There’s no better time for a fresh start than a new year. Now that 2019 has officially arrived, you’re finally ready to launch your job search — but first, you need to improve your resume.

Considering it’s the first impression you’ll make on a hiring manager, it’s important to put plenty of time and effort into this key document. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Four Savvy Ways to Update Your Resume

Tighten Up the Content

In most cases, your resume should be no longer than two pages, leaving no room for unnecessary terms and phrases. Eliminate words that don’t add value — i.e., really, very, responsible for, references available upon request — because they’re taking up valuable space. Get to the point by quantifying your achievements and using action verbs to really drive your fit home.

Make it Easy to Skim

Busy hiring managers don’t have much time to spend reading each resume, so make sure yours is highly skimmable. Accomplish this by limiting paragraphs to three or four lines, leaving white space between paragraphs, incorporating bullet points and using headers to break up sections. This will make key information pop, which is essential because the reader isn’t going to dig for it.

Tell the Right Story

When crafting your resume, let your career goals guide the content. Focus more on skills, experience, and accomplishments relevant to the position than unrelated highlights. Tailoring your resume emphasizes your fit for the job at hand, instead of simply touting all your career achievements. You might have a seriously impressive resume, but if it doesn’t match the job, you won’t proceed to the next step.

Be Easy to Contact

Hiring managers review a high volume of resumes, so they don’t have time to search for your contact information. Make it easy to get in touch by including hyperlinks to your email address, blog and social media accounts used professionally. Include only your cell phone number and basic address information — city, state, and zip code — unless otherwise requested.

Ready to Find a Rewarding, New Manufacturing or Engineering Position?

As engineers ourselves, you can trust Premium Staffing, Inc. to help engineer your career. Contact us today to start your confidential search!

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