The New Year is finally upon us! And there is so much hope and expectation after such a challenging 2020. The market is currently flooding with applicants vying for open positions, so competition is rife!

You may be wondering what things you could be doing to improve your chances of standing out against other job seekers? I can confidently say, your resume would be a great place to start! It is usually the first form of communication between you and a prospective employer, your personal advertising space, and quite often what will get you to second base in the recruitment process. So, you must respect it as one of the most critical tools in your job search box.

Understanding what a resume is and taking care in how you write one can significantly impact your level of success in attracting the interest of prospective employers and recruiters.

The word ‘resume’ comes from the French word - résumé meaning - ‘summary,' which is precisely what it is; A summary of your career skills and experience to date. More importantly, it is not so much a summary about ‘you’ as such, but rather, what benefits your skills can offer a future employer in the marketplace.

As job markets become flooded with applicants and competition for jobs increase, candidates must understand the lack of time that people reviewing these applications have to determine whether they are a good fit for a role or not. It is also just as important to understand you will more than likely be pitching to various audiences, e.g., the employer, the recruiter, the applicant tracking system, etc. So, to ensure your resume attracts these audiences' attention, there are some essential elements to consider when reviewing your document.

• Understand your audience, i.e., who or what will be potentially assessing your application – Employer, Recruiter, ATS System, and under what conditions, e.g., minimal time, large ad response, keyword searches, etc. Adjust your resume to cater for this, e.g., ensure you use keywords relating to the specific job, nicely spaced-out using bullet points to communicate how your skills can be of benefit to your future employer, so no long-winded paragraphs!         
• Ensure that the top third of your front page clearly communicates your interest and where you want to go with the position. You want to grab the recipient's attention early in the document.
• Remember, a resume is a summary of your skills and experience. It should be as concise as possible, with information on 'how' your skills and expertise can benefit your future employer well highlighted.
• Leave exaggerated technical descriptions for the job interview. The goal with your resume is to show you have the required capabilities and closely match what the employer is looking for, and if not, how your transferable skills can be utilised to meet the requirements.
• Try and put yourself in the reviewer's shoes and ask yourself if you would consider shortlisting yourself based on the above considerations.

With the job market experiencing an increase in competition for jobs, it is critical to ensure your resume positions itself to stand out well and attract the best possible interest.