Resume Help Blog

Archive for November, 2008

The job market is tough and it’s getting tougher.  Your resume is your No. 1 marketing tool and it may not be doing its job – getting you an interview.

One reason may be a lack of time.  With the increased competition for jobs and more applicants, employers don’t spend a lot of time reading any one resume.  It’s been estimated that today’s resume is getting only about 20 seconds of “eyeball time.”  That’s not much time to score.  In fact, most applications will get quickly screened out and dumped on the reject pile.

Another reason? Lack of interest.  Most resumes today lack a sense of urgency.  They don’t answer the all-important question: “What’s in it for the employer?”

Here are four things you need to power up your resume for today’s more competitive job search arena to overcome these dilemmas:

1. Focused objective
Does your resume have a clear, focused objective?  Does it identify one clear job title that you are seeking?  Leave out all that nonsense about “challenging opportunity with a dynamic company.”  Remember, it’s not about you.

Try this: Under the objective heading, lead off with a clear phrase indicating the job title you are seeking.  For example, write “Chief Financial Officer” — nothing more is needed.

2. Keyword section

Everyone pays lip service to this, but few act on it.  If you don’t, you’re missing the boat in two major ways:

Your resume needs to get flagged by a computer.  To strengthen your odds, you need every potential keyword working for you.  And not just your skill sets, either.  Make sure to add all your industry buzzwords as well as your biggest soft skills.  Did you know that some of the highest searched keywords today include terms we often overlook?  These include “problem-solving,” “leadership” and “oral and written communication.”

You must appeal to the person who reads your resume. A reader will scan a great keyword summary section within the first 20 seconds of looking at your resume. When added to your personal branding statement below, you increase your chances of hooking this reader and getting a closer look.

3. Personal branding statement
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a CFO, a software project manager or a wedding photographer.  Answer this question: “What is it that makes you unique, compared with other applicants?”

Don’t think that just having great skill sets or years of experience is going to give you any edge. Lots of other candidates have skills the same as or better than you.  The solution is to create a brand for yourself.

So how do you create your own brand? Review your resume.  Does it have a clear statement that describes who you are and what you offer?  This is called a “branding statement” and may be described as a “value added” or “unique selling proposition.”

Don’t confuse this with a “summary of qualifications” section that many candidates like to include.  These are merely laundry lists of core competencies and do nothing to make you stand out.

A true branding statement is a one-sentence description of who you are and what critical benefit you offer your next employer.  It should describe your biggest strength and the resulting benefit to your previous employer.

The best branding statements usually incorporate figures in dollars or percentages of money, or time that was gained or saved over a certain period of time.  Here is an example for that CFO:

“Seasoned Chief Financial Officer strong in optimizing organizations to achieve maximum growth and market share who has produced new revenues or savings of more than $65 million for my employers over the past eight years.”

Does your resume have a branding statement this strong? If not, think about adding one. It will take some time to develop your ideal statement.  Once done, however, you will break that 20-second barrier and move that much farther ahead of your competitors.

4. Specific achievements
Companies hire employees to be an asset to their balance sheets.  That means your work should involve helping a company either make money or save money.  Think beyond your skill sets and job duties and find as many ways as you can that you accomplish this.

For example, suppose you’re a videographer who tapes weddings and special events and edits them for clients.  You take the extra step of performing all of your post-production work before submitting your results. Your extra effort has saved your employer several hundred hours of additional work.

This translates into dollars saved by the employer and it’s just this sort of achievement that must be on your resume. When it’s possible, put a dollar value on your achievements.  Our photographer example might look like this:

“Saved my employer more than $6K in additional labor costs over the past two years by performing post-production work before submitting my final results.”

By including several specific achievements where you’ve helped your employer make or save money you separate yourself from your competitors and quickly gain the attention of your reader.

The “Executive Profile” (A.K.A. “Qualifications Summary or Career Summary”) goes directly below the objective/resume title. This brief section consists of one or two short paragraphs or several bulleted statements condensing for employers your breadth of experience, major areas of strength, and relevant highlights from your background. This is the perfect place to really “sell” yourself, and if done well this section can often be enough all by itself to convince an employer to contact you for an interview.

Your profile should explain how an employer would benefit by hiring you. It should encapsulate the key strengths you bring to the table and convincingly address why you should be called for an interview vs. your competition. Keep your profile concise. You’re not telling your life story here. Just hit on whatever elements from your background are most compelling in terms of your new career target. You will expound on these strengths later in the resume, but in the profile your goal is to summarize your most saleable traits, experience, and credentials.

Before you begin your profile section, make sure you have a solid grasp of what employers are looking for in your targeted field. Research job ads on the Web or in the newspaper similar to what you are looking for to identify the key skills and credentials you offer that match employers’ needs. Compare the job ads you find and take note of similarities between your background and frequently requested/required skills mentioned in these ads.

Draw up a list of your top five to ten marketable skills and accomplishments, and use this as the basis for your qualifications summary. Keep in mind that employers particularly value executives who can prove they have helped to generate revenue, enhance shareholder value, improve morale, save time, cut costs, improve service, solve problems, or further company goals. These traits are universally valued, regardless of the industry or field you are pursuing, so detail your most standout accomplishments in these areas in your Executive Profile.

Reprinted with permission from The McGraw-Hill Companies, excerpted from The Career Change Resume by Kim Isaacs and Karen Hofferber. Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.

Good resume writing is both a skill and an art form. As with any kind of writing some people are better than others. I know I will never be as good a writer as John Grisham but as far as technical writing is concerned if someone points me in the right direction and gives me the basics they expect, I can turn out a masterpiece and so can you.

Here are the seven basic rules for effective resume writing. Pay attention to these and you can turn out a masterpiece.

Pay Close Attention To Detail

Don’t cut corners, details are important. Failure to properly proofread the cover letter, or not including information the hiring manager asked for, will get your resume thrown out. Beginning the cover letter “Dear Sir or Madam” when the hiring manager’s name is on the company web site will have the same consequences. Detail, detail, detail! Take the time to make sure the correspondence and information sent is correct and error-free. Don’t depend on the computers spell checker, it’s a good idea to have a second party proofread anything you write before sending it.

Do More Than The Basics

Proofreading is for more than spelling. Grammar, and tone are also important and make sure you have followed the instructions of the employer. This applies to more than resume writing. I was in sales for a number of years and learned that lesson the hard way in preparing a sales quote. I left off a particular detail the client had asked about and it cost me. Sending an e-mail is a relative new form of communication as far as things go. Be careful about this and proofread everything before clicking “send.”

How To Construct An Effective Resume

Organize your information in a logical fashion and make sure all descriptions are clear and to the point. Include as much work experience as possible but try to tailor it to the job description you’re applying for . Also, use a simple, easy-to-read font. Don’t get crazy and use funky scripts, etc. Just a basic Arial or Times Roman is preferred by most hiring managers. Or if you are not sure of your writing talents may we suggest hiring a pro! This Pro is one of the best e-books you will find anywhere and will practically do everything for you – inexpensively!

Customize Their Response

Address the hiring manager directly, and include the name of the company and the position for which it is hiring in your cover letter or e-mail response.

Make It Easy For The Hiring Manager

Use your name and the word “resume” in your e-mail header so it’s easy to identify. It is not uncommon to be asked for references or writing samples, whatever they ask for – provide it.

Focus On What You Bring To The Employer, Not What You Expect From Them

Your resume gives you the best opportunity for you to showcase yourself. In other words – market yourself. This is your first opportunity for you to stand out from the other candidates. Help make the hiring manager’s life and decision easier by basically showing them what can you do to help the company.

Above All – Be Professional

You won’t be taken seriously if you don’t have an e-mail address. And most hiring managers will tell you it’s a turnoff to see something silly like, kellysmom@abc.com, or iloveteddybears@abc.com. Just use something nice and basic, and if it has your name in it that’s a bonus for you.

Have a professional voicemail message on your phone. Don’t have a message that says “Hi, this is hot lips, please leave me a message.” You get the idea! And return all calls promptly! Don’t expect them to call back again and again trying to catch you, it won’t happen.

For professional help writing your resume we highly recommend DistinctiveWeb.com. These licensed professionals can turn your job skills and history into a high quality, powerful resume that is guaranteed to get you the interview.

If you’re a do-it-yourself type then this e-book is a must-read. For less than $10 101 Before and After Résumé Examples is a comprehensive, downloadable manual of professionally written sample resumes that show you step-by-step (using 101 REAL before-and-after examples) exactly how to create your own job-winning resume – or transform one that isn’t working for you!

Also recommended is Secrets of a Successful Job Search. This is a one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred program that will guide you step-by-step through every phase of the job search start-to-finish. You will benefit from expert guidance and straight-to-the-point tips throughout your job search and your entire career with this proven system and simple-to-follow strategies that you can use over and over again to advance and promote your career faster than you ever thought possible.