How to showcase your top skills when looking for a job

Your resume is the first impression you make on future employers, so it is imperative to ensure it stands out from the crowd. Follow our five tips to make it to the top of the CV pile every time.

1. Include a list of skills in your resume. You might have a lot of skills, but if they are all hidden in different paragraphs or sections on your resume, they can be hard for your future employer to find them. Add a list of skills as one of the first sections on your resume. These should include hard skills (skills that are relevant for the specific job) and soft skills (skills that are easily transferable to a lot of jobs, like communication or teamwork).
2. Remove unnecessary information. Although you might have had a great time working at the local supermarket in high school, including irrelevant work experience only clogs up your resume. Stay relevant to each job description and only list the roles where you gained skills and experience necessary for the role you are applying for. And remember that one size doesn’t fit all – you will need to tailor your resume to be relevant for each application, as job descriptions are rarely the same.
3. Include keywords. If they receive a high volume of applications, some employers may not even look at your resume until a machine has completed a first triage. Applicant tracking systems or talent management systems screen resumes and search for keywords. Determine keywords relevant to your application and include these in your resume. Just be careful not to throw keywords in where they don’t make sense. If you’re not sure what keywords to include, you can give us a call, we’d love to help you identify some.
4. Don’t forget to focus on your potential. Your resume shouldn’t only focus on your past or current employment and achievements. Employers want to know about what’s next for you, and what you will bring to the job role throughout your employment. Include a section in your resume that talks about your aims and goals for the next 5 – 10 years and list some achievements you are striving for. This will help your future employer get to know you better and can provide some great discussion points during your interview.
5. Update your LinkedIn profile and other social media pages. Make sure your LinkedIn profile and other social media pages represent you well. Once you’ve updated your resume, use some of that great content on your LinkedIn page. Also, you might want to crank those privacy settings up on other social media accounts, so employers are only finding the very best version of you online.

Once you’ve updated your resume and you’re happy with it, submit it on our website and we’ll get to work on finding your future employer.