Premium (but reasonable) Resumes
When you can’t afford to seem ordinary
It’s late in the day. The boss is reading through a stack of dreadful resumes. He’s downing a pot of black coffee, struggling to stay awake. Are there no decent candidates? Then, he finds one he likes and smiles. “At last!” He reaches for the phone to schedule an interview. Will that resume be yours?
You have seven seconds to get the boss’s attention. That’s right. Resumes are usually skimmed. If the boss doesn’t see something impressive mighty quick, your resume goes in the garbage.
Steve Frederick is a published professional writer with nearly 20 years of resume writing experience
That’s bad enough, but: a mediocre resume is the sign of a mediocre job campaign. In the many years I’ve been helping people find good jobs, I’ve found that the resume often sets the tone for the rest of the job campaign. People with mediocre resumes usually speak mediocrity.
Don’t let that great job slip away without even getting an interview. Let’s talk about how you can have an eye-catching resume. 847-673-0339
IS YOUR RESUME EFFECTIVE?
Your resume must distinguish you from the competition It’s a fundamental of marketing. Millions of people buy Coke, even though they prefer Pepsi in blind taste tests. Coke has found the right words and images to grab your heart and your dollar. A job campaign is no time to be a chameleon who can fit in most anywhere and do most anything. It’s time to boldly proclaim who you are.
Your resume must convey the right message
Most resumes quickly bore the boss. There’s nothing interesting in there! They’re dull! Ordinary! Sometimes, it isn’t clear what the candidate wants to do. Or the information isn’t relevant. No wonder the poor guy is drinking black coffee as he reads through this drivel. Every word on your resume must contribute to the message.
Your resume must target the right audience
Let’s be honest. However great you might be, most employers don’t want to hire you. So, who are the ones who might—and what do they want?
Many job hunters treat their resume like a compost heap. They pull out their old resume, slop their latest job on top—and they think they’re done! Wrong!
They haven’t asked themselves these four key questions:
- How have I changed over the years?
- How have the markets changed?
- What do the employers I’m targeting want?
- What do I most want to sell?
Your resume must focus on your best experience
How many jobs should you include? There’s no one right answer. It depends on you and your experience. It’s like taking a photograph: what is your best angle? Many resumes are loaded with the wrong information, like that entry-level job held from 1982 -1985 or the temp jobs held for all of two months. Many savvy job hunters are eliminating old jobs to focus on the last ten, fifteen, or twenty years. But cutting material from your resume should be done with a surgeon’s scalpel, not a meat axe. For some candidates, that entry level job is VERY relevant and belongs on the resume.
Your resume can’t confuse people
Lots of resumes are full of excessive jargon and abbreviations. Be aware that your resume may have multiple audiences: HR people, your boss, the boss’s boss, and others. An important player in the hiring process may not have a clue about what you are talking about. That doesn’t bode well for you.
Many people reduce outstanding achievements to bland, murky language that leaves the reader scratching their heads. That doesn’t bode well for you either.
Your resume must speak the boss’s language
Sure, it is somewhat impressive that you held that great title, but guess what. Your competition also has impressive titles. The employer wants to know what you did in that position. Talk the employer’s language. Show results. How have you made an impact on the environment, on your staff, your customers, or the general public?
Some people say, “If I were in sales, I could talk about my sales numbers and other impressive achievements, but I just do my job. I don’t have any results.” That’s no excuse. Most everyone can find impressive results in their jobs. I recently helped a young college grad with her resume, and helped her demonstrate very impressive results—even from her work as a waitress at a pizza joint. She distinguished herself by:
- Developing a regular base of customers who requested her to be their waitress
- Receiving more tips—by far--than anyone else
- Training other staff
- Taking a lead role in managing large parties
- Overseeing the restaurant when the manager was absent
She demonstrated that she can relate well to customers and staff, take on responsibility, train and mentor, and make money. Surely, if a waitress can show all that, you can demonstrate some great results too.
Your resume must have the right keywords
Many employers scan resumes electronically—so, if you don’t have the right keywords, your resume will disappear into a dark hole in a database, never more to be seen.
Ready to get started on a great resume?