Resumes that Get You Hired: A Workshop with Power to Fly
Are you ready to re-enter the workforce or looking for the next step in your professional path? Having the right resume is often the key that lands you the interview, and it may be that yours just needs a quick refresh. Whether it‘s updating the formatting or putting Motherhood on the Resume, we got you covered, thanks to our partners at PowerToFly.
Recently, HeyMama and PowerToFly hosted a hands-on resume building workshop, featuring speakers Helen Sanchez, Founder at Tanagui LLC and Marina Zucchini, Career Coach at PowerToFly, and shared invaluable tips on making your resume stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.
If you missed it the first time or want to view the online event again, please click Here. Or just check out our biggest takeaways below.
Yes, you can (and should) add MOM to your resume.
If you’re creating a resume as a mom reentering the workforce, you can add mom to your resume. Think about it - while you’ve been raising your kiddos, you’ve been crushing all sorts of new skills, because motherhood is a training ground for leadership. Look at everything you’ve done, from volunteering to household budget management, and assess the transferable skills that apply to the positions you are seeking. When you land that interview- you need to have a story to go along with the skills you have acquired and how they would translate well into the position.
Still hesitant? Check out this blog post – 7 Ways Motherhood Makes You A Stronger Professional.
Use keywords.
Employers often now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – software that scans every application that comes in for a job. ATS looks for keywords that are in the job description to ensure applicants are a good fit for the role. ATS rejects, on average, around 75% of job applications just because they did not include the keywords in the job description. To make a can’t-miss new resume, read through the job description carefully and extract words that show what they are looking for. For example, if the job description says “Seeking rockstar mom with experience leading a team,” add keywords Rockstar Mom and Team Leadership Experience to your resume.
Keep it simple.
We cannot say this enough, less is more when it comes to first impressions with a new career resume. We live in a society where our information consumption is under constant bombardment due to emails, calls, text messages, social media, news alerts and not to mention that pesky little 140 characters or less standard. So when someone is finally able to cut out a few minutes of their day to sit down and review multiple resumes, or in some cases – 100s of resumes, reading a cluttered resume format is about as appealing as listening to Cocomelon for the 50th time (for those of us that have little ones). New resume trends call for:
Bullet points.
A clear simple classical layout that is letter size. This is important because ATS cannot always read columns or other design elements.
Recruiters prefer 2-page resumes over 1 page crowded ones
Active language
Readable font
Keep it Relevant
Your most recent position should be the most comprehensive one. Oh and there’s no obligation to include your first job. Remember, this is your opener, not your whole story. You’ll have time for that when you land that interview. And in an effort to not allow anyone to "pre - age" you, keep your experience listed 10 to 15 years, no more. You can represent what you've done under "achievements/professional experience without dates if you really want to highlight something but don't want to list beyond 15 years.
Brag about yourself.
Yes, a resume is essentially a list of your work experience. It captures where you worked, how long you worked, and your daily duties. But these days, employers are looking for more. They want the best of the best to fill the particular role. They want to know what impact you had on the success of your previous employers. So don’t be shy. Brag. Talk about your list of accomplishments, big or small, by including measurable data on your resume. Think about examples that include an increase or a decrease of resources (money, people), efficiencies in time, or implementation of something new. Instead of bullet points that talk about your day to day, pick your top 3-5 (if possible) measurable accomplishments. To keep it simple, you don’t need to explain how you did it. You can highlight the process in your interview, since of course, you’ll land it.
Include a resume profile.
A resume profile, also called a summary statement, is a 3-5 sentence summary of your skills and experience and how it relates (important!) to the specific job you are applying for. While your new resume format can be the same regardless of the job you’re applying for, your resume profile should change for each job you’re applying to. This is the section that will change with each application. Employers want to know that what you’re bringing to the table is the right fit for the role and their company. Don’t forget to include the key words from the job description!
One last tip, call a friend….and ask them to read over your resume. Spell check can only do so much. Trust us. Been there. Done that.
Now that your new resume has been refreshed and you’re ready for the next professional adventure, don’t forget to check out HeyMama’s job listings (members only!).