More things to keep in mind
Is Your Resume Effective?
Does your resume make you look just like everyone else?
Are you thinking that your umpteen years of experience alone will get employers excited? You will be disappointed.
Though blind taste tests show that most people prefer Pepsi, more people buy Coke. Why? Coke has found the right words and images to grab people’s hearts—and dollars. If you’re going to get hired any time soon, you have to do this too.
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Did you write a vague resume so you can fit in most anywhere?
Bad idea. This is no time to be a chameleon. You need laser focus and you must boldly proclaim who you are. If you’re confused, there’s no shame in that. Just don’t stay that way. Call us for a Career Action Plan Meeting.
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Every word should be on message.
Let’s be frank. Most resumes are utterly boring! Sometimes, when I review resumes, I find NOTHING that is interesting. Often, I can’t even tell what job the candidate wants. Many resumes are full of irrelevant information.
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Your resume must target the right audience.
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 pull out their old resume, slop their latest job on top—and they’re done! Wrong!
Have you asked yourself these four questions:
- How have I changed over the years?
- How have the markets changes?
- What do the employers I'm targeting want?
- What do I most want to sell?
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Unsure how many jobs to include on your resume?
There’s no one right answer. It depends on you and your experience. Writing a resume is like a photographer shooting the best angle.
Resumes are usually loaded with the wrong information, like that entry-level job held from 1982 -1985 that no one cares about. Today’s savvy job hunters focus on the last ten or fifteen 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.
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Is your resume confusing?
Lots of resumes are full of excessive jargon and abbreviations. An important player in the hiring process (someone in HR, for example) may be utterly clueless about what you are talking about. That doesn’t bode well for you.
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Your resume must speak the boss’s language.
You had an impressive title? Lots of responsibility? Guess what? Chances are, your competition does too. The boss wants to know about results. So talk the boss’s language. Some people say, “People in sales can show impressive achievements, but I just do my job. I don’t have any results.” That’s no excuse. Years ago, I wrote these results for a young college grad who’d been a waitress job at a pizza joint:
- Developed a regular base of customers who requested her to be their waitress
- Receiving more tips—by far—than anyone else
- Chosen to train new staff and lead service for large parties
- Oversaw restaurant in manager’s absence
If a new graduate can show impressive results, there’s no reason someone at your level can’t. Your results must be clear. I’ve seen too many outstanding achievements expressed in bland, murky language—with no power.
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Your resume must have the right keywords.
Today’s employers often 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.
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Ready for a powerful resume? Call me right now 847-673-0339
