Speak with a University Counselor today.
Approved by the executive director of Career Services on Aug. 20, 2024.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.
Wondering how to make your resume stand out from the rest? When hiring managers are bombarded with resumes from potential candidates, the last thing you want is for yours to be lost in the pile. With this in mind, this article provides five actionable resume tips to follow. You’ll learn what should be on a resume and how to position yourself as a competitive candidate.
Companies can get hundreds of applications for a single job posting. In order to potentially secure an interview for a job you may be interested in, you not only need a strong academic background but also a professional resume that stands out from the crowd and showcases your unique skills and experiences. This is particularly true if your chosen field is characterized by a tough job market, in which there is considerable competition for desirable positions.
What makes a resume stand out? Hiring managers like to see highly professional, well-polished resumes which showcase key skills and competencies and highlight any relevant experience — whether paid or volunteer. The key word here is “relevant.” You must tweak your resume for each position you apply to, taking care to make sure the most relevant information for each position is highly visible.
First and foremost, never forget to proofread! Submitting an error-filled resume is one of the main ways to get immediately rejected. Be thorough and try to get a friend or family member to read it for you, too.
Secondly, include your contact information. It sounds like a no-brainer, but even the best resume in the world is useless without a way for the employer to contact you. They most likely won’t go searching for your information, no matter how good your resume is. When listing your address, it is best to only include city and state instead of your full address. If you are looking for employment in the same area as your university, use the city and state where you are attending school.
As a complement to these resume tips, it’s advisable to keep your social media cleaned up. Companies often search for potential employees online, so all public social media accounts should be screened for appropriateness. You can ensure that your social media pages are private and not publicly viewable. Still, be cautious because screenshots can be captured from your page(s) and shared.
One important account to have is a LinkedIn profile. Through LinkedIn — a professional networking platform — employers and other professionals can access your profile. Your LinkedIn profile functions as an extended resume. Some hiring managers may even use it to conduct the hiring process.
Follow these five tips and you’ll be well on your way to making your resume stand out.
A professional summary statement is meant to grab the attention of hiring managers and show them what you can bring to their organization. On your resume, you have a short window of time to show how you are a great fit for the position. It’s important to gain the attention of the hiring manager right away so they want to keep reading.
When creating your professional summary statement, consider what the hiring manager wants to know about you. By highlighting what you can do for the organization, they will be more likely to reach out to you for an interview.
Use descriptive words that add to your value as a potential employee. Instead of sticking with commonly used phrases, try to think outside the box and include active words that will spark their interest.
One of the most effective resume tips is to incorporate information from the job description itself. For example, the job description might state, “Looking for a creative individual who has experience with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.” You can easily incorporate this into your resume by stating you are a creative individual who has experience with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. As simple as this may sound, it can go a long way! It is imperative though to refrain from copying and pasting information from a job posting into your resume, and to only list skills and experiences which are factual. Academic integrity extends beyond the classroom and should be practiced throughout your career.
Another great way to make your resume stand out is to include accomplishment statements, otherwise known as CAR (challenge, action, results) statements. These state not only what you did in your previous experience, but also the way in which you carried out your tasks.
In the workplace, the past is a great indicator of the future. So, by listing the challenges you have faced in the past, the action you took and the positive result that came of it, hiring managers can get an idea of what kind of a worker you are.
The visual appearance of your cover letter and resume does matter. While the content of your resume is the most important, hiring managers can easily be turned off by a disorganized and unprofessional-looking document.
Today, there are so many great resources when it comes to putting together your resume. Just by browsing the web, you can view resume templates which may have a format or design you like. Resume templates may be difficult to format so be careful to ensure that any resource you utilize is user-friendly. Most college students can easily format a resume.
Perfecting the format of your resume is a vital step of the process. If a resume is not easy to read, it can get tossed to the bottom of the pile. Choose and left-align a standard font, using bold and italics to designate headings and sub-headings.
Make sure there is a good balance of text to white space, so it does not appear too congested. Bullet points are your best friend! Reviewing a resume template can help you nail the format.
Lastly, you should never leave the best for last. The most important information should always be in the top half or one-third of the page. It is often said you should keep your resume at one page, but if you are cutting out valuable information to do so, it may not be worth it. A second opinion can help you judge what to keep and what to cut.
There are many examples of great resumes online. You can search for examples by field and type of job position to get a sense of how your resume should look for your preferred position.
As you look at examples, you’ll likely notice that resumes often don’t use complete sentences. Indeed offers this example of an executive summary for a paralegal resume:1
“Organized and detail-oriented Paralegal with 3+ years of experience supporting attorneys by performing day-to-day administrative tasks, drafting legal documents and assisting with research”
Here, note that the number “3” jumps out at the reader. It’s important to make sure any experience you have is easily identifiable. This resume also uses action words like “drafting” and “supporting.”
Korn Ferry offers an example of an excellent resume for a recent college graduate, noting that it’s ideal to keep sections short and sweet. If you try to list every single responsibility you had as an intern, for example, the hiring manager might think you’re exaggerating. Instead, try to emulate Korn Ferry’s example of a strong internship section:1
Grand Canyon University’s Career Services can provide resources, professional knowledge and support to help you transition from academics into a career you may find rewarding.
