The advice within our career specific resume guides and resume examples will lead you through the process of developing an excellent resume, but there’s an extra step you can take to pinpoint any areas you can hone to increase the chances you’ll get the interview you desire. Resume.io offers a free resume checker to test your resume and pinpoint the areas that can be optimized to increase your chances of landing interviews.
Within this blog, we will discuss:
- Why targeted resumes are the key to a successful job hunt
- Benefits of a resume grader
- How to use our resume checker
- Understanding your resume score
- Enhancing your resume
Let’s dive in.
Why targeted resumes are the key to a successful job hunt
Undoubtedly, you’ve received more spam than you can count. Most likely, you’ve trashed it or ignored it. An untargeted resume is just like spam to recruiters—if it even makes it past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) algorithms and into their hands.
A targeted resume says that you care about the job and are willing to make the effort to get it. It also says that you understand the skills and requirements of the job and believe that you have them. If you have begun your job hunt, you should be doing this already. But you can go the extra mile.
Instead of analyzing the job listing and trying your best to include keywords and phrases that focus your resume, you can use a resume checker to score your application document against others and against the specific job listing.
Benefits of a resume grader
Why bother getting a resume score, especially after you’ve followed expert advice on creating your application? Using every tool at your disposal can only help your chances of impressing the recruiter—or even getting to the point that a human vets your candidacy. In your current position, you aim to do the best job possible by taking advantage of equipment, software, colleagues, and any other resources at hand. The same should be true in your job search.
Just like you should not send your resume out without careful proofreading, preferably by a different set of eyes, you should not neglect any opportunity to gain insight into just what your prospective employer seeks. A resume checker uses sophisticated algorithms to do just that.
How to use our resume checker
To use our free resume evaluator, all you have to do is cut and paste your resume (if you already have one) into our builder tool. If you haven’t yet compiled a resume, you’re in the right place to get started. Our resume builder will prompt you to choose a template and enter all your information.
Once you have taken advantage of all our resume creation tools, you will see an immediate resume score for your general occupation and tips for boosting your resume’s success. But you can take it a step further by using our resume checker to help you target the exact job for which you are applying.
You may use the resume checker for every individual job you wish to apply for. Follow the tips offered to target each employer.
Steps to resume excellence
- Develop your resume according to general advice and advice specific to the job you seek
- Cut and paste into our resume builder tool
- Check your overall grade
- Adjust as needed
- Find the listing for the job of your dreams
- Cut and paste the URL into our resume checker
- Followed the tailored hints
- Apply!
Understanding your resume score
What? After all that hard work, contemplation and editing, you only received a resume score of 54%? How did that happen? Don’t worry, it’s not that you haven’t compiled an excellent resume. It’s just that your brain is not an algorithm while our resume checker is.
That 54% has no relationship to failure. It merely means that you have the opportunity to increase your chances of beating the ATS. The closer to 100% you can get, the more likely your resume will end up where you want it: in the hands of a human being who can truly assess your qualifications for the job.
Enhancing your resume score
So how do you boost your resume score?
The AI suggestions built into your resume grader are based on job hunting data and comparisons with the job listing you input. For example: you’re an accountant and that is the title you listed, but the job you are applying for requires a bit of financial forecasting. You have that experience, but it might be to your benefit to change your job title to read “Accountant and Financial Analyst.” Only do so if you have the experience to back it up, of course.
Our checker will also suggest improvements to your summary (including length, keywords and grammar) and prompt you to add rated skills and sections or bulleted items to the sections you have already included when warranted.
Finally, you can take advantage of our AI-powered cover letter builder to get you started on an application letter based on the job listing and your improved resume. Maximize your job application potential by tracking your progress using our job search tool and job tracker. Keep everything organized and improve your chances of success, all within our resume builder app.
That’s all there is to it!
Key takeaways
- When you’re in the hunt for a job, your goal is an offer of an interview.
- Take advantage of every tool that can give you an edge over the competition including resume builders and resume checkers.
- Use our free resume checker each time you begin an application for a different job.
- Enhance your resume first to pass through the ATS and then to impress your prospective employer with your targeted application.
