Writing a Resume

Let me first warn you: be prepared to spend a lot of time perfecting your resume. When you throw your resume together, hiring managers can tell. When you haven’t thought about how your resume meets the job requirements, hiring managers can tell. When you don’t proofread your resume, hiring managers can tell. As I stated last week, you’re competing against hundreds or thousands of people for the same job. Don’t give hiring managers a reason to discard your resume.

But, keep this in mind: hiring managers often find it more difficult to hire the right people in a down market because the ratio of qualified to unqualified candidates drops significantly. What does this mean? Hiring managers see a lot more bad resumes before they see any good ones. Use this to your advantage!

First, recognize that any company, organization, or institution is, at the end of the day, a business, and they won’t hire you unless they make more money with you than without you. The key is communicating your value.

1. Presentation is everything—at least in the beginning. You might be the perfect candidate, but if a hiring manager can’t tell from a glance that your resume is worth another look, you lose your chance. Avoid full sentences, and use bullets to organize your resume. If you’re wondering whether your resume is too dense on one page, chances are it is; don’t hesitate to expand it to two pages. If your resume is still too dense on two pages, start cutting irrelevant details. Overall, your resume should look clean, not cluttered.
2. There’s a reason why action movies are exciting, even if the plot doesn’t make any sense: stuff happens. Give your resume a sense of accomplishment with action verbs, and focus on results, not responsibilities. Compare action verbs like “analyzed,” “designed,” “generated,” and “streamlined” to sleepers like “made,” “used,” and worst of all “was responsible for.” Between each set below, what’s more compelling?
   • option a: Made company handbook for new employees.
   • option b: Created company handbook for new employees, consolidating company policies, internal system user guide, and valuable reference materials and resources.
   • option a: Used Microsoft Excel to aggregate and review performance data.
   • option b: Analyzed performance data to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for enhancements.
   • option a: Was responsible for customer loyalty program.
   • option b: Instituted customer loyalty program that increased sales by 5% in fourth quarter.
3. Edit, edit, edit. Just because you accomplished a million things in a given position doesn’t mean you should list every single one. Only include what’s most relevant. If you’re ever in doubt, ask yourself, “Will the hiring manager care?”
4. Customize your resume for each job description. The hiring manager is like a customer who places a very specific order. What will make the hiring manager happier: an in-stock product that vaguely matches the order request or a tailor-made product that exactly meets the specifications? Every job description is essentially a very specific order; tailor your resume so that it’s a perfect fit. Even if you don’t match the job description perfectly, present the most relevant information first. It might just require moving a few bullet points around, and you’re much more likely to catch the hiring manager’s attention.

To learn more, and to view our library of sample resumes, check out our online course on writing resumes. (Try our course for free with promo code OHCBLOG.)

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Julie H.
One Hour Courses
www.onehourcourses.com