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We live in tough economic times here in Canada. Companies are laying off more people than ever before, and even those who are able to keep their jobs may be experiencing pay cuts or finding that their income is no longer sufficient to live on. This means that a record number of people are finding themselves in the position of looking for a job, and a single open position may have hundreds of applicants. In such a competitive environment, it is essential that you create an exceptional resume that stands out from the rest. The resume template in MS Word just isn't going to cut it. The following resume tips should help you do just that.
Most employers don't have the time to read every application that they receive. Instead, they skim them-- and they may spend less than a minute doing so. Therefore, it is crucial that your opening lines make a strong impression. The summary should be an overview of your strengths, experience, and most important achievements. It should let your prospective employer know, in just a few sentences, what unique qualifications you have that would benefit their company. This section should appear at the top of your resume, but you may want to write it last to make sure that it includes all relevant information.
Many people make the mistake of using vague phrases such as "good communicator" on an application. These types of statements tell your employer nothing and should have no place on a resume. Instead, include specific examples of how you demonstrated these skills. For each area of your employment history, mention particular projects you completed and quantify how this helped your company. For example, "wrote a 50 page e-book that generated $100,000 in sales." If you have a hard time doing this yourself, consider using a resume service to help you.
Bullet points enable the person reading your resume to find important information quickly. Use them to summarize key points, list projects worked on, and specify skills used in a particular job. These bulleted items should focus on your accomplishments rather than your duties and should start with strong verbs. Use them in each section of your resume, not just your employment history.
Many employers screen their applicants with computer programs. These programs look for keywords that are related to the industry and discards applications that don't include them. When you look for a job on a website such as jobs.ca, carefully study the job description in the listing and make sure that your resume includes all relevant keywords. Alternatively, you could type your desired job title into a keyword tool to find keywords.
A multimedia resume shows your prospective employer that you are willing to spend extra time on your resume, and it is less likely to be discarded as many people can not risk the urge to pop in a disk. In addition, you can include sound clips and videos, demonstrate your skills for your employer, and dress up your resume with colourful graphics.
If you follow these resume tips, you should have no trouble landing an interview.