How to highlight your resume among hundreds of others: life hacks from experts

When you apply for a job, your resume mixes up with hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of others. If you are not invited for interviews, this may be due to the fact that your resume does not meet the requirements that competitors fulfill, writes GoBankingRates.

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If you are not recruiting, you probably haven’t seen so many resumes, so it’s hard to know where to go. The Zety online resume development project team analyzed over 133 resumes to find out how applicants across different industries fill out this document, what information they add, and which keywords they use. The result is rules that will help you find a job.

1. The average length of a resume is approximately 500 words

Zety's analysis found that the average length of a resume is 489 words, and the median length is 369 words. To put these numbers into perspective, a one-page resume is typically 380 words or less.

2. Recruiters Prefer Two-Page Resumes

Gone are the days when you needed to squeeze all your resume onto one page. In fact, Zety found that recruiters prefer a two-page resume.

“Data shows that recruiters are 2,9 times more likely to select a candidate with a two-page resume for management positions and 1,4 times more likely for entry-level positions,” the Zety study found. “What’s more, 77% of employers say experienced workers should NOT submit a one-page resume.”

3. Applicants usually send the same resume to all companies

The average number of resumes created by job seekers is one. And this is a big mistake. The majority of recruiters—63%—want to receive resumes based on an open position. This means that you should create one main summary and tailor it for each proposal so that it is never repeated.

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4. But some take personalization of resumes to the extreme

Zety found 17 users who created more than 100 resumes, and one user who created 339 resumes - it is clear that this is also not the norm. Still, since most people don't take the time to create a new resume for every job, you'll have an edge on the competition if you do.

5. There are 5 required resume sections

Your resume should have 5 sections - and if you missed one of them, you are in the minority: personal information (present in 99,9% of resumes), work experience (present in 98,3% of resumes), education (present in 97,3% of resumes). % resume), skills (present in 89,8% of resumes) and a summary of objectives (present in 88,75% of resumes).

6. Why do we need the Skills section

According to Zety, the lack of a list of skills can damage a resume as badly as a year off. The Skills section allows recruiters to see if your skill set matches what is needed to complete the job.

7. The most common resume skills

Your “Skills” section should include not only the software and applications you own, but also the so-called “soft skills”. Here are the most common ones:

• Sociability: 11% resume
• Leadership: 9%
• Time Management: 8%
• Problem Solving: 7%
• Customer Service: 5%
• Teamwork: 5%
• Adaptability: 4,3%
• Organization: 2%
• Creativity: 1,7%
• Conflict Resolution: 1,6%

You do not need to include all these skills, but Zety recommends adding some of them that apply to you.

8. The most common “hard skills” for a resume

You might think that mastering Microsoft Office is a given and doesn't need to be included in your skills section, but Zety disagrees. Here are the main “hard skills” that are listed on a resume:

• Microsoft Office: 12% resume
• Project Management: 6%
• Microsoft Excel: 6%
• Python: 3,8%
• Salesforce: 3,6%
• Java: 3%
• SQL: 2,9%
• Microsoft Word: 2,7%
• JavaScript: 2,4%
• Public speaking: 1,9%

9. Add a title

Zety says your resume should also include a heading—"summary" or "objective"—but instead of listing what your career goal is, you should state what you'd bring to the new position.

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10. Make more than five sections

5 standard resume sections is the minimum to stand out, but you should add at least one additional section. It's likely that competitors have already done this - analysis showed that 66% of applicants include an additional section in their resume.

11. The most popular additional sections of the resume

Not sure what to add? Here are the most popular additional resume sections:

• Languages: 31%
• Certificates: 27%
• Additional activities: 21%
• Interests: 19%
• Software: 18%
• Recommendations: 16%
• Courses: 11%
• Licenses: 5,5%
• Publications: 5,3%
• Conferences: 4,7%

12. The most common foreign languages ​​listed in the summary

The section “Languages” can be included only if you are fluent in other languages, but even if it is not, it will be useful to know the languages ​​that your competitors speak:

• Spanish: 5,7% resume
• French: 4,1%
• Arabic: 3,6%
• Hindi: 2,9%
• German: 2,8%
• Russian: 1,5%
• Italian: 1,2%
• Portuguese: 1%
• Mandarin dialect: 0,9%
• Tamil: 0,8%

13. Always add a certificate section if possible

According to Zety, certificates are "the only most verified way to prove their qualifications", but only 1 out of 4 job seekers lists them in their resume. If you have certificates, be sure to include them in your resume, and if not, consider getting them.

Attending a conference is a good way to demonstrate your expertise. You can list any conferences you have attended.

14. The harsh reality of job search

Even though the “perfect” resume is re-created for each job you apply for, you may have to apply for 30-50 jobs to get a job. According to Zety, only 10% of job seekers get interviews, and only 20% of them get a job offer. This means that the success rate for hiring is from about 2% to 3,4%.

These data explain why it takes a lot of time and effort to find work. But given these tips, your resume can stand out among hundreds of others and attract the attention of a recruiter.

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