List Your Accomplishments—Not Just Your Duties

Most people talk about what they’ve done, but not what they’ve accomplished. You need to quantify your achievements. Don’t just say, “I worked at the cash register.” Talk about how many customers you served in a single day, week, or month! Talk about the amount of money that you handled (successfully) over the course of your job. Don’t just say that you “greeted customers over the phone.” Explain how you worked through problems with them by calling on your problem-solving mindset and your emotional intelligence.

Keep it Relevant and in Order

Don’t put every job you’ve ever had on here. Strike a balance between relevance and chronological order instead. Put volunteer experience on here as well—especially if you’re a recent graduate who hasn’t switched careers after accruing years of experience! This counts as work experience too! Better yet, it shows your potential employer that you can and will dedicate yourself to a goal without a financial incentive.

Replace the “Objective” with a Personal Tagline

Employers don’t necessarily want to know what you want to do with your own career. It’s not the first thing they want to know about you, at least. They want to know what you can do for them—especially in an entry-level job. Remember that entry-level jobs are about the hard skills. Promotions and high-level positions are about the soft skills, but you won’t get there without the entry-level foot in the door.

Leverage Mutual Contacts

Namedrop mutual acquaintances in your introduction! “So-and-so referred me to you.” This instantly builds a modest degree of trust based on the mutual acquaintance’s credibility. It also carries a built-in endorsement from your contacts. They believed you could do this job on some level or else they wouldn’t have referred you to the recruiter in the first place, right?

Find an in-road to the company if you don’t have one ready-made, but remember that contacts make all the difference. People generally aren’t risk-takers when it comes to hiring. They’ll hire a “known entity” with a moderate résumé over a stranger with a moderately better one most of the time. That’s why you leverage your mutual contacts! You need to make yourself a known entity to the recruiter.

Personalize Your Résumé

Personalizing your résumé is non-negotiable if you want the job. Hundreds of applicants submit generic résumés in the hop of getting lucky with one. They want to play it like a “numbers game.” That doesn’t work in today’s oversaturated job market! You need to distinguish yourself from the herd, and that starts with putting effort into your résumé.

You shouldn’t distinguish yourself on a superficial level. You should do it to show that you’re smart enough to have read up on the organization in question and that you are actually a good fit for the company. That’s why you need to personalize your application, invoke the credibility of mutual connections, convey your personal and professional essence concisely, and highlight your quantifiable achievements! Pull out a piece of paper and start planning how to shape your personal brand better than a résumé writing service ever could!

Get in touch with us today to find out how you can get your career on track with Eastern College!