A good resume template is an absolute essential to get noticed.
Do you really need a good resume template? Or are you overthinking it? Does using templates from novoresume, resumegenius, and zety can really help you land your dream job? Find out as we discuss how companies look at your resume, and how to turn your resume into an interview-generating resume!
Pointers to create a job cracking resume.
Gone are those days when looks were equally important as words. The game has changed. Your resume has to pass through the ATS first before it reaches a hiring manager (that's if it even reaches them). It has come to a point where it is critical to optimize your resume for ATS first - then humans second.
Top tips to make your resume clean and ATS friendly:
Use bullets to improve readability for highlighting your accomplishments.
Utilize professional and simple fonts for ATS scanning such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Cambria. Using one type is all you need if you do end up using two, use one for headings, and second for body text.
The size of the font can be 10 to 12 points for heading and body text, and your name and header can be up to 16 to 18 points.
Avoid using critical details in the header and footer of the resume.
Use white space liberally by having at least one-inch margin on all sides for a clean scan.
There are different templates to consider depending on the career path and years' of experience: hybrid, functional, chronological resume.
Make your job story enjoyable to read and digestible.
According to a recent study conducted by Ladders Inc., recruiters today spend about 7 seconds scanning a resume. [Source: Ladders] With such little time spent on resumes, you want to make sure your resume leaves a lasting and positive impression. If you need help getting started, consider using a template to build your perfect resume. Make sure to choose a template that best fits the job you are applying for.
Common template styles are: simple, creative, and functional, with many more to choose from. A Simple template organizes your work experience and education in chronological order with minimal formatting.
Simple templates are great for ATS because they are easy to digest. As the name suggests, Creative templates are less traditional than others and may incorporate social media links, eye-catching font, and skills or strengths-based experience. While these templates might catch a recruiter's eye, they are difficult for ATS to comprehend.
Functional templates highlight your skills more than prior job positions. Functional templates can be great to use when your work experience alone doesn't convey your qualifications.
These templates are also ATS friendly because you can include keywords from the job posting as skills. Ultimately, the hallmark of any good template is fit- how well does the template help you tell your story?
How we can help you:
If you're still having trouble getting your resume noticed, it could be due to your resume not matching the job description. You can try to manually jot down the skills on the job description and add it on your resume, or use our chrome App that can do that for you auto-MAGICALLY! It can detect skills or phrases that are needed to be in your resume, so you DON'T need to guess if a keyword is good to have!