Tips on How to Create a Current Resume

I know I’m qualified for the jobs I am applying to … however, I’m not getting a single hit on my professional resume. Ever applied to dozens of jobs that you KNOW you’re qualified for, but have received little to no response from your target companies? If this sounds like you, I’d like to offer a few practical tips that you can plug and play to hopefully gain some immediate traction on your CEO resume, IT Director resume, PMO Director resume, professional or mid-career level resume.

Include a Keyword-Optimized Headline:

With less than 10 seconds to engage the reader, your professional resume should include a compelling, attention-getting headline that aligns to the job you‘re targeting.  Remember, the goal is to engage the reader with relevant information and an easy-to-navigate presentation.

As a suggestion for a keyword-rich, compelling headline, you can go with a 3- to 4-word title and then follow that up with a tag line. A headline “title” can be a position title or very brief set of descriptive words that convey what you are targeting. Below I have provided an example of how to write a personally branded resume title and tagline using a Senior Product Engineer position title.

Sample position title and tagline:

Senior Product Engineer

Manages projects from concept to completion while balancing quality, reliability, and service

In the above example, I have incorporated a few keywords while also briefly communicating value to the prospective employer.

Focus Your Qualifications Summary:

Not sure about you, but when I read content that is visually jarring and somewhat difficult to digest, I almost immediately move on to the next item up for business. With this in mind, it is a good idea to keep the resume qualifications summary succinct and to the point with three—maybe four—lines or fewer of actual text.

Your unique edge and value should be clearly stated in keyword-driven, industry-specific content within the first few opening lines of your qualifications summary. Some things to consider here are what makes you unique, what are your top three strengths, and possibly mention one of your strengths in the summary.

Balance the articulation of your transferable soft skills, qualifications, passion, energy, and value with one or two strategically placed quantifiable metrics—and awards, certifications, unique talents, or a pending academic accomplishment that is tied to your position of interest. Remember, relevance is key here.

Also, numbers in percentage format add impact to the summary.  Or an award placed in italicized text can help to break up some of the dense content and enable the reader to quickly grasp the message.

Strengthen Your Presentation:

Taking into consideration your audience, market, and career level, add a few visually appealing elements to improve the presentation and to help the reader effectively navigate your resume, e.g. a conservative gray line separating core sections of your CEO resume, executive resume, IT Director resume, or professional to mid-career level resume.

Key here will be converting the visually engaging Word version of your IT resume into PDF and Text to avoid distortion issues when uploading and applying for jobs. The Word version of your professional resume can serve as the master copy you provide to the prospective employer.

Contact our executive resume writing service to consult with one of our Certified Professional Resume Writers online regarding CEO Resumes, Military-to-Civilian Resumes, Supply Chain Manager Resumes, Technical Resume Writing Services, and Finance and Accounting Resumes: info@resumesbyjoyce.com or toll-free at 1-888-607-7793.