5 Ways To Get Your Ministry Resume Noticed

Waiting on and searching for the right ministry position can be a very difficult process. It's normal to send your resume for a church job and think, "Did anyone even see my resume?"  (Sidenote: did you know that our team looks through every single resume submitted to us? It's true!) There are, however, a few relatively simple things you can do to help your resume stick out from the masses.

Here are 5 practical tips to help you develop your resume.

1. Include a section with links to your samples (if applicable).

Whether you are applying to be a Teaching Pastor, Worship Pastor, or even Student Pastor, it’s generally expected that you have video or audio samples available of you in your element. These don’t necessarily need to be from a big stage setting on high-end equipment, just the best you can do. If that means using a smartphone to record you teaching a lesson or leading worship at your small group, that is better than not having any samples. Adding this to your resume will save the church staff or search team reviewing your information the time of googling around trying to find a sample from you or following up with you for this information.

2. List your social media links.

In this day and age, if you are a candidate for a ministry position, the team looking over your resume will be looking you up on social media. The easier and more accessible you make this information, the better. Your social media accounts give churches the chance to see how you interact with people and what you are posting. If you are on any social media accounts, make this information clear on your resume.

3. Talk specifics about your career history & accomplishments.

Don’t be vague or talk in generalities when it comes to your experience. If you have worked at a church, make sure to list the location as there can be thousands of churches with the same name across the country. When going over your accomplishments, give specific numbers or percentages about how much your grew your ministry or what steps you implemented to achieve your goals.

4. Put a small picture on your resume.

"Putting a face to your name" helps make a connection for the person reviewing your information. God wired most people to be visual learners, and 90% of information transmitted to our brains is visual. We remember faces way easier than we do a stack of information, and even one picture on a resume is going to make it stand out compared to all the black and white text-only resumes next to it.

5. Use simple, clear formatting.

Keep your resume formatting, clear, simple, and easy to read. Use different font sizes to organize the information, and bold important information like position titles, dates, and figures. When you are looking through stacks of standard black and white resumes, any visual element, pop of color, picture, or graphic is going to jump out! But be very careful to keep it looking professional. Less can often be more.

These are a few simple things anyone can do to make their resume stick out a little more. The most important advice I can give is to make sure to double and triple edit your resume, then have a handful of friends and family members proofread it, too. Look for spelling errors, typos, misaligned bullet points, etc. You don’t want these things to be the reason your resume sticks out to the person evaluating it.