When you’re sending out your resume to potential employers, the most important thing you need to do is to stand out from the crowd. Here are just a few ways you can do this to increase your chances of getting an interview:

 

HIGHLIGHT YOUR EXPERIENCE

Hiring new works is a big ordeal for companies who then need to train their employers once they’ve chosen their candidate. The less time and money they can spend on training the better, so the first thing they’ll want to see is your experience. If you’re trying to break into a new career and don’t have a lot of experience in that industry, don’t worry. There are ways around that.

For example, remember that relevant experience isn’t always paid. If you took a class in a related field, that counts. If you did a project on your own time that required similar skills, that counts. Extra points if you organized the project yourself.

SHOW INITIATIVE

Candidates who show initiative automatically become much more attractive to potential employers. Companies don’t want workers who just sit around waiting to be told what to do. They want employees with the will and the ability to look around, see what needs to be done, and find a way to do it.

If you did any projects on your own time, organized any groups, or took steps to further your education in the industry, those are all excellent examples of initiative and displaying them prominently on your resume will significantly increase your chances of getting an interview.

 

LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE

Employers want to hire qualified candidates, but it’s not just knowledge and skills that they’re hiring for. At the end of the day, they’re hiring people and they want to make sure they hire people they can work with and who will get along well with the other members of their team. You can highlight your personality on your resume by including your most attractive qualities under your profile at the top and, in some cases, under skills.

 

QUANTIFY YOUR EXPERIENCE AND ABILITIES

The best way to prove you’re great to work with is by providing hard evidence of all the ways you’ve benefited former/current employer. If you managed to come up with a new way of doing things that saved your employer time and money, you should absolutely put that on your resume. Whenever possible, you should state exactly how much you helped them. For example, “Increased productivity by 10% by suggesting changes to the workflow that made operations run more smoothly and efficiently.” Always put the benefit to the employer at the beginning of the sentence, followed by what you did to bring it about.

Getting your resume in order is just the first step to getting an interview. At City College, we provide career assistance to help you seek employment once you’ve completed your courses.

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