Writing your resume is the first step in applying for the job you want. It is an art as well as a science. If you can impress potential employers on paper, you’ll win the chance to wow them with you personality at the interview stage. But how can you ensure your resume is as strong as it needs to be? We all know the feeling.

You might spend hours typing your qualifications into a Word document, but at the end it just looks a mess. Maybe you don’t know which elements of your experience you need to emphasize. If only we knew what employers are thinking when they look at your resume!

Believe it or not, we do. Careers are a big business, and plenty of studies have been made to look at the way employers analyze CVs. For instance, while a good headshot is essential for a LinkedIn profile, if you include one in your written resume, you’ll be perceived as unprofessional. 88 percent of applicants do so face rejection for their efforts.

We’ve gathered 18 insights into our new Infographic, and each piece of resume advice is backed up by a survey or report. Be sure to study it carefully before completing your CV, and you will greatly increase your chances of being shortlisted for an interview.

Employers have to see large number of resumes before making their decisions. Make sure you rise to the top of the pile by polishing up your CV with these wise words of advice. Here are top 18 tips to make your resume stand out from the rest:

1. Run a job description through a cloud generator. Through this, the most important keywords will act as a content guide for your resume, especially when most recruiters would like your resume to be customised to meet exact job requirements.
2. Format your resume in reverse chronological order. List out on your most recent experiences at the top. Recruiters generally spend only six seconds assessing your CV, so make it easier for them to know what you can offer.
3. Stick to just two pages for your resume, as 58 percent recruiters just prefer two pages as their ideal length.

4. If you’re applying for a creative role, do not bother with making a creative resume. According to a survey, design savvy resumes often have poor informative content.

5. Towards the beginning of your resume, always list your name, contact details and additional info in the first top lines. This will help your candidature get noticed by 80 percent of the recruiters, since they read the top line first.

See: 5 Key Defining Talent Trends to Effectively Recruit the Mobile-Enabled, On-Demand Workforce

6. Do not include a photo along with your CV unless specifically requested by the employer. Candidates face an 80 percent job reduction rate, if they do.
7. Add a link to your portfolio, Twitter or LinkedIn, with 71 percent recruiters expect candidates to have a well-made portfolio that showcase your work.
8. Get recommendations on LinkedIn that support your qualifications on the resume. 44 percent recruiters use these recommendations to determine, and decide on if they should hire you or not.
9. Make sure to provide a summary about yourself. Just write in three brief sentences on who you are, what do you seek to achieve in life and why, what value can you offer to the company if you’re hired.
10. List your skill sets after your summary statement and before your experience. 41 percent HR managers pay attention to this, more than you do.
11. Recruiters generally pay more attention to numbers such as percentage and dollar signs. So illustrate your skills with numbers such as for example, “Increased sales by 5% over a year period.”
12. Highlight achievements using the X, Y and Z approach. Such as for example, “In situation X, I did Y and that supported in development of Z. Recruiters believe achievements stated in a resume are important.
13. Delete the fluff in narrating experiences, especially when the space is limited, as recruiters tend to skim over lengthy content.
14. Do not forget to include a cover letter. 45 percent job seekers fail to include a cover letter along with the resume, and most recruiters expect to see one to shortlist the deserving candidates who are keenly interested in the job opening.
15. Use proof reading tools such as Grammarly to check spelling errors in the content. 61 percent recruiters will automatically dismiss a resume filled with typos and silly grammatical mistakes.
16. Save your resume as a Word doc or a PDF. While 49 percent respondents preferred to save their resumes as a Word doc, and some others preferred PDF format.
17. Always address the hiring manager by their name. 84 percent job seekers don’t address the hiring manager by their name, however a study finds that 22 percent recruiters will pay more attention to your CV if you do.
18. Track your resume using Mixmax. This tech tool tells you when your email was opened, such that you know the appropriate time on when to follow-up with the hiring manager.

While it might be easy to overlook certain important crucial things, when rushing to get your resume inn however, these tips and tricks will help you to be more cautious, track and increase your chances to get shortlisted for the next coveted job role.

The original article was published here.

Also read: 10 Resume Tweaks That Can Help You Get the Job You Want

Feature image credit: jbcconnect.com