A resume serves as an introduction to an employer. Who are you? What have you done? And most importantly, are you going to be a fit for a role in my company? Most candidates are great about incorporating the first two questions into their resumes – name, contact detail, education, work history and a few personal interests cover the “who are you” and “what have you done” questions. The “fit” question is trickier and this is THE most important point of a resume. What is your next job going to be? What have accomplished in your past that shows unerringly and without question, that you’re a great fit for the role that’s open?

The Black Hole

One of my larger clients has an HR department that I refer to as “the black hole.” Candidates send in resumes, usually through the company web site, get an automatic “thank you, we’ll call you if…” response. And then they hear absolutely nothing. Ever.

 

I’ve been pretty successful getting candidates into that company, though. I’ve connected with the hiring managers (not the HR folks) in one particular department – let’s say it’s the Accounting Department. 

 

Before I bring them a candidate, I have that person completely re-write their resume. Their Objective now highlights their interest in "developing and leading the Accounting practices, with a careful eye to best practices, regulations and accuracy." Their Experience or Background section highlights all the Accounting functions of their previous job and “lowlights” anything else they may have done. If they’ve served on the Office Party Planning Committee, I don’t want to know about it. If they’ve proofread sales force presentations to ensure the numerical accuracy, it’s buried in the last bullet point. That resume page is a laser pointing toward a job in Accounting. Every previous position should stress detailed experience in the Accounting realm – prepares monthly and annual P&L reports, interprets statistical and financial data, oversees bookkeepers and monthly billing cycles.  EVEN IF their previous role used also included Human Resources, THIS resume highlights their experience in Accounting. THIS hiring manager doesn’t care about your success in negotiating exit packages with disgruntled employees – it’s wonderful, but completely irrelevant to the job she’s got open. She reads this resume, quickly identifies all the connections, and my candidates, the very same ones who are floating around in the HR department’s black hole with resumes that are way too general, immediately get called in for interviews.

 

What does that tell you?

There are a million ways to write a resume.  And of course, you should be as creative as your personality, and the recipient's personality, allows.  But there are some basic pieces of information that somehow need to be incorporated.  So:

 

First Up

Name, address and cell phone number go at the top of the page (they have to know how to find you, don't they?). And then, put down an objective – what is the actual job for which you’re applying? One of the casualties of a tough business environment is time. Someone will glance at your resume and if the objective doesn’t expressly match a particular position in the company, it will get filed. Make it easy for the reader -- Use titles and phrases that are specific to your industry.

 

Seeking a position as a lobbyist in the health care industry.

or

Financial analyst specializing in Asian technology companies

or

Direct marketing account manager with strong analytic skills.

 

In other words, let them know exactly how you see yourself – don’t make them work to figure it out. You’d be amazed at how many resumes say their objective is “to apply my experience and enthusiasm in a new environment which will help me grow” What does that actually mean??? Who could make an interview decision based on that information?

 

What Have You Been Doing?

Put in the Name of Company and describe it if it’s not immediately recognizable. You won't have to describe Nike, but you might have let people know that Hear Ye, Hear Ye is a regional hearing aid manaufacturing company with $60MM in billings.  List date started and date ended by year only. Include months only if there was never a gap in your work history. If you have more than one very short stint, consider a section at the end of your resume titled “other experience”. Try to include only positions relevant to the job you’re seeking. Put others into “other experiences”.

 

Give concrete examples of work that you’ve done, and provide specific results if you possibly can:

 

Launched a new, luxury product in the middle of a recession and achieved a 4% market share after 5 months, profitability after 10 months.

or

Redesigned a production line at our main plant in Tennessee, resulting in a 7% efficiency increase.

or

Developed and produced 900 individual collateral pieces over a six-month period and lived to tell the tale*

 

* everyone to whom I sent this resume commented on it, and this candidate received multiple offers.

 

 School?

Include the name of the school, degree, and any academic honors. If your major is unusual or specifically relevant, put it down; this can be a great conversation started, even years after you graduated. The “year graduated” question is tricky. Technically, it points to your age which is a question not to be asked in an interview, and I’ve heard that some HR departments in larger companies actually take it off the resume before they’ll route it. But unless you’re a significantly older candidate, you might as well put it down. Your interviewer is mentally guessing it anyway.

 

If you attended but didn’t graduate, say so. You might say “attended two years” if you left school entirely or “degree pending” if you’re close to finishing. Please don’t exaggerate this (or anything else!) on your resume. More and more companies are doing background checks, and a deliberately fudged graduation date is, appropriately, grounds for dismissal.

 

Tell Me Something New

I love when people add a few personal notes to the resume. For me it’s a great conversation starter. Everyone puts down the basics (family, gardening, cooking, exercise, sports, travel). Try to do something different. Can you show that your interests are somehow unique? Instead of “music”, let the reader know you’re in a garage band. If you’re a marathoner, that’s great to mention – it shows you’re disciplined. Coaching a kids team is always terrific. Avoid all interests that could be possibly be construed to be another job on the side, especially “personal trainer” -- it makes the rest of us feel inadequate (I speak from experience). If you’re deeply involved in a charitable cause, that’s great, but if you attended a few meetings several years ago, leave it off; it’ll just looks like you’re padding things. Show your personality and a touch of charm. One candidate said he was “Thirty-Something, Married With Children” Another noted he had a baby due “Q4.” Both were quickly hired (OK, maybe not just because of that).

 

And see Tuesday's post to learn more (final installment, I promise!).

 

 

Fair warning:  This post is the first in a three-part series about resume writing.  By agreeing to read this, you're commiting to this Thursday's and next Tuesday's posts -- no excuses! 

 

 

Candidates tend to suffer over resumes, worrying that they're presenting themselves in the best possible light.   Everyone has an opinion about a resume, so here’s mine: whatever you do, DO IT YOURSELF. Don’t rely on outplacement companies or professional resume writers. As part of layoff packages, more companies are offering this up to employees as part of a severance package so suddenly it's a question that's popping up to me. The service is nice in theory, but you’ll do far better negotiating for their fee in cash (that'll be three months more of Cobra payments!), taking some time, clearing your head and doing it yourself.

 

Why? Those resume writers don’t know you. And even more importantly, they don’t know your field as well as you do. The resumes they write have jargon which doesn’t quite match reality, formats which employers recognize as coming out of a book, and an arms-length feeling to them which keeps someone from getting to know you. Even if someone sits with you for hours and talks with you about your work. Even if you explain your successes to them in great detail. Even if they show you fancy samples on nice paper with beautiful fonts. DO IT YOURSELF.

 

 

Thursday's post will tell you how so stay tuned...