(ThySistas.com) Are you ready to take the next step in your life and bag your dream job? There are many different reasons why people start looking for a better career. Maybe they have just come out of college and are ready to enter the working world. Or maybe you are sick of your current position and are ready to further and better yourself. Whatever your reason for starting a job hunt, there is always going to be one thing that can help you get the job of your dreams. And that is your resume!
Your resume is going to be the first thing that all potential employers will see. And that’s because you need to send it off with your job application. All resumes should have the same information on them. This includes your contact information, education information, and previous employment history. However, there are certain things you should include or highlight if you want your resume to stand out from all the rest. Here are some updates you should make to your resume to help bag that dream job.
Make It Look Great
One of the quickest ways your resume is going to grab a potential employer’s attention is by making it look fantastic. Your education and employment shouldn’t simply by in a long list on the page. And if that list looks like you have been sloppy with the formatting, it could actually put employers off hiring you. So you need to make sure your resume looks the part. But that doesn’t mean that you should go over the top and make it overly stylized. Unless you are a graphic designer, that probably won’t work in your favor. So how do you make your resume look amazing? Firstly, focus on readability. Split up all the content into manageable paragraphs and bulleted lists. You should only stick to one font as well. Using too many fonts can 
be extremely distracting and will look unprofessional. Finally, ensure that all the content is correctly aligned. Don’t forget that you shouldn’t do anything gimmicky like using colors anywhere. Just a simple black and white resume will do the trick!
Keep It Lean
Lots of people tend to babble on their resume. After all, it can be all too easy to want to list every single achievement or success you have had since middle school. You don’t need to mention that sports award you got in gym class when you were thirteen. So make sure that you edit out all of this unnecessary information. You need to remember that a resume should be skimmable. Those who are looking over your job application will have a lot of others to go through after yours. So to save time, they will probably only be skim reading it at first. So make sure you only list your most important achievements. That way, everything that stands out to prospective employers will be very impressive indeed!
Focus On IT Skills
So you had a babysitting job when you were a teenager. Is is really necessary to mention that? Probably not. After all, the skills you used won’t translate to a professional job. However, what about that IT course you took last summer? That is definitely something that you need to mention on your resume. These days, most lines of work will require workers to be well-skilled and experienced with IT. So you need to be able to show off all of your previous work with computers and technology on your resume. Are you worried that you don’t have enough of this experience to show employers? No problem; there’s a quick solution to that. There are now many courses that you can take to improve your computer literacy. Most of these cover the IT basics that employers want to see. You can even take some of these courses online in the comfort of your own home. To find out more, you can see details at Simplilearn.
Show Rather Than Tell
One mistake that many job applicants do on their resume is simply list all of the job responsibilities that they have had. There is nothing wrong with doing this, but it probably won’t help your resume stand out from all the rest. So rather than making this mistake, you should show people what you have done. Don’t just tell them. Showing them is much better, as it gives you the chance to illustrate your professional achievements. For instance, don’t just say that you managed a small team. Instead, you need to show how you managed them and what this achieved. For example, say that you managed them by delegating jobs and constantly liaising with everyone in the team. You should also mention how this benefited the company. Maybe your team helped the business reach their monthly sales target? Or you might have successfully launched a new marketing campaign.
Cut The Generic Words
There are lots of words that we associate with the professional sphere. One example of this type of language includes the phrases ‘results-oriented professional’. Sure, calling yourself this on your resume will make you look incredibly professional. But you need to remember that almost everyone else who is applying for the same job as you will be using these words as well. So calling yourself a ‘results-oriented professional’ isn’t going to help you stand out from the crowd. Especially when everyone else is calling themselves the exact same thing! So make sure you try and limit this type of language on your resume. Some studies show that ditching these kinds of words can make you look a lot more employable!
As you can see, the changes and updates that you should make to your resume aren’t going to take too long. Even though they will be quite quick to make, they should have a huge impact on your employability. Potential employers will be drawn to your resume and will want to find out more about you. So your chances of being invited for an interview will be greatly increased! Good luck with your job hunt!
Staff Writer; Sherry Wall