3 Easy Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out From All The Rest

What you include on your resume is vital to get noticed on a job application. It’s the number one way for employers to gauge whether or not you would be a good fit for the company based on your skills, experience, and education history. Sometimes, it could be the reason why you don’t get considered for a job. Since so much depends on your resume, here are three easy fixes you can make so it will stand out from all of the others.

1. Cater your resume to the job you’re applying for

If you have some skills and experience listed on your resume that have little to do with the position you’re applying for, that will only make it easier for employers to throw it out. Before you apply for the job, make sure you read through the entire job description and get a feel for what the company is looking for in a new hire. Then, do a little research on the company themselves. What industry are they in? What kind of people already work there? What skills and qualifications do they have?

Once you’ve done the research, create a copy of the resume that is specific to the job you’re applying for. You’ll want to make sure you highlight the skills and abilities you have that are exactly what the company is looking for. Get rid of anything that may not be necessary for the job so your important skills and qualifications are listed at the top of each section in your resume. This will prove to the employer that you have exactly what they’re looking for.

2. Quantify your experience by adding more numbers

When an employer takes the first look at your resume, his or her eyes will go straight to the parts that stand out - and numbers are some of the most noticeable parts. If you’re able to quantify your experience by including numbers on your application, do it! Numbers are very helpful for an employer to gauge how experienced you really are.

For example, rather than saying "experience in production" you can quantify it by saying something like this: "6 years of experience working in a production setting. Able to lift 50 lbs." If there's a number attached to your experience, make sure to include it on your resume.

By including more numbers, you’re able to not only prove to the employer that you have months or even years of experience, but their eyes will go straight to that piece of information. This will allow them to recognize you as a strong candidate for the position. Since you’ve already captured their attention, the employer will most likely take the time to read through more on your resume than they would otherwise.

3. Make sure your resume is clean of any errors

When an employer is hiring, chances are they go through dozens (or even hundreds) of resumes for each position. To save time, if something doesn’t look right on a resume or there’s a glaring error, they will throw it away. This can be especially detrimental to a candidate who is qualified for the position and has a chance at being hired, but their resume got thrown out because of grammar or formatting errors.

Take your time and go over your resume line by line to ensure there are no mistakes.

Before submitting your resume, it is super important that you look it through not just once, but ten times! Don’t skim over it. Take your time and go over your resume line by line to ensure there are no mistakes. This includes grammar, punctuation, font style, organization, size, and more. Make sure everything matches up and is kept in an organized, easy-to-read format for the employer to look through.

Once you’ve given it a look, send your resume to a friend or family member to look through to see if there’s anything you may have missed. Having someone else look at it with fresh eyes will allow them to notice things that you may have missed! Make sure to listen to their feedback and make necessary adjustments. A trick I like to use is to print out my resume and look it over because there are things I might notice on a tangible copy rather than on the computer where I’m writing it up. This way you can write all over it to make adjustments if necessary.

While there are many different ways to improve your resume, implementing these three things when writing or editing your resume could be the difference in getting an interview. What other easy tips do you have? Let us know in the comments!