The Only Fish in the Sea
"Be The Fish That Stands Out in a Sea of Applicants"
Julia Vayzburd, myBigShoe.com

Get Your Resume Noticed! "If I can only get my foot in the door, I can show them I am the perfect candidate for this position." Many of us feel this way as we comb through hundreds of job postings and send off our resumes to companies along with a sea of others applicants.

Most of the time our resumes disappear into the big blue yonder and we never hear back from anyone other than when the dreaded "We'll keep you on file" postcard arrives in the mailbox. So how do you make your resume stand out amongst the crowd? Well, there are no guarantees, but there are some very simple tactics everyone can follow.

The good news is majority of highly qualified professionals seem to forget these very simple rules. Candidates get so bogged down in trying to list all of their accomplishments since birth; they forget that no one has time to read their life stories. Point being, if you can follow these, you may have a chance….


Here are some simple rules to live by when composing your resume:

• No Fancy Fonts! Use simple, clean fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Garamond, etc. These are easy to read and easy to recognize on any computer/operating system. Fancier fonts are not always recognizable on the other end, and your resume may turn into a bunch of unformatted garble-definitely reason enough for the employer to move on to the next one.

• No Fancy Formats! Unless you're an artist, your resume is not a canvas, so don't try to create any grand designs. Stick to simple, clean, easy-to-read, professional looking formats. Feel free to use the templates provided in Microsoft Word. Remember, potential employers or HR departments must comb through thousands of applicants, so the easier it is to read your bio and find what they're looking for, the quicker your foot will get through their doors!

• Custom-tailor Your Objective. Applying for a particular position? If so, then custom-tailor your objective to fit this position. HINT: Objective should always be at the top.

• Take a "Snapshot" of Your Accomplishments. If you've had a sufficient amount of experience, briefly summarize your accomplishments in a paragraph below your objective. The idea is to show them you know what you're doing -- in a snapshot. This statement should give them reason to continue reading the rest.

• Bullet Point Your Skills. If you haven't accomplished as much as you'd like just yet, then list all of your skills and certifications in a quick, easy-to-read, bullet pointed format just below your objective. It will allow employers to quickly see if you've got the skills they're seeking.

• Keep it Short and Sweet. Although you may have done so much more than you can list on the one to two lines per each point, try to keep it as brief as possible. Just highlight the main points you want to get across. Remember, if you can get the interview, you can elaborate then. Think of these as teasers. Let them want to find out more about how wonderful you are. And keep the lines bulleted. In most cases, it's your best bet to keep the reader reading!

• Put Yourself in the Other Shoe! When you've completed your resume, pretend you are on the other end reviewing stacks of these. Ask yourself these questions: Does it look professional and easy to read? Does it provide a "snapshot" of what you're looking for? Does it concisely portray your skill set and/or accomplishments? Or, does it look overwhelmingly jam-packed with information and the last thing you want to do is read through it all? If it's the latter, you better go back to the drawing board. Otherwise, you should be good to go!

As simplistic as these seem, you'd be surprised how many resumes don't follow these rules. So try these out on your resume today and maybe YOU can be the FISH that stands out in the sea!

Happy Job Fishing!