As you put together your resume, you want to show yourself off as a solid candidate. However, since resume readers take less than a minute to scan them, overwhelming the reader with too much detail can lead to the opposite effect: they’ll stop reading. Read on for some tips to clean up your resume, presenting the important details front and center.

  • Condense your work experience. This section should cover a basic chronology of your jobs and pertinent highlights and accomplishments from your current or most recent job that put you in the best light for the position you have applied for. If you have a long career path, you may want to add a brief summary of your early career. Stick with numbers and other quantitative details.
  • Keep opening statements brief. Consider adding a qualifications summary at the top of your resume. Consider this a written elevator pitch, an engaging 20 seconds to describe your primary qualifications and knowledge. Avoid the mission statement about your dreams of a satisfying career with growth opportunities — this isn’t the place. Sum yourself up in a sentence or two and make it compelling for someone to continue reading. 
  • Do some plain old editing. Go through your resume carefully–you may even want to read it backwards a sentence at a time, starting at the end; then read each section as a whole, as copyeditors do. Where can you cut down on descriptions? Use two words, instead of three or more. Show, instead of tell. Instead of writing, “Improved sales output significantly during the third quarter,” try “Raised third quarter sales from 23 to 35 percent.” Include details and choose your words carefully.
  • Keep it clean looking. Maintain consistent formatting so it reads the same throughout (how you present dates and job titles, for example). Center your headers or make them bold. Use bullet points — no lengthy paragraphs. Again, consider the time a recruiter spends on a resume: You want to make everything easy to read and draw the eye to particular sections. Make sure to have someone else look it over as well for clarity. Anything that distracts means a recruiter may stop reading. Keep your reader engaged to help you stand out from the rest!

It may seem a bit ironic that it takes so much time to create a document that gets looked at so briefly. However, taking your time and creating a clean, easy-to-read resume, you’re potentially setting yourself up for a long-term commitment. Reach out to the staffing experts at Medical Professionals today to partner with an experienced recruiter in your medical job search!


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