It takes just six seconds or less for your resume to finds its way into the designated interview pile or the recycling bin. With such a small window of time, it's essential that you present yourself in such a way that ensures the immediate attention of anyone who looks at your resume or professional social networks.
A clear and concise portrayal of your professional skills, along with pertinent job-specific information, and an easy-to-see visual hierarchy will not only get your resume looked at, but also get you a call-back.
Here are 3 ways to identify and showcase your skills to land a job:
1) Identify Your Skills
Even if you've recently updated your resume, it's important to customize your skills to each position you apply for. Carefully read through each job posting you're applying for and identify the key skills necessary. Carefully craft your skill set to match the position you're applying to, but remember that lying on your resume is never OK. It's essential to understand that the job search is about quality and not quantity, job seekers who apply to anything and everything waste more time and energy than those who craft their resumes specifically to the positions they are most qualified for.
Many job seekers overlook the fact that valuable skills don't just come from paid employment. Think back to all of your volunteer experiences, college classes, side projects, and even your hobbies. Each of those experiences offered an opportunity to develop a new skill. Truly understanding the breadth and depth of your experiences will help you recall skills that you might otherwise have overlooked. Some different types of skills categories are management, organizational, and interpersonal.
2) Place Your Skills Where They Can Be Seen
More often than not, the skills section gets buried at the bottom of a resume, completely out of sight at the quick glance of a hiring manager or recruiter. Pique the curiosity of your audience by placing your skills at the top of your resume. Once they see that you have what it takes, this will lead them to read further into your experiences.
Keep in mind that an unfortunate part of the resume process is the fact that human resources is actually losing its human value. The use of resume-reviewing software cuts down the work of hiring managers, but it also means that your resume is headed to the trash if it lacks the keywords necessary for the position. To add extra value to your skills section, take the time to familiarize yourself with the company website, mission, and the words they use.
3) Take It Online
A great way to showcase your skills is by putting them online. This is where a solid grasp of professional social networking is quite handy. Whatever social networking sites you are using professionally, make sure that your skills are there for all eyes to see. LinkedIn recently released a feature where others can endorse your skills, making it even more important to utilize the platform in your job search. On Twitter, use your small bio as a place to showcase your skills and interests during your job search. Most importantly, carefully spend your time and money crafting a website to display pieces of your portfolio and leverage your skills.
Amit De is the CEO and Co-founder of Careerleaf, an all-in-one job search platform that cuts the time to apply in half. Connect with Amit and Careerleaf on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
