5 Key Concepts for Powerful, Effective Resumes
- Your resume is YOUR marketing tool, not a personnel document.
- It is about YOU the job hunter, not just about the jobs you've held.
- It focuses on your future, not your past.
- It emphasizes your accomplishments, not your past job duties or job descriptions.
- It documents skills you enjoy using, not skills you used just because you had to.
10 Steps in Creating a Good Resume
- Choose a target job (also called a "job objective"). An actual job title works best.
- Find out what skills, knowledge, and experience are needed to do that target job.
- Make a list of your 2, 3, or 4 strongest skills or abilities or knowledge that make you a good candidate for the target job.
- For each key skill, think of several accomplishments from your past work history that illustrate that skill.
- Describe each accomplishment in a simple, powerful, action statement that emphasizes the results that benefited your employer.
- Make a list of the primary jobs you've held, in chronological order. Include any unpaid work that fills a gap or that shows you have the skills for the job.
- Make a list of your training and education that's related to the new job you want.
- Choose a resume format that fits your situation--either chronological or functional. [Functional works best if you're changing fields; chronological works well if you're moving up in the same field.]
- Arrange your action statements according to the format you choose.
- Summarize your key points at the top of your resume
How do you make someone want to hire you?
Simple: Put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer and focus on his or her needs and you'll become an irresistible applicant.
Steps:
- Find out as much as you can about the company: How is it performing? What is its mission statement and who are its customers? What are the interviewer's priorities and responsibilities? The more you know, the more you'll be able to ask informed questions about the job.
- Study the description of the job for which you have applied. Be clear on what is expected and if you have the background and skills to do it.
- Take an inventory of your strengths and practice discussing how they complement the requirements of the job. Write down specific examples that demonstrate these strengths and be able to speak fluidly and intelligently about them.
- Make a winning first impression at the interview. Be prompt, make eye contact and give a firm handshake. Dress one notch above what's expected for the position you're interviewing for.
- Look for common ground between you and the interviewer to establish a positive rapport and to stand out from the crowd. You may have the same alma mater or mutual friends. Be careful not to overplay this and look desperate.
- Turn what could be seen as potential weaknesses into strengths. You might say "I haven't worked in promotions but I coordinated getting the word out for my son's school carnival and we had twice as many people attend this year." Be calm and confident.
- Use specific examples to describe why you're a perfect match for the job. Ask probing questions to demonstrate a genuine interest in the position. In the process, interview the interviewer to find out why the position is open. Get a sense of what the turnover rate is at the company, what the position's job track is, and how the company keeps its employees happy. You're trying to find out if you want to work for that company as much as they're trying to find out if they want you.
- Demonstrate that you are a problem-solver. Identify an issue the company is facing or a problem you might potentially encounter in that job and discuss how you'd solve it.
- Make the interviewer feel good about hiring you. Be enthusiastic, responsive, truthful and friendly.
- Follow up with a thank-you note that reiterates your qualifications and mentions specific topics covered in the interview to trigger the person's memory about your winning interview.
Overall Tips:
- By focusing on the interviewer's needs, you'll take your mind off your nervousness. The interviewer will see a confident, insightful applicant.
- Always bring an extra copy of your re'sume'.
