If you want to land an interview at your dream job, a resume is necessary for recruiters to get a glimpse into who you are as an individual. It will draw attention to your relevant experiences and showcase why YOU are the ideal candidate. When applying, remember that you aren’t just competing with students from within your school - you’ll be competing with other highly qualified applicants from across the country. Sounds intimidating?

Don’t worry, we got you covered!

As we all know, content is king. What drives the strength of your resume is the content you put in it. Here are some tips to help you perfect what you write in your resume:

Think from the recruiter’s perspective. When writing your resume points, put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter. Ask yourself, “What experiences and skills are they looking for? What is the difference between a good candidate and a perfect candidate? Afterward, make sure to highlight your own skills and experiences to meet their criteria of a “perfect candidate”.
Read between the lines of job descriptions. Recruiters will often use open-ended terms to describe their ideal candidate. In actuality, traits such as motivated, customer-focused, ability to multitask, etc. have a deeper meaning behind them. Be sure to write about what they’re looking for and more. For instance, if the company is looking for a leader, be sure to highlight not only your experiences leading a project, but your experiences being an ideal team player that inspires everyone. If they’re looking for a self-starter, consider showcasing times when you’ve had successes on your own as well as when you’ve taken the initiative to promote change within a team.
Use the C.A.R. model. While reading through your resume, recruiters want to see how you were able to make an impact. The C.A.R. model lets you do this with an easy-to-use method:
C → Context (what did you do/work on?)
A → Action (How did you do it?)
R → Result (What was the outcome?)

The balance between these 3 sections is also very important. Make sure to focus more on the results, not the description! Don’t forget to use numbers when highlighting your results to make you stand out from the crowd and show your exact impact.

4. Use impactful vocabulary. You want to share your story in the best way possible and the words you choose will make that happen. Here are some ways you can improve your vocabulary:

● Begin each resume point with an action word to showcase your leadership abilities (e.g. organized, led, established)

● Keep your vocabulary simple, but professional. Make sure to use industry and business terms wherever you can.

● Watch for run-on sentences and improper grammar. We recommend double checking your grammar with tools such as Grammarly.

5. Tailor your content. It’s important to know your audience. When applying for a specific position, make sure you tailor content and vocabulary so it fits with the industry, company and role.

6. Update your resume frequently. Our lives can go by so quickly that we forget about our crucial experiences and/or accomplishments. As a result, make it a habit to update your resume frequently. This will help you paint the most accurate picture of yourself!

With these six tips, your resume’s content will be sure to impress! They’ll help you stand out from other applicants when the recruiters select candidates for the interview.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the YMA Executive Team. Our friendly team of executives has vast amounts of experience in resume building and are more than happy to help you upgrade your resume. We promise to help you express yourself in an outstanding, unique way!

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Stay tuned for our next blog where we’ll teach you how to make your resume stand out from a visual perspective!