Hiring in healthcare is pretty much always booming, but it can be particularly active at the end and beginning of any given year. So, as October begins, it may be time to reevaluate your résumé. Even if you are not actively seeking a position, it is always a good idea to have an impressive résumé at the ready, just in case an ideal job happens to pop up on your radar. Follow the tips below to make sure your résumé is the best it can be.

Ditch the Old Format

Times change and things evolve, and résumés are no exception. The age-old format of an objective, a chronological list of experience, education, and then “references available upon request” slapped at the bottom is no longer going to impress anyone. It’s like whipping out a flip phone from the year 2000 in the middle of the Apple store on the release day of the new iPhone. Get with the times and restructure your résumé to the more current format of:

• Name & Contact Info: Your full name, address, phone number, professional email address, and optional social links, right at that top and easy to locate.
• Summary: A dynamic keyword-infused paragraph, that illustrates your experience, accomplishments, most desirable characteristics, and career goals.
• Skills & Qualifications: A bulleted or otherwise easy-to-follow section containing your most valuable and important job-related abilities, including specialties, settings, and even the languages you speak.
• Experience: Listed in clearly defined sections by position, in chronological order, with the most recent at the top, including impressive or noteworthy achievements and specialized skills, not just your day-to-day duties.
• Education: Your scholastic accomplishments, including degrees, licensures, and/or certifications, and the dates they are valid through, if applicable, as well as when and where you obtained them from. If you are early on in your career, it is perfectly acceptable to swap the order of the Education and Experience sections.

Tailor Your Résumé for Each Application

It may take a bit more time and effort, but altering your résumé to match the description of the job you are applying for can make all the difference when it comes to standing out from the competition. Make sure the keywords in your résumé match the duties and requirements used in the job posting to demonstrate what a seamless match you would be. The more your résumé aligns with what the employer is looking for, the better your odds of making it to the next step in the hiring process.

Include a Cover Letter

A cover letter is the peanut butter to a résumé’s jelly. 22% of Hiring Managers consider it a red flag, if an applicant does not include a cover letter, and while that means 88% are unbothered by it, you have no way of knowing which type of Hiring Manager your résumé is being submitted to. Including a thoughtful cover letter, which is equally tailored to the job and hiring company as your résumé, is a best practice to follow. The body of your cover letter should be used to detail why you would be the right fit for the position and the company you are applying to, and done so in a way that the Hiring Manager will want to move on to your résumé and learn more about you and your qualifications.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.