Resumes that Sell

Dear Joan.
I have not been happy with my current job for sometime now. I think it is time to start the process of looking for a job that will fully use all my talents and experience and that I will enjoy more.

The attached resume is an old one used when I first left a major oil company and even then it was a formality. Ever since, my jobs have come from people who knew me so I have never had to use a resume to get a job.

I have been told that it is important for engineering type jobs to put their GPA at the top of the resume. Do you have any thoughts on this since I am considering dropping it?
Dave

Dear Dave,

You mentioned that in the past you have gotten jobs mainly by networking. 90% of all jobs are found through networking not from the newspaper or Internet. Even with networking a good resume is important. Here are a few suggestions to make your resume more powerful.

Your resume does not have to tell everything. It is an appetizer which makes the prospective buyer want to talk to you personally as soon as possible.

Start your resume with a Summary Statement. The Summary Statement goes directly under your name and address and is the first thing the person will read. Most resumes only get 11 to 20 seconds of attention before they are selected or discarded. It is critical, therefore, to grab the readers attention with powerful adjectives or it is unlikely that your job history and accomplishments will even be read.

An objective statement is out of fashion. If you want to be a sales person start your summary with something like: "An energetic business development professional with 6 year experience in chemical sales. Established track record for doubling regional sales in first year." This tells the reader your search objective and a major accomplishment.

The summary is easier to write if you have defined your accomplishments first. Based on your accomplishments write a four or five sentence Summary Statement that defines your over all skills, experience and personal characteristics.

Dynamically expressing personal characteristics are a critical piece of the summary since they are the attributes which will distinguish you from someone with similar training and experience. For example;"Creative problem solver, team player and leader, known for ability to create trust and loyalty with customers."

Key Talents. Below the Summary Statement you can have several columns of key talents, skills and experience. An IT specialist for example should list important hardware and software expertise. Use key words important to your type of job and industry.

This is your personal sales brochure. Sales are about customer benefits. In this case, you have two customers--your employer and your employer's clients. Go back through each job you listed. Rewrite the description of each one to make 90% of what you say an accomplishment and/or benefit to the employer and/or the employer's client. Keep your statements short, concise and meaningful. You can expand on the details in the interview. The prospective employer wants to know what problems you can solve for him or her.

Accomplishment Statements: Never start a sentence with "responsible for". Your resume is not a job description. Also avoid words like assisted, participated in, oversaw, supported etc. they are too passive. The recruiter's thought is, "So what! Did he accomplish anything?"

Always start with an action verb like: designed, developed, implemented, maintained, created, resolved, managed, supervised, spearheaded, initiated, savaged, saved, increased, decreased etc. A good accomplishment statement formula is (Problem + Action = benifit). Example: Expanded sales in assigned geographic area by xxx% or $xxx,xxx, while maintaining a high level of satisfaction with current clients.

Use quantitative numbers to demonstrate the level of your capability and responsibility. It is important for your prospective employer to appreciate the scope and dollar value of the work you have done. For example; "Supervised/managed a team of 16 people on a $3 million project which saved the client company $500,000."

The larger the scope and dollar value of the work you have done, the farther up the food chain you are qualified to be placed.

Education and Training. In my experience grade average is only important when the person has little or no work experience. Put all educational data at the very end with degrees earned, name of university and no graduation date. Additional career specific training such as: certifications, Six Sigma, SAP, and management training may also be listed.

I think it is useful these days for employees, especially hi-tech people, to think of themselves as 'consultants' who happen to have sold all their time to a specific client for an undefined time period. This will help you to keep a healthy perspective about the job and the decisions that are made. Nothing is forever, especially a job.

Making the above changes to your resume will give it considerably more power. The prospective employer reading your resume will see why he or she should talk to you immediately.

Are You or a Friend Looking for a Job?

I can help you craft a resume and develop interview strategies that will make YOU stand out from the crowd!

Ruth, a financial executive, with a Masters in Accounting, a CPA, had been looking for a job for seven months. When she called, she said, “I just can’t seem to get past the gatekeepers.” I helped Ruth refocus and power up her resume. Together we created a networking strategy and 90 second personal commercial. Within 45 days Ruth had five interviews and two highly desirable job offers.

If you want to power up your resume, job search and interview skills, give me a call at 281-293-8864 or email me: joan@bolmer.com

Tools You Can Use

What Color Is Your Parachute a practical manual for job hunters,
By Richard Nelson Bolles

Resumes That Knock’Em Dead, by Martin John Yate

26 Tips for a Successful Job Interview (article by Ernest F. Oriente)

Power Interviews:Job winning tactics from Fortune 500 Recruiters,
By Neil Yeager and Lee Hough