We’ve all applied to jobs we knew we were qualified for only to be rejected. Of course, sometimes you actually weren’t qualified but what about all the other times? Did something silly like your Resume keywords, name, location or education eliminate you from consideration? If so, you may find the Resume Hacks below helpful. Without further delay I present…
8 Shady Lord Resume Hacks
1. Add a middle initial, prefix and/or suffix to your name
- A quick Resume Hack to easily increase the level of sophistication a Reviewer associates with your Resume is to add a middle initial, prefix and suffix to the name of your Resume.
- It’s backed by research but consider how you feel about the name: Julius Holmes compared to Julius Q. Holmes IV, CSM. If you had to guess based solely on the name who would create more value for your organization; who would you choose? Exactly.
2. Use color in your headlines
- Guess how many Resumes are black and white? Over 90%, so a great Resume Hack to increase engagement, (meaning the amount of time HR Managers spend looking at your Resume) is to add color to your headlines.
3. Add the job title next to your name
- A great Resume Hack that makes reviewing your Resume in context of the job easier to to add the name of the job title you’re applying for next to your name. This Resume Hack helps recruiters avoid wasting precious time on figuring out if your Resume went to the right application or not.
4. Change your city, state and zip code
- Another useful Resume Hack that increases the likelihood of ranking well in recruiter searches is to remove your street address and change the city, state and zip code on your Resume to a city, state and zip code closer to the job. Recruiters often search for candidates closest to the job so adjusting your location can help you rank better against other applicants.
Interested in having your Resume Reviewed? Well just download my free Resume Resume Checklist. Just click here!
5. Add keywords from the job description
- Applicant Tracking Systems eliminate roughly 70% of candidates before an HR Manager even sees their application. The simple reason is the rejected Resumes didn’t have the correct kind or amount of relevant keywords.
- A simple Resume Hack to fix this is to take high value words from the job description (skills, terminology, qualifications, requirements) and sprinkle them strategically throughout your Resume. I’ve highlighted some examples below for a Trainer Job Description.
6. Change your job titles
- A HR Manager is often looking for someone who is a trainer for example rather than someone who wants to become a trainer. So even if you’re capable of doing the job you may be eliminated from consideration simply because you didn’t have the correct career title.
- If your current/past jobs have skill sets that cross over to the new career title you’re applying for, change the old job titles to match the new one. It’s an extremely effective Resume Hack that should be applied with caution as you don’t want to blatantly lie about your work experience just rebrand it.
7. Adjust your work history timeframes
- Another shady but useful Resume Hack is to refrain from putting an end date on your latest job. If you were fired, laid off or resigned and you’re looking for work put ‘start date – Present,’ rather than an end date. HR Managers tend to prefer candidates that are already working over those who aren’t.
- Also, combine jobs if your time at each job is too short. So if you had a manager job that lasted for 3 months and another that lasted 7 months consider fusing them into 1 10 month long job.
8. Apply to a school or for a certifications and put them on your Resume
- Education can be a obstacle for candidates who don’t have the correct college or certifications behind their names. A narley Resume Hack to circumvent this is to apply to a school or certification and then put the name of the school, degree, and expected graduation date on your Resume. Then you can choose whether or not you actually want to attend the school after you get the job.
- I can pay a $35 fee to apply to the MBA program at Wilmington University, then I can put the following on my Resume (even if I have no intention of completing the program) Wilmington University, MBA Candidate Exp. Grad Date June 2022
Interested in additional help from LordResume?
- For Modernized Resume Revisions or to inquiry about my training classes contact me here
- Download my free Resume Review Checklist here
- Interested in a simple Resume Hack to land an interview in 24 hours? Checkout my instructional article here.
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