1Up Your Resume!

By using 3aish Jobs, you are already leveraging one of the many freely available resources that will aid you in your job hunt. However, before you reply to that job listing, there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself, in order to determine if your resume is ready for its 1 minute of fame.

Do my skills match the job posting?

You want to tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for. This ensures that your resume stands out from the crowd, and grabs the employer’s attention. The key here, is to eliminate any fluff that could distract from the skills you want to showcase. For instance, if you are applying for a position as a web designer, then it is probably unnecessary to bury your experience with Adobe Illustrator under your “passion for knitting” and your “Taekwondo gold medal”.

One easy way to reduce resume bloat, is to scan the job listing for any “required skills”, or specific tasks that the project entails. Then, compare your resume with the key words you have found, and eliminate any skills or details that don’t match. For example. If the job listing states that the employer wants a “documentary edited for a premier”, then you should focus your resume on the skills that would be required to edit video, and eliminate any extras that aren’t relevant to the job position. Listing your experience with Final Cut Pro, for instance, will put you ahead of the guy who instead chose to bog the employer down with his panache for origami.

Am I showcasing my (relevant) experience?

Once you have scanned the job listing for key points of interest, matched those against your resume and removed the unnecessary skills; you are ready to take the next step towards a lean resume. The person reading your resume has only one question in mind: “Are you the person for the job?” Your resume should answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

In order to reinforce your skill-set, each skill must be supported with a brief description of how you have specifically used it to solve a specific problem, or produce a specific and quantifiable result. Compare these two resume excerpts.

Exhibit “A”:

I am proficient with Final Cut Pro.

Exhibit “B”:

I have used Final Cut Pro to edit a short film entitled “Knittin’ Else Matters”, which was delivered to the client (Acme Knitting Inc.) ahead of the deadline. The short film was broadcasted at major malls, and featured on the company website, and as a result, their sales of knitting needles increased by 15%.

Which job applicant would YOU hire?

In summary, 3aish Jobs is a great free resources to put you in touch with potential employers. However, it is up to you to make sure that it gives you the edge that you need. By trimming the fat off of your resume, and beefing up the relevant skills with supporting examples that prove your expertise, you will be well on your way to landing that job interview.

Do you have any tried and true resume tips to share? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box, and share the knowledge!

Additional Resources

• 10 Things That Define a Killer Resume
• Recreating Your Resume in 10 Simple Steps
• 10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes