The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all. At an individual level, most people have either lost their job or have begun working entirely from home. At a national level, the entire American economy and culture are still reeling from the pandemic’s impact.
Thankfully, the dawning of the new year has delivered some much-anticipated good news. As vaccine research and development continues, and as the economy slowly but steadily recovers, businesses across the United States are tentatively beginning to return to the workplace – and, hopefully, to pre-COVID levels of productivity.
As a result of this nationwide return to work, millions of American professionals – whose careers were either put on hold or radically altered in the early days of 2020 – are finally beginning to lift their eyes to a brighter future.
Are you a job seeker that is hoping to professionally excel in 2021? If so, then the first important step you’ll need to take is to optimize your resume.
Three Tips that Can Help You to Improve Your Resume in 2021
The COVID-19 crisis has utterly transformed the job market. Some industries have gone completely dormant, and others have flourished. As a job candidate, it’s important to understand that employers may now be seeking skills or qualifications different from what used to be the norm.
The good news, however, is that you’re not in this alone. Everyone – including the hiring manager that will eventually review your resume – is trying to find their footing in this same, unfamiliar territory. Therefore, some new best practices are gradually manifesting themselves. By understanding these new best practices, job candidates will have a much easier time navigating the job search process in 2021.
With all of that in mind, here are three tips that can help you to optimize your resume in the new year:
- Emphasize your soft skill set. A “Soft skill” is an interpersonal communication skill that enables you to collaborate and empathize with other people more effectively. Now more than ever before, employers are looking for candidates who will bring strong soft skills and a high degree of emotional intelligence to the table. In this strange and often frustrating new era of remote work, these qualities have become indispensable.
- Kick things off with a personal branding statement. A personal branding statement is a short summary (two or three sentences) placed at the top of a job candidate’s resume, which provides a brief overview of that candidate’s most notable talents and skills. Inserting a personal branding statement allows a hiring manager or recruiter to gain an accurate sense of your suitability for a particular role within a few seconds of reading. It also gives your resume a much higher chance of catching your reader’s eye (and thereby standing out from the pile of other applications).
- Consider adding some graphics to highlight your experience and achievements. In the past, resumes were almost always solely comprised of text. These days, many job applications have begun to add a little artistic flair. In particular, young professionals are now opting to add graphics – in the form of pie charts, graphs, logos, etc – to illustrate certain aspects of their resumes.
Learn More About Boosting Your Job Search in 2021
At Tri-Starr Group, we’re committed to helping job candidates excel in a post-pandemic business landscape. To learn more about our professional services or to speak with a recruiter, please contact our office today!
