Hiring Professionals and Recruiters spend approximately 20 to 30 seconds reviewing resumes from potential candidates. It is within these few seconds that something must impress the reader to get your resume noticed! What will make your resume stand out from all the others? It is not enough to list your work experience, you must show how you excelled at your job and how you made improvements to the position, department and/or company. Use the STAR theory, Situation, Task, Action Result to clearly and succinctly relay each of your accomplishments.Â
Numbers get noticed and lend credibility so quantify your successes with numbers, rather than just describing your work experience with words; “Worked fast and effectively”. You must back this up; “Decreased by 20% the time required to complete loan processing by using effective and efficient work habits.” If you have increased sales, reduced core costs, streamlined procedures or implemented a new system, be prepared to quantify these accomplishments. Increased revenue by $200,000 by revamping the advertising campaign. Reduced production costs 35% by negotiating new supplier contracts. Exceeded sales by 200% by increased prospecting and implementing new training programs, which improved the close ratio.
Don’t be shy! Be prepared to highlight and quantify your accomplishments. If your resume includes a history of successes, S.T.A.R., your potential will shine throughout your resume and catch the attention of the decision maker.
Take advantage of a free resume critique by a Certified Professional Resume Writer to get your resume noticed!