Friday, February 23, 2018

Top 3 new resume trends to take a look at in 2018

Finding that new job creates some tough competition. Here are the top 3 new resume trends to take a look at in 2018. Will your resume get you that interview that will land you that job?

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#1. Ditch the objective statement

Use a resume summary instead. So what is a resume summary? Think of this as a 30-second  impressive, attention-grabbing elevator pitch to sell why a prospective employer should hire you.

Who are you? What do you do? What are you looking for?

How do you write an elevator pitch?

Between 3 and 5 sentences

  • summarize who you are
  • what you have to offer
  • why an employer should hire you. 

What is your “why”? Is it for
  • a career change 
  • growth opportunities
  • re-entering the workforce
  • launching your career.

#2. Format & Style

Format your resume so top one-third of your resume, which is valuable real estate, contains the ways you are the best fit to the job position for which you are applying.Tailor your resume to the job you are applying to and  emphasize those skills.


Use word cloud generator to quickly see what is most important to the employer

  • Use with job description
  • Use with the “About Us” page of the company to learn their vision and goals.
  • Use with your resume to compare to what the employer is looking for

Reverse chronicle order--last(current job) first for 10-15 years. If the experience still applies, regardless of when it occurred, put it on your resume

Don’t include irrelevant work experiences

Use bullets rather than paragraphs



#3 Hacks to beat ATS

The Wall Street Journal reports that resume screening software use is widespread among larger companies to the tune of the “high 90 percent range.” Applicant tracking systems reject 75 percent of candidates. First, the software removes all formatting from the resume and scans for specific recognized keywords and key phrases.Next, it sorts the content of your resume into individual categories, such as, education, contact information, skills, and work experience. Then, the employer’s list of desired skills and keywords is matched against the results of the resume to determine your potential value to the organization.
High scores...move to higher levels.
Highest level =  The eyes of the hiring person



  • Remove the headers in your resume. Headers and footers jam the algorithms.
  • Use professional specific lingo and key words
  • Repeat important keywords related to your skills two or three times in the resume,
  • Use acronyms and spelled out form of titles, professional organizations, certifications, and other industry lingo, etc. 
  • Basic and advanced skills --include them both. Go in depth and discuss all the relevant skills.
  • Include your postal address. 
  • Don’t only include it in the header or footer, which most algorithms ignore completely.
  • Don’t use graphics, logos, or tables in your resume. 
  • Use sans-serif fonts — like Verdana or Tahoma — instead of serif fonts like Times New Roman or Cambria 
  • Submit resumes in text format rather than PDFs or MS Word. 
  • Don’t place dates before work experience on your resume. Begin with the name of the employer. Move on to your professional title and the date range. 





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