Your resume is going to be your foot in the door. It will make the first impression and give you a chance to have an interview. With that in mind, your resume must be impressive and give a very good picture of who you are. On top of that, your resume must be polished and professional. Since hiring managers get a lot of applications in a day, you need to stand out. Here are some tips on how to write an impressive resume to get that dream job.

1.  Professional And Educational Background

 Aside from your name, the first things that a hiring manager will look at are your educational and professional background. This should take up a large chunk and be the meat of your resume.

 When writing about your professional background, you can start with your current or most recent job, and then work backwards from there. For your professional background, you need to include the company, latest position, job description, and accomplishments during your stay there. Highlight the projects that you successfully led and quantify all your achievements. You can also include awards that you got during your stay in the company.

 On the other hand, if you are working as an artist or freelancer, you need to include your portfolio and key clients you’ve worked with. Provide a reference to a link for your portfolio, then include key works as attachments or annexes to your resume. You can also go through examples of career objectives formulated by experts and add your career objective in this portion.

 In your educational background, you need to mention details such as the name of your high school and college. If you have also finished postgraduate studies, that will be a plus for your resume. Include the courses you took and honours that you achieved upon graduation. If you graduated valedictorian from your high school, then you should also put that in. If you also participated in competitions in college and landed a podium finish, you need to put that in your resume as well.

2. Skills And Licenses

Skills and licenses that weren’t discussed in your professional and educational background also need to be highlighted. These skills can range from languages to technical skills. It’s important to let your employer know everything that you can offer. So, lay it all out for them to see.

On top of that, you also need to disclose all the licenses that you hold. For example, you may have passed the CFAs and got that license. If you also passed board exams for engineering or nursing, you need to put that down. This will show the employer how well-rounded you are as an individual.

3. A Dash Of Creativity

Being professional doesn’t mean you have to be boring. Especially if you are in a creative field, you can explore ways of expressing yourself in that area, and be more creative with your resume. You can include some infographics to illustrate your accomplishments and skills. If your work is not related to a creative field, there are some resume templates that you can follow on Behance. Don’t stick to the traditional black-and-white resume. Instead, try to stand out among other applicants.

You can also be creative with your resume by tailoring it according to the company or position that you are applying for. You don’t need to send the same kind of resume to each company. Do your research on the company to which you wish to apply. Each company has its own set of values and skills that they look for in applicants. You can tailor your resume to fit the profile that the company is looking for.

4. Thorough Proofing

Check and check again. That’s the basic rule for making an impressive resume. Your resume has to be perfect if it’s going to help you get your dream job. After reviewing it yourself for some common mistakes and proofing it, you will also need another set of eyes to look at it. Seek help from a mentor or trusted friend to go over your resume again. Get their advice on improvements and changes that you can work on for your resume. Sometimes, you look at your resume so much that you are already immune to seeing mistakes. Thus, you need someone with a different outlook to review it.

Conclusion

At times, a good resume is the only thing that stands between you and how you get that dream job. Follow these tips to be able to write an impressive resume that will catch the attention of hiring managers. It may look like a lot of work, but take out time to create an impressive resume, and you won’t regret it!

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Samantha is an HR practitioner who has worked with several companies to help them improve their HR practices. Samantha has gained decades of experience in handling all HR facets that include managerial relations, labour relations, training and development, recruitment, and compensation and benefits.

When Samantha is not busy at work, she writes articles about the importance of effective HR practices and why startups should always prioritize this area of the business.