The Top 3 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out When Applying to Remote Jobs
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The competition is intense for remote jobs. It can easily feel as though you’re not qualified enough. Oftentimes that’s actually not the case; rather, it’s just that you’re not presenting your skills in the right way on your resume. Here are three ways to make your remote resume stand out when applying to remote jobs:
Tailor Your Resume for the Remote Job you’re Applying To
The remote job search is a daunting task and it’s not the most fun way to spend your spare time. As a result, oftentimes people will focus on applying to as many jobs as possible, thinking if I applying to X amount of jobs, statistically I should hear back from X amount of employers.
Wrong.
With the remote job search, it’s all about quality over quantity.
Every time you apply to a job it should be tailored to the position and company that you are applying too. The best way to do this is:
Pull keywords from the remote job description and add them to your resume.
It’s good to have a master resume to act as a foundation when applying to remote jobs, but it’s important that it gets updated for each specific remote job that you apply to. Be sure to keep track of which resume you used for each job application. You can access the job application tracking worksheet inside the remote resume bundle.
When pulling keywords, simply skim the job description, highlight keywords, and make sure those are added to your resume.
Here’s an example:
Step 1: Highlight keywords/phrases from the remote job description
Step 2: Summarize keywords and phrases into a specific skill.
Step 3: Create a list of skills to add to your resume
Why is adding keywords to your resume so important?
First of all, if someone is hiring your for a job they want to make sure your skills match what they’re looking for. This is so easy to do that there’s no excuse for not doing it. You should be able to have a friend review your resume and they should know within 5-7 seconds what type of remote job you’re applying to. Access remote resume templates, real-life examples and a remote resume checklist here to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Another reason why adding keywords to your resume is so important is because remote companies will use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) when filtering through suitable applicants. The ATS computer system will scan resumes for keywords and determine if those keywords match those in the job description. If too many keywords are missing in your remote resume there is a chance that your resume will get removed as a possible applicant. If there is a match with keywords - congrats! Your resume will make its way to a human.
Mimic the general essence/key theme of the remote job description in your resume.
Similar to the above where your remote resume should mimic the keywords from the job description, you also want to ensure that your resume mimics the general brand essence/ the key theme from the job description.
Another way to look at it is if you were to put in one word or one sentence the essence of what they’re looking for what would it be?
Do they mention over and over about how important communication is? Or perhaps they really focus on their strong culture. Whatever “essence” you get from the job posting, should be reflected in your resume (and cover letter!).
So, for example, if you notice they seem to really focus on “culture” at their remote company, look at how you can integrate that throughout your resume (and cover letter!). Perhaps there was something you did in a particular role that really supported a positive company culture or you could highlight some transferable skills that would relate well to company culture such as empathetic, or strong communication.
Focus on achievements and stats, not just tasks.
This is one of the biggest mistakes that even the most talented and qualified people make when applying to remote jobs. As a result, it costs them the job. Whether you’re super talented and qualified or making a career shift, this will be your key to standing out among the competition.
What most people do is list their job duties beneath their work experience. You don’t want to do this! Let’s look at an example of what this would look like (AKA this is what not to do):
Say you were a marketing manager at a company. And you list the following on your remote resume:
Marketing Manager, Company XYZ (BEFORE):
SEO, blog posts, social media, email marketing and funnels
Coordinated between internal team and clients
Managed marketing budget
Responsible for project timeline
This is blah and boring and doesn’t make you any more special than the other 100 applicants applying to the remote marketing manager job.
Instead, focus on your stats and achievements. Here’s the same example but this time optimized to showcase stats and achievements.
Marketing Manager, Company XYZ (AFTER):
Lead strategic online content creation that increased SEO traffic 46% in 3-months.
Optimized marketing funnel to drive $20,000 monthly recurring revenue.
Managed $500,000 annual client budget; 98% of all projects within budget.
Ensured seamless project flow through exceptional communication between internal team and clients.
Let’s just compare some of these side by side so you can see the impact:
BEFORE: Responsible for project timeline
AFTER: Ensured seamless project flow through exceptional communication between internal team and clients.
BEFORE: Managed marketing budget
AFTER: Managed $500,000 annual client budget; 98% of all projects within budget.
Inside the Remote Resume Bundle I share (x6) real-life resumes for remote jobs.
After looking at the two examples, what person would you want to hire?
Easy. The one that shows their achievements and stats.
And remember, achievements don’t have to be numbers based. Perhaps you created a new process and documentation that helped improved project efficiencies. Or perhaps you helped land a new client by taking initiative and proactively seeking out opportunities.
Keep Your Resume for Remote Jobs Concise (One Page!)
It’s important to keep your resume concise and to one page because you have a very limited time to capture the hiring manager's attention. Here’s how to do this:
Review your resume and rewrite your sentences or bullet points. Look over your resume again and think of how you could rewrite the same thing in a more concise or shorter way.
Remove any repetition in your resume. Say you have two previous job roles that are very similar. Even if you did the same sort of duties for each role, it doesn’t mean you need to repeat it on your resume. Simply divide up your skills and accomplishments between the two roles.
Remove repetition of skills. Do you list ‘strong communication’ five times throughout your resume? Instead, narrow it down to two or three times, and list it where it would be most relevant.
You can access the remote resume template and checklist here to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Remember, the goal of your resume when applying to remote jobs is to pique the hiring managers’ interest and entice them to learn more about you by inviting you to an interview.
The top 3 ways to make your resume stand out when applying to remote jobs is to tailor your resume for the remote jobs you’re applying to, focus on achievements and stats, not just tasks, and keep it concise. A little extra effort will go a long way in successfully landing a remote job.
If you’re frustrated with the 9-5 and ready to land a remote job so you can have the freedom to live life on your terms then check out how 1:1 remote career coaching can help you get there.
“I get to go travel the world. It really is a dream come true. And it was worth every penny that I invested into this and more.”- Lindsey, Remote Career Coaching Client
