Resume-Building is a Strategy

Make sure Your Story Jumps off the Page!

Whether you are looking for a new job, going for the promotion, or simply testing the waters of the job market in an industry you may be thinking about, it is always smart to have your resume up to date and ready to go at a moment’s notice. There is nothing worse than seeing that perfect opportunity arise only to realize you are completely unprepared to throw your name in the ring.

You may know exactly what to do and how to add the missing pieces or components, pictures, ‘buzzwords’, and so forth, and can always pay to have someone do it for you. But it is something you can likely tackle on your own thanks to some great templates you can find online that can take you step by step from your name and profile to your skills and references. And if you have not updated your resume since you took your current job years ago, or realize that the lukewarm response you are getting could be because it is either out of date or poorly formatted, than be sure you dedicate the proper time and attention to detail in this aspect to career-building as you would likely do to prepare for an interview or scrutinize an actual job offer. Everything matters in a job search, and good preparation and planning throughout can make all the difference.

Having a stand out resume is as important as its ever been. You should assume that any job you are applying for that there are hundreds like you applying for it as well. With the software companies are using more and more, having the right format, verbiage, and highlights throughout is critical to separating you from the pack. Plan to grab the attention of the reader, your prospective new boss, and make them want to hear and learn more about you. Here are some resume-building tips to best position yourself for Career-Building Success:

• Create a powerful headline: It is the first thing any hiring manager or recruiter is going to see, and if it is not succinct, clear and impactful it will likely be quickly discarded. Shout to the rooftops your top, most impressive skills and achievements that align with exactly what the job you are considering is looking for

• It is easy, and happens more often than not, to simply list out the responsibilities of previous roles you have had. Avoid doing that, and you will immediately put yourself in a smaller pool of people of candidates as those who did list out the mundane details of their day to day are moved to the ‘No Thanks’ pile. Highlight your achievements and the positive impact they had on the team, the organization and company. Share the numbers, the percents, the revenues, clients gained by your excellence and showcase the best of what you have done to both share and to quantify what a strong candidate you are.

• Anytime we go out just about anywhere, we think about what the appropriate wardrobe will be. Going to dinner with your partner or friends at Applebees will likely see you dressing more casually than going to a 5-Star steakhouse downtown with clients. We tailor our outfit based on the situation. You should take the same approach before hitting ‘submit’ on a job application and sending along your resume. As you look over the requirements and desired skills of a job posting, you should begin thinking about your skills and experience and how they match what you see in the posting. From there, you are sure to make those matching skills and experience more prominently displayed, move them to the top of each section, include them in your bio or profile or career objective section. Be sure that the people hiring see at a glance that you have what this job needs and spark the interest to get you the call and start the conversation.

• Keywords are Key! We all know that many companies are using ATS-Applicant Tracking Software and other programs to take the tedium of a reviewing what can be dozens to hundreds to even thousands of resumes for a single job opening. The better the technology becomes, the less expensive it will be and gives smaller companies the chance to employ as well and if it is perceived as a successful tool, before long it will be a steep uphill climb to get the job seeker and hiring manager together. So, take your swing using powerful keywords. Thankfully, companies will give them to you! Check out the terms and phrasing within the job listing and steal them to add into your resume so whether it is a person or a software program, it will be clear that you are a good match for the open role.

• ‘Be Brief, Be Bright, Be Gone’ is an old business adage some use to say ‘I’m busy, and don’t need the story, just give the bullet points’. You may have been in business for decades, or even in your first five or ten years of working have had a few different jobs, all of which you think are critical to share via your resume. That may be true, but more likely it is not, particularly when some of those roles have no direct connection to the role you are looking at. Be smart, highlighting the relevant and eliminating or minimizing the less relevant. Gone are the days of four-page resumes. Get your well-formatted story to a page, or two pages at the most, and make sure all of the best, most strongly aligned, information about you is on Page 1.

• Sure, people – hiring managers, recruiters, all of us – love to just scan bullet points and get the scoop as quickly in an easy to read format as possible. While the resume should be no different, you do have opportunity to give a synopsis or summary about who you really are, the best of what you have done, what you are most passionate about, and if you are true to a succinct powerful format through the rest, it is far more likely the reviewer will take that extra minute to read your freeform summary that will give you a more personalized connection with the person looking to hire.

• Cheque You’re Work!(see what I did there?) – that’s typo and there are far too many out there and seen every day. And it is entirely unnecessary. From great programs like Grammarly, or the many online resources for word definitions, synonyms, programs to scan for proper grammar and punctuation, there is no excuse to present a resume with even a single careless error. The hard part should be the tailoring, the story, the keywords, not the mis-spelled words and misaligned bullets. Check Your Work!

Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and with the stakes as high as finding a new job, or taking the next positive step in a career, building a great resume should be taken seriously and given the due time and energy to get it right, if not perfect. Only you know your story, your goals, and how you intend to get there. Be sure your resume represents you well and tells that story accurately, positively and powerfully so you put yourself at the top of anyone’s short-list for the next great opportunity you find.

At CareerEon, we can help! From Resume Building to Interviewing Skills, Networking, and Industry Research, we work personally with you to build your strategy and skills to help you take the next step in your career.

Schedule a Call Today and Let’s Get To Work! https://www.careereon.com/contact-us/

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