Land your dream job: 3 things your resume needs to have

Feb 18

Feb 18 Land your dream job: 3 things your resume needs to have

Entering the job market?

You’ve probably got your eye on a few amazing jobs—but the bad news is, hundreds and possibly even thousands of other students do too.

To stand out from the crowd and clinch those coveted offers, you’re going to need an outstanding resume.

Here are three things that your resume must include if you want to get noticed by the employer of your dreams:

1. In-demand skills

Employers are hiring employees to fulfill certain functions, so your resume needs to communicate that you have the skills needed to excel at the job.

If you don’t know what skills the employer is looking for, check out the job description.

For example, a front-end engineer job post by software company Atlassian requires candidates to have the following:

Notice that these skills aren’t just hard skills, such as knowing how to code in AngularJS or Backbone.js.

They include soft skills too—such as having an excellent command of spoken and written English, and the passion for understanding user problems.

So once you’ve identified the skills that the employer is looking for, include those in your resume if you’ve got ‘em!

2. Relevant past experiences

Apart from showing that you have the right skills for the job, a great resume will also signal that you have the right experience for the job.

That’s because if you are already familiar with the responsibilities expected of you, the employer will have to spend less time and money training you for them.

You’ll also likely be able to perform more efficiently compared to someone who has no prior experience in the field.

All these will make you a star candidate in the employer’s eyes!

Therefore in your resume, highlight your past experiences that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

As an example, here’s one experience that personal finance website I Will Teach You to be Rich requires its sales copywriter applicants to have:

If you are applying for this job, then your resume definitely needs to share:

Your experiences writing direct response sales copy;
How these experiences developed you, and
The results that your copy achieved.

3. Clean, appealing resume layout

Depending on how popular a job is, an employer may receive tons of applications—and resumes—for it.

If so, they will certainly not have time to scrutinize each and every resume in detail. But you can help make your resume easier to read by presenting it in a clean layout.

This means arranging the information in your resume in clearly defined sections, and making sure that the words on your resume are at a comfortable reading size.

The sections should also be clutter-free, with sufficiently large empty spaces between them.

For an extra touch, include a professional headshot to help employers put a face to your name.

You can even add some graphics or splashes of color to your resume—that will certainly help it make an impression in a sea of black and white resumes.

Don’t go overboard with the design and color of your resume, though.

Remember: you’re submitting a job application, not a completed coloring book!

Design a professional resume using PosterMyWall

Ready to get started designing your resume?

Most applicants will usually do up theirs using Microsoft Word or Google Docs—but you don’t want to be like most other applicants.

Using creative resume templates from PosterMyWall, you’ll be able to create professional-looking resumes such as these (even if you’re no graphic designer):