For every job that is advertised, the recruiter has to screen dozens and at times hundreds and thousands of resumes in order to start short listing them. In that situation, it is inevitable that the presentation of the resume makes a huge impact. The more plain old style, and with no power words or phrases jumping out, the more the chances that she will skip that resume.
How to stand out from the crowd
To stand out from the crowd you need a truly amazing, really outstanding resume. There are two ways to do that:
a. You have a top flight career and the key numbers speak loud and clear that you are indeed their best candidate. In this case, you should have an executive summary right at the start of the resume, and you highlight your key achievements in the career. Number of projects done. Growth achieved. Expenses reduced. Whatever the eye-popping statements that can make the reader drool.
b. The visual appeal or design of your resume is so unusual that she just can not skip it and gets drawn to reading it. Without going into much detail, here is one very creative resume that someone shared on Linkedin. Please share your comments.