Optimising your Resume for Success

Recruiters are tasked with sorting and analysis thousands of resumes throughout the course of the year. Whilst we do come across plenty of resumes that make an impact and clearly demonstrate suitability for a role, we also come across plenty of simple errors which can negatively affect an individual’s chances of success.

Advanced Group have loads of exciting projects in the pipeline, and we want to see all our candidates receive a fair go. To help you stand out, we’ve prepared a blog post discussing common resume blunders and exactly what our recruiters want to see on your resume. We hope you find this helpful, and we hope to work with you soon!

Don’t make these mistakes!

• Tendency to Overshare

It is important to keep your professional and personal life separate. It is not uncommon to come across resumes featuring extensive detail about an individual’s personal life. Sometimes candidates even include links to their social media profiles. This is completely unnecessary, as it blurs the line between work and personal life – and in some cases it could even end up backfiring on you if a potential employer finds dubious material about you online.

As recruiters, we aim to develop long term professional relationships with our clients. We’d much rather get to know you in person, so please don’t over share details about your personal life within your resume.

• Including a Headshot in your Resume

There is absolutely no need to include a photo of yourself within your resume. This not only takes up valuable space, it also comes across as unprofessional. We have strict laws against workplace discrimination in Australia. Bias-free recruitment is very important to Advanced Group, and we want to see everyone get a fair go at obtaining an exciting new position.

• Large, Unexplained Gaps in Work History

There are many reasons why you may find yourself out of work, from medical issues through to looking after family or simply being down on your luck. If you want to stand out, it’s important that you explain these gaps. Left unexplained, recruiters and potential employers may view you as a dubious candidate.

Just be honest about the gaps. Whether you were travelling, unsuccessful in the job search or looking after a family member who was sick, try to highlight your life experience and any skills you picked up during this time.

• Excessively Long Resumes

Ideally your resume should be 1-2 pages in length. It’s important that you get straight to the point, clearly highlighting your past positions, skills and experience so that we can get to know you. Resumes which ramble on are likely to be looked over. Instead of listing out each position in detail, simply add a few bullet points or short summaries. You may even consider leaving some previous positions out altogether, particularly if they are completely unrelated to the positions you are currently interested in.

Summary – What Recruiters Want to See

In order to maximize your chances of landing a position ASAP, you’ll need to make your resume stand out from the rest. We want to see:

• Professional Formatting – good use of grammar, punctuation, headings and capitalization
• A clear objective/summary statement about your career goals
• Clearly demonstrated experience/previous roles
• Major achievements
• Contact information (email + phone number). Ensure your email address sounds professional.
• Clear explanation for gaps in employment history