Resume optimization is the process of embedding keywords and metrics related to your specific work experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and abilities with a focus on current hot skills in demand by employers. Thinks of resume optimization as “search engine optimization” for your career.
General resumes are merely a summary of what you’ve done in the past. They do not clearly detail your current “toolkit” — AND they have a 98% rejection rate. For that reason, you cannot afford NOT to optimize your resume.
Active job seekers who don’t configure their tools – resume, online career brand, search results — before they actually apply for jobs are essentially going to market unprepared. Before applying for jobs, it’s critical to review the information in the job posting and ensure that your resume clearly addresses each requirement.
Recruiters aren’t psychics. If you customize your resume submission to an online job posting, you are assisting them in assessing you against the role. Recruiters review online applications and resumes very quickly. So include all relevant information in the resume instead of any supplemental documents such as a cover letter.
The top 5 ways to optimize your resume include:
1. Actually update your resume. Go ahead and delete all old, irrelevant or dated information. Content gets stale. Focus on your go forward tool kit that is actually relevant to your future.
2. Clarify and standardize your job titles. Ensure that the titles aren’t too specific for your organization and are universal. If you are worried that your title is too company specific, search Indeed.com by the title. If the title isn’t used frequently, try translating it into a more universal title. This isn’t license to lie. It’s just a way to standardize a critical keyword as Recruiters frequently search by title and location, to increase the chances that your resume will come up in Recruiter searches.
3. Embed a short bio at the top of your resume. A robust bio that is one paragraph long is like your elevator speech and helps the reader quickly confirm title, level, functional area, industry, supervisory experience, budget and financial responsibility, key metrics, software and technology skills, certifications and training that is current.
4. Determine your top 5 transferrable skills and label each bullet under each job. Many times candidates have a lot of bullets under each job on a resume. If you can determine your top 5 skills that you are bringing to an employer and then brand 5 bullets under each job, it can be very impactful in terms of providing evidence for the skills you are claiming you have in the bio.
5. Add metrics around increasing revenue, adding clients, retaining clients, saving money, reducing expenses, reducing risk. Many times, job seekers have significant contributions and achievements in these areas and forget to include the financial impact in their resumes.
Think of your resume as a living, breathing document that must be updated quarterly because your contributions at work are constantly evolving and growing. Most importantly, the more you embed your most current skills and technology in your resume, the more you are assisting the Recruiter when you apply to a job. Finally, if you take the extra step to customize your resume to address each requirement in a job posting when you apply, you are more likely to receive a response.
About The Career Launcher
After spending years managing Talent Acquisition for Fortune 500 companies, The Career Launcher created the CareerRx™ program along with ResumeGenie™ for resume optimization.
In CareerRx™, she shows job seekers how recruiting and job search has been transformed by constantly changing recruiting technology including applicant tracking systems, social media, LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed.com and how we must change our definition of “job search” to launch and continuously promote an Online Career Brand.
With over 20 years of hands on direct recruitment experience, The Career Launcher demystifies the online job application process and offers job seekers a comprehensive research based program to jump start their job searches. She provides an insider’s perspective to what companies are seeking from candidates in the interview process.
It’s time for you to go beyond the resume. When it comes to your career, you can’t sit on the sidelines in the social media revolution. Click below to jumpstart your job search today with CareerRx™.