did you know that 70 of resumes get rejected by an application tracking system
before it even gets read that in 2016 60 of employers said that they
use social networking sites in order to research their job applicants and that 83
of hr professionals say a good cover letter can get you a job interview even if your resume isn't
good enough today i'm going to talk to you about how to write your resume cover letter and ensure
that your social networking is at its best my name is melissa this is how to adopt let's get started
writing a resume these days is very different to what it was when i was younger and i'm not that
old companies these days are using application tracking systems or ats to automatically find the
best candidates for the jobs this is extremely efficient for companies so it's not going to
change the problem is people don't know how it works or how to talk to the system even the wrong
formatting can get you instantly rejected because the system can't read it i'm going to start with
formatting is going to be really dry but stick with me because it is important use a simple
font most commonly used is times neural size 12 but you can also use these ones all of which can
be downloaded for free online your size is 10 to 12 for the main text i would strongly suggest you
stick with 12 and 14 to 16 for titles and headers keep your line spacing at 1.0 or 1.15 at most
use bullet points it's easy for the ats to read bullet points but make sure you don't overload it
only use about six in each section and keep it a traditional black dot anything unusual most likely
won't be wrecked make sure there's no extra spaces this can dismiss key words that you might need to
pass don't use abbreviations or acronyms spell the word out in full and then you can put the acronym
in brackets after resumes should only be one page unless you have more than five years experience in
which case there can be two or three pages at the most pdf files are the best to use when sending
in an application but some older systems can only read word so if the job listing says to send your
application in a word document you better make sure you do also be very careful to make sure
that the file name is professional your first name and last name is best there are many ats approved
resume templates available online so look for one that feels right for you just make sure it's
actually ats approved now that you have a template you're happy with it's time to fill it in
start with your details a resume summary and your objective the resume summary objective should only
be about two to three sentences next is your experience the easiest way for the ats to read
your experience is in reverse chronological order this means your last job first and your first job
lies depending on how many jobs you've had list your job title and how long you've worked there
then include a bullet point list of your tasks and achievements too make it professional and
use keywords i'll explain more on that soon for example instead of writing stopping shells write
maintain product restock and display i suggest you keep a list of your tasks and achievements
in a separate document that way you can adapt your resume for the job that you're applying for in the
education section list what you've studied or what you're currently studying then the institution
followed by the completion date if you're still studying it right anticipated completion date then
the date that you should complete your studies then it is your skills your skills should be
listed as keywords hard skills are things like being able to use certain technology follow a
specific procedure basically anything that can be demonstrated because they're more formal
soft skills are things such as friendly customer service work ethic etc these are the skills that
let your employee know how you're going to work on the job are you nice are you adaptable
etc how you display them will depend on your template and choice check out examples online
to find one you like and again make sure it's ats approved this is a really important section again
keep a separate list of your skills that way you can adapt it to the job you're applying for the
rest will be sections such as any languages you speak volunteer work etc when you submit
your resume the ats scans and divides it into sections work experience education skills etc
then it searches for specific keywords and qualifications to match the job description
if your application doesn't meet the basic list of requirements is discarded if it does
it gets a ranking and is moved on but how do you know what keywords they're looking for the job
description itself is the best place to look for the keywords before you start to worry you can run
your resume and cover letter through an ats and keyword comparison scan i have used a site called
skillsync to check a resume and get a rating you can use it for free but only once a week
now what about the resume for your first job you don't have experience to list we'll start
by writing out the resume as normal but with a few changes first move the education portion to
the top list your school's name the location and the year that you graduated of course
include any studying that you're currently doing as well you can then list any work experiences you
have for example an internship volunteer work or extra activities this will show the extra skills
that you've learned during school also any big project that you've worked on if you've built a
fake website created a business proposal or done a market research project listed now it's time
for your skills and be honest do you know how to use html and css then add it any specific tools
or technical knowledge that relate to the job add it these are hard skills your soft skills describe
how you work so things such as teamwork leadership creativity and adaptability but focus on the hard
skills as someone with no experience soft skills are harder to prove and the recruiter might not
believe you after that you can add any languages award certificates plus hobbies and interests
only if they apply to the job if you want to apply for a tattoo artist apprenticeship and you
list your hobbies as doing detailed artwork that will most likely add into your favor
there are also a number of examples to use for your first resume as well so don't be intimidated
next week on how to adult now that your resume is done it's time for the cover
letter i would enjoy the opportunity to talk with you more about this position
if you play your cards right you can turn your internet presence into a huge advantage
if you've built a fake resume
this means your last job first and your last job last wait no