YOU HAVE JUST WON THE LOTTERY!!!
Did I get your attention? Although you did NOT just win the lottery, it was a great way to catch your attention. That is about how long you have to capture the attention of a hiring manager when you submit a resume online for a remote job.
According to Time Business, you have approximately 6 seconds to capture the attention of a potential hiring manager and stand out from the crowd. What are you going to do to make a person stop in their tracks and say “I want this person on my team!” You want your resume to be memorable so that when they continue on through their pile of resumes, they begin to compare others to yours. Consider yourself to be the product and the resume is your marketing tool.
For every job posted on an online job board, hiring managers could receive hundreds of resumes. With the staggering number of people filing for unemployment during the current COVID crisis, you can imagine the massive number of resumes that they will have to sift through. Being that we are in a ‘stay at home’ environment, you can certainly expect the number of applicants for remote positions to increase even faster.
Because of this increased competition, it is even more important for you to grab their attention. You not only need to let a hiring manager know that you are the best applicant for the job, but that you are the best remote applicant for the job. Your resume will be the tool to highlight yourself as the best candidate and most importantly, it must showcase your aptitude for using technology since it is a remote position you are applying for.
Tips for crafting the perfect resume
- Not the one size fits all approach. Crafting the perfect resume to get you to stand out is far from a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Keeping with the theme of standing out, you should tailor your resume to each specific role that you are applying for with details about why you are a fit for that position. To do this, you must first carefully read the job description. Ideally, a hiring manager will be looking for specific skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for.
- One-two punch. Again, catching the attention of a hiring manager is key to landing an interview for a remote position. Develop a well-defined header or value proposition statement. Going back to your resume as a marketing tool, consider the header of your resume to be like a Billboard, displaying a clear, succinct statement that delivers a one-two punch to the prospective hiring manager. For more information, be sure to read “Build Your Personal Value Proposition” by Bill Barnett of Harvard Business Review.
- Soft skills. While interpersonal skills are important for all employees, hiring managers for remote positions want to be sure that you have all of the qualifications and experience to not only handle the technical scope of the work but to manage the challenges of working remotely. Employers want to be sure that you are self-motivated, possess exceptional time management skills, are disciplined, can effectively communicate, and technically savvy, and most importantly, have emotional intelligence. In other words, are you self-aware to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie and in which areas you may need improvement? Your resume must display ways in which you applied each of these qualities in a remote working position previously.
- Eye Catching. Anyone can create a document that lists their accomplishments, skills, and experiences. You want to catch the eye of a busy hiring manager quickly by displaying your personality through your resume. Include interests and activities that may be related to your performance of the job responsibilities. For example, if you are applying for a remote position as an editor, you may want to include your love of reading, including various genres that you prefer or topics of interest. Many employers are interested in hiring remote employees to provide work-life balance. Why not show them what you are passionate about and give them a bit of your personality!
- Error-free. Not only should your resume be a marketing document to showcase your accomplishments and experiences, but it should be a reflection of your work ethic and values. If you submit a resume that is riddled with typos and grammatical errors mistakes, the hiring manager can only assume that your performance in your role would be given the same amount of attention. In other words, check, double-check, and check again to ensure that your resume is error-free and accurately represents the best possible version of YOU!
So, no, you did not win the lottery but hopefully, you have learned some tips and tricks to grab the attention of your potential future employer and set yourself up for the next phase of the online job search process – the interview!
Resources and References:
TIME. CAREER STRATEGIES: How to Make Your Resume Last Longer Than 6 Seconds
Harvard Business Review. Managing Yourself: Build Your Personal Value Proposition
