5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your Impact -

5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your Impact -5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your ImpactHere are 5 key resume changes that you can make to your resume right now that will make the greatest impact. Not just in terms of writing but in your response rate.KEEP IT SHORTListen, there are a lot of misconceptions, confusion, and myths surrounding resumes, and when I say keep it short I want to be perfectly clear that Im leid saying your resume has to be one page theres no way an executive can fit 20 years of work history on a single page. Hear me out on this one. When I say keep it short I mean as an overall rule for each section of your resume.Instead of using an eight- to10-line career summary to introduce your career history choose a career snapshot instead. Use a branding statement, numbers/metrics, and keywords versus long paragraphs. Break it up so theres plenty of white space.Instead of having paragraph after paragraph in your career history use 1- to 3-lin e bullet points.Write concise, lean content in your resume, and cut the fluff.Dont get sucked into going back more than 10-15 years or listing your entire career history in your resume (or titel letter for that matter).WRITE YOUR CAREER STORYShare a challenge you faced or a problem you solved, how you addressed it, and what the outcome or impact was for the employer. This can be done in one or two lines max, but it gives your accomplishments context and shows the value you offer a potential employer.VISUALS ARE IMPORTANTGuess what? Resumes have changedsignificantly in the past couple of years. So have our attention spans, how we consume content, and what type of content attracts our attention and resumes are not immune to these changes. You need to be open to incorporating visual images or designs into your resume. This can include charts, graphs, call-out boxes, text boxes, and shading and colors. All of these techniques can be used to create a visually engaging resume that catches the employers attentionand keeps it.Consider adding color, shading, charts, or graphs to your resume to modernize your presentation and create visual appeal. Neuroscience also tells us that pictures and images also positively affect our information recall. Pictures/images of information are recalled 65% better than just text.GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BRANDJust as much as resume writing, job searching, and LinkedIn changes, so do trends with personal branding. According to William Arruda in his 2016 Personal Branding Trends article, video is the new medium garnering our attentioneven over social media. Its not just video that is affecting our personal brand either. The marketplace is changingand where you live and HOW you work is as well. In Arrudas article, he shared that World at Work reports 67% of companies offer flexibility where employees work. This is a growing trendnot a fading one, folks. I encourage you to check out his two-part article on 2016 Personal Branding Tren ds.Do yourself a favor and stay on top of your personal brand instead of playing catch upWhen it comes to personal branding on resumes its not just a statement at the top Its all the content within that supports it and even the colors you choose to use on your resume. My challenge to you is to check out this article and video from PersonalBranding.tv on the color of your personal brand and incorporate that color in your resume. You can also include that same color on your other career marketing documents, professional website(s), and your LinkedIn profile.NUMBERS MATTERI hear the challenges that many of you face when it comes to resumes and sharing numbers. Concerns include sharing confidential earnings or proprietary company information, not having any to share at all, or not tracking it during your tenure.Heres my advicefind numbers. Its not as hard as you think it is maybe youre just looking in the wrong place. Are you a receptionist? How many calls are you answering per day?Are you a manager or leader? How many people are you managing, what size budget are you overseeing, have you increased your teams productivity or has fostering a positive team environment resulted in greater retention rates for your team versus others?Executivestalk about teams managed, bottom-line profitability or cost cutting. Money matters. Find the dollars and then abflug incorporating the dollars or percentages into your resume for an immediate and powerful impact.Its not just about incorporating those dollars, percents, and metrics within the body of the resumeits about putting them at the very forefront, at the top of the resume for all to see. Theres a myth out there that you have to use a career summary and it has to be a broad-based overview of your entire career history at the top of your resume. WRONG. That is prime resume real estate, and you need to make the most of it. Dont shy away from sharing numbers jump at the chance to show employers the value you can bring to the t ableRemember, you want to write lean, clean, and concise using context. Incorporate visuals, personal branding and numbers. Now you have 5 key resume changes you can make to maximize your impact and increase your resume response rate.Struggling to write your own resume? Lets chat Visit my website, call my office at 1.800.991.5187, or connect with me on LinkedIn and lets discuss how I help busy job seekers create interview-winning resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles that generate interviews in two weeks or less.WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS? Check out 2016 Resume TrendsINFOGRAPHIC What Employers See When You Apply on LinkedIn