How to Make the Perfect Resume for Your Job Success? 9 Tips

Today’s job market is quite competitive. To land your dream job, you have to craft the perfect resume. One that stands out from all the competition and catches the eyes of the employer. 

A resume is like your personal marketing tool. So, special attention and care have to be given to it. If you only know the basics of resume creation, in most cases, it might not be enough. To help you out, we have come up with this detailed guide on how you’re supposed to craft the perfect resume that increases your chances of landing your dream job. So, let’s get started with it.

How to Make the Perfect Resume for Your Job Success?

The following are some of the things that you should do to make your resume compelling. Employers will be more likely to notice you and call you up for an interview.

Choose the Right Format

When crafting a resume, the first thing is to choose a format for it. The right format will breathe life into your resume, but if you choose a bad one, there’s a good chance all your efforts might go down the drain. 

If you’re wondering how you’re supposed to choose the right format for your resume, well, it depends on you and your background. There are three most common formats that you can choose from. Those are:

• Chronological Format
• Functional Format
• Hybrid Format

The chronological format is best for those with a consistent work history. It emphasizes work experience more than educational background. Here, you list your experience as the first thing in a reverse chronological order. This format is most preferred by industries like finance, education, and government. 

When it comes to functional format, it is best for those who don’t have much work experience but have the relevant skills and education. The first thing that’s mentioned in this format is the educational background. 

Lastly, the hybrid format is for those who have both work experience and a relevant educational background. It blends the chronological and functional formats and emphasizes skills while providing a detailed work history right from the start.

Clearly Mention All Your Contact Information

While this may seem overkill, most employers like it when an applicant mentions all of their contact information. These things include:

• Full name
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• LinkedIn and other relevant social profiles

While the phone number and email address are important to include just to let the employer know where to contact you, LinkedIn and other profiles can help them get an insight into your personality. What you like and dislike. This will help them better determine whether you are the right fit for their corporation.

Include a Compelling Professional Summary

After the contact information, it is best if you add a professional summary of yourself. It is like a one or two-liner that highlights everything about your past professional life. Think of it like an elevator pitch whose purpose is to grab the employer’s attention and encourage them to read your resume further. 

Make it relevant and consistent. Avoid adding unnecessary things to it and ensure it is to the point. For example, if you’re a marketing manager with quite some experience, you can write something like:

“Experienced Marketing Manager with over 10 years of expertise in digital marketing strategies and campaign management. Known for increasing brand visibility and driving revenue growth.”Now we understand that creating a professional summary like this can be a bit tricky, which is why we recommend you leverage a summary generator like Summarizer.org to automate the process if you’re struggling.

Tailor Your Resume to the Job Description

To maximize your chances of landing a job, you have to tailor your resume to the employer’s requirements and description. 

It is quite easy to spot a resume that was made for a particular job in mind. One that isn’t for general use and can be used to apply for almost every job. Employers appreciate when the candidate takes time to customize their resume to the job description. 

This shows that you are genuinely interested in the role and are ready to give it your all. The employer might also get the notion that you have understood the demands. 

To ensure your resume is tailored to the description, carefully read the job posting and highlight key skills, experience, and qualifications accordingly. If you can do so accurately, you might just hit the spot and fulfill what the employer is looking for. Try to prominently feature all the elements relevant to the job description in your resume.

Make a Section that Highlights Your Achievements and Results

Listing your educational background, work history, and skills is not enough. Employers appreciate these things but what they appreciate more are your achievements and the results that you have delivered. 

Make a section in your resume that focuses on these things. Here, instead of merely describing your previous job duties, list what you accomplished in your roles. For example, rather than saying “Managed a sales team”, you could say “Managed a sales team that increased revenue by 20% over the course of six months.”

Doing this will not only demonstrate your skills but also provide evidence of the impact that you can make. 

One thing that’s important to note here is that you shouldn’t go too far. While you’re listing your accomplishments, don’t make it seem like you’re too full of yourself.

Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems

Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen resumes and streamline the hiring process these days. 

How these systems work is they search for specific keywords related to the job description in hundreds of resumes at once. You have to make sure your resume is optimized to pass the screening and show up in front of the employer. 

For this, incorporate relevant keywords found in the job posting in your resume. To exemplify, let’s say the job posting emphasizes the need for an “Experienced Marketing Manager”, be sure to add these words naturally in your resume. 

However, be careful not to overdo it, the key is to integrate these within the context of your experience and skills without making them look forced. Besides this, another way to pass the ATS screening is to avoid complex formatting, graphics, and unusual fonts. Additionally, use standard headings only. i.e. “Work Experience”, “Skills”.

The visual appeal of your resume can make plenty of difference in getting it noticed by the employer. Remember to keep a clean, professional layout with plenty of white space. This way, your resume will be easier to read. Employers will be more likely to pick it up and start reading it. 

In a professional context, colourful, over-decorated stuff is always discouraged. Minimalism is recommended. Having said that, choose a standard font like Arial or Times New Roman, and use a font size between 10-12. This will give your resume a clean look and not much unnecessary space will be used. 

Additionally, add bullet points where they are necessary to break down information and organize it better. Utilize headings to make the resume easy to scan. Lastly, consider the background colour. It shouldn’t be too dark or bright. Keep it simple like light blue or grey.

Attach a Cover Letter with Your Resume

The last thing that you can do to make your resume stand out is attach a well-crafted cover letter with it. Submitting a resume without a cover letter is never okay since unlike the resume, which is a concise summary of your qualifications, the cover letter allows you to tell a story and explain why you are the perfect fit for the position.

A good cover letter will increase your chances of getting called for an interview. But be sure to personalize it like you did the resume. Begin by introducing yourself, mention the position that you’re applying for, and if you we referred by someone, mention their name as well. 

After that write why you are interested in the position and the company. Then, highlight your skills and experience. You can also provide specific examples of your past work that showcase why you’re a strong fit for the role. Lastly, discuss how you can contribute to the company and bring value to it.  

After writing, proofread the cover letter and you’re good to go. Having said that, don’t be shy to get assistance if you’re stuck somewhere. Tools like a Cover Letter Generator can be great resources for getting ideas. 

These are some of the things that you can do to make the perfect resume and land your dream job. Before bringing a close to this article, let us provide you with a sample resume outline that you can follow.

Sample Resume Outline

[Your Name]
[Your Address (optional)]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]
[LinkedIn Profile or Portfolio URL]

Professional Summary
---------------------
[Brief summary of your experience, skills, and career goals]

Work Experience
---------------
[Job Title]
[Company Name, City, State]
[Month/Year – Month/Year]
- [Responsibility or achievement]
- [Responsibility or achievement]
- [Responsibility or achievement]

[Job Title]
[Company Name, City, State]
[Month/Year – Month/Year]
- [Responsibility or achievement]
- [Responsibility or achievement]
- [Responsibility or achievement]

Education
---------
[Degree]
[School Name, City, State]
[Graduation Date]

Skills
------
- [Relevant Skill]
- [Relevant Skill]
- [Relevant Skill]

Certifications and Awards
-------------------------
- [Certification or Award]
- [Certification or Award]

Optional Sections (if relevant)
-------------------------------
Volunteer Work, Hobbies, or Interests

Final Words

Crafting the perfect resume is essential in today’s competitive job market to increase your chances of landing your dream job. For this, you have to choose the right format, include all contact information, add a compelling professional summary, tailor your resume to the job description, highlight achievements and results, optimize for applicant tracking systems, focus on visual appeal, and attach a well-crafted cover letter to stand out. 

By following these steps, you can create a resume that catches the employer’s attention and showcases your qualifications effectively. Also, remember to personalize both your resume and cover letter and seek assistance from tools like a resume generator or cover letter generator if needed. These strategies will help you craft a resume that increases your chances of securing your ideal job opportunity.