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With more people applying for jobs on the internet, employers and recruitment firms are receiving large numbers of resumes. Use these 5 tips to make your resume stand out from the crowd:

1. Use keywords. Most employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to scan resumes and weed out those which don’t meet the minimum requirements. The ATS system will search for words such as “CPA”, “Java Programming”, or “Microsoft Excel”. If your resume is missing important keywords, the ATS could put your resume in the wrong pile. HR professionals and recruitment firms are overwhelmed with the number of resumes and rely on an ATS to do the first round of filtering. Whatever industry you’re in, look at the keywords that apply to your skills and make sure to include them. If some of your skillsets go by multiple names, include all of them. For example, if you know Microsoft Office also list Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint. If you only list Microsoft Office, an ATS system scanning for Microsoft Excel may accidentally put your resume in the “no” pile.

2. Tailor your resume to the job. Most candidates send generic resumes to numerous employers and recruitment firms in hopes of landing a job. When you do this, nothing makes you stand out and your resume looks bland. It’s better to apply to less jobs with a highly-targeted resume for each. Your future employer wants to know exactly how your skills fit with their current operations. The more you tailor your resume to their business, the more your resume will make a positive impression to the reader and get you to the interview stage.

3. Tell a story. Recruiting agencies and employers want to know how your skills were used to help your company’s goals. Not only do they want to know which skills you have, but they want to know how you applied those skills in helping the company with its projects. In addition, they want to see how you interacted with your co-workers to accomplish these goals.

4. Include relevant projects outside your job in your resume. People who are really engaged in their work usually have completed projects outside of their working hours. This is one big way to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. Employers know that people who are genuinely interested in their work are probably going to bring better results and are more likely to put in the time and effort needed for a project to succeed. The more senior position you’re looking for, the more important this is to show your leadership qualities.

Being in the recruitment industry for over 34 years, we have a lot of experience with which resumes work and which don’t. These are our best ways to make your resume stand out from the crowd and distinguish yourself.

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