Resume Tips
The primary aim of your resume is to secure an interview so you can sell yourself to a prospective employer.
It provides a first impression of you as a potential candidate and will no doubt be competing with many other resumes so you need to quickly and effectively capture the attention of the reader, show that you have the experience and ability for the role and demonstrate the potential you have to offer the company. So, what are some key tips?.
• Analyze job ads : there is plenty of useful information within job ads. Take the time to analyse not just the specific ad you are applying for, but also those from companies offering the same or similar positions. This will help you to identify the applicant profile they are looking for and how the information should be presented.
• Use effective job titles : make sure they grab attention and try to be as descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of your past work experiences.
• Put the most important information first : this point is valid to both the overall order of your resume and the individual sections. It’s likely that your previous work experience will be the most important part of the resume, so put it first. When you are describing your experiences or skills, list the most relevant ones to this role first.
• Demonstrate your qualities and strengths : don’t just list all of your qualities (e.g. motivated, creative, problem solver), try to connect them with real life and work experiences that demonstrate these qualities in action. Aim to explain how a specific skill can benefit the company and connect it to tangible results.
• Use bullet points : employers or recruiters seldom have the time to read long paragraphs of text. Use bullet points and short sentences to describe your experiences, educational background and professional objectives.
• Where are you going? Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are going, and how you want to arrive there. This allows them to imagine how you could fit into their team and culture longer term.
• Two or three pages : although there is no ideal length for a resume, most employers and recruiting specialists say that it should be no more than one or two pages maximum. Provided all the necessary information is there, the shorter your resume the better. Remember you are aiming to secure an interview with your resume, not the actual position.
• Don’t forget white space! Don’t jam pack your resume with text. Yes, it does need to be concise but that refers to the overall amount of information. White space between the words, lines and paragraphs will improve the readability of your resume.
• Or the basics…. your name should be the first thing on your resume, in bold and with a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed.
• No lies, ever : even small lies should be avoided. Apart from simply being unethical, background checks are common and if you are busted it could damage your credibility in the market for good.
• Ask someone to review your resume : it’s a good idea to get a second opinion as another person can objectively evaluate the overall quality of your resume and perhaps make some good suggestions.
• Proof Read it : this cannot be over emphasised! A few small typos can reduce the positive impact of an otherwise great resume. Proof reading once is not enough – do it twice, three times or more.
• A note on Social Media : Have you Googled yourself lately? Results would be interesting…ensure to publish online only what you want everyone to see, not just your friends! Three quick tips on keeping professional on social media:
1. Ensure you have a completed profile on LinkedIn with a professional photo.
2. Ensure Facebook content does not harm your professional reputation.
3. Stay in the know and follow key industry groups for up-to-date information.
As a part of our commitment to working with you to secure your ideal position, RV will assist you to polish your resume so that it does indeed, stand out from the crowd. These tips will get you off to a great start.
Grow your Employer Brand From the Inside
Planning, developing and implementing Employer Branding strategy is not an easy task. Here, we have defined 5 steps to follow when implementing your Employer Branding strategy.
Employer branding is a key component of every successful Talent Acquisition strategy. Having clearly defined Employer Brand can help you find the right job candidates, attract, engage and hire them.
In this world of “War for Talent”, well-planned Employer Branding strategy can be a huge competitive advantage that sets you apart from their competitors.
5 steps for implementing a successful Employer Branding strategy.
STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR EMPLOYER BRANDING GOALS
Think about what do you want to achieve with your Employer Branding strategy. Some of the common Employer Branding goals include:
- Get more job applicants
- Get more high-quality candidates
- Increase online engagement
- Increase candidate engagement
- Increase Employer Brand awareness
- Build trust with current candidates
- Get more career site visitors
- Get more applicant from social media
- Increase referral rates
- Increase offer-acceptance rate
STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR CANDIDATE PERSONA
Defining your candidate persona is a crucial step here. Without knowing who your perfect candidate is, you won’t be able to send targeted messages to the candidates that you want to attract.
Here is a cheat sheet for defining a candidate persona!
STEP 3: DEFINE YOUR EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION
Do you know why your currents have chosen you? Do you know why do they stay? Do you know what do they like most about you as an employer? These are all the questions you need to answer in order to set up a successful Employer Branding strategy. Answers to these questions best explain your Employee Value Proposition. Your EVP is the message you will target your candidate persona with.
These are the main 5 blocks of every employee value proposition:
Compensation : Salary Satisfaction, Compensation System Satisfaction, Raises and Promotions, Timeliness, Fairness, Evaluation System.
Benefits : Time Off, Holidays, Insurance, Satisfaction with the System, Education, Flexibility, Family.
Career : Ability and Chance to Progress and Develop, Stability, Trainings at Work, Career Development, Evaluation and Feedback.
Work Environment : Recognition, Autonomy, Personal Achievements, Work-Life Balance, Challenges, Understanding of One’s Roles and Responsibilities.
Culture : Understanding of Firm’s Goals and Plans, Colleagues, Leaders and Managers, Support, Collaboration and Team Spirit, Trust, Social Responsibility.
STEP 4: DEFINE THE CHANNELS TO PROMOTE YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
There are around 5 major touch points with candidates before they get hires. They are points of, thus called, candidate journey. Many of these touch points are also channels for promoting your Employer Brand.
Methods and Channels for promoting Employer Brand:
Social Networks, Career Site, Current Employees, Candidate Relationship Management, Candidate Interview Experience.
STEP 5: MEASURE YOUR EMPLOYER BRANDING SUCCESS
Based on the goals that you set up in the first step, you should measure the success of your Employer Branding strategy. Data-driven recruiting, however, is impossible without the right recruiting tools! Today, there are many HR tech solutions that help companies excel their Employer Branding strategies.
