It’s the little things that get noticed. When you’re up against a lot of competition for a role, it’s important to make yourself just that ‘little bit better’ than the other candidates. There are a lot of employment consultants who will tell you dress up your resume a certain way in order to be noticed, but in my 20+ years in looking at resumes, here are several ‘little things’ you can do to improve your chances:
- Following up after submitting your application with a simple inquisitive phone call. Hardly anyone does this, and if you’re great on the phone and have a good background – it will exponentially help.
- Check your application for any spelling mistakes, simply by getting others to check through it. Don’t always trust spell checker. Believe me, your last “roll as a manger” will be perceived much better.
- With dates on your resume, put ‘Feb 2018 – Nov 2018’, not ‘2018’ or ‘2018-2018’. What are you trying to hide?
- Always keep on top of responding to recruiters quickly, even if to simply acknowledge receipt. It gets noticed.
- Dot points are better than huge paragraphs.
- Explain the background, location & purpose of the companies you have worked for.
- Include your residential suburb! If you live in Hoppers Crossing and the role is in the West – you’ve got a much better chance of being shortlisted. Recruiters are happiest with short commutes.
- Manage all of your social media profiles so they look respectable. Recruiters are also keen private investigators.
- Respond to communication quickly. Your responsiveness could be the difference between you and the other candidate.