Skills should be your number one priority

With rapid and constant technological changes, the recruitment market is constantly looking for candidates with an up-to-date skillset. Being able to demonstrate your skills effectively in your resume will definitely give you an edge over other potential candidates. It may very well be the tipping point.

When we say skills – we mean “hard” and “soft” skills. Hard skills are tangible skills that are more technical such as skills related to cybersecurity, digital marketing and artificial intelligence. Constantly seeking out courses and educational programmes to improve your skill set will help keep you up to date with the market requirements. These are a crucial part of your CV, and are what makes you qualified for a position.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are those related to your people managing skills, creativity, critical thinking, resourcefulness, accountability, integrity, problem solving capabilities and so on. If you don’t have the right hard skill set, you may still be in the running for the position if you demonstrate that you have the right soft skill set. This makes you adaptable for the new position – through effective training perhaps or adaptable skills that translate to your new role.

Bonus tip: if you lack the professional experience, you may want to highlight your skill set first, emphasising on the skills which make you right for the position. Consider using a skills-based CV instead.

Your results

Depending on the type of role you are applying for, using metrics and results to show your value is another way to demonstrate your capabilities effectively. If you’re after a creative role, you may want to give your CV a more portfolio-based approach. Gearing your resume towards results will give you an edge. This will show what you can bring to the table if you’re hired.

Your online presence

Whether you like it or not, 98% of employers look up their candidates online (according to a 2020 survey by The Manifest). It is most definitely a factor in hiring decisions. Adding your resume to Linkedin makes you more accessible to recruiters and hiring managers and increases the chances of them reaching out to you. However, do not ignore other social media platforms. Facebook is still a particularly strong platform in Malta, so make sure they do not contain anything you don’t want a potential employer to see. If you want to post something you’d rather not anyone see, make sure you set the privacy setting on it.

Avoid cookie cutter resumes

Do not send the same resume to all the jobs you apply for. Adapt your skill set and entire resume to the job. This may take more time, but it will show you put in the extra effort and will pay off as you highlight the skills required for the role – making the hiring manager’s job so much easier. In a pile of resumes, you’ll be the breath of fresh air. If you cannot adapt to each job, at least make it field and industry specific.

Showcase your personality

Most of the time, recruiters are on the lookout for a person that will work well with the team already in place. As we said in one of our earlier points here – soft skills are important. What they also do is showcase your personality. According to a 2019 Linkedin survey, 91% of employers believe that soft skills are important. You may want to highlight your soft skills when identifying gaps in your resume, or perhaps the way you handled the pandemic with your team.

Resumes remain an important factor in hiring decisions and are the first impression potential employers will have of you. Keep this in mind and you’re off to a great start.