25% of us will be looking for a new job this year.

If that’s you then you’ll need a resume that gets you an interview. So to help you get in front of the employers you’d like to work for, here’s a tried and true method…

The ideal resume with the most impact has these ingredients-

1. 1-3 pages long
2. Simple non fussy design
3. Intro at the top
4. Your current or most recent job appears first
5. List your achievements

The conventional wisdom is to keep your resume to one page, however ResumeGo recently found that recruiters and hiring managers were 2.3 times more likely to hire two page resume applicants over one page applicants.

The more senior the role, candidates with longer resumes were more likely to be hired.

So don’t try to cram everything onto one page, but conversely, don’t pad out your resume with useless or irrelevant information either.

Your words should make the impact, not your design.

Remember KISS – Keep It Simple (Stupid)!

Employers want to be able to scan your resume for the information they’re after without distraction. So an easy to read, nice clean layout is best.

Use only one to two easy to read fonts.  There’s no need to add an image of yourself, a logo or any other visual image. They are a distraction.

The easier it is for employers to skim read your resume the better.

Obviously your name, phone number and email address should be centred in bold at the top.

Below that list what you want the employer to know about you. To know what to put in here look at what the employer’s requirements are in their ad. Confirm you have the skills and qualities they require by listing them here. Add any other qualities or skills you have as well.

Some employers use bots or screening software to scan resumes for key words to produce a shortlist of applicants, so use the words or phrases the employer uses in their ad to make sure the bot chooses your resume to shortlist.

You can test how your resume will appear for a bot by converting it to a plain text file. Make sure text appears where it’s supposed to.

Employers want to see your most recent role, so display it first. State what the role is, then use bullet points to list your duties. If your duties use the same words as the employer uses in the ad, even better!

If you’ve been in the workforce for a while only list the roles you’ve been in back 10-15 years.  There’s no need for your entire work history.

Put your achievements for each role underneath it. It’s a great way to show employers what you’ve achieved or the results you attained in the role.

If you’re able to provide proof that you’ve done or performed the way you’ve stated then provide it.

By providing evidence of the skills, experience and results you’ve achieved you’ll show the employer you are what you say.

You could spend hours creating a well-crafted resume and still spend months finding a job or…

Skip the whole process and use Connectzapp to secure your next job.

On Connectzapp, in many cases employers don’t require your resume because they’ve already viewed your profile. Employers chase you to work for them.

However, whichever way you decide to find your next job… Good Luck!