3 Resume Secrets to Land Your Dream Job

3 Resume Secrets to Land Your Dream Job 3 Resume Secrets to Land Your Dream Job 3 Resume Secrets to Land Your Dream Job April 1, 2011 by Career Coach Sherri Thomas 1 Comment Career Coaching 360, LLC Your resume can do a lot more than land you a job interview.   It can also help position you as the top candidate going into interviews, and even help you get a higher starting salary which could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your career.     So how do you know if youve written your resume correctly so it gives you a leading edge over other job candidates?   Below is a resume checklist with ten strategies to help you write your resume and put yourself in high demand in todays job market.   Feature key words.   Key words are those skills listed as the job requirements in the job postings.   Key words are different for every job so you need to look closely at the job description.   Then, showcase all of those requirements that you meet in a section called Key Strengths, right underneath the Objective section.     Show results.  This is the single biggest difference in making your resume stand out from all the other thousands of resumes.   I do this myself, and I know this is why I get the interviews.   Underneath your Key Strengths section, I list 4-5 career highlights that are results focused.  Quantify each of your career highlights in terms of dollars, percentages, or numbers.   For example, lets say that youre in sales and youve brought in an average of 10 new clients per month.   Thats 120 clients a year, and if youve been doing that for the past 3 years, thats 360 new clients!   So one of your career highlights could be, Gained approximately 360 new clients which generated $360,000 in new revenue in three years.Also, try to quantify each of your accomplishments for every job that you list in the Experience section. Highlight leadership and teamwork.  Hiring managers look for candidates who are strong leaders, AND strong team contributors.   Someone who can lead, as well as be led.   So highlight your leadership skills and what the results were with the projects and teams that youve led.  If youre just started out in your career and havent led any projects or teams, then highlight any leadership experience you may have had in professional organizations, a sports league, in church, or any other extra-curricular activities.   Also, list projects in which you were a strong team member in terms of what your role was, and what the team accomplished.   And finally   Studies show that your resume has about 20-seconds in the hands of a hiring manager before it gets tossed into the maybe pile, or into the trash.   Think of it this way, when you walk into an interview youre going to dress up to make a great first impression.   Your resume needs to do the same thing make a great first impression!     If youd like help in getting more interviews, grabbing the attention of HR professionals, or reinventing yourself into a new career, then check out our resume services.   You may also want to see how weve helped our clients reinvent their career!