It’s a tough world out there, and getting a job is not easy, no matter how experienced or hardworking you are. You need to have every single edge over the competition you can get. This doesn’t mean just having the best training, developing the most optimal skills. All this can be presented and shown during the interview phase. But in order to get there, you need a good résumé. Below you can find out just how to craft the best résumé possible.

That you are qualified

This is probably obvious, and yet, many people simply forget about this section. Now we are not saying that you may not be qualified for the job. What we are, however, saying, is that you should show that you are qualified in your résumé. This means you don’t put every single job you have ever done, or every activity since high school. You will overstuff and overcomplicate your résumé. How is a potential employer supposed to figure out whether you are capable of doing the job when it seems you’re applying for any position available? Remember to include only the skills and activities that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Résumés that have 3 pages or more are getting sent right into the trash can.

Now, you can place some skills and courses that are indirectly relevant to the job you want. For example, having completed a mediator course may certainly come in useful for any PR job. On the other hand, your future employer won’t care if you were the captain of the debate club in college when you’re applying for a programming job. Also, if you are posting references and recommendations, be certain that they are actual recommendations. If you at any point embellish or lie on your résumé, trust us, you will be found out sooner, not later.

That you are a professional

The formatting of your résumé is very important. You can do it alone, or you can get help writing a professional resume, it doesn’t matter. It needs to be clear and easy to read. The last thing you want is an overworked PR clerk throwing away your perfect résumés because it’s essentially unreadable. Sure, you may be perfect for this position, you may all the right skills and qualification. However, if your future employer can’t actually read your résumé, what’s the point? Not being able to access the information makes you look very unprofessional, and, honestly, a bit lazy.

Remember to set up the whole thing so that all the information that you want to convey is presented directly to the employer. Furthermore, any spelling and grammatical errors will make you seem sloppy and like you don’t even care about the job. Indeed, if you can’t even write up a job application correctly, how is the employer supposed to trust you with an actual serious job? And this is made even worse if you’re applying for a writing or editorial position. Remember to put a professional and professionally made photo on your résumé itself. However, if you have to choose, go with the lower quality image that has you wearing a suit and tie.

Next, while this may not actually be part of the résumé itself, you should show you are a professional in many other areas of your life. If you’re sending your résumé by mail, have it delivered in a nice and clean envelope. If you’re sending it via email, have an email account that has your name or surname. Also, email accounts and names like that reference your favourite tv show or band will make you seem very unprofessional. Change them accordingly.

Quality over quantity

We’ve touched upon this part already in the first section of this article, but there are some other things that need to be mentioned. Namely, if you are one of those hard-working (and lucky) people who not only have a ton of stuff in their résumé but that are also relevant to your job application, you need be smart. Put only the best and most impressive projects on your résumé. Don’t oversaturate the thing with a variety of references, just place the most distinguished ones. Try to stay as relevant and as precise as possible. Having a two-page résumé, no matter how relevant, will only make it seem bloated.

Conclusion

And there you have it folks, a quick article on how to prepare your résumé for that dream job. Applying for a new job is a daunting task, and little things like this will definitely increase the odds of kick-starting and/or improving your career. Remember, be throughout, always have that professional mindset during your application and your interview. Good luck and go get them!