Resume is your most important marketing tool in the job search at the initial stages. This document alone is responsible for making your first impression on a prospective employer. Therefore, it is very unlikely that the importance of a resume can ever be overestimated for job seekers at the first stages of the job search. In most cases though, candidates are confident that their application documents are strong enough to grant them at least an interview invitation. Very few of them have that confirmed by an interview call though. This article is meant to shed some light on what an effective resume looks like today. You can then look back at your own main marketing document to see whether you have to change anything because you might.
Examine Your Resume Carefully
Despite the fact that a resume remains the most important marketing job search tool, hiring authorities still want to get to know their applicants through various channels as well. If you thought your resume is strong enough but it doesn't point to outside platforms then you are wrong. A document that contains full branding story (with all leads to outside channels) is way more attractive for hiring managers than a dead-end resume. Using links then seems like a must-have feature for effective resume writing. If you have nowhere to lead your prospective employer, then that is something you have to work on.
LinkedIn for example has become a great place for job seekers to market their skills and qualifications. If you have no LinkedIn account, you should get one and include a link to your profile on the resume. But LinkedIn isn't the only platform, employers like to go to in order to check the candidates. What can even be better than LinkedIn is your personal website/portfolio if you have one. Whatever you choose for an external source, the idea is provide the opportunity for employers to make one click and look you up on the web. It will not only add credibility to your resume claims, but also demonstrate that your are tech savvy.
Secondly, is your resume mobile-friendly? This is the question no one would ask 10 years ago but today it is extremely relevant as mobile recruiting becomes more and more popular among companies. In other words, the chances today are pretty high that your resume will be viewed from a mobile device, not a large computer screen. With that being said, you should ask yourself whether your resume will be readable on the screen of a mobile phone. This implies you have to test it by sending your resume to your email and opening it on various mobile devices. More importantly though, it requires you to review the formatting of your resume to make it mobile-friendly. In most cases, it means you have to remove fancy graphics and colors, use one of the standard fonts and stick to one-column layout. That doesn't mean you have to get rid of that fancy resume you used to have - save it for future networking events and in-person interviews.
Now as you know the latest resume writing trends, you can polish-up your resume to perfection. It is always better to be prepared for all possible scenarios, including review of your resume from a mobile device and HRs checking you on social media. By taking into account these things, you will give yourself an advantage in the competition.
