5 Important Guidelines to Enhance Your Resume

The job market seems to get tougher. Jobseekers are facing a lot of competition finding jobs. Landing a job these days has become so tough that it may take six months or longer for job seekers to find a job they are looking for. Even in the face of this tough job market situation, there are some guidelines that jobseekers can follow to increase their chances of getting hired. If it’s been quite long since you began your job search, it is about time you revamped your job search strategy. One of the key ways to start with is enhancing your resume.

Writing a perfect resume is an art. Though you might feel that you have done all with your resume, there is always some room for improvement. Given below are five important ways in which you can improve your resume and enhance your chances for landing jobs.

Ensure Your Objective Addresses the Employer’s Needs
Does your objective have an outward focus? This is one of the most important elements for improving your resume. When you write the objective section in your resume, do not write what you are looking for in a job. Instead mention how you are going to benefit the company through your talents and skills. Addressing your objective to the employer’s requirements will increase your chances of engaging the employer or the hiring manager.

List Accomplishments, Not Your Job Duties
The second most important guideline to make your resume more effective is to list what you accomplished in your previous job. Only mentioning your job duties with the previous employer won’t help. It is essential to point out to the employer how you made a different in your last job and benefited the company. Try to quantify your job duties into accomplishments.

Avoid Listing Irrelevant or Out-of-date Skills
If you are just at the initial stage of your career doing only entry-level jobs, you might have done a variety of tasks with your previous employer. While you are applying for a new job, you really need to filter those skills learned in your previous job. Think carefully whether the skills you are listing on your resume are relevant. Always remember not to list skills that are irrelevant or out-of-date as compared to the job you are applying for.

Is Your Resume Search Engine Optimized?
Jobseekers should be aware that most of the job application process is completed online these days. Your submitted resumes get stored in the recruiter’s computer databases. When recruiters want to find matching candidates, they search for some specific keywords to filter most relevant resumes. That’s why it is very important to include in your resume important and industry related keywords. If you resume is not optimized for search engines, your application will have scarce chances of reaching the employer’s desk.

Your Important Qualifications Should Be In Bold
Another important guideline for improving the resume is to bold the best features or important qualifications in your resume. Most of the hiring managers will just skim and scan your resume. Making your best qualifications in bold text would help potential employers to notice those features easily. However, it is advisable to limit the number of bold items to no more than five.