Last week week, Gallup reported that U.S. job creation held steady at an eight-year high in June. The Job Creation index score remains at its high of +33. The score represents 44% of employees who say that their employer is hiring employees and expanding the size of its workforce. More good news—Gallup also reported that its U.S. Jobs Rate was the highest in June at 46% after six years of measurement. This rate is a half percentage higher than June of 2015 from which one can glean that an underlying increase in full-time work beyond changes in seasonal employment.
An uptick in hiring could result in an increase in job opportunities for you. Here are four tips to follow when updating your resume to help reel in the response you want from recruiters.
- Make it shine. Dale Carnegie’s third Human Relations principle, ‘Arouse in the other person an eager want,’ reminds us to entice the person qualifying us for a job interview opportunity. This means that instead of using verbose language, keep it simple and succinct when describing the responsibilities of each of your professional roles. It is absolutely critical that your resume be free of all grammar and spelling mistakes because the perception is, “If this candidate’s resume is sloppy, I can’t imagine what her work product is like!” Be sure to have a mentor or friend with strong English skills review your resume to ensure it is seamless, spelled correctly and free of grammar mistakes.
- Forgo funky fonts. Dale Carnegie said, “There is only one way… to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.” If your resume is difficult to read, it deters the hiring manager from thorough review. The easier it is to read and understand—for example using sans serif fonts and bullets; bolding job titles to divide sections, etc. the more likely the person reviewing it will allow ample consideration of your prospective candidacy.
- Use a professional email address. Dale Carnegie’s 19th Human Relations principle is, ‘Appeal to nobler motives.’ You can pump up others’ professional perception of you by making minor modifications such as using a professional, non-derogatory email address. For example, BeachBody911@gmail.commay send the wrong message to the hiring manager. Create a new email address specific for job searching if you currently use an unprofessional one.
- Fill in the gaps. Recruiters question unexplained gaps within the resume’s timeline. If you have a gap of four or more months between jobs, they may assume you were actively hunting, but no one wanted to hire you—so why should they? Use the gaps as an opportunity to show how you used the time. For example, taking a sabbatical; volunteering for worthy causes such as missionary work; traveling; attending courses and pursuing personal projects are great gap-fillers. They show interests and causes that are important to you, and send a message that you have attained a healthy work-life balance.