There is no doubt that creating a great resume is almost an art form. Today, many people will often pay a great deal of money to have a professional create their resume but that doesn’t mean that you can’t create a resume that gets noticed all on your own. What is important to remember about creating a resume in the digital age, however, is that while online services have significantly increased the number of resumes a company might receive for a position, it also means they receive far too many to actually look at each one individually. As a result, many companies now use services that scan for specific key words before a human being ever lays eyes on a resume. Eventually, however, if your resume makes it through the scanning process, you want it to also be a resume that will stand out once it is in front of a hiring manager or other human resources personnel.
This means your resume needs to do two things: it needs to contain the right keywords that will get it through to a hiring manager but you also need to use a number of variations on those keywords so that your resume reads differently from the rest in order to make it all the way to a job interview. One of the more common traits or characteristics that many companies are looking for in an employee is someone who pays attention to details. While it’s fine to use this exact phrase in your resume, you also want to show throughout your resume itself that you actually pay attention to detail by other key phrases and words you use and through your use of detail in your resume itself. Here are some tips to help you create a resume that will stand out and show you are a detail oriented person.
GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
One way to show that you pay close attention to details rather than simply saying that you are a detail oriented person is to give specific examples of when your attention to detail might have been of benefit to a company you worked for previously or in a previous position. For instance, if you caught an accounting error or perhaps noticed a typographical error in a mock-up of promotional materials that would have cost the company a great deal if no one caught it, you can mention that on your resume. In that way, you are communicating that you are a person that pays attention to detail without necessarily using that specific phrase.
USE SYNONYMS
There are a number of synonyms for detail oriented or ways to communicate that you are detail oriented without using those specific words. Some other ways of saying that you are detail oriented might be to say that you notice things, you are the type of person that regularly spots grammatical errors or that you pay attention to small details. You might also create a section in your resume where you list some of your soft skills and say that you are a careful person that notices even the smallest details.
USE RELATED WORDS OR PHRASES
Using related words such as close attention, strong attention, great attention or careful are all ways that you can communicate that you are a detail oriented person without using that exact phrase. You can also say that you are someone who notices mistakes or the type of person who pays attention to minor details. Here are some other words and phrases you can use and some ideas of how to use them on your resume.
DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECK YOUR RESUME FOR MISTAKES
Although auto-correct and spell check will catch a few mistakes, there are always going to be any number of mistakes they will not catch. It is very important that if you are claiming to be detail oriented on your resume, that you show you actually pay close attention to detail by not having any typographical errors, grammatical errors or other mistakes on your resume. The first place to show that you are a person that produces quality work is on the resume that you send in to get the job in the first place.
USE RELATED TERMS IN YOUR DESCRIPTION OR “ABOUT” SECTION
In addition to using key words and phrases in your employment history to describe your various duties and responsibilities, you can also communicate that you pay attention to detail by using key words and phrases in the introductory section of your resume, which can be a synopsis of your key skills, traits and attributes. Here are a few examples.
- Hard worker who possesses strong detail oriented skills and makes a conscious effort to notice fine points and important details.
- Detail oriented person who pays close attention to grammatical errors and other mistakes in order to produce quality work for the most significant business impact.
- Careful and considerate worker who appreciates the fine point and pays great attention to small details that others might miss.
MAKE YOUR RESUME THE BEST EXAMPLE OF YOUR DETAIL ORIENTED SKILLS
In addition to checking for any grammatical errors, it is also important to check carefully for any formatting errors. These can include things like the last line of one section falling on a separate page or a full page becoming devoted to a single line (referred to as a widow or orphan) or sudden changes in a font style or size. Although it is common to submit your resume electronically, it is also still somewhat common to be asked to bring a hard copy of your resume, which means you will want to carefully proof the hard copy as well to make sure there are no printing mistakes. Although it is great to communicate on paper how careful you are when it comes to paying attention to details, it won’t hold much water if you present a resume full of typographical, formatting and grammatical errors.
