Many applicants are so focused on squeezing as much relevant job experience into a resume or application package as possible that they forget about the person on the receiving end. Making your application package more interesting than the rest of the applicant pool’s is something to strive for no matter how much your educational and career experience speaks for itself. Below are 3 ways to make sure your resume, cover letter and any other documents submitted while applying for jobs get you noticed.
1. Be a Better Writer
Some hiring managers get hundreds of resumes. Even after sorting and sifting the shortlist only includes 10-15 candidates, that is still a lot of people you are competing with. If you are a good writer, you already stand a better chance of rising to the top of the pile and making the even shorter list because let’s face it, most people are mediocre writers at best and good writing is less painful to read and process.
There are plenty of ways you can improve your writing, including by working on your vocabulary. The amount of cliches that are present in most application packages and that hiring managers have to wade through is staggering, so being able to write with style and originality is a major advantage. Even playing games like Scrabble can help you build a better vocabulary. If you are new to the game and need help coming up with winning combinations, don’t forget there are tools like Unscramble X out there to help you uncover all possible word permutations.
2. Use Visuals
Another good way to give your resume and application package some personality and stand out from the crowd is to make use of visuals throughout. Don’t just mention your past wins and projects, illustrate the revenue you helped generate with graphs and charts to tell a more interesting story. Anyone can claim to have been part of various projects and successes throughout their career, but giving people actual visual breakdowns of how you accomplished your objectives and the outcomes you achieved provide much better insight into your potential as an employee and team member.
3. Include Hobbies and Interests if They Are Relevant
You only have so much space on a resume to make a good first impression and busy recruiters and hiring managers often stop reading once they have the information they need, but if your hobbies and interests are truly noteworthy and good conversation starters, you can include them. Contrary to what you might have been told, many employers do, in fact, want to get to know you as an individual, and if you stand out as an interesting person, it can help you forge a better personal connection with whoever ends up interviewing you.
Conclusion
The competition for good jobs is fierce and you need to distinguish yourself from the pack however you can. Despite what some people may think, presentation is a very important part of whether your resume is noticed. You can be a more impressive candidate than someone on paper, but if they have done a better job making their application package visually appealing and interesting to read, they still might get the callback before you.