A former LinkedIn employee says these five resume tips can help you land a better job

Scoring a first job out of college is one of the biggest hurdles for young professionals. The next hurdle comes when it’s time move up in rank. At this point, employees are at the awkward stage where they have some entry level experience but have not yet reached mid-career.

Leela Srinivasan, CMO at recruiting software company Lever and former director of marketing at job site LinkedIn, says making that jump to more senior level positions is tied to your resume and work experience.

Here are five resume tips that 20-somethings should use to land a better job early in their career:

1. Find a contact at the company you’re applying to

When applying for your next job, don’t rely on a general online application because it’s the least efficient method, Srinivasan tells CNBC Make It . Out of all the various modes of applying to a job, only one in 100 candidates is ever hired, she says. For applicants applying through general applications, especially for larger companies, their odds drop to one in 152.

Srinivasan suggests finding a better way to engineer yourself into a company. One way is by being proactively sourced, which is when a recruiter reaches out to a candidate. Being sourced increases your chances of getting hired to one in 72, she says.