Perhaps you’re just starting out. Or maybe you’ve just never had a stellar resume to work with. But just stating where you worked and the tasks that you did at your last job will hardly get you noticed for any future opportunities.
You know you need some resume help, but you don’t know where to start. Fortunately, the answers can be found in your existing resume. All it takes is a little digging into your past experiences to see that your blasé resume has always had what it takes to be rich, substantial and enticing.
1. Numbers and Statistics
Did you manage a portfolio, email campaign or a classroom? Regardless of your last position, most of the tasks that were your responsibility are quantifiable. In every job, you’re going to have a success rate or a percentage increase to showcase. If you lack any real professional experience, that’s ok. As stated earlier, any task and any job can provide you with a resume full of figures that prove you’re a stand out employee.
Hcareers, a site devoted to the hospitality industry, interviewed Peter Shrive with Cambridge Management who turned working at an ice cream stand into a marketable opportunity. He stated, “What you did was purchase raw materials, planned inventories, dealt with 31,000 customers, grew sales by X%, generated Y% in profits, managed banking, handled cash transactions, honed customer service skills, arranged for repairs, located and hired staff, worked with the owners.”
2. Office Accolades
Don’t limit your resume to the day-to-day tasks you performed as an employee. Think beyond what you personally did at your desk, like philanthropic efforts you helped lead in the workplace. Your resume can exhibit how well-rounded you are as well as how you work with a team.
If you can’t claim that type of personality on your resume, it’s time to put in some effort. Identify needs on your team as well as in your workspace and take initiative. This will in turn not only boost your resume but the references your managers and coworkers will later give when it’s time for you to move jobs.
3. Extracurriculars
Finally, don’t forget to include some of your extracurricular activities outside of work on your resume. Potential employers look at your activity outside of the office for a better idea of your levels of motivation and ambition as well as your time management skills. These activities help to round you out as a person and not just an employee. They humanize you in a way that statistics on paper may not be able to.
By now you know that the resume is your first impression, and it needs to set you apart from other applicants. Getting detailed and showing quantifiable evidence of your professional experience will show potential employers that you yield results. And providing them a bigger picture of who you are as a person with office accolades and extracurriculars will convince them that you’re not just someone that might be a great addition to the team; you’re someone they want on their team.
What are some other tips for (legitimately) beefing up a resume? Share in the comments!
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