7.4 seconds.
That's all the time you get. The blink of an eye, a fleeting moment – this is the average duration an employer spends scanning your resume.
In a very competitive employment market, how do you ensure that your resume doesn't just become another piece of paper on an endless pile?
The hours you pour into your job search, the conflicting streams of advice, the seemingly endless chain of applications that lead nowhere—it can feel like navigating a maze blindfolded.
The question becomes, how do you rise above the noise?
To find answers, I turned to someone who's made it her life's work to master the art of the resume: Lisa Rangel, the CEO of Chameleon Resumes and a Top LinkedIn Resume Writing Voice.
Here are three tips she offered that can transform your resume from overlooked to overbooked:
1. Focus on what the target role needs and align your achievements to speak to the most important aspects for the job.
↳If the role lists developing a book of business as the first job description bullet, be sure to list how successful you have been building books of business outlining revenue size and profitability of the clients landed.
2. Make sure you have the target job role list at the top of your resume under your contact information–don’t use the word “Summary”.
↳For example, list the ‘Director of Information Technology’ role you are seeking at the top of the summary, instead of using the word ‘summary’ to make best use of this prime resume real estate.
3. Keep the layout simple.
↳Do not use heavy graphics or creative layouts. Most recruiters are looking at hundreds resumes daily and want to find your data easily in predictable spaces.
Don't let your resume be the chain that holds you back. Step into the limelight and let your capabilities shine.
👉 Do give Lisa a follow for expert resume writing and career search advice by following her and sign up for her daily career advice (link in the first comment).
