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Don’t use cliches and don’t give your life story – expert’s tips to get your resume noticed

By Hugh Fort in Business News, posted February 16, 2022

A recruiter can decide in a matter of seconds whether your resume is worth looking at in more detail.

They receive hundreds of applications for jobs, and the first task the candidate needs to do is to get them to read their resume.

A lot of resumes end up in the trash, simply due to the amount they have to read.

The main thing they will be looking for is clear presentation and precision of your content; they want to know who you are and what you can bring to their business.

Expert Mike Wood of pharmiwebs.jobs took to LinkedIn to give his tips to ensure how to get recruiters to notice your resume.

His first tip is not to add pictures, use colored paper or borders.

Mike says these are "pointless" as the employer will deliberately avoid them.

He says to try your best too use short and snappy sentences as you want to get to your point directly and make it easier for the employer to see the point you’re trying to make.

If a resume is too longwinded the employer most likely wont read through even a quarter of it - so keep that in mind.

He said a big mistake people make is they include absolutely everything about their life in their resume.

You want to include things suitable for the role you’re applying for as it will make it easier to judge if you have the necessary skills/experience for the role.

Use bullet points and avoid cliches on your resume

Mike said using bullet point lists are much more effective than paragraphs as it's clearer and also presentation wise, looks neater.

Also, some employers may only read your summary so make sure the top half of your resume has all the key information needed to suit the role.

He also advises to avoid using cliches and to avoid using terms like ‘hard worker’ or ‘team player’.

He said to think about how many other people do that; it will mean nothing to the employer. You want to be able to stand out from the rest.

Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes - and don't write too much!

One of the most obvious tips is to avoid grammatical errors and spelling mistakes!

If your resume is full of them it will end up in the bin.

So, go through it many times and proof read and even get someone else to check it for you.

When you’re writing about your past jobs don’t just include the job description.

You want to include what you gained from the role and how it can be utilized for the new job.

Another big tip is don’t write too much! If it’s too long the employer will get bored and throw it away, you want to keep it to a maximum of 2 to three pages.

Don't forget your contact details

You could wow the recruiters with your magnificent resume and then ace the interview, and then they can't get hold of you to give you the good news because you've forgotten to put your phone and email address on your application.

Mike said "you wouldn’t believe it, but people do!"

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