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Six Tips to Rock Your Resume
(by
Joe Turner) |
Is your
resume holding you back from a great opportunity?
As a recruiter, I've seen thousands of resumes over the
past 15 years. The majority of them didn't make the cut
and needed major revisions.
The stakes are higher today because the job market has
intensified and employers are getting more selective.
Having a poorly written resume can put you in the
rejection pile. Don't let your resume hold you back.
Here are six easy steps to really rock your resume and
motivate hiring managers to call you:
1. Apply the Top Third Rule
Place your key selling statements up in the top
one-third of your first page. Your resume gets about 20
seconds of eyeball time before your reader has made the
decision to either continue reading or to pass. Grab
attention early and place your most dramatic 'sales
pitch' as close to the top of page one as possible.
2. Focus
It's unbelievable how many resumes today lack a simple
"Objective" at the very top of the page. A title of the
target job will suffice. Lacking this, your reader will
wonder just what job you are applying for and will
require further digging. Erase all doubts and focus your
resume with an "Objective".
3. Add Keywords
Everyone talks about keywords but few actually include
them. Adding a separate keyword section will increase
your odds of a computer flagging your resume on a
keyword search. Just as important, a separate keyword
paragraph will provide a convenient scan area for the
human reader who needs to pre-qualify your hardcore
skills. A separate keyword summary will satisfy both
requirements and help your resume pass that 20-second
test.
4. Brand Yourself
This is an area that's been getting a lot of play on the
web lately, but it's an old concept. It's just starting
to make its impact in the resume arena. "Personal
Branding Statement", "Unique Selling Proposition" and
"Value-Added Statement", are terms for the same thing.
Once again, with regard to that 20-second rule about
making a first impression, an employer needs a quick and
memorable method to distinguish you from 100 or more
other candidates. A personal branding statement is ideal
because this one sentence says 1.) who you are 2.) your
greatest strength and 3.) your biggest benefit to the
employer.
Here's an example:
"Seasoned CFO, strong in streamlining and automating
financial and accounting procedures that have saved my
employer over $400,000 to date in consulting and
personnel costs."
Place your branding statement at the top of your resume
just below your objective. The impact of a hard-hitting
statement like this will quickly distinguish you from
your competitors with similar skills.
5. Answer the Question, "So What?"
In today's competitive job market, skills alone will not
sell you. Too many job seekers focus on their own needs
when they should be tuned to the radio station "WIIFM".
Realize that today's employer's first question is,
"What's in it for me?" A good test for your resume is
its ability to answer the question, "So what does this
mean for the employer?" after each item in your work
history.
Example:
"Provide and direct financial, cash flow, and tax
impact analyses as they relate to the existing portfolio
and new acquisitions."
After answering the "So what" question, we've added
this:
"Saved $75,000 in annual outside consulting fees by
providing and directing financial, cash flow, and tax
impact analyses as they relate to the existing portfolio
and new acquisitions."
Imagine how differently an employer will react to the
second statement above by providing a clear benefit
that's important to them. Modifying your resume to
include some of your achievements can make it come alive
to sell you rather than reading like a dull laundry list
of job duties.
6. Lose the 'Razzle-Dazzle'
Unless you're in advertising or marketing and this is an
integral part of your job, stay away from Flash, frames,
graphics, photos of yourself and out of the ordinary
symbols. Also, watch out for heavy use of color and
bolding of text. It can annoy your reader by serving as
a distraction, a real no-no. These elements don't always
convert well to an employer's computer database. A good
rule of thumb: if it doesn't convert to ASCII text,
avoid it.
Summary
Stop telling and start selling. You have less time than
ever to generate interest from an employer flooded with
too many resumes. Make these six changes and your resume
will not only ROCK, you'll get calls from hiring
managers wanting to know more.
As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15
years finding and placing top candidates in some of the
best jobs of their careers. Author of Job Search Secrets
Unlocked, Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and
offers free insider job search secrets at:
http://www.jobchangesecrets.com. |
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