Resume tips that actually landed me a job in this climate
Happy International Update Your Resume Month!
I found this holiday while looking for inspiration for my work social media calendar. Go figure.
Given the increasing layoffs and job insecurity, having an updated resume is crucial. Here are some practical insights I've learned in the past year during my successful job search in a competitive market:
🎨 Aesthetics Matter: A well-designed resume can make a significant impact, especially for those in fields like marketing, communications, media, and graphic design. Canva.com is an incredible and free tool for creating visually appealing resumes.
🔗 Consider taking your resume a step further with a professional deck/portfolio. It's a standout way to showcase visual work samples, references, and offer a more holistic view of you as a candidate. Again, Canva has tons of free templates. I found out from my colleagues that my creative portfolio is what sealed the deal for me as they were easily able to scroll through this PDF and walk through my career.
🔍 Keyword Optimization: Now that I find myself on the hiring side of things, I can't stress enough the importance of tailoring your resume to the job description. Make your resume word-searchable by incorporating relevant keywords from the job posting. This not only helps you pass through automated screening systems but also demonstrates your alignment with the role's requirements.
✍️ Grammar Excellence with AI: ChatGPT is an invaluable tool that I've used to polish my resume's grammar and readability. Use it.
Try prompts like: ‘Rewrite this sentence for a line in my resume’ or ‘Fix the grammar and flow in this paragraph’.
I’ve even copy-pasted my old job descriptions into ChatGPT and asked it to turn the text into a resume description.
🌐 Apply to the right places to get your resume looked at: If you’re looking for high-quality creative job postings in Massachusetts I highly recommend HireCulture.org. Unlike job sites like Indeed or Glassdoor (that often scrape job listings from other sites, meaning they aren’t monitored actively by the company), companies post their listings directly on HireCulture. These postings often ask for applications via email, resulting in higher response rates for interviews. HireCulture is where I received two high-quality job interviews!
Remember, your resume is often the first impression you make on potential employers. Make it a memorable one! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about these tips or if you'd like to share your own experiences.
