The stakes have been raised in the job search. Employers
and recruiters receive a deluge of resumes every day and in
response to every job opening. The online resume databases
are packed full with tens of thousands and hundreds of
thousands of resumes! How will you ensure that your resume
will make the cut and that you will capture attention and
get the call for an interview? Here are a few crucial tips
that are absolutely essential to the creation of a
compelling resume in such competitive times.
Tip #1: It isn't about you, it's about the employer.
Yes, I know it is a resume and I know that the traditional
foundation of a resume is a listing of your employment and
educational history. But guess what? Your resume ISN'T
about you. Very few of the actual recipients of your resume
actually care where you went to school, where you worked
ten years ago, and what training classes you completed last
year. The simple truth is that the ONLY reason these facts
are useful at all are because they give important clues as
to the value you have to offer to your next employer. Keep
this truth in mind as your write your resume. Yes, you
should still include the traditional elements of a resume,
but that should be secondary. Your focus and emphasis
should be on creating content that is employer-centered and
focused on how you have the unique and superior ability to
meet their needs and solve their problems. Present your
facts within this context.
Tip #2: Employers don't care about what you know how to do.
They care about what you DO with what you know how to do.
Qualifications are the baseline for a position, but they
don't distinguish you from your competitors in the job
market, and they certainly don't sell. On the other hand,
achievements do sell, but results sell even better. Just
telling the reader that you have achievements and
accomplishments isn't very effective unless you present
them in terms of the results and benefits they have
produced for past employers. Continually ask yourself "so
what?" in terms of your achievement. What did you improve,
save, increase, enhance, etc? What impact did the work you
do have on the companies? While numbers are always best,
even if you are unable to quantify achievements, the
emphasis should still be on the results and benefits of
your work. For the maximum impact, accomplishments should
be presented as concise "success studies" complete with
challenge faced, action taken, immediate result, and
strategic importance. The reason is simple: what you know
how to do (your qualifications, knowledge, and skills) are
of absolutely no value unless you know how to put them into
practice for the benefit of the organization. Show that you
do. Prove impact!
Tip #3: Illustrate passion. Don't be afraid to show
yourself!
Infuse your resume with your personality and your authentic
passion. Forget the self-promotion, the cliches, and the
jargon. You want to let the facts speak for themselves, but
you want to do so in a way that tells the reader about your
personality. Yes, the return on investment (ROI) that an
employer reaps from hiring you is paramount, but of almost
equal importance in the hiring decision will be the
chemistry and the fit. Forget the bland, self-effacing,
autobiographical style of resume writing that you may have
been taught in college. Let your personality and your
authentic personal brand shine through, and illustrate your
passion for your job target with succinct success stories
that demonstrate to the reader your unique value. By doing
so, you will attract the right opportunities - the ones for
which you are the perfect fit and for which the corporate
culture is a perfect fit for you.
Tip #4: Rip your resume in half.
Go ahead. Do it. Print a copy of your resume and then take
the first page and rip it in half. Now throw away the
bottom half and concentrate on the top half. This is the
most important section of your resume. This top half of
your resume must be absolutely compelling. It must seize
the reader's attention and draw them in with content that
leaves absolutely no doubt that you are the perfect
candidate to fulfill their needs and solve their problems.
With just a five-second glance at this section, the reader
should come away with a crystal clear understanding of your
focus and exactly how you would fit in their organization;
they must come away with an accurate perception of your
brand and the unique promise of value that differentiates
you from your peers and competitors. And remember, you must
not only tell the reader about your value proposition. You
must show them with examples of past accomplishments. I
said it before and I'll say it again. Prove value! Prove
impact! In short, within moments of picking up your resume
and without looking any further than the beginning of the
first page, the recipient of your resume must come away
with the perception of a dynamic, result-proven individual.
And, of equal importance, of a professional who has clear
career direction, and more importantly, who understands the
parameters and challenges of the position and exactly how
she will add unique value and a superior return on
investment in relation to those challenges. It is a tall
order, but with clear, succinct, brand-driven and
results-focused writing it is absolutely possible to
achieve all of these goals.
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Certified resume writer and personal branding strategist,
Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career
Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com
Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of 101
Before-and-After Resume Examples
http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com
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