The job market is constantly evolving, and the resume-writing techniques that worked a few years ago may no longer be relevant today. Therefore, it's important to know the latest trends and best practices for writing a resume in 2023 so that you can take advantage of all the opportunities to land your dream job. So, without further ado, here are our top 8 tips to ace your resume in 2023.
1. Customize your Resume for Each Job Application
One of the most important things you can do to stand out in the job market is to tailor your resume to the specific job you are applying for. A personalized resume is designed to meet a particular employer's specific needs and preferences for a given role. Personalizing your resume ensures that potential employers perceive a valuable, well-suited candidate and receive information that's relevant to their organization. Otherwise, they would be reviewing a bland, standardized document that would only hurt your chances of landing that job.
Each tailored resume should include language that closely matches the job posting's description and qualifications. In addition, each section of the resume - such as the summary, work experience, and skills - directly applies to the desired position. This approach allows for a deliberate selection of what to add and remove from the customized resume. Essentially, from the hiring manager's perspective, the candidate provides all the relevant answers to the question, "Why should we hire you?"
2. Use a Clean and Modern Design/Template
Crafting a resume with a clean design template can give you an edge during the job application process. A clean and modern design efficiently organizes your information, presents a professional appearance, and positions you as a more competitive candidate compared to others. Adopting a professional format facilitates hiring managers in reading and pinpointing important information.
While it is possible to create a clean resume from scratch using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, it may be more efficient to use a pre-designed template. There are thousands of resume templates available online, which can help enhance your resume and make it stand out. The following are the seven benefits of utilizing a pre-designed template:
Clearly highlights your skills and experience
Visually Appealing
Facilitates hiring managers in scanning and identifying essential details
Provides a professional and well-organized impression
Enables those lacking design expertise to submit a well-crafted resume
Allows you to concentrate on entering quality information rather than formatting
Enables you to create/edit your resume easily and quickly.
3. Use Keywords and Action Verbs
Recruiters and hiring managers seek specific abilities, skills, expertise, and traits in a candidate through resume keywords and phrases. Keywords refer to job-related nouns that describe hard and soft skills and qualifications, while action verbs demonstrate past accomplishments. The combination of both creates phrases that employers or systems scan for.
As more than 90% of companies pre-scan applications electronically with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), it's crucial to include relevant keywords and phrases related to the job to get noticed.
ATS software is sophisticated and can rank resumes based on keyword frequency, importance, and related skills. To use this technology effectively, using keywords and phrases intelligently and strategically is important.
Now, you may be wondering, how do I find the best resume keywords and phrases to list on your Resume? Have no worries, as we did the leg work for you. Follow the four tips below to find the best keywords and phrases to include on your resume:
Review the job posting carefully to discover the specific skills the employer desires.
Examine several job posts with the same title/position.
Carefully examine the company’s website.
Assess the qualifications and experience of higher-level positions.
4. Quantify your Accomplishments
Including quantifiable data on your resume can be a powerful strategy for showcasing your value and achievements in past roles. In today's competitive job market, taking advantage of every opportunity to stand out is essential.
A resume with concrete numbers and metrics can make a strong impression on prospective employers.
To make your resume more impactful, it's recommended that you incorporate specific numbers when describing your accomplishments or previous work experience rather than relying on ambiguous language. For example, instead of saying “improved sales,” say “increased sales by 20% in six months.” By quantifying your achievements, you can identify areas where you can provide a clearer picture of your contributions and the value you bring to the table.
The following are three main benefits of quantifying your accomplishments on a resume:
Using quantifiable measures in your resume can provide hiring professionals with more specific information about your work ethic and performance at your previous job.
Providing numbers in your resume can increase the credibility of your claims and showcase your results-driven approach.
Using numbers can make your resume more memorable and leave a stronger impression on employers.
5. Keep your Resume Concise and Relevant
A common mistake job seekers make is overloading their resumes with buzzwords, vague descriptions, and irrelevant experiences, resulting in wordy and fluffy applications. Employers, however, do not have the time for such resumes and instead want to quickly identify the core qualifications of the applicant to determine whether or not they should be invited for an interview.
Remember, you always want to make your resume stand out in the competitive world we live in today.
Making a concise and relevant resume is a challenging task. However, we hope to remove some of that burden from you by providing as much valuable information as possible. Follow the following 5 tips to keep your resume concise but relevant:
Avoid repetitive information
Remove old/irrelevant experience
Delete generic self-descriptors like “strong work ethic” and “detail-oriented.”
Get rid of simple and common skills such as “knowing how to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.”
Avoid long descriptions of job duties or responsibilities
A good rule of thumb is to keep your resume to one or two pages and only include the most important and relevant information.
6. Include a Personal Statement or Summary
A personal statement, also known as a career summary or personal mission statement, is a concise and direct section located at the top of your resume. Its purpose is to catch the attention of the recruiter or hiring manager by providing a brief overview of your most significant experiences and qualifications that make you an ideal candidate for the position.
As recruiters and hiring managers must skim through many resumes, a personal statement serves as a tool to differentiate yourself from other applicants and make yourself more appealing to employers. It summarizes your skills and abilities, highlights your unique strengths, and effectively communicates why you are the perfect fit for the job.
The first step in writing your personal statement is to read the job description thoroughly.
Tailoring your personal statement to each job description is crucial to communicate the value you can bring to the position effectively. A generic statement will not suffice. Once you have a good grasp of the job requirements, you can start writing your statement, keeping it concise with 50-200 words.
Before you dive into writing your personal statement, click here to view a few examples of personal statements in a resume.
7. Provide links to your Online Presence In today's world, your online presence can play a crucial role in shaping your personal brand. For job seekers, this can be advantageous or disadvantageous, depending on how they leverage their social media tools.
Due to the increased attention to our online presence, many people wonder if they should also include links to their social media profiles in their resumes. The answer is simple. Yes, you should include links to your social media platforms for various reasons:
Many prospective employers and recruiters will search for you online anyway, so you should be proactive by providing the links.
Social media pages can showcase you as a unique individual rather than solely a compilation of past jobs, skills, and accomplishments.
Listing social media in your resume can prompt you to tidy up all your social media pages.
A well-developed online brand can help you stand out from other candidates, giving you an edge to secure that critical interview.
While it's a good idea to include links to relevant social media profiles, the more critical question is which platforms to include in your resume. You always want to make sure the social media platform you provide will matter to your job-search effort and demonstrates a different side of your persona.
In most cases, other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook provide no good use to include in your resume. LinkedIn, however, is highly regarded among professionals and presents an excellent opportunity to establish your online presence. If you already have a LinkedIn profile, make sure to optimize it by using a professional photo, appropriate keywords, a refined summary, and a comprehensive work history.
If you don't have a LinkedIn profile, we highly recommend you make one.
8. Include additional Resume Sections
Including additional sections in your resume, such as hobbies, languages, and volunteer experience, is essential for several reasons.
It can help to demonstrate your personality, interests, and well-roundedness to potential employers. This can be particularly important if you are applying for a job in a creative or people-oriented field where personal qualities and interests are highly valued.
Listing languages that you speak fluently or other skills acquired through volunteer work can help you stand out from other applicants and make you a more attractive candidate for the job.
Including these additional sections can also help you to showcase your commitment, dedication, and community involvement, which are all important traits that many employers value in their employees.
Overall, including additional sections in your resume can help you present a more complete picture of who you are as a person and potential employee.
Did you know?
Before we wrap up our blog, we wanted to share four quick facts about resumes you should be mindful of:
Hiring managers spend an average of 7 seconds reading a resume
76% of resumes are rejected due to an unprofessional email address
88% of resumes are rejected due to a picture on the resume
The percentage of resume and job applications with inaccuracies is 53%
BONUS TIP: Join our Resume Writing 101 Workshop
Here at TEAM Work Cooperative, we offer a wide variety of workshops and webinars to help you find employment, covering topics such as resume writing 101, how to interview with confidence, the art of cover letter writing, and job offer negotiation. After reading this article, if you still have any questions, or are interested in learning more about how to ace your resume, click here to learn more about our Resume Writing 101 workshop and how you can sign up.
Hoon Choi
MEL Lead
TEAM Work Cooperative
About Hoon Choi
Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Hoon moved to Canada at the age of 9 with his family. As a recent graduate from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in marketing, Hoon is thrilled to start his young career and start contributing to his community. As a team player who has a smile for everyone, Hoon loves collaborating with others to overcome different challenges and tasks. In his downtime, Hoon enjoys going to a bar with his friends, watching sports, and spending a nice sunny day by the lake or the beach.
