Job applications can be frustrating. Especially since you invest a lot of time and energy into putting your application together… with a very strong chance you may never hear anything back!

With job applications and resumes, it’s hard to get clarity on whether or not you’re doing the “right” thing. “Is this what I should be sending to employers? Is this what’s going to make me stand out?” 

Today I want to provide some clarity on a few things you definitely CAN do to make your resume and your job application stand out. I apply these tactics with my coaching clients, and they work – plain and simple. 

1. If your resume seems hard to read… it probably is

First things first, make sure that your resume is easy to read.

Yes, you have a ton of great experience. Yes, you want to share that with potential employers, but if your resume is hard to read and it’s just too much information and prospective employer’s eyes are likely to gloss over when they look at it… that’s already going to be a strike against you when they’re auditing your resume against a bunch of other resumes in the stack.

Here’s a couple of things you can do to make your resume easier to read and take in:

Use bullet points to highlight your skills in a designated “SKILLS” section.

Yes, bullet points are great for your work experience, but I specifically recommend adding in a skills section where you can highlight both your hard skills and your soft skills as they relate to the job that you’re interested in going after.

These can be anything from accounts receivable to time management, from budgeting and billing to interpersonal skills. This section helps to further paint the picture of you as a candidate and what you bring to the table.

This bulleted skills section also has a secondary benefit of not just making your resume easier to read for humans, but also making it easier to read for machines. If you don’t know this already, I’m about to blow your mind: a lot of companies using screening software that digitally scans resumes for specific keywords and eliminates candidates based on whether or not they have those qualifications… before your resume even makes it in front of an actual person. 

Adding in a “Skills & Strengths” section can help you insert those key pieces of information, almost like job search keywords that’ll help move you to the top of the pile, especially with massive job application sites like Indeed or Monster.

Speaking of keywords…

Another easy thing you can do to help you meet the qualifications of both screening software and recruiters for specific job applications is to look at the actual job listing that you’re applying for, look at what they’re asking for and add that to your resume.

It sounds very basic and very simple, but if they’re saying that they’re looking for someone with Salesforce experience, and you HAVE Salesforce experience, that’s important. Put it on your resume. 

2. Focus on your USP

The second tip is to find and really clarify your unique selling proposition (or your USP) as a candidate.

In business, to be successful and to really set yourself apart, you have to have a unique selling proposition. In other words: What makes you different? What makes you special? Why should your customer or your client buy from you versus competitor X, Y, or Z?

The same thing is true for your job applications and for your resume. You need to find what your unique brand story is, and make that a brand storyline that weaves through EVERYthing on your resume, including your cover letter. I call this your “Prospect Persona.”

Here’s an example. If you describe yourself as: “I am a project manager, and I’m very detail-oriented, and I’m good with time management, and I am collaborative,” that’s great, but that could be literally anyone.

Instead, inject some of your personality and some of your unique strengths that you bring to the table both in the job and outside of the job. I just helped a candidate with this: She was an accounts receivable specialist, very heads down in the accounting world, billing, finance, purchase orders, all that kind of dry stuff, but she is such a personable person, and she loves engaging with people and she’s very outgoing, which for a lot of people in the accounting and billing world, that’s not necessarily the case. We made her brand story really punch up her ability to connect with others and her being a people person (or even a “social chameleon” was how she described herself! Don’t be afraid to use colorful language!)

It’s okay to use colorful language to help you stand out, and to make your Prospect Persona unique and memorable. Memorable is the key.

3. Write cover letters. Just do it. 

The third thing is making sure you are writing cover letters. Do not neglect them, you guys. They are important. If you come across a job application and it says, “Upload your resume here. Upload your cover letter here-   Optional,” do it. It’s not optional. Even though they’re saying it’s optional, it’s not.

Plus, going back to that Prospect Persona idea and really creating your unique selling proposition and what you bring to the table as a candidate, you can only do so much of that in your resume. The cover letter is the perfect complementary tool to really talk about you as a human being, not just as five years of experience on paper.

Also – make sure that you are customizing your cover letters to each role you’re applying for. Your cover letter is prime real estate for you to talk about why you’re excited about that specific role, what you can bring to the table for that specific role and weave in your Prospect Persona and your unique selling proposition as a candidate.

4. Be proactive

Last thing: be proactive in your job search. Yes, you can have the best resume ever. Yes, you can have a great cover letter, but if, you just sit back and wait for people to come to you, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Here’s what I recommend: Anytime you’re in a job transition period, whether it’s by choice or by not choice (maybe you’ve just got laid off, maybe something happened and you find yourself without a job), embrace it as an opportunity. See it as an opportunity to really clarify what your values are, what your priorities are, what your passions are, what your strengths are in life.

Do some self-reflection to figure that out (and if you need help with that, let me know!), and then pursue jobs with that in mind. Any job transition is the perfect time for you to reset, reevaluate, and it’s more than anything else a gift. 

Take the time to clarify what your perfect job is and go after THOSE jobs. Think about the things that you want, the things that define you, the things that are important to you, and find jobs that fit those criteria.

Do not just blast your resume and cover letter out to a million different job opportunities. Even if you’re hurting for money and times are tight and you just feel like you’re desperate to get a job, anything that comes from that scarcity mindset is not going to be a fulfilling fit for you in the long term.

Also, PLEASE resist the urge to just blast your resume out to hundreds of jobs because that usually also leads to a lot of mistakes. Maybe you forget to update an employer name in your cover letter. Maybe you forget to update your specific experience. There’s a mistake. Boom, you’re out. Take your time. Spend that time doing the self-reflection and thinking about what you want, because when you DO get that job, you will not have that time for self-reflection for a long, long time until you find yourself in between jobs again, which hopefully won’t be for a while. 

So, those are four quick tips for how to make your resume stand out (and your job application too!) I hope you find them valuable. If you have any questions, you can reach out to me at any time.

Want to learn more? I recently recording a LIVE video talking about this exact subject! Watch the full video here.