Want to land a job? Put the odds in your favor.

In this time of recession, in order to bring your resume to the top of a potential employer’s stack of applications, consider some revisions to your resume:

Upgrade and Personalize Your Resume:
You should always have your resume up-to-date.  A ready resume, complete with specifics even of the very job you are working, will allow you to quickly customize your resume, should you find yourself on the job hunt.

That done, always customize your resume to speak directly to the employer’s specific needs. Highlight and go into detail about your various career accomplishments for example.  The extra few minutes this takes, to customize your resume, will be worth the effort.  It demonstrates your understanding of the job and will set you apart from the other job candidates.

Brand Yourself:
In this electronic day and age everything is out on the Internet-even you.  And potential employers do check-up on you.   So go ahead, Google yourself, I’ll wait.  Okay, now you either have damage control to do or you need to add information.

Damage control will take longer, however you can eventually eliminate the worst of it. Just get started. Students take note: even being identified on a ‘friends’ Facebook page, might be more harmful in the long run, than funny in the short term. Know your friends and ask for your images to be removed, should they mysteriously appear on their Facebook page.

If you are on the other end of the spectrum you can get your name out there, in a positive manner, with some effort.  Start a blog, write an article, be visible in whatever positive manner works for you and your career.  Social networking sites will help boost your rankings as well. Once you have some positive exposure, keep at it.  Eventually, you will want your name to come up and dominate Google’s front page [or at least get you on the front page of a Google search].

These simple steps will prove, to an employer, your seriousness in your job search and display your writing skills.

Show Your Worth:
Spell out the exact ways you have helped your previous employer increase efficiency and cut costs. For example, “Identified new internet vendor, resulting in a cost-savings of 30 percent.”  Be specific with what was done and how it helped.  Or perhaps results were more time oriented, “Redesigned processes for handling customer calls which saved employees 15 minutes of time per interaction with customers.”  No matter the undertaking, describe your achievements and don’t be afraid to boast.

Be the Solution:
When applying for a job, read each job description thoroughly.  Determine if the employer is looking to merge jobs.  If so,  you need to show you can juggle job requirements.  Make it clear you are willing to take on more job responsibilities.

Work Your Cover Letter:
Especially in today’s economic times, there will be time lapses in your career.  Do not worry, use your cover letter to explain how you have kept your skills up-to-date since your last full-time job position. Add-in: part-time work, explain how you have volunteered, or engaged in professional development.

Proof and Double Proof:
Proofing and checking your resume and cover letter is a must.  Use spell-check, read it out loud, have a friend or family member proof your work.  Employers might overlook one spelling or grammatical error.  However, it is the perfect resume and cover letter that will shine favorably upon you.

Make use of these techniques and you will be well on your way to recession proofing your resume.

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