How to Stand Out from the Applicant Pool
Stand out in the applicant pool by getting your resume basics down! Image from www.moneypenny.com
Companies see thousands of resumes a day. If your resume does get seen, someone will scan it for a few seconds before determining whether or not to pass you forward to an interview stage. Most applicants will not advance to the interview stage but if we spend time getting the resume basics right then we can stand out.
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A study conducted by Cultivated Culture, a professional training & coaching company, shows us some of the ways that you can statistically give yourself an advantage over other applicants.
After analyzing 125,484 resumes, these were some of their findings:
1. Resumes with a LinkedIn profile included see higher interview rates, but only 48% of resumes included a LinkedIn profile
Chart from www.cultivatedculture.com
2. Candidates only included 51% of relevant keywords and skills in their resume, heavily under-indexing on soft skills
Use relevant keywords but be careful not to over do it with buzzwords. Image from www.simpleresume.com
3. Measurable metrics are a great way to illustrate a candidate’s value but only 26% of resumes included at least 5 instances of measurable results
4. Research shows the ideal resume length is 475 - 600 words but 77% of resumes fell outside of that range
5. Fluff content and irrelevant buzzwords take away from a resume’s value and 51% of the resumes in the study included fluffy buzzwords, cliches, or incorrect pronouns
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Either you’re looking to land your very first job, or seeking a change in your career, the process of applying to jobs can get stressful. We’re here to help you through that process and to make sure you’re well prepared when opportunity knocks on your door.