Ever wonder why you don't hear back from potential employers after you send out hundreds of resumes? The problem may not be with your matching skill sets, but rather the way you communicate those skills to the new employer that makes them toss your resume in the trash. There's a lot more to writing a resume than just listing the job duties you have performed. Your resume is your sales tool and one you need to hone to get results.
Traditional resumes: Traditional resumes list your objectives (what you want), followed by a chronological list of your experiences and responsibilities, education and skills.
1. Problems:
They state only what you have done. They leave the reader to try to figure out how your past experience can be beneficial to their company. Not all prior job duties transfer or are relevant to the new position you are seeking. And the reader of your resume won't spend time trying to figure out how your skills translate into benefits and value for his/her company.
They lack customization. Each company you apply to has their own mission, culture, and set of challenges. Your resume should be reflective of the company's mission and culture, and how you can benefit them by helping to solve their problems.
They lack forward thinking. Your resume shouldn’t be just about your past. It should be about what you can do for your potential employer now and in the future as a result of your past experiences.
They are vague. Job-seekers tend to list all of their current/former job duties whether they are relevant or irrelevant to the potential employer.
How to Write an Effective Resume
Change your mindset. Your resume is not about your needs and wants. It’s about your potential employer’s needs and wants. It may seem harsh, but the person who has to review your resume does not care about your wants. He/she is only concerned with what you can bring to the table in order to solve the company's problems and make things better. Remember, the end goal of any company is to make a profit and your ultimate duties there will be to help them make that profit.
a. Think like an employer and not a job-seeker. You can only try to understand what the employer wants if you can start to think like him/her. Take yourself out of the equation and begin thinking like the company's CEO.
b. You are the product, the employer is your consumer, and your resume is
your advertising collateral and a component of your marketing plan.
c. Understand your consumer and their underlying, universal goal to make a
profit.
Quantify your skills, talents, experiences and knowledge.
Translate your skills, talents, experience and knowledge into real numbers.
There’s a difference between saying:
“Implemented a task force to reduce employee turnover rate, resulting in significant turnover cost savings and increased profits” and,
“Created and supervised Retention Task Force, using
Make your resume relevant. Only list the skills, talents, knowledge, and experiences that relate to the job in which you are applying. You do not have to list every task you have ever performed, especially if it has no relevance to the new position you are seeking. There is no need to fill a resume with useless information just to take up space. Quality over quantity wins every time.
Brand yourself. What you say and how you relate the benefits you provide an employer creates your branding. How you brand yourself should be reflective of the corporate culture and the type of job you are seeking.
Substitute an Objectives/Summary Statement for a Mission/Branding Statement (or a “What I Can Do For You” Statement). Your Mission/Branding Statement should reflect your career identity, the benefits of hiring you, and what you can bring to an employer to solve their problems.
Objective/Summary Statements only say what you want or who you are in vague terms.
A Mission/Branding Statement revolves around the employer’s needs and what you can bring to the table.
“Poised to deliver success-proven processes in time management, focusing on profitability.
“Delivering out-of-the-box sales leadership using state-of-the-art methodologies to organizations seeking a dynamic, self-motivated, creative professional who
knows how to drive in profits.
Using Keywords: It’s estimated that more than 80% of resumes are searched for by job- specific keywords. (If your resume ends up in a database.)
a. Types of keywords to use? Nouns, such as management, marketing
campaigns, procurement, product updates, cost/business analysis, etc.
b. Hard skills: Industry-specific skills, degrees, titles, college.
c. Keyword density: 25-35 keywords throughout the resume.
d. Search online for industry/job-specific keywords.
Melissa Rose, MBA
Boxx Productions LLC
480-201-8463
Biz in a Boxx
www.bizinaboxx.com
Melissa@bizinaboxx.com
