10 Resume Tips for Scoring a High-Paying Position

You might not find immediate success with job applications and potential interviews when you’re ready to advance your career. Recruiters will review your resume and make a quick decision about whether they should meet you. If yours isn’t spotless, you may miss out on a better job with an increased salary.

Here’s how to score a high-paying position by refining your resume.

1. Adapt Your Resume to Job Posts

Comparing job boards and recruiting websites is the first step in learning how to apply to a high-paying job. Each open position will have detailed requirements. Applicants can take one look and know exactly what their employer needs from them on day one, but the same information should inform your resume.

Your one-page resume is a summary of your career, so it won’t include everything you’ve ever done. It should only feature experiences that are most relevant to each unique application. Rearrange your past job descriptions according to appeal to your desired position. Keep them in chronological order, and your ability to handle a higher-paying job will shine during a recruiter’s first glance.

2. Include Multiple References

Companies put more at stake when hiring people for leadership positions or more advanced jobs on the corporate ladder. They won’t want to mistakenly hire someone who can’t handle the position’s responsibilities, especially if both parties have to sign employment contracts that specify how long the candidate will remain in the job.

Include at least two to three references in your resume. They should be people who can vouch for your professional abilities without bias. Former supervisors, colleagues and advisers are excellent references for anyone who wants to advance their career.

3. Reflect on Your Resume’s Structure

Employers need influential leaders in their highest-paying jobs. Leading is impossible if you can’t communicate clearly, which comes across in your resume’s structure. Ensure that the one page of information has clear bullet-point lists, chronological order and position descriptions. If a recruiter reviews it and has unanswered questions, they’ll move on to the next candidate without ever reaching out.

4. Use Numerical Data as Evidence

Updating your resume with evidence of your professional accomplishments requires more than precise job descriptions. According to careersprosplus.com, numerical data — like percentages and dollar figures — paints a picture of your success for recruiters. They’ll see the evidence and objectively gauge your performance to ultimately find the best place for you on their team. It’s an essential part of learning how to apply to a high-paying job, so schedule time to reflect and update your resume as needed.

5. List Your Software Experience

Listing software experience on your resume is necessary, no matter where you are in your career. You’ll have to show you’re quick to learn and know how to utilize programs that help companies function. Professional leaders shouldn’t have gaps in their training regarding computer skills in the 21st century.

When seeking someone for your dream job, experience with word processing, coding software or accounting spreadsheets could be the first thing recruiters look for. If you don’t have many years in your field, you can also include programs you used in college to buff out your resume.

Programs like Grammarly refine and produce better content in school and the workplace, so knowing how to use it will make you an asset to your co-workers. Microsoft Office, Pages and OneNote are other programs that may turn you into a more competitive candidate than others without software dexterity. It depends on what type of position you’re applying for and what will help you do the job to the best of your abilities.

6. Describe Relevant Travel as Needed

Many high-paying positions require travel time. Recruiters will look for people with travel experience to fill those roles because they know how to live part of their life on the road. If you want a job like that but haven’t traveled for your career, you should still include relevant globe-trotting experiences.

Consider a company’s primary audience or who it needs to add to its consumer base. It may need to expand its presence in China, so include something about a previous trip to that location. Briefly explaining how you visited the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center to learn the unknown history and culture through its exhibits will demonstrate your more profound understanding of who the company wants to reach. You’ll become an innovative candidate with promise as a leader in the field because you know how to apply life experiences to your job.

7. Use Professional Language

Updating your resume with professional language is one of the best resume tips for high-paying jobs. You’ll prove you take your career seriously and know how to communicate with like-minded professionals in your field. Remove slang from your resume and replace it with third-person descriptive language to create an authoritative tone that exhibits your abilities clearly.

8. Insert Position-Relevant Keywords

Many recruiters run applications through software programs to narrow down which resumes they need to review. The program looks for relevancy to the job title descriptions based on the wording used in each application. Inserting relevant keywords into your resume for each job will boost your chances of scheduling an interview.

Keywords can take various forms, including hard skills listed in the job post or phrases from the company’s mission statement. Consider using language from the specific open position description before moving on to keyword placement throughout your resume. Any relevant information can also transform into cover letter keywords for the same application.

9. Remove Your Photo

Outdated resume guidance used to require applicant photos on each resume. Ignore that advice if you want to know how to score a high-paying position. Instead, remove your headshot from your resume and let your experience impress the recruiter. They’re reviewing your information to see what you can offer the company, not to know how you look.

This can also help women avoid bias that keeps them from higher-paying positions. According to recent research, women are 30% less likely to be interviewed for advanced jobs. Subconscious discrimination regarding their likelihood of taking leave to have or raise children can count against female applicants. Removing your picture puts all the focus on your skill set, preventing bias from holding your career back.

10. Write an Elevator Pitch

The top of your resume should have your name and contact information, followed by an elevator pitch. Write three to five sentences about your work ethic and why you’re the best candidate for the specific position. The rest of your resume will expand on this description by explaining your professional experience. It’s helpful for recruiters who glance over resumes and don’t have time to study them for longer than a minute.

Score a High-Paying Position

Anyone can use these resume tips for high-paying jobs to advance their career. Update your resume to each job application and include specific information regarding your professional successes. When it matches the job description and showcases your ability to meet its requirements, you’ll score a high-paying position without waiting too long.