job.search@2009 – Resume Writing (I know, I know: ugh!)

Resumes are an important part of the job search.  They are a snap shot of YOU, and should be viewed as both a highly informative business card as well as a direct line of communication to potential employers.

People have posted so many resume writing articles on the internet that I am not going to give a step-by-step guide.  Instead, I am going to go over some general tips that I have found successful.

Resume Matches Online Profiles

In previous posts, I discussed the importance of a strong professional internet presence.  Your resume should always match what your online profiles say.  The last thing you want is to be in an interview and have an apparent conflict be brought to your attention.  Suddenly you will find yourself back-pedaling, sweating, stammering, and trying to explain yourself.  Remember, your interviewer has probably already Googled you before you are invited in for an interview.

Resume is Always a Work In Progress

Resumes should never be viewed as “finished.”  You should constantly be updating, rewriting, and revising your resume throughout your job search. 

Whenever you have a chance to speak with an interviewer (email, telephone, or in person), look for resume feedback.  You don’t have to come right out and ask for resume feedback, but at least listen for places where you can improve your resume.  For example, if an interviewer asks you to clarify a bullet item that is on your resume, you should then clarify that bullet item on your resume before sending it out to other companies. 

I have also found it helpful to tailor my resume to each and every position that I am applying for.  Before you submit your resume, look at the job requirements and reword your resume to show how you are a perfect fit for the position.  Keep in mind that before the hiring supervisor looks at the resumes of potential candidates, Human Resources puts the resumes through a screening process.  Often times this process is done via computer.  Resumes are scanned into a computer.  The computer then processes your resume looking for industry buzzwords that are specific to the position you are applying for.  Even when the content of your resume indicate that you are the perfect match for the position, if the correct industry buzzwords are not present, the computer will reject you as a possible candidate.  The best way to find these buzzwords is to look within the job posting. 

Use Frustrating Statistics To Your Advantage

There is a frustrating but important statistic to consider:  the average employer will look at your resume for 17 seconds before moving on to the next resume.

Think about it: there are 73 qualified candidates for each job opening, on average.  That means that every time you submit your resume, you are more or less putting your resume in a stack with 72 other resumes.  The hiring manager is tasked with looking through all of those resumes and selecting a few to invite in for interviews.  What ends up happening is that (s)he quickly skims each one, stopping only when something catches his/her eye.  How can you use this to your advantage?

My solution was in the format and construction of my resume.  I actually designed three distinct documents:  an Initial Resume, a Detailed Work Experience document, and a List of References.

Initial Resume

The resume that I initially submitted to potential employers was a single page that contained a lot of white space.  Please contact me (jcrews@ppitechcom.com) if you would like for me to send you a copy of my resume to use as a reference.

Here is a description of each of the sections:

Under my name, I listed an objective.  I tailored this objective to each position I was submitting for.  Often times, I even specified the company name I was submitting to (ex. Objective: to secure employment as a technical writer for PPI Technical Communications).

Next I listed my experience highlights.  In this section, I listed the names of my last two employers.  Beneath each of those names, I listed just a few of my major accomplishments in bullet format.  This section needs to be written for a high impact.  One idea is to put actual figures in there.  For example, if you revised a training program that increased student proficiency from 42% to 91%, put that in there.  Those figures are powerful, easy to understand, and show the end result of your efforts.

The next section listed my awards, honors, and certifications.  Once again, this is in bullet format.

At the bottom of the page, I listed my professional strengths:  three powerful ideals that I wanted my employers to think about when they considered me as a potential candidate.

At the bottom of this document, it may be a good idea to include the following sentence:

“Detailed work experience and reference list available upon request.”

I cannot stress enough how important it is to leave a lot of white space on this type of resume.  Make it clean, easy to read, and powerful.  This will be your first communication with an employer.  You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Detailed Work Experience

This document is what most people consider to be their resume.  It is (go figure) a document that details your entire work history.  Since this document is NOT your initial contact with potential employers, feel free to make this document as long as you need to. 

This document should always be honest.  If there is an item in your professional past that you do not want to advertise, I would recommend omitting it rather than lying about it.  Remember, there is a lot of information about you on the internet… and many employers are now doing complete background checks on their job candidates.  If you lie about something you will probably be caught out, and then you definitely will not get a job offer. 

Reference List

You should have at least three references.  At least one should be a professional reference.  One may be a personal reference.  When it is possible, include a client/customer reference.  Client references are always the most powerful.

It takes a lot of effort to find a position.  Maintaining your resume and your Professional Internet Presence are two items that take up a good portion of the time.  Make them high on your priority list. 

Hard work pays off.

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