EXPRESS YOURSELF: Resume Edition

Do you ever feel like you are being reduced to a piece of paper (i.e. your resume)? A lot of the job search process can feel very impersonal and distant. Think about the basic setup of a resume (if you’ve made it here, I assume that was probably one of the first things you looked at!). It’s typically your name, contact information, education, work experience, skills, awards, etc. There’s not much room to include your amazing personality among all those qualifications.

But while qualifications are the meat of the resume, it is highly recommended that you add a bit of customization. Put yourself out there with these valuable tools to incorporate a bit of yourself into your profile.

First in, first out!

Your resume is what the hiring manager typically sees first. Often, they choose interview slots based on just that single piece of paper! And while this may be due to missing qualifications or job requirements, sometimes the decision can be extremely arbitrary based on how it looks. After all, they probably are inundated with resumes that all look almost identical.

Then, suppose you are chosen for the interview, you go, it goes well, then you leave. Days later when the interviewer(s) is going back over the candidates, they are usually going to look back over your resume to jog their memory of the interview.

The resume is typically the first AND last thing that they will see when choosing someone for a job position. So, make it memorable!

Be noticed!

First, let’s talk about the most obvious ways to get attention.

Use a custom layout, font, and coloring. Keep it classy, but don’t be afraid to play around with placement of your paragraphs and content! A bold and professional font is always encouraged, but perhaps consider varying font sizes for your name, headers, etc. Or you could try finding a way to customize your name with a bold, boxed initial at the top! There are plenty of exciting templates online to get the creative juices flowing. Color is usually recommended to be black because your interviewer may be printing your resume to bring to the interview. But with our increasingly distanced environment, that may not always be the case! Still, I would encourage dark colors for all lettering, but you could experiment with some colored designs in the background (as long as it’s not too distracting).

Another trend rising in popularity is a “profile” or “about me” section at the top of the page where you give a snapshot of your passions and goals (and maybe a personal fact or two, if appropriate). While the goal of your resume is to market yourself to the position you are applying to, you are also trying to build a connection with the interviewer. Try to keep from just summarizing the detailed info in the rest of the resume. Tell them who you are!

Play it subtle.

Moving away from the flashy aspects, let’s talk about adjusting the rest of your resume content in a simple, but significant way to bring out your WHY.

You have your education, work experience, skills, activities, etc. Beneath each you typically include bullet points detailing certain aspects of that topic that will be relevant to the position. I would challenge you to try to incorporate a little bit of your underlying goals and passions into these. How? Let’s do a quick example.

The job experience is: “Waitstaff at ABC restaurant”

A typical bullet point below this might be: “Managed multiple clients simultaneously while dealing with complex orders and maintaining organization throughout an extended period of time.”

Instead, you could add a little personality by saying something like: “Gained experience managing multiple complex situations simultaneously, furthering my passion for problem solving under pressure.”

Obviously, these should be sincere to your passions which might require a little bit of soul searching before drafting. But this is a great way to personalize your resume and can bring up some great conversation during the actual interview as well! And this does not have to be every bullet point. 1-2 would suffice to stand out.

Happy drafting!

I hope this has provided some insight into effective personalization of your resume. Try some of these tips or go discover your own unique additions! It’s all part of the process. Enjoy the job search and stay confident!