When you’re applying for a job, it’s easy to feel like all your competition is the same. You can’t help but notice that every single applicant has the exact same credentials as you — and to top it off, they all seem to be more qualified than you!

What can you do to get noticed in the crowd of applicants? How can you make sure your resume gets read and gets you an interview? The answer is simple: You need to stand out from the rest.

In this article, we’ll show you 5 ways to do just that.

If you feel like writing your own resume is too much for you at the moment – don’t worry. Maybe advanced copywriting techniques, key skills, and ATM systems aren’t for you. Here’s a custom resume editing service that’ll help you along the way! Professionals at Skillhub will be more than glad to assist you – and help you to invest in your career, and land an interview in no time!

Let’s now get into 5 ways to stand out from the vast rest of the applicants.

1. Create a Unique Summary

As an applicant, your resume will usually be one of the hundreds if not thousands that an employer receives. To make yours stand out from the crowd, you need a summary that immediately attracts attention and makes it clear to employers why they should keep reading. This is where many CVs fail — they simply list off information that doesn’t help the reader understand what value the applicant could bring to their company.

To avoid this common mistake, come up with a summary that is both specific and interesting — preferably one that will make employers want to keep reading about how you and your accomplishments could benefit their company directly.

2. Structure Your Resume

If you are planning on applying for a job, you need to prepare your resume. It is the first thing the employer will see, so it must be well-written and professional. Employers typically spend less than 30 seconds looking over them when deciding if they want to interview an applicant, so you have to make sure yours stands out. Here are some tips that can help:

• Use bullets! If you have a lot of work experience or education that is similar, use bullets to organize it all. It helps employers quickly scan your CV and pick out what they want to know more about.

• Make sure your header includes your name, contact information, and dates of employment (or school). This will help employers recognize the importance of each section right away.

• Use action verbs! Action verbs can show employers that you have taken action in previous jobs and can do the same in their company. For example: Solved, Coordinated, Increased, Analyzed, or Chaired are all great words to use in your work experience section.

• Include numbers! Numbers don’t lie (until they do)! Including statistics about how much money you made or how many people you helped can help employers get a better picture of your work ethic and skillset.

• Most importantly – don’t forget to include key skills.

3. Personalize Your Resume for Each Job You Apply for

The more generic your resume, the less likely it is that an employer will read it carefully. It should address all of the qualifications required for the job, but it should also include details that are specific to that position, such as projects you worked on or skills you used in previous jobs.

Keywords are what an applicant tracking system (ATS and ATS bots) uses to find relevant resumes when a human being isn’t involved in the hiring process. A good rule of thumb is to use two or three keywords per writing, especially ones that match up with the job description’s requirements.

4. Use Copywriting Techniques

People are looking for reasons why they should hire you over another candidate, so you have to sell yourself. Be sure to emphasize your achievements, skills, and positive traits about yourself. Your resume is meant to make a good first impression. You want the hiring manager or recruiter to remember you as an outstanding candidate out of all the other candidates they are interviewing.

Create an attention-grabbing headline that tells employers what you want them to know about you right away. Your headline should be specific enough to answer the question, “What do you want me to do?” And it should intrigue your employer or hiring manager enough for them to want to keep reading about you, even if there are hundreds of other CVs in their stack.

5. Proofread!

Most people think that their CV is good as-is. They’ve spent hours on it and they want to send it off ASAP. However, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and formatting issues are a big red flag to any HR department or recruiter. The goal of writing your CV isn’t just to get it done; it’s to have other people read and understand it without having to pick up the phone and call you because something doesn’t make sense. 

If you can’t take the time to read over your resume before sending it off, no one else will either – and you’ll be left wondering why you haven’t heard back from them yet!

Final Thoughts

A great resume is not just a list of your past jobs and educational background. It’s a self-marketing tool that you use to convince employers to invite you to job interviews. It’s also the first thing an employer sees, so it needs to be well organized, professional, and error-free.

You should spend a lot of time perfecting your resume, especially if you are applying for a competitive job or internship at a prestigious recruiting firm. You can use this guide as a reference when writing your CV or cover letter – and you’ll land a dream job in no time!