In your experience section of your resume you have years of tasks you have done that show yourself as an employee. You cannot “beef” that section up over the weekend. But, you can add other extras to your resume that will help you rise above your competition.
As resume professionals we, at Dynamic Web Resume, feel that employers see the same things over and over again on resumes. I work at company A for X years, worked really hard, did really well, and am ready to move into a position with more responsibility. There isn’t much you can do with your work experience when it comes to variety. Naturally, employers’ eyes will fall onto the extras of your web resume. The extras in a web resume are where you can get really creative and dazzle whoever is reviewing your resume.
One great example of using this technique is Amanda Stevenson’s resume. Amanda has an event planning section on her web resume to highlight a benefit she hosted and planned. This is the focus point of her web resume, there are rotating pictures of the event and PDF documents of the invitations to the event. Any one that sees this section is instantly impressed. The best part is that this section did not take 3 years sitting in a cubicle to obtain. Amanda has created a great point of experience for her resume in the amount of time it took to plan the event. These personal benefits are of course in addition to the gratification of raising money for a much needed cause.
There are many ways to enhance your web resume with extras. Another example would be to learn a language. I’m sure back in college or high school you took a couple years of Spanish or French. Just pick up a cheap language book or Rosetta Stone and spend a few hours a week. In a few months you will be able to add “Proficient in French” on your resume or if you are really good “fluent in…” This could never hurt you but it just may be that little boost that puts you above your competition.
We always love to hear what you have to say. If you have any other ways to add extras to your resume or need any resume advice please email us at [email protected].