5 simple and quick solutions to improve your resume

Whether you’re building your resume from scratch, editing an existing version, or enlisting the help of a professional resume writer and giving it a final look, there are quick and simple solutions you can apply to improve the quality of your resume. Remember that employers will only give a brief look at a resume, so be sure to follow these rules.

1. Resume Length The notion of a 1 page resume is a myth, and while 1 page is appropriate for entry level positions, most resumes are getting longer as employers get more candidates than ever before and want to see the real details. in order to rate it. I used to work with one of the best copywriters in the world making $114,000 for a day’s work (his copy of him sold a lot more products) and what he told me is absolutely true for resumes: Your message must be compelling and easy to read. That means avoiding having a 1 page resume that is dense and difficult to read or a 2 page resume that doesn’t showcase your skills. If you have 10+ years of experience you should probably have a 2 page resume and it is very common for executives to have 3 page resumes.
2. Make your resume readable To meet the “simple to read” test, a resume must be balanced with quality content and offer a welcoming appearance. Nobody likes reading heavy blocks of text. Make it easy on the reader’s eyes. Use paragraphs for roles and responsibilities and bullet points for accomplishments to make them easy to find. Use white space to help put content into consumable formats and make your resume more engaging to read. Creating relevant headlines for different sections of your resume and using features, such as bold and italics, to emphasize words will also help.
3. Review and modify keywords If you haven’t thought about incorporating keywords into your resume, now is the time to do so. More and more employers are turning to scanning technology to help filter the most relevant resumes for initial review. Few organizations have the time and resources to manually review every one of the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of resumes that are received each day. If your resume doesn’t contain the right keywords, you’re not likely to make the mark for consideration. At the same time, make sure that the keywords you include are used in context and are the most relevant. For example, there are variations in words. While you may be using a keyword that the employer is also mentioning with scanning technology, you have to ask yourself if there is a variation you should consider to bolster your presence. Beware of abbreviations that testers may not be familiar with, so explain them.
4. Check the consistency. A consistent format can make your resume more polished. For example, if you head your work experience information with the name of your previous employer, followed by the title you held and the dates you were employed, you should continue that format throughout your resume. Inconsistencies can make your resume look clunky. Also be careful with the terminology and spelling of words. If you are a public relations professional, you may often use the term “press release” or “press release.” Select one and stick with it throughout your resume. Also, words like “health care” and “health care” are fine, but they need to be consistent across your resume.
5. Get a second pair of eyes. You can never go wrong by going through your resume another round for errors. Typos are a huge turnoff for many employers. The guys leave one with a sense of unprofessionalism. Go through your resume from top to bottom one additional round before submitting. Also, beware of common mistakes in the use of certain words such as “if” and “time” or “affect” and “effect” as to whether you have chosen the correct word. It’s better to get a second set of eyes, as the reviewer will have a fresh perspective and spot problem areas that you may miss entirely since you’ve been working on them for a long time.

These simple and quick fixes can make the difference between your resume making the cut or landing in the “trash” or “delete” pile. Here are simple tweaks and changes you can make to your resume to help increase your success and come across as a polished professional before you walk through the doors for that one-on-one meeting.