The eye represents the window of the soul, but a resume represents the window into why a company should hire you. In today's competitive job market, a candidate’s resume is the gateway to success. Your resume is meant to be a summary and outline of your educational background, previous experience, and qualifications and skills. These documents are typically sent with a job application to provide a brief overview of an individual as a candidate and potential employee. It communicates both your qualifications and you as an individual such as how far have you gone to obtain experience, your effort into training or certifications, or even what makes you different than other applicants. Standing out to employers and recruiters is essential as it opens a world of opportunities in the job market.
A recent study revealed hiring managers look at resumes for an average of 6 to 7 seconds. This study emphasizes how crucial it is to stand out at first glance to land that first interview. A compelling resume showcasing both skills and achievements is essential in the hiring process as it not only asserts your qualifications for the role but provides an insight as to what you will add to the team as an individual. Your career can have a lasting impact from the start by being the perfect fit on paper, securing that first interview and making an impact in person.
Your resume should include a combination of the following sections:
Contact Information (Phone Number, Email, LinkedIn) in order to provide the hiring team or recruiter how to best reach you for any additional information, questions, or scheduling matters. Your LinkedIn also serves as an elongated resume and can show more personality, serving as a networking tool.
Professional Experience refers to any work experience that is relevant to your field of work or career. Your work experience on a resume should strive to pertain to the role you are applying for.
Education (and Certifications) allows the hiring manager or recruiter to view your academic rigorousness, relevant education or courses, and overall, your preparation in a particular field. Certifications also support your preparation in a specified area of your career.
Skills are optional but highly recommended sections to incorporate into a resume. These provide hard or soft skills that can pertain to a role or specific field. For instance, a litigation paralegal might want to include their expertise in e-Discovery and Microsoft 365 to add another layer into their experience and skillset.
Honors and Awards is another optional section of a resume. Depending on the relevance of an award to your career, we recommend adding them. For instance, a new graduate can include scholarships, competitions, and an established candidate can include work-related awards, or even recognition in leadership roles.
See below for two sample resumes for legal professionals. These sections allow a candidate to integrate their experience, education, skillsets, and “fit” for the role. Since a resume is an employer’s or recruiter’s first introduction to you as a candidate, it is important to tailor the resume in a way where you stand out amongst the other candidates.
The art of crafting a job-winning resume aligns with employer's needs and boils down to research and strategic tailoring. Whether you're an experienced professional or a fresh graduate searching entry-level positions, we will provide some tips that will help elevate your resume. As recruiters, a candidate’s resume gives us a glimpse of an individual’s potential.
Securing interviews that pave the way to a successful placement and career, begin with
showcasing your experience, skills, and achievements effectively. From a recruiter standpoint, the following are key things to consider and include in your
resume to stand out and increase your chances at an interview:
Emphasize your unique value as a candidate. Use powerful adjectives that will make you stand out as a potential candidate.
Use action verbs to showcase both leadership skills and responsibility on your resume. The following link lists 100+ action verbs that can elevate the quality of your resume.
Research the company and tailor your resume for each job application. This allows you to add relevant experience and skills while excluding additional information that is not applicable to the job opening. Customization of your resume allows you to highlight experience or words relevant to the job you are applying for, leaving out experience that does not pertain to a particular role.
Include keywords from the job description. Instead of just skimming the job description and blindly applying, AI tools can help utilize these to land an initial interview! If you enter the job link to an AI language tool and prompt the engine to “Find 5 keywords mentioned throughout the following job description,” the engine will highlight the five top-mentioned words. These words entail what the hiring team emphasizes and wants to see in desirable candidates. Similar to customization, adding these keywords or emphasizing these experiences and skills can make you stand out as a great fit for the job.
A rewarding career begins with that first interview. Fujitani Consulting can help you craft a successful resume. Get in touch for more personalized tips and feedback on how to land that first interview.
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