In the digital era, where everything is done on a computer from applying for a job to sending a resume to the companies across the globe. This evolution in the technological era have made these companies decide a candidate for an interview, based completely on the first impression from the resume. Therefore, it becomes eminently important for a person to make his resume visually appealing to make it stand out from the rest. To do that, here is the best expert advice to make your resume visually more appealing to grab the attention of the recruiter.
Limit The Resumes Length
One of the most common question asked over and over again is – how long should a resume actually be? ‘The resume should not exceed one page’ is one of the most typical answer to this question. However, the truth is that the time has changed. Therefore, this rule exists no more. It should only be long enough to grab the attention of the employer, in order to make them want to call you for the job interview. In short, remember, while making a visually appealing resume it is just a career marketing tool, not an autobiography. So, you need to be both – efficient and concise to present enough information in a few seconds.
Make Borders With Wider Margins
To leave the best possible impression on the reader, words alone are not enough to describe about you and your employment history. Formatting options such as margins & borders play an important role too. These are the factors that help to create resumes that are professional and engaging in nature. As an expert job interview coach, I always recommend to go for a resume with big margins because the employers always give a few extra seconds to them. However, it naturally helps them to go through the resume much faster than usual, as this format looks rather clean, making them aware of the fact that you are good at presenting the relevant information. Therefore, adhere to the .75-1 inch margins at the top, bottom, left and right.
Use Fonts & Sizes That Are Legible
Just to incorporate all the words to one or two page resume, don’t make the mistake of shrinking down the size. Because the more you reduce the size of the font, the less legible it will become. The scanning systems that most of the global companies today use, are more likely to misread the small prints. And, the employer viewing your application manually could simply just skip your resume. So, stick to the 11 or 12 points to keep everyone happy. However, the same rules are applicable to the design of fonts as well. For the sake of simplicity, as that is what attracts the eyes sometimes, opt for the standard fonts. Stay consistent and curb the urge to italicize and over utilizing the bold option.
Add Bullet Points And Horizontal Lines
The best way to display your work history and rest of the details in a very organized, concise and neat way is with the help of the bullet points. Along with the horizontal lines at the end of the each segment, it provides the exceptional clean look for the resume in such a manner that it immediately draws the attention of the person. It also helps to guide the person smoothly to the next part of the resume. The eyes tend to naturally look directly at the bullet points, which leaves a long lasting impact on the minds of the employers. Therefore, every expert job interview coach suggests to adopt bullet points to make the resume effective and visually appealing to the recruiter. However, the beautifully crafted paragraphs may look glamorous and tempting, but they do not draw the eye towards it the way bullet points do. So, always try to avoid them.
Highlight The Important Details
A good resume is always incomplete without highlighting the important details. Even if, all your information is in bullet format, it may take time for the recruiter to identify all the important details they are searching for such as skill and accomplishments. Studies have shown, on an average recruiters spend six seconds looking at a resume. In order to capture their attention to get your resume out of the odious stack, it becomes imperative to use the graphic highlighting technique, to force their eyes to the parts of the pages you want them to see. However, do not italicize. Expert job interview coach says that bold sends out the right message and catches the eye easily. Whereas, italics emphasize well, but do not catch the eyes right away.
So, now that you have gone through the best expert advice to make you resume visually appealing and to stand out from the rest. What are you waiting for? Go, get back to work now!
