RELATED ARTICLES
	Plug and Play Resume Customization What NOT to Include in Your Resume Craft Cover Letters, Resumes that Earn You a Second Look

If you fail to grab reviewers' attention in the first few lines, they'll probably stop reading. So, start at the top: Place your strongest selling points high up, but not in explicit detail. New York-based certified resume writer Ann Baehr recommends an attention-grabbing headline, written in all caps and boldface, centered just below your name and address, like this: 

SENIOR COMPLIANCE OFFICER

"I call it a branding statement," says Baehr. "It's a concise, hard-hitting statement about who you are."

Baehr recommends following the branding statement with several centered tag lines, also in boldface. These enhance your branding statement by providing examples of your most relevant experience. For example: 

Offering 15 years of wealth management experience

If you possess professional licenses or technical certifications, mention it in a tag line. Then include the specifics at the bottom of the resume.

Strategic Experience

When creating the experience section, strategically use bullets and boldface to draw the reviewer toward the points you want to highlight. "A reviewer is 20 percent more likely to read a bulleted statement," explains Marie Plett, CPRW, president of a nationwide network of resume writers, AspirationsResume.com.

Plett suggest boldfacing category headings and the first achievement statement under each position in your experience summary. Your first bullet point should be your most important accomplishment. Discuss typical job duties in paragraph format, not bulleted statements, since they won't distinguish you from other candidates. And no achievement statement should be longer than six to seven lines. More than that risks losing the reviewer's attention.

While the use of boldface will draw the reviewer to specific words in your resume, don't apply the technique randomly. "Too much can become distracting," says Plett. "And if you attempt to emphasize everything, you end up emphasizing nothing."

As an example, Baehr boldfaces job titles or company names like MORGAN STANLEY, using all capital letters when a candidate has worked for prestigious firms that will attract other employers. She opts to emphasize different words in boldface - like risk management - if they tell a story about the candidate's evolution. Don't bold job description key words, since those will be picked up automatically by resume scanners. And, don't bold action verbs or clichés, since doing so frequently denotes canned resume content.

Advanced Techniques

A reviewer will want to read more about your experience if your information is presented in a clear, organized format. Consider the layout of a newspaper's front page as an example of the optimal use of space and font. Separate major categories by one and a half spaces, and don't use a font smaller than 11 points. This makes your resume easy on the reviewer's eye.

Edit your content so the information isn't crowded, but completely fills each page. Plett says you can include additional keywords, without taking up valuable space, by listing them in the property section of Microsoft Word documents. Find that under the file drop-down menu.

While a classic, professional resume design is best for most positions, incorporate tasteful, artistic flair if you work in a creative field like marketing. But whatever you do, don't distract from your resume's content. Since many finance jobs include revenue growth responsibilities, Baehr suggests importing a pie chart or Excel table that demonstrates your year-over-year performance.

"Reviewers don't have the patience to read every word," she says. "Break things up visually so your resume interests reviewers, because if nothing stands out, they won’t be impressed."

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE

You must be logged in
to recommend articles

Average (Not Rated)

» Recommended Articles