7 Hacks to Optimize your Resume to Get Noticed

Featured

I'm a full-time recruiter with 7 years of working with job-seeking applicants across many different fields. I write a weekly talent sourcing blog that focuses on industry related news for recruiters and job seekers alike. One thing that really stands out for recruiters is having a well-written resume. A lot of applicants solely rely on having a social media presence. Though this is clearly important in our digital age, it's just as important to have a great resume that's fully optimized. I've put together 7 ways to optimize your resume in the digital age. Here's my resume as an example (Jonathan Kidder is a full-time recruiter). You can use the same layout that I created as a way to get started.

#1.Share Social media Links​

On average a recruiter looks at your resume for only 15-30 seconds. You will need to make sure you have everything laid out in the right order. The first thing that really stands out is having links to your social media profiles. I highly recommend including a link to your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters really value seeing this information. Instead of doing a reference check recruiters use your profile to confirm your background.

#2.Include your location

Always include your current location. I would even go as for as to include your postal zip code. Some ATS systems can search for that type of information. A recruiter checks first to make sure you are within commuting distance to that location. Make sure you include this information at the beginning of your resume. Do not include your full address on your resume. You don't need that information out there.

#3.Research different job titles

I recommend researching your job titles. Make sure you use a relevant title that correlates with the job that you have applied for. Please do not lie on your resume. Just make sure you have a title that is easily understood or searched for in your industry. You can discover other job titles by simply doing a search on a job board.

#4.Focus on skill sets​

Make sure you are highlighting all of your skills on your experience sections. Try to highlight the skills that they have listed on the required section of the job description. Again, do not lie, just make sure you are highlighting the skills that you do have! When a recruiter views your resume they are checking for certain keywords, so it's very important to add these keywords throughout your resume.

#5.Include soft skills in your summary section

You can highlight other skills that better represent who you are. Examples: outgoing, communicative, positive, passionate, or driven etc. Just like in an elevator speech you can highlight who you are and what you are trying to accomplish in your summary section.

#6.Don't overuse buzzwords

Do not overuse buzzwords (for example - a go-getter, ninja, results driven, or go-to person). These words are basically meaningless and do not represent you well. I would definitely try to avoid these types of words, especially since we're sticking to 2 pages and don't want to waste any of that space.

#7.Stick to 2 pages max

Your resume really shouldn't be more than 2 pages max (single spaced). Like I said earlier, recruiters skim through your resume fairly quickly. Try and make sure your resume highlights all your experience within those guidelines. You can always include additional accomplishments in your cover letter email.

Overall, I hope you learn from these quick and simple optimization tactics. These ideas will help you stay at the top of the pile. Recruiters have to move fairly quickly throughout their process, so making sure everything is simple and easy to read will be very important.

I write a weekly recruiting blog called WizardSourcer that is dedicated to showcasing the latest recruitment and talent sourcing tools in the market. Please review my blog for other job seeking and recruitment technology resources.