This was from a call I took yesterday. The conversation went something like this:
Caller: “Hi, um, my name is Bob. I want to know about your resume service and when you can finish it. Because I need it soon.” Me: “Hi Bob. Well, let’s skip to your most important question. How quickly do you need it?” Bob: “I need it by tomorrow. I saw a job position I want to apply for at Johnson & Johnson and the position closes tomorrow.” Me: “Oh! Tomorrow. Has the position been open a while or did you hear about it from someone?” Bob: “I heard about it through a buddy of mine who works there. It’s for Regional Sales Management position– my dream job with my dream company. He told me about it awhile ago, but I didn’t really think about it much until last night when we met for a beer and he reminded me it was still open. But it closes tomorrow. He said to send my resume in to the HR person sometime in the morning.” Me: “Well, it’s 4:30 in the afternoon and I leave my office in an hour and a half. I won’t be able to do it in that amount of time…”
We talked for a little bit more and Bob even emailed me his resume. It was pretty bad (think Microsoft Word’s basic resume template… lots of white space, left-aligned, bullet-ridden and worse, hadn’t been updated since 2001).
The thing that got me was that he had known about the position for a month, assumed he’d have time to fix up his resume, then consequently forgot about the position, and was now in an all-out panic. We’ve all done it with one thing or another–putting off something we really shouldn’t have, and then regretting it later.
I felt bad for Bob because I knew his chances of getting the job with the old resume were slim to none. Worse, when he started talking about his experience and his excellent accomplishments I thought he would have probably had the chance. He said he was going to work on it himself and hope for the best.
So, the moral of the story is UPDATE YOUR RESUME TODAY. Don’t wait until your dream opportunity passes you by.
I have several resumes a day emailed to me for review. Some are just not good. However, I do come across some that aren’t that bad. They need work, but the basic bones of it is there. It just needs some optimizing. What do I mean?
When writing your resume keep in mind that you are writing for someone else. Someone who does not know what you did at your last job. They don’t know the challenges you faced in the last position, or how you increased productivity or revenue.
Sometimes I get to talking with clients and am awed at what they did during a particularly challenging phase and am shocked it isn’t found on the resume. The best way to optimize your resume is to talk about your accomplishments and be detailed about it.
Don’t just say, “Added $700 million in funding over a 3-year period”
Instead say, “Secured over $700 million in funding over a 3-year period after thorough analysis and assessment on LAN and WAN connectivity for the nation’s largest telecommunication facility”.
See the difference? Which sounds better to you?
Optimizing your resume really means adding more detail, highlighting your accomplishments, and solidifying your value. Add more detail, talk about what you did, get the reader interested in what you have to say. No one wants to read short little bullet points. Boring. Keep “how did I do this?” in your mind when writing because that is what the reader is thinking, “Hmmm, how did he/she do this?” and then of course, “Can they do this for our company?”.
It may require a little bit of digging into your accomplishments to bring out the little gems of information, but it will be very worth it in the end–when you are called in to interview.
Cover letters seem to be difficult for people, even resume writers. Why is that? What makes a good cover letter? Cover letters can be fun to write. There really aren’t many ‘rules’ to writing them. You can let your personality shine through. They allow you to positively present your skills, accomplishments, and credentials in a way that will encourage the reader to want to read even more about you (and then move on to the resume). There are lots of things I can get into in more depth (types of resumes, scope, presentation, who your audience is, etc.) but for now, I am just going to touch on the basics. In future posts, I will dissect cover letters more closely. Here are some easy ideas to keep in mind when writing your cover letter:
Make sure your intention is clear. In other words, what is the job you are applying for? Clearly state it. Don’t make the reader guess. You could say something like, “…and this is why my qualifications make me a perfect match for the Sales Management position”.
Highlight your top achievements. You don’t have to rewrite everything you wrote in the resume, just summarize some of your top accomplishments. Wow them with what you have done.
Add your relevant skills or qualifications. Let the reader know what you excel at and what you are capable of. This is a great place to talk about any extra credentials or training you’ve had that relate to the position.
Write toward the position you are applying for. When preparing the cover letter, keep in mind the requirements of the position and add your qualifications that match them.
Explain what it is you like about the company. Remember, you are trying to woo the company, so tell them what you like about them. Is it the reputation, products/services, location? Let them know why you like them.
You are not writing your autobiography. Keep it short, simple and factual. You don’t need to go into why the last job didn’t work out, “…my boss had unrealistic expectations of the staff, so I decided to check out my options…:. Don’t air your dirty laundry or obvious dislike of your most recent employer. Keep it professional.
Double check the entire document for accuracy, errors, and syntax. You don’t want to miss a great opportunity because you wrote, “Dear Hiring Manger”.
Another tip is to save that cover letter, copy and paste it onto a new document, and tweak it for another type of position you may be interested in. I encourage clients to have several “focused” cover letters for different positions they might have in mind. This way, if an opportunity presents itself, you are ready!
I realize as I write this that I am crabby and tired. Probably not the most optimal time to write a blog post. Whatever. But wait, maybe this IS the best time to write this because later, in my defense, I can just say ‘Oh, well, gee… I was just going on 3 1/2 hours sleep, over-caffeinated, and bitchy irritable. What can I say?’ However, for the sake of my readers, I will be gentle. Dear New Client, it is not necessary, through the process of our resume writing collaboration together, to send me over 65 pages of information. Yes, this is not the norm, and yes, it is probably my fault that I didn’t turn off the fax machine as it sent through 48 pages (52 to be exact, but it ran out of ink on page 48) of your performance evaluation over the last 25+ years. I should have, but it came through at night. Performance appraisals are a good thing. Summarizing what was said over the past, oh, 5-10 years might be a better idea.
Your 10-page, white space-deprived, executive IT resume is a tad on the long side. It truly isn’t necessary to list all of your technical experience dating back to the early 80’s, especially since your role now is an executive one and you hardly get your hands wet anymore with the “meat” of the projects.
I appreciate that you took the time to compile all of your hobbies and interests, but employers usually don’t want to review your various scout awards, high school GPA, birth date, wife’s favorite color, or a link to your personal website filled with just plain weird different pictures of your ceramic turtle collection.
The information in your resume should be relevant to your job search and your personal brand. However, you don’t want to load down your resume with too much information. I know there is a fine line for some people, and it’s hard to distinguish what should stay and what should go. If you are unsure, you should always ask a professional.
On that note, I bid you good night, Gentle Reader. I must get back to work and finish up this whining resume advice session. I hope I was able to help clarify the good, the bad and the not needed of information gathering.
In today’s competitive market it is vital that you have a resume that will stand out and catch the attention of the reader. Creating a resume from a Microsoft Word template won’t do. Neither will copying off your co-workers resume. You need a branded, unique resume that defines who you are, your accomplishments, your credentials and what you can do for them. A certified professional resume writer will do this for you. They know what it takes to get you noticed. So, the question is… who do you choose? There are new resume companies popping up all over the place so you need to get picky and have questions ready to ask the resume writer. Here are some questions you should always ask: 1. Are you a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)? Does being certified really matter? YES, YES, YES! Before 1990, there wasn’t a standard to which a resume writer could be judged. Now, all CPRW candidates must go through a comprehensive set of tests before achieving certification. Testing consists of 4 modules that cover several areas including industry knowledge, resume knowledge, grammar/punctuation/spelling and proofreading, strategic thinking, content use, focus, ethics, and more. NOT EVERYONE PASSES. If you are not sure, you can check: parw.com or careerdirectors.com and check to see if the writer is certified. Advanced resume certifications are also available (CERW, MRW, CARW) and offer similar types of training followed by rigorous testing. Do your homework. Think of it this way: would you want a Dentist to replace your crown or someone who “knows a lot about teeth”? 2. How long have you been writing resumes? There are so many mom-and-pop resume writing companies popping up out there that it is blowing my mind. Because of this recession, I’ve heard of many people who got into resume writing recently because they were laid off from their sales job and “was told by friends I can write a good resume”. While that may be true, writing two resumes and writing several hundred, or even thousands are much better. Practice makes perfect. I am the first one to admit that when I first started, my writing was less than perfect. Way less. There is so much more to understand about resume writing than just putting words to paper. It can take me up to 2 days to decide the right strategy for a client–the best way for them to be positioned for optimal results. It takes time to learn this. I’m not saying someone has to be writing for 10 years to be a good writer, but I think they need actual practice before working on your resume. 3. What association(s) do you belong to? This is important for the obvious reasons. Belonging to a professional association keeps you up-to-date on so many things including resume writing strategy, client focus, new trends, industry updates and much more. In my opinion, I couldn’t imagine NOT being in them. They are a wealth of knowledge! I get to interact with other writers/business owners/career coaches, share information, pose questions and more. My favorite organizations are CDI (Career Directors International) and PARW (Professional Association of Resume Writers), but there are several others that are good, too: National Association of Resume Writers (NRWA), Career Management Alliance (CMA), and Association of Online Resume & Career Professionals (AORCP). 4. What is your process? Most resume writers have a process i.e. information they need from you, resume strategy, structure, and time line. It’s good to know ahead of time what the writers process is. You might have developed a great rapport with a writer only to realize they won’t have it ready for 2-3 weeks and you need it in 2 days, etc. Or they may require more from you than just your existing resume and you don’t have time for that (although I wouldn’t advise that– if you want a great resume, you have to do a little work). 5. What do you need from me? Some writers do a lot of listening and not a lot of talking, or vice versa, as do the clients. Ask the writer what information they need from you. It’s important that the process is a collaborative one with mutual information sharing. Your writer has to literally be you in order to create an effective resume that is unique and branded. So give them as much information as possible, no matter how busy you are.
These 5 tips should get you started in the right direction and hopefully help you find a writer who is the perfect fit for your needs. Good luck!
Keywords are an essential piece to a well-written resume. Why? Because they are the words that describe what you do. They also let the reader know immediately whether or not you are a potential candidate for them.
Keywords are “buzz” words or industry specific jargon that communicates a message about your qualifications, accomplishments, credentials or responsibilities. They are action-driven and demonstrate your value to the company.
Each keyword has a message attached to it. For example: Operations Leadership message is– process performance improvements, operational compliance, cost reductions, safety implementation, etc. They help tell the story in conjunction with action verbs (created, developed, launched, delivered…) to pack more of a punch and keep the reader interested.
With companies receiving thousands of resumes per job opening, they have come to rely on keyword-searchable databases to weed out candidates that don’t fit the position and save the candidates that do. These machines are programmed with certain keywords and receive “hits” for resumes that match the data. Keywords are also being used on job boards and professional networks like LinkedIn. Hiring managers can go to LinkedIn and type in “Pharmaceutical Sales Representative” and if you have those words in your resume, you become a match.
Keywords can be used throughout the resume. You can add them to your career summary at the top, or in your job description, and within your accomplishments to bring out your strengths. Here is an example of keywords within a career summary. I added bold so you could tell which ones they are:
“Dynamic executive leadership career of diverse organizations with a rich mix of finance, operations, internal/external processes, sales and business development. Intimate knowledge of financial processes, accounting practices, operating results and profitability. Expert in executing team-driven process improvements to increase revenue growth, operational efficiency, and overall profitability.”
See how keywords are peppered all through there? This resume will be able to stand up against company keyword machines.
Take a close look at your resume and make sure it is keyword-saturated. If you need help with keywords, go to Amazon and buy a book of keywords. Definitely worth the money.
Folks, a new day has dawned.
I never thought I’d say it or believe it, but color is here. Hopefully to stay.
Way back when I started my resume writing career (10 years ago), color wasn’t used. I was trained by an executive resume writing firm almost 6 years ago, and at that time color wasn’t even something we would say out loud! It was only on resumes that most certainly WOULD NOT land the job.
But times have changed, finally, and color can come out of hiding and proudly show itself.
Now, when I talk about this, you don’t want to have every header and subheaders different colors. What I mean is, color in small doses is good. Perhaps a deep red or navy blue for bullets or subheading titles.
An example can be like this:
JOHN SMITH………….Business Development Executive or in a branding statement like this:
John Smith Provide Leadership through Innovative Marketing Styles and Strategic Business Sense (see just a hint of Navy Blue?)
I will also use it to emphasize a value-added bulleted list. I never overdo it and use it sparingly. Too much of a good thing can be just that– too much.
So, good people of the job seeking world, REJOICE, and add a touch of color to your resume.
–Erin
I have several resumes a day
Cover letters seem to be difficult for people, even resume writers. Why is that? What makes a good cover letter?
Dear New Client, it is not necessary, through the process of our resume writing collaboration together, to send me over 65 pages of information. Yes, this is not the norm, and yes, it is probably my fault that I didn’t turn off the fax machine as it sent through 48 pages (52 to be exact, but it ran out of ink on page 48) of your performance evaluation over the last 25+ years. I should have, but it came through at night. Performance appraisals are a good thing. Summarizing what was said over the past, oh, 5-10 years might be a better idea.
