How To Make Your Resume Stand Out

Sometimes to better your finances you need to bring in more income. And to bring in more income you may need to look for a higher-paying job or take on a second job. With a competitive job market and employers looking for very specific skills and experiences, it can be hard to stand out and not have your resume rejected or filed away.

Related read: Lifestyle Changes To Make To Meet Your Savings Goals

When I was job searching a few years ago through trial and error I uncovered five ways to make my resume look professional and have it stand out so I could get the coveted phone interview.

(I am not a financial expert. All information is based on my own personal experience and research. This information is not meant to be financial advice and is just for educational purposes. This post includes some affiliate links. Should you click an affiliate link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

Tailor your resume

When job searching it can be tempting to create one resume that lists all your skills and qualifications and only uses that one resume. Don’t give in to temptation. Even if you’re looking at the same type of job at multiple companies, each job description is different and tailored to what the hiring manager needs. So if your resume is generic and not tailored to the job description, you make it easier for hiring managers to dismiss your resume.

It took me a while, but I soon realized that I couldn’t send out a generic resume to every job description. I needed to tweak my resume to highlight the skills and experience I had that matched the qualifications in each job description.

To do this I

• Created a base resume that noted all my qualifications for the type of job I was looking for
• Read each job description carefully so I knew what they were looking for
• Tweaked my base resume to highlight my skills and experience that matched the qualifications
• Included keywords or phrases from the job description in my resume

Pay attention to formatting

In today’s world, most people scan documents first to determine whether they want to spend time reading them. Recruiters and hiring managers tend to do this in an effort to quickly weed out unqualified resumes from the hundreds they may receive. So the way you format your resume can determine how easy it is to scan.

After spending the time to tailor your resume, you want to make sure it’s read. Some tips from recruiters to make your resume scannable include

• Using headers
• Bold text
• Use bullets
• Keep fonts and spacing consistent
• Don’t use crazy unreadable fonts
• Keep the number of colors to a minimum

Related read: 7 Ways To Save Money As A Broke College Student

Edit, edit, edit

Please, please edit your resume. Many recruiters and hiring managers will toss out a resume if there are spelling errors. Especially obvious ones. I’ve seen resumes where the applicant spelled their own name wrong. Having spelling errors gives the impression that you don’t pay attention to details which on the job could cost a company thousands of dollars. If you’re not good at editing, ask a friend or relative to edit your resume for you.

Include social handles

Potential employers will probably check you out on social media, particularly LinkedIn to get an idea of your personality and more in-depth information about your experience. Having this information included in your resume so it’s easy for them to find can help earn you bonus points. Just make sure you don't have any embarrassing posts that you wouldn't want a potential employer to see.

Create an online portfolio

If you’re looking for a job in a creative field such as design, digital development, or writing, create an online portfolio showcasing work you’ve done in the past. This can be work you've done on previous jobs, on the side, or just for the fun. Just make sure it’s relevant to the type of position you’re applying for and you have permission to share it.

If you’re not looking for a job in a creative field, you can still create an online resume. It will allow you to share more about your background and skills and could help you stand out from the pack.

What have you done to make your resume stand out?