On average most employers will look at your resume for up to five seconds before they decide whether they should continue reading. That’s not much time. To ensure your resume gets read and you stand a chance of a job interview, you should concentrate on editing and updating your personal statement.

Companies today rely on and promote good customer service. Customer retention is vital, especially in today’s economical climate. So, one of the key attributes an employer will be looking for is customer service experience. It’s crucial you highlight this on your resume.   

In a job interview you will be asked (nine times out of ten) what your biggest weakness is. Whilst you need to think about addressing this during a job interview, you also need to think about it when you are writing a resume.

Everybody, at some point, will have a gap in their resume. It could be for a few months or it could be for a few years. The important thing is that you explain these gaps to an employer to give yourself a better chance of securing a job.

When compiling your resume there are some key things you should avoid. Avoiding simple mistakes on your resume template will automatically increase your chances of employment.
Remember – most employers will simply scan a resume. They don’t have time to pick out details and spot information that is hidden. Similarly, they don’t have time for mistakes. Here are some common mistakes you should try to avoid when writing a resume:

We all know that writing a strong and eye-catching resume and cover letter will no doubt help you in your quest for employment; however a lot of people place too much emphasis on this and forget the basics of what a resume is actually for. It is supposed to enhance your skills, support your application and highlight your achievements. It is not designed to solely secure you a job. In this resume Surgeon article we cover five things you should keep in mind when writing your professional curriculum vitae.

There are a variety of ways to improve your resume and maximise your credibility. One crucial aspect is clarity and adding correct information – surprisingly many people make critical mistakes including spelling and grammatical errors.

When writing your professional resume you will of course need to add a few references. Whether you use a resume template and add the referee names before a job interview or submit them after, it’s important that you secure a referee before you start your job hunt.

As well as looking good on your resume, a referee can also contribute in your job hunt by offering a letter of recommendation. So they are very powerful tools.

After writing a resume, you will need to return to it every so often to update it. Even if you have used a resume template, it will need editing throughout the year to add any work changes and to delete anything not relevant.

A great way to add strength to your resume is work experience. Working for free forever isn’t sustainable, however working for free for a few weeks will add content to your resume and broaden your experience. Depending on the type of job, it will also help you practice the job application process and refine your cover letter writing.

After creating a resume by using our professional resume templates, you should find your chances of interview are very high. But what happens after the interview stage?

It’s important to remember employers will see hundreds of professional resumes every week so it’s vital that you stand out from the crowd. One tool that enables you to do this is the interview thank you note.