We often have people ask us on our VA Careers social media accounts what they can do to improve their resumes and get noticed by hiring managers and recruiters.
The truth is, building a great resume that captures the attention of decision makers can be tough. However, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you better set yourself up for success.
What story do I want my resume to tell?
Broadly, there are 2 types of resumes: skills-based and experience-based.
Experience-based resumes showcase your work history, including places of employment, positions, the dates you worked, and a brief description of your work responsibilities.
Skills-based resumes focus on the abilities and knowledge you’ve gained, whether through jobs or education, that allow you to perform the job in question or interact with a team.
People with a long work history will naturally gravitate toward an experienced-based resume, while those without that history to rely on, like students, may focus on developing skills-based resumes.
However, those distinctions are not firm. It’s up to you to decide which of these 2 formats best suits your background. Ask yourself which of these 2 options showcases your best qualities for the job you want and build your resume from there.
Did I read the job announcement?
There’s a tendency among applicants to jump into the application when we see something that looks familiar, but just because you’ve had a similar job in the past doesn’t mean you’re qualified for this particular position. Make sure the job announcement says what you think it says.
As you read the job announcement, pay special attention to the requirements you find there. You may be an expert in your field, and more than qualified, but you could also take yourself out of the running before you even get started without meaning to do so.
Is the position open to the public? Does it offer Veterans’ preference? Do you need to provide documentation for any of your certifications, experience or education? If you miss any of these, you’ve inadvertently set yourself up for failure from the start.
Did I tailor my resume to the job announcement?
You want to make sure that the resume you provide matches the requests of the job announcement. Working with your skills-based or experience-based resume, take the information you gleaned from the job announcement and customize what you have with the language you see.
Tailoring your resume also shows you care. By taking the time to match your talents to the job requirements, it shows that you recognize the employer’s needs and shows you’re willing to work to be the best candidate.
Now, some applicants might think they can take a shortcut here and directly copy the language from the job announcement into their resume. However, we can say with certainty that doing so is a red flag for recruiters, so stick to including key themes and carefully employing specific keywords.
Did I proofread my resume?
Any time spent proofreading your resume will be time well spent. Mistakes, even simple ones, can be costly, so check your grammar and your punctuation. Read your resume out loud, read it backward, but read it until you are sure what you want on the page is there.
Having someone else look at your resume is a great way to make sure those mistakes don’t cost you a chance at your dream job. As someone unfamiliar with what’s already on the page, they’ll have a better chance of seeing grammatical errors or something that just doesn’t make sense.
When in doubt, there are also professional resume writers who can offer consultation. These specialists make their living by helping people translate their job histories into new careers, and the more eyes looking at your resume, the better.
Work at VA
Your resume is the gateway to a job at VA, so make sure our recruiters and hiring managers see exactly what you have to offer.
- READ more job news and advice.
- WATCH “Talk About It Tuesday” for more application tips.
- SEARCH for available jobs at VA Careers.
