You're in the job hunting game and you're ready to start handing out some resumes. One of your biggest concerns might be how you're going to make sure that your resume gets noticed amongst a sea of other applications. You know your application is strong, but if it never gets reviewed by your prospective employer, then what's the point of even applying, right?

Part of the key to ensuring that your application get's noticed by a hiring manager is to make your resume stand out from the crowd of standard resumes. A custom-designed resume also shows that you are creative and willing to think outside of the box, which are often attractive qualities to a prospective employer.

Not a designer? No problem! There are many resumer builders available that can guide you through the design process and jumpstart your path to success and getting hired.

1. Choose a resume builder

This is a bit easier said than done. With more options sometimes comes more confusion. You want to choose an online resume builder that fits your needs and your conform level when it comes to customizations and resume format. Some builders are quite locked down and only allow you to make minor updates. They might only let you update text inside specific text boxes, and not change any of the design components like layout, fonts or colors. An online resume maker like this is a great option if you're not confident in your design skills, if you don't want to write your resume from scratch, and you want to get a resume make very quickly.

If you're looking for a bit more flexibility or you're wanting to add a personal flair to your resume, then we recommend choosing a resume builder with more layout and design options. While not technically a resume builder, you can look into purchasing a resume template that uses well-known and well-tested design aids like Canva. Purchasing a resume template for Canva gives you the maximum level of customization possible. Canva is designed to allows users to move or delete any element, change any text, change any font and any color. It's a very flexible online design software that is very easy to use.

We've designed all of our professional resume templates to use Canva as the editing tool to give you the most customization options possible. We've specifically created a wide range of designs. Whether you need a simple resume template or would like to choose between our creative resume templates, you'll find the perfect template to create your resume in minutes. It's like having you're own graphic designer to the heavy lifting for you. You can check then out here.

2. Choose a template

Once you've chosen which online resume creator you're going to use, the next step is to choose the professional resume template that best fits your experience. You need to pick a professional template that best matches the elements that your resume needs to contain. If you don't already have a current version of your resume, then quickly jot down the skills and achievements you'll need to include in each category that's applicable to you:

1. Education

2. Work experience

3. Volunteer experience

4. Skills

5. Hobbies

6. Organizations you're a part of

7. Awards you've won

Pick which of your experiences you need to include to make sure you're showing that you have the skills listed in the job description. If you have something to add to each of these categories, you'll need to choose a resume template that either has a space for each of these, or the ability to add one. On the other hand, if you only need to utilize a few of these sections, but you have many things to add to each one, for example you have 3 or 4 schools/degrees to list and 4 previous jobs to highlight, then make sure you pick a resume template that has enough space in each category to fit in everything you need.

The last thing you'll want to consider is if you'll need to include a cover letter and a professional reference list with your application. It's always the icing on the cake when you're entire application looks like it's been intentionally designed as a set. If this is important to you, then choose a template that also contains these additional pages as well.

3. Pick colors

If you've chosen a template builder that allows you to choose from a set of colors, or better yet, allows you to use your own custom color codes, then now is a fantastic opportunity to get creative and personalize your resume.

You can't get too crazy with the colors because you still need to make sure that you come across as a professional job candidate, but there is some flexibility when it comes to differentiating yourself with color. Choose a color that reflects your personality or speaks to the job you're applying for, while staying somewhat toned down and muted.

If you want to use a strong color in your resume, then stick with a classic such as deep red, navy, grey or black.

4. Pick fonts

Fonts are yet another opportunity to customize your resume even further. When flipping through a stack of resumes, a prospective employer is sure to come across an endless sea of Times New Roman and Arial. These fonts can be a bit boring and expected as they are often the default fonts set by word processors. But you're not a boring job candidate and you want to stand out so venture away from these options if you're resume builder allows you to choose custom fonts.

It doesn't really matter which font you choose for your resume as long as it is extremely legible and clear. We never recommend using a script font or a font with fancy flourishes. Keep is clean and classy. To find some font font inspirations, head over to Pinterest and search "professional font combinations" and you'll find a ton of great options. Find a crisp font combination that catches your eye and then double check that your resume builder either has these fonts built in or allows you to upload your own copy of the font file.

5. Bring it all together

Now it's time to bring your resume to life and prove to employers that you're the best candidate for the job. Access the resume builder you've chosen, fill in the blanks, experiment with colors and fonts and build a resume that gets you hired.

The main thing to keep in mind when building your perfect resume is legibility and how easy it is to read. Don't try to back in too much information, although it can be tempting to do so. Make sure there is some visual breathing room in the design and it doesn't look overcrowded.

With these tips in mind, you're sure to get your professional resume into the hands of hiring managers and land your next job application.