You're aiming to impress with your resume. How can you make it stand out while staying professional?

2 Format Wisely

The visual layout of your resume is your first opportunity to impress. Stick to clean, professional fonts and ensure there's plenty of white space to make the document easy on the eyes. Choose a format that highlights your strengths; if you have extensive experience, a chronological format may be best, but if you're changing careers or have gaps in employment, a functional or combination resume might work better. Regardless of the structure, make sure your headings are clear and your bullet points concise. A well-organized resume invites readers to learn more about you.

3 Highlight Achievements

Instead of just listing job duties under your experience section, focus on specific achievements and how you added value in your previous roles. Quantify your successes with numbers whenever possible, as this provides concrete evidence of your impact. For example, if you increased sales by 20% or improved customer service response times by 30%, these figures will catch an employer's eye. This strategy shifts the focus from what you were supposed to do to what you actually accomplished, setting you apart from candidates with similar backgrounds.

4 Personal Branding

Your resume should reflect your personal brand – that unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that makes you, you. This can be conveyed through the language you use and the achievements you highlight. Consider including a professional summary at the top of your resume that encapsulates who you are as a professional and what you bring to the table. This summary should be tailored to match the tone of the industry you're applying to while still injecting a bit of your personal style.

6 Use Strong Verbs

The verbs you choose can transform your resume from a passive list of job duties to a powerful narrative of your career journey. Start bullet points with dynamic action verbs like 'spearheaded', 'transformed', or 'innovated' to convey leadership and initiative. Avoid weak or overused verbs like 'did' or 'worked' – they do little to describe the depth of your experience. Strong verbs paint a vivid picture of your capabilities and the active role you've taken in your career, helping you to stand out in a sea of applicants.