Whether it’s your first resume or your most recent update, effective writing is important. To help your resume stand out, Top Applicant based our free resume creator on 3 basic principles. Chances are that you’d rather spend time with family and friends than write a resume. That’s why we’re sharing how to make a resume stand out in this quick read.
What Makes the Most Valuable Professional?
Before we dig into the details, let’s outline the professional you want to be. The letters MVP are typically used to describe professional athletes who have made a huge impact on their team. But at Top Applicant, we use them to describe the most valuable professionals on our platform. These 3 key parts of a resume are how to make any resume stand out:
Manifest
The Manifest is the data that makes up your resume. This is the meat and potatoes of everything your career is built on, so keep things clear, correct, and concise. See if you can tell who this MVP is by their resume:
Work Experience
Company: Los Angeles Lakers
Start Date Nov 1996
End Date April 2016
Position Title: Shooting Guard, Small Forward
In our custom text feature, you can go into more detail about your experience if you’d like!
Experience With the LA Lakers
I was in multiple positions for the Los Angeles Lakers over 20 years, specializing in ball handling, court coverage, and scoring.
- Our team achieved numerous NBA championships, and I earned several individual awards.
- Our collective accomplishments include 5 NBA championships.
- My accomplishments include 2 NBA Finals MVPs, 18 All-Star selections, and 4 All-Star Game MVP awards.
- In my time with the Lakers, I scored the second-most points in franchise history, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I also led the league in scoring during the 2005–2006 season, averaging 35.4 points per game.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, Mamba’s manifest includes some seriously impressive stats. Your resume may not be as decorated as Kobe Bryant’s. But no doubt you have some serious stats of your own! Our features work to separate aspects of your experience. This makes thinking of your proudest achievements easy and organized. How you manifest your career is key to building a resume that stands out.
Value
Our next MVP shows us his personal values and the value he brings to a team. This is where our about section comes in handy. Feel free to write your professional summary to fit you best.
Professional Summary
My professional and personal philosophy is simple. “Nothing’s impossible until we make it impossible.” This is what guides me as I lead the Kansas City Chiefs every day.
Simple, short, and effective. That’s what the KC Chiefs can expect from Patrick Mahomes. Even if you’re being interviewed by GQ, take his example and just share what matters most to you. When building a resume that stands out less typically means more as long as it is true to you. To go into more detail about your philosophy or other important details, we include video linking capabilities.
Personality
Videos are a great way to make your resume stand out. By letting your employer know how you represent yourself on camera, your resume can take words beyond the page. This is also a great way to share info about gaps in your resume or a blemish on your record.
Your highlight reel may not include a clip from ESPN, but this is an excellent example of what to include in your video. Remember, this isn’t your 30 for 30. So we recommend keeping your video to only 2 or 3 minutes. To share your most important highlights, keep your video focused on your professional career. Clarity and authenticity are the two most important things to make a resume stand out from your header to the videos that represent the real you.
Related Reading: Build a Professional Relationship
Make It Happen Here
You may not be a gymnast, a quarterback, or a basketball legend, but to the right employer, you may just be the G.O.A.T. At Top Applicant, we built every feature of our revolutionary platform to be accessible and effective. So when you’re looking to make a resume that stands out, start by signing in!
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