Top Tips for Improving Your Resume

1. Check that your contact information is up-to-date
Your resume header may be the smallest section of your resume, but it is important as it contains your full name, phone number, contact information, and links to professional profiles and portfolios (if available). If a hiring manager wants to interview you, they will refer to this section. As such, it pays to ensure details like your phone number and LinkedIn profile are up-to-date, and that your email address is professional.

2. Mirror keywords from the job description
The job advertisement and description will list the skills, certifications, and experiences that potential employers deem to be necessary. Consider these skills and certifications, as well as job titles from your past work experience to be keywords. Ensure your professional experience section and skills section are full of these keywords if you want to rank well with applicant tracking systems (ATS) that employers can use to review resumes.

3. List internships and related activities (where relevant)
Unpaid work such as volunteer work and internships can be incredibly useful to a resume, especially in competitive fields like banking, journalism, and social media management. You can even list relevant coursework in your education section if it relates to the job you are applying for. If you want to stand out from the crowd and get the best jobs, list this kind of experience in both your resume and your cover letter.

4. Curate an effective skills section
The best resume is one that is tailored to the needs of the job title you are applying for. Because your skills section will be one of the most important sections when it comes to an ATS, you should be very careful to include all relevant hard and soft skills. Consider relevant resume examples to get an idea of what skills are important and include 8 to 12 bullet points in your resume skills section.

5. Proofread twice
Typos and grammatical errors are one of the easiest ways to ruin a good first impression. If you want your job application to have a good chance of success, proofread each section of your resume twice.

How to Properly Present Your Achievements on a Resume

If you want to put these excellent tips into practice in a way that lands you a brand new job, you will need to consider your skill set, work history, and the needs of the specific job you want to apply for. If you have a lot of work experience, for example, highlight it in a resume summary at the top of your resume and create a substantial work history section. If you lack professional experience, fill your summary with your most relevant skills or academic achievements, or use a resume objective statement instead. When you discuss your achievements in-depth, be sure to use action verbs and specific metrics to make it easy for recruiters to form a solid idea of your capabilities. Considering adding humor to your resume? That touch of humor can be a welcome addition, but you need to evaluate if a funny resume is the right move.

Remember, that your resume design is also important. Unless you work in a creative role like graphic design, you should opt for a straightforward or minimalist resume layout. This will ensure that your skills, achievements, and work history are the focus of your resume. It will also ensure that your headers and section bodies can be scanned effectively by applicant tracking systems, increasing the likelihood of your resume being seen by potential employers. It will also make it easy for hiring managers to quickly gather the information that they need.