Putting together a resume can feel like a daunting task. But if you can follow these guidelines, making sure you have the right resume will become easier. Whether you have recently graduated or have been out in the field of audiology for a few years or more, these guidelines will help your resume get attention from the hiring manger.
- Keep it to One Page
This is a biggie! If a hiring manager only spends six seconds looking at your resume, he or she might not even get to the second page! Unless you’re applying to be an executive or a partner somewhere, one page will be sufficient and is a widely accepted “best practice.” To cut it down, remember the purpose of it — it’s not to showcase everything you’ve ever done, but rather to show that you have the background, skills and experience for the job at hand.
- Avoid Spelling or Grammar Errors
Some recruiters will discount your resume the second they see a spelling or grammar error. Although it can be painful, make sure you don’t just read over your resume several times, but also that you have a friend take a peek, too. Or go ahead and use a grammar check website.
- Watch Your Tenses
This is another common error that can really hurt you in the eyes of hiring managers. As a general rule, if something on your resume is in the past, use the past tense (managed, delivered, organized) and if you are still actively in the role, use the present tense (manage, deliver, organize.)
- Avoid the First Person Pronouns
As a general practice, don’t use words like “I” or “me” or “my.” So, instead of saying “I hit and exceeded company sales quotas 100% of the time” say “Hit and exceeded sales quotas 100% of the time.”
- Send Your Resume as a PDF
Saving your resume as a PDF freezes it as an image so that you can be sure hiring managers see the same formatting as you. If you send it any other way, there’s a chance that the styling, format, font and so on, could look different on their computer than yours.
- Label Your Resume File Correctly
Too many people save this important document with random or generic file names like sgks123.pdf or resume.pdf. Remember that recruiters will see the name of the file that you send them and that they get tons of resumes every day. Make it super clear whose resume they should click on by saving it under a logical name like FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf.
- Format in a Logical Structure
Even more important than naming the file in a logical manner is laying out your resume in a logical manner. How you lay it out really depends on where you are in your career path and what you’re looking to do next. While chronological is the default, if you are recent graduate, education should be the first heading. Check out this separate article for more resume tips!
- Make Sure it's Easy to Read
You might be tempted to just shrink the text to get your resume to fit on a page. While you can adjust the size to some degree, between 10 and 12 point font is ideal. Make sure the font is also easy to read…think Arial font and not Asimov!
- Keep it Organized and Visually Appealing
Hiring managers might spend just six seconds looking at your resume. Help them maximize that time by making your resume super-clear and easy-to-read. Consider using a resume template…you can find standard ones on Microsoft Word or you can download some free templates from a variety of websites.
- Keep it Consistent
Just like you want your verb tenses to be consistent throughout, it’s also important that the formatting is too. If one title is bold, the other titles should be bold. If one bullet point has a period at the end, the other bullet points should have that as well.
- Quantify as Much as Possible
Anyone can say that he or she excelled at his or her last job. So, you need to prove to the hiring manager that you truly did. Numbers, percentages and supporting facts go a long way in showing that you have a track record of success. For example, rather than saying “successfully counseled patients regarding realistic expectations with new amplification,” consider “successfully counseled 50 new hearing aid patients resulting in only a 2% return rate over the last 8 months.
- Don't Include References
Your resume is one page, make every word count. Putting a line that says “references upon request” is wasting valuable space to let the hiring manager know something important about you.
- Don't List Everything You've Ever Done
There should be a purpose for every word. When you’re writing and editing, ask yourself this question, “Will this sentence help me get the job I want?” If not, consider editing that sentence or removing.
- Think About the Specific Job You're Applying For
To help communicate that you are the perfect person for a job, read the job description carefully and list out key phrases. When tailoring your resume for that position, find ways to incorporate those words and phrases into your resume.