How to make potential employers look at your résumé

With a record number of people currently unemployed in today's labor market (with worsening statistics in the African labor market: click here to get the ILO's database current rate), and the global credit crunch adding significantly to the crisis, it is apparent that now, more than ever before, that people seeking employment must work much harder to ensure that they stand out 'brightly' to employers through their applications.

There seem to be an obviously growing number of applications for each one available position. A survey by the USA based CareerBuilder.com in March, 2009 indicate that "...nearly 25 percent of human resource managers on average receive more than 75 résumés for each open position available and 42 percent receive more than 50 résumés per position...and at least half of those résumés are from unqualified candidates".

Of course, it is very obvious to see that with such pressure and competition to get the few available job spaces by the many, the question of how an average job seeker would succeed in standing out among the masses becomes imperative. The solution, and therefore the answer, is very simple: through your résumé.

If crafted effectively, a job applicant's résumé is perhaps the most valuable marketing tool he/she hes got. After all, in a matter of seconds, its contents can make or mar the chances of such candidate landing an interview. The study referred to above showed that "thirty-eight percent of human resource managers spend one to two minutes reviewing a new application, while 17 percent spend less than one minute".

Since it is obvious that most job applicants have approximately 60 seconds, through the instrumentality of their resumes, to impress a potential employer, it becomes very sensible to ensure that their CV/résumé is the best it possibly can so as to be a good representation of the applicant and their achievements.

Five tips to help acheive this and thus produce an effective résumé include:

1. Include a career summary at the top of every résumé.
   You only have a matter of seconds - a minute if you're lucky - to impress a human resource or hiring manager with your résumé. Don't make him search for the important material. Including a career summary at the top will give managers an immediate snapshot of your skills and accomplishments.
2. Keep it up-to-date.
   No matter the state of the economy, you should always have a recent résumé and portfolio on hand. Fifty percent of the 8,038 employees surveyed in the study referred to above said their résumés were not up to date. Any time your responsibilities increase or you accomplish something significant, update your résumé with that information. You never know when you'll need to produce a current résumé.
3. Incorporate keywords.
   Tracking systems used to screen and weed out unqualified candidates, though not so popularly used in Nigeria, are still applied by a few firms. To avoid your resume being discarded unnecessarily, integrate keywords from the job posting (i.e job ad) into your résumé. Doing so will heighten your chances of showing up near the top of the employer's ranking of the most relevant candidates.
4. Use a functional résumé
   Almost every major industry is experiencing mass layoffs. That being said, many job seekers are looking for work in new industries and professions where they might not have much experience. Listing your experience by skill categories rather than chronologically shows employers the proficiencies you possess rather than those you lack.
5. Include all relevant experience
   Whether you're expanding your job search to a new industry or you're a new college or university graduate, you might not have the necessary experience to land that job you want. Make sure you're including all pertinent experience on your résumé. Volunteer work, leadership roles or community involvement are all areas most employers consider to be relevant experience.

After all these, what next?

Now that you have incorporated these five tips into your résumé, the worst thing you can do is send a generic copy out to the masses while you sit on your couch and pray for a response.

Be proactive with your résumé and take advantage of the tools available to you. Aside submitting to companies in response to job ads and postings, use resources available to you which can increase your visibility to all potential employer, including but not limited to social networking sites to host your application materials, and online industry career web pages with ability to upload your resume.

Taking advantage of all the resources at your disposal will help ensure that your résumé stands out among the masses.