

Don’t mention your salary. When describing your past work experiences, avoid mentioning your salary on the resume. Salary negotiations should wait until after the job interview stage.

Prioritize technical skills. When listing skills on your resume, give priority to hard skills and technical skills. If you have space left, add your soft skills. If you are changing careers, you should highlight your transferable skills first.

Pay attention to the tenses. Use the right tenses to describe your work experience. Your past jobs should be described in the past tense. Use the present tense to describe the achievements at your present job.