Two Quick Ways to Spring Clean Your Resume

Don’t forget about your resume when you’re in spring cleaning mode.
Recruiters spend six seconds scanning a resume to decide if they want
to read further or invite you for an interview, so your resume needs
to be clear and well organized.

Here are two easy ways to upgrade your resume to get it into the “yes” pile.

1. Write a brief career summary. This goes at the top of your resume
underneath your contact information. It should be several lines or
bullets that answer the following questions:

- what is your title or specialty? (e.g., engineer, marketing
professional, medical researcher)
- what are 3-5 of your key skills? (e.g., presentations, operations,
interpersonal skills)
- what are you known for/what do your colleagues say about you? (e.g.,
attentive to detail, quick learner, motivator)

2. Group your bullets under each job. Categorize your bullets based on
the skill they demonstrate. For example, if you’re in communications
you may have “crisis management,” “written communications,” and
“social media,” among others. Use those terms as subheadings under
each job you’ve held and list the bullets that demonstrate each skill
under the appropriate subheading. Make sure your bullets speak to
examples of work you’ve done and include numbers, results, or the
purpose of each task. Simply listing duties will not help you stand
out. Be as specific as possible.

These two strategies will go a long way in helping you refine and
better organize your resume so recruiters can get to know you quickly
and easily. From there, it’s more likely you’ll end up in the
interview stack.