Virtually every job you apply for in the modern world will require you to send in your resume, and often the quality of that resume is the determining factor in whether you succeed or fail. As so many resumes are just run of the mill efforts with very little thought or preparation, it doesn’t take that much to stand out from the crowd. These resume writing tips will give you a head start!

Resume Writing Tip 1- Make sure you have a plan. Do your research and be sure exactly what the job requirements are. Produce your resume so that it is tailored to that individual job, and shows why you are the right person, as what you have matches what they are looking for.

Resume Writing Tip 2- Have a definite goal in mind. The more you can define exactly what it is you want in applying for the role, the more clear and concise your resume will be. Just saying that you are trying to get more money is not what the employer wants to read, so you need to say something like “further your experience in a well known successful organisation”

Resume Writing Tip 3- Try to inject some force into your writing. As so many people have been taught to write routine resumes in school, yours can stand out if you take the time to be a little bit different. With every sentence that you write, you should ask “Is that how everyone will word it?” Use different words and phrases if you feel that you are just going to be too much like all the rest. Use your writing to try and sell yourself. You can make quite a large impact, just with some very small changes.

Resume Writing Tip 4- Sell the benefits of the skills you have, don’t just list the skills. Salesmanship is all about getting over to the prospect the benefits of the features of the product, not about just listing the features. With you resume, for example, if you had the skill of being a good sales closer, “Excellent sales closer” could become “Proven closing ability, over $150,000 worth of business written in the past year alone” or something like that. This is going to make a much bigger impact on your potential employer.

Resume Writing Tip 5- Try to make use of figures. Firstly, numbers do tend to look prominent on a page filled with text and words. A resume with figures on the page will be easier on the eye. Secondly, if you include numeric data in your resume, people will be more inclined to take what you are writing about at face value. Instead of “Managed my own team of people” you could write “Managed 25 up and coming trainees…” or something like this. Giving the recruiter a visual image of you that they can relate to is always a good idea

These resume writing tips should have shown you that making a resume that stands out can be a lot easier than some would have you believe, you just need to learn the ropes and do some original thinking!

Image taken on 2008-02-07 14:44:37. Image Source. (Used with permission)