Creating a good resume is an art and a science. It is a code many people have looked to crack for a long time.

The best practices for resume creation change constantly. However, some things remain consistent over time. One constant is the list of things employers look for when onboarding new talent.

When employers see you’ve made a difference, they will be more inclined to hire you. This means it is important to list the achievements you’ve had and helped deliver for previous employers, as well as the specific skills you used to do so.

Having the Right Mentality to Create a Resume

When many people create resumes, they focus heavily on formality to maintain a professional tone. This isn’t a bad thing, but it can sometimes lead to vague and uncompelling results.

Part of the problem is people don’t have the right mindset when creating a resume. More specifically, they don’t know what employers look for. The easiest way to figure this out is to think about what employees look for.

Even if a workplace is warm, nurturing, and great to look at, most people are interested in the benefits. Pay, insurance, and advancement opportunities are all the type of gains that drive people in their career search.

Likewise, employers like employees who have helped bring benefits to their previous employers. If a company expanded, onboarded new clients, or branched into another field while you were on the team, it is a good idea to list this information.  The next step is telling the person reading your resume how you helped contribute to those results.

Use Hard Skills to Complete Your Resume

Maybe it was your skills at data entry which helped companies gain new clients without losing any of the existing ones. Perhaps your diverse background helped an organization grow into a new field, or enter a new market. The skills you used should take priority on your resume.

Soft skills are the generic and largely common traits many people list. Examples include “fast learner” and “good listener.”

While these are certainly good traits, specific skills are much more valuable to employers. Hands-on experience with a particular type of equipment, or a background in a specific type of management would carry much more weight on any resume than soft skills.

By showing employers the specific skills you used to help previous employers improve their operations, you can easily make your resume more appealing.