Not Another Resume Article
There is no question about it, you are the best candidate: you exceed all the credentials, you possess a more than spectacular work history, and you offer the rare skill set desired for the position. All you have to do now is prove it, and your resume is the key to inferring these talents upon your next employer. Contact information, education history, work history, skills, and interests are the most commonly known sections found in resumes. These sections are all filled with missed opportunities to communicate something of added value. Now I hear you “No one wants to read another article on how to write a resume… Yarn!” It’s been done so many times before so instead I offer you some useful tips and tricks using my best and worst resumes for some unique constructive criticism. The goal here is to create a product to go above and beyond the normal resume. Consider it more a kin to a sales paper. To steal a line from late night infomercials here is the pitch: This is no ordinary resume it’s a great read, a new linkedin friend, a free sample, a portfolio, a personal statement & all this for the price you would pay for a normal employee but act now, this is for a limited time only.
HEADING in the right direction
To begin we start with the not so obvious, your name. If you have a title of any sort you should add it that way people know right off what you are certified and trained to do. If you go by a short or nick name put your full name on the resume instead. Full names sound older, age sounds like experience, and experience sounds like what employers want these days.
Moving on to your address, most people never think to use their location to their advantage . Sometimes getting into the right job is like getting into the right school, it’s beneficial to already be local. Jobs are often exclusive to regional candidates only, so if you have alternative addresses use the one closest to the job location. This is a great tool to leverage at those more selective jobs. Pick and choose what works best, but the bottom line is you have to play to win! If you have not done it already, have your email linked to your phone. If you can’t maybe you should really consider investing in a smart phone. If they have a concern you need to be able to address it right away and accessibility is key. On the topic of electronic mailing addresses try to keep it simple: FirstinitialLastname@site.com. Most readers will agree the last few sentences are common sense, but I know someone who still uses a palm pilot [remember those]?!
The last area of concern is the freebie region otherwise known as the header and footer. The header and footer are sparingly used and usually just to note “references at request”. Why not add a little more than that? Its free advertising, use it. Add your percentage available for travel, your willingness to relocate, or your last pay grade. They are going to ask you for this stuff anyway!
Mis-EDUCATION
Education is one of those cut and dry sections where you place the facts: School, degree, year, GPA and move on. The challenge here is that there are never any good answers to handling the less than ideal educational statistics. If your GPA is less than a 3.0, for example, you cannot just simply omit it like some suggest. Instead, consider an additional line under your education to brag on something you did in school. Mentioning you were the class president, band section leader, student athlete, etc will recreate the wow effect you get with the strong GPA. This is one reason it pays off to do more than book work in school. Now the employer knows you weren’t just slacking off you were super active and the man (woman) on campus. So those of you still in school with a less than stellar GPA you better be joining some organizations this semester!!! This also works if you feel your degree is not as relevant, you are nontraditional, or maybe your school is not as prominent. Give it a shot; add a line showing some extra educational experience in the specific line of work you are applying for to show your familiarity with the discipline regardless of your major.
WORK HISTORY for dummies
The first three rules in resume writing: action, action, and action! Verbs always start off the work history section! Very important fact, everyone knows this and yet we still seem to falter here. This is where you will spend most of your time; write out long sentences, even a paragraph for each bullet discussing your points, and then revise them to an appropriate size. By completely writing out what you want the employer to know you can clearly decide what needs to stay by visually looking at everything instead of an already condensed bullet point. Now it becomes easier to compare and contrast the bullets when deciding what goes. I once had a possible employer who was kind enough to share with me his thoughts on my resume. He felt although well written, I didn’t share enough of my experiences. After revising with more details, I resubmitted it only to be bombarded again by negative reviews. I had overloaded each bullet with some much technical detail that the resume was now incomprehensible to laymen. It just goes to show you the tight rope you have to walk in developing clear and concise bullet points. One of the best things you can do to make the balancing act easier is showing some diversity and versatility in your bullets points. Have a technical bullet, leadership bullet, money bullet, soft skill bullet, willingness to relocate bullet, etc. Think of each bullet like stock. Diversity is key for better performance across the board.
After you have worked out what you want to share in your bullets make sure you are talking the same language as your industry. For example, business majors focus on the financial bottom line while Science [STEM] majors focus more on technical details. In fact things that are totally unacceptable on resumes like acronyms are welcomed in most technical fields. So know what is important for your discipline. All industries have buzz words e.g. 6 sigma, green, LEED, SAP, and so on. Cover the ones appropriate for your industry in your resume. If you have nothing else to present and your resume work section still looks drab brag on the company history. Impressive companies must have impressive employees right? People name drop schools all the time, why not do it with employers?
Big Truck Motors Manufacturing Kentucky, Georgetown, KY
One of the world’s top truck manufacturers, this plant is Big Truck’s largest production facility outside Japan.
One other option to fill out your work history is to add previous positions that may not be relevant, but can display your experience in a supervisory role or a professional environment.
SKILLS to pay the bills
Skills are closely related if not derived from your work history so it comes as no surprise that limited work history can easily translate to limited skills. However, unlike your work history you can always pick up skills on your own time. Books, classes, info sessions, networking, industry competitions are all great ways to pick up new talents in your spare time. Let me share with you a personal experience. My biggest issue was my lack of essential programming languages so the 10 months I was out of a job I studied Java, xml, sql and wrote code for my plans of a smart phone application. Having three extra programming languages looked awesome on my resume, it was a conversational piece, it was a fun way to use my free time, and it was legit because I actually learned them.
Another great way to improve your skill section is sharing employment history not valuable enough to mention in your work history section. For example, maybe you have done some important summer research in a microelectronics lab. There is no real space for it in education or experience, but the lab skills gained must be shared. The skills section is perfect for cases like this.
Make sure your skills translate well onto your resume by looking at each job description and seeing what key skills are needed. Are those same skills listed in your skill section? Do you have a similar skill you can offer up? If your answer is no then the internet and public library are great places to start learning!
Striking INTEREST
The interest section is all about the human connection. Your interests should strike INTEREST! Use this section to kindle their curiosity. Who cares if you are in a popular young professionals group or you volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, who hasn’t?! Unless you were essential to the success of the organization think of something else exciting you do. The key word is exciting! Mention fun, interesting, and cool stuff you are involved in, and if it’s not make it sound cool anyway! This is a bonus area where personality wins the points, so if it comes down to a popularity contest this is where you win it! Not only do you want the employer to see you as competent, but also like you enough to want to grab a beer with you after work.
Don’t blow your COVER… LETTER
Don’t you hate receiving those mass text messages that disguise themselves as personal messages intended just for you? There is always that tail tail sign which tips you off to the fact that you aren’t so special after all. That disingenuous and borderline insulting feeling you have about mass mail is likely how the recipient of your cover letter feels. Unfortunately for you, there is no way to get around the nuisance that is called the cover letter. You have to write it and it has to be unique to every job you apply for. The good news is after crafting so many of them you will have one for every job type you go after. Eventually you will be able to write them effortlessly. The extra effort is worth it. It shows that you pay attention to detail and that you are the total package. Also, if you can, find a name in HR and address it to them. Yes even more time towards a menial task, but you are unemployed right?! It’s not like you are doing anything anyway [only kidding].
So now you have your resume and cover letter ready, but hold off a minute before you hit submit. What format is it saved in? Pdf, and doc are fine, but be aware of .docx files because your employer may not have upgraded their Microsoft office yet. Also save the format of the resume with your name and document name only. If this is your 6th revision don’t put ‘6’ in the file name. It just looks bad plus if the reader knew you had rewritten your resume six times they may discount you as a candidate. If you need a way to keep up with your revisions simply use your middle initial. For example
PAlowishus_Resume_6.doc –> PFAlowishus_Resume.doc
F is the 6th letter in the alphabet! Get it? No one ever remembers your middle name and its better than the potentially negative view of having a 6 on there. It’s common to have had your resume revised over 20 times.
That is not a flattering number, so better safe than sorry. Now-a-days you fill out resumes online and they ask for extra documentation so have an electronic version of your transcripts, degrees, certificates, portfolios, etc handy. The faster you produce the more they will be impressed with your ability to get results. Speaking of the brave new online world, one last point. Technology is bad only when you don’t know how to use it. Perform a search on yourself and see what information is out there on you free for everyone to see. This will help you better control your image and address any inappropriate things that may be out there for employers to see.
CONCLUSION
Anyone who has been without work during this economic down turn can attest to the daily struggle you go through finding a job. Therefore, I would like to end on a personal note, and share some wisdom in getting through what can potentially become a stressful time. First, go get some exercise! A daily run brings about an indescribable calming that everything will be okay and a truth that you can overcome any obstacle. That positive energy will prove to be invaluable.
There were so many times where I felt great about a job application I submitted, and then I get a denial email in the following days. Those were my most dismal and damaging days. They destroyed confidence and the more denial letters I got the more I lost that sense of hope. To address this issue I started a little competition with myself. I wanted to collect as many denial letters as possible, at least one a day. Seems a little counterproductive, but it worked. I began to look forward to denial letters as if I were collecting them like baseball cards. In essence I turned them all into a joke, and they no longer had any power over my emotional status. They were simply a notice that my efforts were recognized, and honestly that is all denial letters are [ a form of acknowledgement].
Lastly, try writing out a list of accomplishments from high school until present day. No matter how insignificant or irrelevant, if you are proud of it write it down. Work on it daily. When you finish leave the list somewhere visible and seeing that long list of forgotten achievements will surely give daily motivation. With these tools I hope I have provided you with the confidence to become that purple squirrel [look it up!] we all aspire to be.
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