Don’t sweat the small stuff……sort of.

January is a time when many people take stock of their career and consider new opportunities.  For many that will mean updating their resume or creating one from scratch to begin applying for a new role.

In over thirty years of recruitment, I’ve seen a lot of resumes and job applications. Here is my advice.

• Be targeted with your applications and ensure your resume is clear and concise.  What is concise?  There is no hard and fast rule, however as a guide, what you have on your first page is likely to be the relevant information that is attractive to a new employer and is not what you put on page five…

  
  

• Hiring Managers and Recruiters are looking to easily understand who you have been employed by, what your responsibilities are, and what were your achievements. We want to be able to read your resume and quickly understand your career journey and what you are looking for next.  A career summary on the first page with position and organisation can be useful, detail about each role can be expanded on following the summary.

  
  

• If your career background is a little eclectic and not linear, explain why you might have left roles, taken new opportunities or have gaps in time in your resume, it will help to provide context to the reader. 

  
  

• Cover letters can be another great way of providing context or information that is not easily understood from reading your resume.  If you are writing a cover letter, make sure it is addressed to the right person or company, it’s not good to have addressed the cover letter to another company!

  
  

• Not everybody has been employed by well-known multinational brands, so it is helpful to explain what your employer does, how many employees they have and where they are based to give the reader an understanding.

  
  

If you don’t have the skills and experience required for a role, no amount of professional resume writing or spectacular formatting is going to paper over the cracks.   Sweating over job details from ten years ago or grandiose personal statements and goals doesn’t really help either.  Don’t waste your time applying for roles that your skills and experience is not suited for.  You will only be frustrated by your lack of success.

If you have some of the skills and background that are required for the role, good recruiters, especially those in specialist sectors in which you have experience, will welcome a call to clarify if you should apply.  You may not be suited to the current role they are recruiting, but the perfect role may be just a matter of timing.

Good luck in finding your new role this year. If you would like our help get in touch.