Resume building can be tricky for even experienced professionals as you need to be professional and impressive at the same frame.
Recruiters do not spend more than a few seconds screening a resume. Hence, you need to frame your resume in a way that can grab the recruiter’s undivided attention.
A recent study by Zippia states that 59% of recruiters reject a resume because of small grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.
Therefore, choosing a professional resume format will not be enough to enhance your shortlisting chances. You will require the following elements to make your resume impressive and professional in 2022:
Professional Resume Outline
You can initiate by choosing a professional format for your resume in 2022. Out of numerous resume formats available online, we have picked the three most effective resume formats that can be seen below:
- Reverse Chronological Resume Format
It focuses on your current status followed by your previous experiences in reverse chronological order.
- Functional Resume Format
It focuses more on your skills rather than your work experience and is suitable for professionals with a career gap.
- Combination Resume Format
It combines both reverse chronological and functional resume formats for an organized presentation.
You can opt for any of these resume formats based on your work experience and skills to build a professional resume in 2022.
Separate Skill Sections
You need to highlight your skills appropriately in your resume to prove your worth during the resume screening process.
Hence, we recommend making separate sections for your key and technical skills in your resume. It will help you grab the recruiter’s undivided attention and might improve your shortlisting chances.
One-Liner Bullet Points
Recruiters these days do not have more than a few seconds to spend on a resume. Hence, you need to improve your resume’s readability.
Using one-liner bullet points instead of long paragraphs is one of the finest ways to improve a resume’s readability.
You can follow these guidelines to create impeccable resume bullet points in 2022:
- Use a power verb to start every bullet point
- Write every point in STAR (S- Situation, T- Task, A- Action, R- Result) format
- Highlight essential metrics wherever necessary
- Make a suitable skill heading for similar bullet points
Technical Keywords
Many companies worldwide are using an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to save their time and efforts to filter irrelevant resumes in a recruitment process.
ATS is software that tracks profile-centric keywords and metrics in a resume and checks its relevance with the offered role.
Hence, we recommend adding as many technical keywords as possible. You can use the job description to pick profile-centric keywords for your resume.
Professional Summary
Recruiters do not dodge this section and consider it an essential element of a resume. Hence, you need to craft an easy-to-read resume summary that can impress the recruiter during the resume screening business soft round.
Apart from that, your resume summary needs to include all the highlights of your professional experience with technical keywords for a better impact on the recruiter.
Proofreading
Proofreading is essential as a small error can minimize your shortlisting chances. Hence, we suggest you take a halt after completing your resume writing process.
Taking a pause is essential as you need to proofread the resume with a focused mind for minimizing errors as much as you can before applying for a job.
Key Takeaways
Building a professional resume can be complex for many professionals. However, everyone can follow these guidelines and craft a job-winning resume in 2022:
- Outline your resume in a professional resume format based on your professional history
- Craft separate sections for your key and technical skills to highlight them properly
- Mention your resume details in one-liner bullet points instead of paragraphs
- Add technical keywords to your resume for getting through the ATS easily
- Write a professional resume summary in easy-to-read language
- Proofread your resume with a focused mind before applying for a job
These steps will help you in framing a highly impactful resume in 2022. Moreover, we recommend using a cover letter with your resume to apply for every job. The absence of a cover letter will not cost you anything but its presence will offer you bonus marks in the recruitment process.
