Why resume title is so important?

If you’ve ever walked through a bookstore or library and were drawn to a book, or even picked up a magazine at the checkout stand of your local grocery store, chances are, your attention was captured by an effective title. While the headline can sometimes differ from the official name of the reading material, a concise and easy to read opening line can make all the difference in getting the reader engaged and wanting to read on. When it comes to the art of applying for jobs, this is where the rubber meets the road. Hiring managers have tons of applicants to sift through, and the details of your resume will only be given a thorough review if you instantly grab the interest of the manager and intrigue them. The presence or absence of a professional resume title means success or failure in many cases. Now that you’ve put so much time into crafting your resume, doesn’t it make sense to spend a little bit of time making sure it gets read? We’ll outline some of the useful considerations when it comes to that all-important resume title, and how to come out ahead of the other applicants.

A good resume title gets your foot in the door

Demonstrating the ability to summarize complex data into clear and easily understood concepts is a crucial skill most hiring managers look for. Whether or not you realize it, the process of applying to jobs is, in itself, a sales practice, and you are attempting to sell your skills and services to the company. The best way to prove your ability to think both large and small is to have a well-written resume that is comprehensive and organized, but also shows that you can put forth the most useful highlights of the content in a condensed opening title. It should be professional and memorable, coming to mind long after the hiring manager has moved on to other tasks. Resumes Land is here to help you with writing tips and services designed to get you in the door of the company you have your sights set on.

Resume title examples and recommendations

As the workplace has evolved, so have the formatting expectations of organizations. While some applicants are still inclined to provide an “objective statement” on their resume, many have come to realize that a high-impact headline can do the trick. As you might expect, objective statements, goals and summaries can exhibit common similarities between job seekers, and managers will sometimes skip over these sections without the presence of a powerful title, placed appropriately within the document. When crafting this title, take into account the following:

Place the resume title, sample of your skills and brief highlights at the top of your resume under your contact information and name. This is the first thing the manager will see
Treat the title as if it were the only thing they’d read; similar to a 30-second elevator pitch, pretend that this one section has to do the job of getting you hired
Don’t overdo it – if the headline is not concise and easy to read, it’s not a headline
Make sure the title is memorable and relevant to the job you are applying for
Avoid boilerplate or templated headlines that will show the hiring manager that you are not applying to their job exclusively
Customize it a bit – try to highlight the skills and experiences that would be of imminent and future value to this particular organization

Get creative tips and tricks from our pros

In addition to a unique resume title, for fresher applicants who want to make an instant impression, consider incorporating a custom file name (using elements from the title, or your legal name) if you’re sending the resume electronically. This file name will be easier for the hiring manager to sort without having to rename it themselves, create a new folder for it, or open it to see who the applicant was. This small step can garner instant appreciation from the manager, showing them that you are already making their job easier. For professional assistance with creating a resume, including title, contact us immediately and let our decades of experience work for you!