Why Resumes Are a Pain to Get Right
For most of us, resume writing can be as stressful and as daunting as going to the dentist. Though, it’s essentially a summary of your career and accomplishments, writing a resume can feel like pulling teeth. The thought of spending hours over wording, layout and format, only for the resume to be rejected, is enough to send anyone to despair.
But just why is it so hard? This article will explore some of the main reasons that make resume writing a challenge. If you’re struggling to craft the perfect resume, consider Jobseeker. This professional resume creation tool will walk you through the steps and provide a library of professional resume layouts, saving you time and effort.
It Takes a Lot of Time
When you’re job-hunting, it’s normal to want to apply to every job in sight to maximise your chances of getting interviews and jobs. Therefore, spending time writing your resume can feel like a necessary evil and a hindrance to your job search. What’s more, if the last time you updated your resume was a few years ago, you might not even remember everything you’ve achieved or done since then.
However, if you’re applying for everything you see with the same resume, the chances are you’re not tailoring your application to each specific job, which means you’re probably getting a lot of mediocre results.
Fortunately, writing a great resume doesn’t have to take up all your time. If remembering old jobs is proving to be a mental marathon, you could contact the human resources department of any of your former employers and ask them to confirm dates of employment to jog your memory. Why not go one step further and ask them to provide a description of your former role and responsibilities? As long as the job description is accurate, you can use this to capture your work experience on your resume.
It’s Difficult to Write About Yourself
Most of us were taught not to brag when we were children, so writing a resume that talks about how great you can feel awkward and unfamiliar. What’s more, you may feel that your accomplishments are “just part of the job” and nothing to shout out about. That might be because you think that the work you’ve completed is too small to be counted as an accomplishment or it hasn’t been recognized as such in the workplace.
However, it’s important to not simply list roles and responsibilities on your resumes but to think objectively about your skills. While this may be difficult, it’s your accomplishments that will set you apart from other candidates and demonstrate to hiring managers and recruiters that you add value to an organization.
If thinking about your skills and accomplishments doesn’t come naturally to you, it can help to make a master list of every notable or impressive thing you can think of that you’ve done in your career. Trusted colleagues or mentors can also help you brainstorm here—very often, they will have a more objective (and higher) view of your skills than you do.
Once you have this master list, you can then select the most relevant accomplishments to tailor your resume effectively to the job description.
You Need to Write for Both Machines and People
Many employers use automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) to perform an initial scan of candidates before a human even lays eyes on your resume. So, not only do you need to write a compelling resume that will catch the hiring manager’s attention, but you also need to optimize your resume for ATS scans in order to even be considered. This can be a daunting task, especially if you aren’t familiar with how ATS scans work or if writing isn’t your strong suit.
To pass an ATS scan, it’s essential to tailor your resume to each position. As mentioned in the previous section, selecting key accomplishments to highlight on your resume is a great way to start. Additionally, be sure to read the job posting carefully to identify the keywords and phrases that the employer uses to describe what they are looking for. Then use that same language in your resume and address as many of the desired characteristics as you can.
Recruiters Spend Seconds Scanning Resumes
You may have heard that recruiters spend 6-8 seconds per resume. As a job seeker, that’s frustrating to hear. After all, what’s the point of perfecting and polishing your resume if recruiters will barely read it?
While there’s no conclusive research as to which sections recruiters read first, many looks at and read the top. That’s why you need a powerful opening paragraph. Designed to catch the reader’s attention, this resume elevator pitch or personal statement should express your value in 3-5 short sentences, while convincing the recruiter to continue reading your resume.
If this sounds hard, it needn’t be. You could listen to TED talks or podcasts from people in your coveted role or be inspired by people on LinkedIn. After understanding what drives them and how they’ve built up their careers, you may find it easier to capture your own experience in a few words.
Careers Aren’t Always Groundbreaking or Thrilling
Finally, let’s face it—not all careers are super exciting and not all roles allow for innovation or massive accomplishments. It can therefore feel impossible to make your 10-year career as an accountant seem exciting. However, it’s important to notice that hiring managers aren’t necessarily expecting you to have changed the world.
Instead, focus on the small ways you made an impact throughout your career that have made things easier, more efficient, or saved the company time and/or money. Perhaps, you formed lasting bonds with clients, which resulted in a monthly increase in sales or you invented a filing system that reduced time on inventory. By thinking outside the box, you can show employers that consistency and loyalty are often just as valuable as flashier accomplishments.
