An effective resume is NOT one that gets you the job
Times are tough and unemployment is at an all time high. We all know that and some of us are actually living it. If you’ve lost your job there are quite a few tasks ahead of you, a lot of tough decisions to make and a lot of planning to do. Unfortunately, you are now part of an enormous pool of people in the same situation and you need to figure out a way to stand out from the crowd. How? By writing a kick-ass resume!
Been there, done that and I know it’s not an easy or even pleasant task but you’ve got to do it – and do it right. No excuses, no putting it off, no just slapping a few phrases together on a pretty piece of paper.
What’s the secret to writing a good resume? One that gets you what you want? Well, first it’s getting the answers to those 2 questions right. An effective resume is NOT one that showcases everything you’ve done in the past; it’s NOT a professional autobiography! An effective resume is NOT one that gets you the job; the interview does that – you do that – the resume is just to get you in there, to get you the interview.
What do you need to keep in mind when writing your resume?
- It needs to look forward not back! It needs to address the needs of the job and organization you are applying to.
- Tailoring your resume to the job you want means sifting through all you’ve done and handpicking the RIGHT experiences to showcase; the relevant ones.
- Give them what they want (target a specific position), highlight the value you will bring to them.
- You have 5-12 seconds to grab their attention – use your resume as a marketing tool and leave them wanting more; meaning an interview.
A successful resume is one that compels the hiring manager to set up an interview with you to learn more about your skills and experiences, help determine if you can indeed do the job, if you have a positive attitude, if you are a good fit with the company culture, etc. But first, you need to get that call.
As you start mapping out what you’re going to write on your resume keep in mind that you are writing it for the prospective employer’s eyes, not yours. Also remember that as he or she scans it they are:
- Looking for reasons to eliminate unsuitable candidates
- Trying to determine if your qualifications actually match those required by the position
- Judging your communications skills (I’ve discarded plenty because of typos, grammatical errors, etc.)
- Comparing you to other candidates
- Determining if they’re interested enough to bring you in
- Mentally developing interview questions
- Checking your understanding of what they need by what you’ve listed/highlighted in your resume
In the upcoming posts we will discuss additional guidelines such as format, size, accomplishments vs. responsibilities, etc. In the meantime, please feel free to share any and all positive or negative experiences. After all, as I mentioned at the top of the post, the number of people in this situation right now is vast so, let’s all do whatever we can to help.
Monica F
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