18 Resume Tips for 2018 - Is your resume in the Top 2%

It's widely known that roughly 2% of those who apply for a particular job land an interview. Often you're competing against hundreds or even thousands of others to get a phone call.

To get a callback, you'll have to stand out with one of the best resumes in the entire stack. A bland, mediocre, outdated resume is not going to cut it.

Here are 18 suggestions for having a modern resume that stands out and obtains an interview.

1. Skip the old, dated phrases. Resumes in 2018 don't have outdated phrases like the word "objective" at the top or "references provided upon request."
2. Have a modern format. Incorporate colors, lines and even charts to give your resume visual appeal.
3. List one phone number where you can easily be reached. Clean out your voicemail box often so no one hears "the mailbox is full."
4. Simplify the contact section. Use a professional email (no babycakes@yahoo or surferdude@aol) preferably Gmail rather than AOL or Yahoo. List the city, state and zip only (no address). Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile.
5. Use a crystal clear job title. The job title should share exactly what type and level of job that you seek. "Executive" is too broad and even though "Marketing Executive" is better, be even more specific. Good titles to list would include "Chief Marketing Officer" or "VP Finance."
6. Knock it out of the park with a hard-hitting branding statement. A branding statement captures the essence of who you are, the value you bring, and why someone should hire you. It is generally 1-2 sentences long and more effective than a summary paragraph.
7. Round out the branding statement with a few brief paragraphs (two to three sentences max) about specific roles or contributions you can make.
8. Categorize your key competencies section. Add 10 - 15 key competencies and categorize them so they are easy to process.
9. Customize your key competencies. When constructing the resume, reference a few sample job descriptions and ensure your key competencies match key skill sets you'll need on your resume.
10. Consider time gaps on the resume. If they are significant, you may want to consider just listing years in the dates or addressing a long gap through a sabbatical.
11. Limit how far back you go on the resume. Generally, you'll just want to go back around 15 years on the resume. Earlier than this will date you and the experience is not as relevant. Move the rest to an "Early Career History" section and consider removing dates.
12. Combine numerous consulting jobs underneath one heading to give more of a sense of continuity.
13. Energize job descriptions by noting and describing the large, overall challenge you faced in the position.
14. Note in the job description if you were sought after, recruited, promoted, or retained after a company was acquired.
15. Front load bulleted achievements and describe what you did, as well as quantify the achievement. (Saved $50M in labor costs by streamlining six production lines within two plants).
16. Refrain from listing more than 3-4 bullets per job description. You don't have to list everything you did at a job; be selective and choose the most important accomplishments. If you have more than five, categorize them.
17. Ditch the Times New Roman font in favor of an easier to read fonts like Calibri, Garamond or Verdana.
18. Break up large blocks and paragraphs of text. If the resume does not have ample space, short blocks of text, and brief paragraphs, no one will read it.

Follow these steps and you'll be moving in the direction of having a resume that stands out and invites interviews. Take it one step at a time. The investment in a stellar resume will pay off exponentially with interviews and hopefully, job offers followed by a paycheck.

For example, getting a job one month sooner puts $8,000 in your pocket for every multiple of $100,000 you make in salary. Spending the time and effort to have a stellar resume that lands an interview is definitely worth the investment.

Rebecca is an Executive Resume Writer and Career Discovery Coach. You can learn more at www.dreamlifeteam.com - contact her today to see if she is a good fit to assist in taking your resume from good to great.

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