How to Make Your Resume Stand Out When Applying for a Job!

Photo courtesy of The Balance

How important exactly is a resume in looking for a job that really suites you or the one that you really want?

In today's job hunting market scenario, job seekers find ways to be really on top of the HR Recruitment's piles of resume. In case you did not know, a resume is your starting point to be hired in a company or in any company you are eyeing for. Aside from presenting yourself in an interview, your resume must be your own strategy of marketing yourself.

In an easier sense of definition, you are the product and your resume is your marketing plan on how to sell yourself. When you are selling a product, you use different highfalutin words to push your selling. In a similar manner, your resume must contain attractive but truthful words to entice the company that you are eyeing for. Words are very powerful tools in selling yourself in your resume. That is why it is important to use them carefully and truthfully as well.

Sophistication vs Imagination

A resume can be as simple and as plain as possible or as colorful and imaginative as you can imagine. Most simple and plain resumes out there come from conservative professionals who love to brag about their accomplishments with style and sophistication that is why an elegant and lengthy resume or curriculum vitae is their vital weapon in applying for a job. Sometimes, these professionals are those boring and intelligent people who are most likely competitive but are less creative. But of course, there are also conservative and sophisticated companies out there who seek these kind of professionals. For them, traditional ideas need traditional solutions to problems.

On the other hand, colorful and imaginative resumes usually come from highly skilled and talented job seekers. These professionals are most likely can excel in everything that uses imagination or talent. Sometimes, they make their resumes into something what they are selling. Most creative and colorful resumes come from singers, skilled workers, and graphic artists. There are non--traditional companies out there who intend to hire talented professionals. With just one look over at their resume, you will feel that these kind of job seekers are open to other creative ideas in bringing out solutions to problems.

Making Your Resume Stand Out 

But how can you make your resume stand out from mountain piles of job seekers's resume?

Brad Karsh, author of the popular book, "How To Say It on Your Resume" pointed out these things to make your resume become one of the potential candidates by the HR Recruitment team. Here are some of them:

• Do your homework. When applying for a job, it is turn off to the HR Recruitment Team that you don't even know the nature of the company you are applying with. If this happens, your chance to be hired is a definite no-no.

• Focus on you job accomplishments. The reason why you have to "do your homework" when applying is that you have to align your work knowledge and experiences in the line of work available in the company you are applying with. It is again a major turn off to the Recruitment Manager if you are applying for an IT Officer position but all your work experiences are related to Procurement Services of your company, and that my friend, is another no-no.

• Keep it short and powerful. A short resume can be fit into one page. A much better resume is that it is a one-page and it has all the work experiences and information are all there, including your photo as well.


My resume was made on Adobe In-design to show my skills with the application program. But if you don't have one, you may start with a ready-made template in your Microsoft Office program. The newer version of Microsoft Office is such a powerful tool for beginner job seekers. It has a lot of resume templates to choose from. Explore and be amazed by what you can do to your resume. Happy job hunting!