Should Your Resume be Your Job Seeking Best Friend in 2023?

The way we layout our resume and its content can impact how employers see us. So should your Resume be your job seeking best friend this 2023?

According to Indiana University Southeast, a resume is defined as “a summary of your personal data, your educational background and training, your business or professional experience and qualifications, and your achievement highlights.” We often use it as a tool whenever we apply for jobs, since it provides our future employers a concise overview of an applicant’s qualifications and how suitable they are for the job they are applying for. The point of a resume is to help employers understand the applicant’s potential value to their company and why they should be a possible candidate for the position. 

What Should be Included in Your Resume?

Think of your resume as your way of advertising yourself to your future employers. Whatever content you put in your resume helps you stand out from other candidates for the job. A resume should be able to highlight the applicant’s experiences and that are relevant to the position being applied for. It should also be clear, easy to read, and concise.

Refer to this Kalibrr article on what should be included in your resume and its basic format which includes the following:

1. 1. Basics – This is where you will input your personal information and where employers can contact you.
   2. Headline – Though this is optional, a headline is a summary of what you can bring as a future employee to the company. Make it short. 
   3. Work History – Include your work experience in chronological order. Don’t make your list too long, be able to select what is most relevant. 
   4. Skills and Qualifications – Choose which ones are important and can be beneficial to them and to show that company what you can offer.
   5. References – This where you can provide names and contact details of past employers and colleagues who can vouch for your credibility and work ethics. 

Remember that a resume should only be one page long, that is why it is important to highlight relevant information that best fits the position and company you are applying for. 

Is Your Resume Your Best Friend?

The answer is no, you shouldn’t just rely on your resume to get you the job you want. The resume may be what your employers first see when you are applying for the job and whatever you put there may leave an impression on them. After that, you may be called for interviews in order to get to know you better and the impact you’ve made and how you presented yourself may influence the decision of your employers. While it is important that you have a well-crafted resume for your job application, it should not be the only thing you should depend on. It may be a document of what your experiences and qualifications are but it does not completely say your whole story as a person or your professional work. 

A resume is just one part of your application, others still consider the cover letter you included, your portfolio or work samples, and references they can get in contact with. Personal work connections can also be beneficial in the job search process. Interviews are also a big factor in the job hiring process as this gives you the opportunity to share more about yourself, showcase your communication skills and problem-solving abilities. Interviews truly make you shine. Also take into consideration that even if you included and highlighted all the necessary information, experiences, qualifications, and skills in your resume, it still may not stand out to the companies you are applying for. 

It is important that you first must build on personal connections, prepare for possible interviews, and tailoring your application to the needed job description are vital strategies to increase your chances of getting hired.

How can Your Resume Stand Out to Recruiters this 2023?

You may be a fresh graduate or an intern trying to apply for a company for your internship program, or maybe want to shift to a new career, creating a resume is one of the most important aspects of your job application. 

In an article from Forbes, they listed down 15 tips on how to better your resume for those who might be applying for jobs this 2023. Important tips to highlight are the following: 

1. 1. Keep Your Social Media Content Consistent – Some employers would most likely check on your personal social media accounts to check on you and your content. You have to remain consistent and constantly update your Instagram, Facebook, and job hiring accounts. 
   2. Emphasize Accomplishments, Not Responsibilities – Your accomplishments sets you apart from other candidates, but some job seekers fail to highlight it but would rather focus on the responsibilities. Add relevant achievements to help you stand out more.
   3.  Articulate The Value You Can Add – According to the Forbes article, rather than focusing on your credentials and skills, focus more on the value you can bring to their company. What matters to most employers is the job seeker being able to pinpoint what are their strengths to the company.

At the end of the day, your resume should be able to reflect who you are and what you can bring to the table. If we tried to apply for a company and the results weren’t in your favor, keep your head up and try again for a new one. We don’t always get in a company during our first try, but what matters most is you keep trying and look for the aspects that you can improve on to get you to your dream job. 

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Kalibrr is a recruitment technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Placing the candidate experience at the center of everything it does, we continue to attract the best talent from all over, with more than 6 million professionals and counting. Kalibrr ultimately connects these talents to companies in search of their next generation of leaders.

The only end-to-end recruitment solutions provider in Southeast Asia, Kalibrr is headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in 2012, it has served over 18,000 clients and is backed by some of the world’s most powerful start-up incubators and venture capitalists. These include Y Combinator, Omidyar Network, Patamar Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Kickstart Ventures.

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