A resume that tells your story helps employers notice you. Tailoring your education, skills, experience, and qualifications to the role encourages hiring managers to contact you for interviews.
Understanding how to customize your resume increases the odds of having it reach employers. The following advice can help.
Choose a Simple Resume Design
A simple design helps hiring managers quickly scan your resume and process your information. Include the following:
- Clear section headings
- An easy-to-read font such as Arial, Georgia, or Times New Roman
- Bolded job titles
- Bulleted information
- White space
Use a Professional Email Address
As your digital calling card, your email address forms an impression of you and invites employers to reach out online:
- Create a professional email address using Gmail or another common email provider.
- Use your name in your email address.
- Consider putting your last name before your first name or separating your first and last name with a period.
Avoid Sharing a Photo of Yourself
Including a photo with your resume can negatively impact your ability to secure interviews:
- Many employers consider photos in resumes unprofessional.
- Companies might reject resumes with photos to avoid potential employment discrimination based on a candidate’s race, age, gender, or appearance.
Make Your Resume ATS Ready
Ensure an applicant tracking system (ATS) can scan your resume and convert it to plain text:
- Use a simple design with clearly marked sections.
- Include relevant keywords from the job description in your professional summary, skills, and experience sections.
- Avoid using embedded pictures and text boxes.
- Submit your resume as a Word document or PDF.
Do Not Disclose Your Salary Requirements
Leave out your desired salary range:
- Mentioning how much you want to earn suggests a greater focus on income than responsibilities.
- Hiring managers might not contact you for interviews.
- Use your resume to focus on what you can do for the company.
- Discuss salary requirements during interviews.
Include a Professional Summary
Briefly outline your relevant skills, work experience, and qualifications in your professional summary. Highlight your ability to fulfill the job duties and responsibilities and why you are the best candidate.
List Your Work Experience in Reverse Chronological Order
Employers care most about your recent work experience. Therefore, you should list your most recent job and work your way backward to demonstrate career progression. Include the following details:
- Company name
- Location
- Employment dates
- Job title(s)
- Responsibilities
- Organizational impact
- Promotions
- Recognition
- Awards
Leave Off Professional References
Avoid mentioning references in your resume:
- Most hiring managers lack time to contact references early in the hiring process.
- Use the space to detail your skills, work experience, and qualifications.
- A hiring manager can request references when needed.
Proofread Your Resume
Check your resume multiple times for spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors:
- Submitting an error-free resume shows you pay attention to detail and check your work.
- A hiring manager might reject a resume with errors because it implies the job is not taken seriously.
- Use a free tool such as Grammarly to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Ready to Tell Your Story to Hiring Managers?
Mercer Bradley can provide guidance, support, and advocacy throughout your accounting and finance job search to get noticed by top Winnipeg employers. Visit our job board to apply for a role today!