Finding a good job can come down to your personal rapport with your interviewer. But make no mistake – that interview isn’t coming if you don’t impress them with a resume that’s indicative of your talents.
To ensure that hiring managers consider their time spent with your resume to be worthwhile, we offer the following tips:
Get off to a good start
. Be specific and concise when describing past accomplishments, and highlight these achievements up front. This allows an employer to clearly recognize how you can impact the company’s bottom line.
“In a highly competitive job market, hiring managers spend the most time on the best prospects, which means a candidate’s application must catch and keep their interest,” Hosking says.
Tailor the content.
Customize your resume so it speaks directly to a potential employer’s needs. Mirror the language and keywords found in the job description.
Do the two-minute test.
Ask a friend or family member to review your resume and summarize its key points for you. Make sure the most valuable information is being conveyed to readers. Also, enlist the help of someone to proofread and check for typos.
Keep it simple.
Refrain from using complicated language, graphics or distracting fonts that can make the resume difficult to read.
First things first
To get your resume noticed, you’ll have to make it through a screening process that too often requires on software applications instead of real people. That’s why keywords are so essential to today’s job search.
Keywords listed on a resume do more than summarize a job candidate’s experience — they’re used to determine a candidate’s qualifications for a job. Most large health care organizations use specially designed software that identifies keywords on electronic resumes. Those resumes then move to the next level of scrutiny, usually by a person in the human resources department.
In order to maximize your job search, be aware of the importance of keywords and how they relate to the job you’re seeking.
Here are examples of keywords to use for various health care positions, according to the Occupational Information Network:
Occupational therapists
Personal service
Social perceptiveness
Critical thinking
Oral comprehension
Problem sensitivity
Inductive reasoning
Information ordering
Speech clarity
Speech recognition
Written comprehension
Interpersonal relationships
Getting information
Recording information
Developing objectives
Training
Making decisions
Solving problems
Communicating
Relevant knowledge
Face-to-face discussions
Physical proximity
Decision making
Paramedic or Emergency Medical Technicians
Service
Safety
Training
Chemistry
Bilingual
Critical thinking
Instructing
Oral comprehension
Oral expression
Problem sensitivity
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Response
Arm-hand steadiness
Decisions
Getting information
Operating vehicles
Documenting information
Communicating
Podiatrist
Finger dexterity
Oral expression
Problem sensitivity
Inductive reasoning
Manual dexterity
Wrist-finger speed
Control precision
Near vision
Analyzing data
Identifying objects
Communicating
Making decisions
Monitor processes
Handling objects
Interpreting
Accurate
Responsible
