This is part one of our five part series on starting your job hunt. Starting with The Resume, we are going to show you how to start your search process, and how to navigate each additional step along the way. Follow along each week to learn the nuances of working with your recruiter, negotiating your salary, giving notice, and everything that comes between. 

Trust me when I tell you that we see more resumes in a day than most people do in a lifetime. We see resumes that standout at first glance, we also see resumes that make you cringe by the second line. Our job is to help you land your next job, and that all starts with what you put on paper.

First and foremost, spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck! If your company name is spelled incorrectly, you let your future manager know attention to detail is not your strongpoint, and that’s not the foot you want to lead with.  Take the time to double and triple-check every line of your resume, make sure it all makes sense and goes in order. Then check it again.

Next, work some keywords into your jobs. Not company jargon, but industry-wide keywords.

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Neatly grouped, doesn't force another page on your resume.

That doesn’t mean list every keyword possible (yes, we see that all the time---like this)

This takes up 2/3 of the resumes first page. Don't do this.

Find a crafty way to work them into your bullet points and titles,while trying to keep them informative. A quick formula for every bulletpoint is: Did X with Y to accomplish Z, which resulted in A.

This clarifies how you did your work. How matters.

Most companies use portals when you submit your resume these days, and they are searched for relevant keywords, so if you’re an Art Director who doesn’t have Adobe, Sketch, and Illustration on your resume for some reason, you’ve lost out on multiple jobs. Along those same lines, be specific! If you’re a mobile developer don’t just put “mobile” on your resume over and over, but include “Android” and “iOS”, so your resume can still be found for more targeted searches.

Now onto formatting. Stay away from templates.

There are tons of templates that can put a resume together for you, but just because they exist doesn’t mean you should use them. You don’t want your resume looking like every other resume that ends up in the hiring manager’s inbox. Again, the point of this is to make your resume standout and land you the job, not to help you blend in with the herd. Find resumes on LinkedIn or AngelList that you think look clean and easy to read, and roughly model yours after them, but please don't overdo the research.

 

FYI, a simple sans serif is best: helvetica, calibri, arial.


If you’re in a career that has a creative aspect to it, use your resume to show your skills off. If you’re a copywriter, be witty. If you’re an Art Director, showcase a few quick skills. If you’re a developer, add links to your work.

Last but not least, include your contact info!

Bottom three are a must . If you don't have a site, swap linkedin, behance, or github.

You are putting this together so that the people who are looking for you can find you, not just so you can send it out and hope for the best. If you are actively looking for a new job, make sure your email, phone number, and city are all included on the top of your resume. This seems like a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve seen that don’t have a phone number on them. We understand that emails can be easier and you don’t want to be bothered by constant calls, but some jobs are time-sensitive and move quickly, not having every way to get ahold of you on your resume quickly diminishes your chances of what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do yourself a favor and make sure that hiring manager or recruiter can find you when they have that perfect job for you – I promise we won’t call you if it isn’t a good match.

Still unsure of what to put on your resume, or what is going to catch the eye of your next boss? Reach out to us, we’d love to help! Send us an email at Recruiting@Ingenium.Agency and a recruiter who specializes in your skillset can help you navigate this process in the easiest way possible. We look forward to working with you!