Develop a Winning Resume
While in the interview process with a company, consider your resume the tool to win the game. In other words, your resume and other tools (i.e., cover letter, your presentation style, brag book, sales plan) make up the ball you toss, kick, or catch that helps you score enough points and win the game.
Your resume should be a portrait of your skills and abilities. A resume is not intended to be an autobiography or a job description. The purpose of your resume is to market you and your abilities. A resume should reflect your “personal brand.” Think about what makes you marketable in your field. The “ball” you select to use in this game should be well-constructed to endure many critical passes.
There are several types of resumes-chronological, functional and a combination of these. The most commonly used resume format is the chronological resume. It is easy to read and allows the interviewer to follow your career movements. We feel this type of resume is preferred by most employers because of its straight-forwardness.
Run the Number of Yards To Win the Game
Just as it takes a required number of yards to make a touchdown. The length of your resume is important, but not as important as the content. If you have been working for over 10 years, you may have a two page resume. Three pages should be avoided, if possible.
Use Your Best Plays by Showcasing Your Accomplishments
Employers are looking people who have a history of excelling. Achievements five years ago are important but will not have weight unless you can show recent accomplishments. You will have less than 10 seconds to catch the interviewer’s attention. Therefore, accomplishments should have bullets or be listed in the top portion of the resume. Avoid using complicated, unrealistic language. Be clear about what you have done.
Use a “Winning” Playbook filled with Great Strategies
Computer technology has changed human resource and recruiting. Today, resumes are submitted and stored electronically in large databases. Employers utilized “boolean technology” to find appropriate candidates. Boolean technology is a keyword based search method, similar to doing a search on the internet. Because of this search method, it is important to use keywords in your resume. For example, if you are seeking a job in pharmaceutical sales, the words “pharmaceutical sales” should be found somewhere in your resume.
Score A Touchdown with a Good a Well Written Summary Statement
We recommend using a Summary of Qualifications instead of an objective statement. The main reason is that an objective statement is about what you want, not what the employer wants. A Summary of Qualifications is a sales statement about you, your experience and your abilities.
Utilizing a Summary of Qualifications sells your skill sets to the employer. If you are trying to obtain an entry level position or attempting to switch careers it may be beneficial to use both a Summary of Qualifications and an objective statement. The reason for this is that objective statements can help you add important keywords to your resume.
Don’t Fumble the Ball – Proof Your Resume
Before you submit your resume, cover letter or application to a perspective employer, make sure you have gone over it with a fine-toothed comb. That being said, read and review any potential submissions several times before submission so that you know their (oops, I mean there) are no errors. We recommend that you have a friend or family member also review your resume and any other mission-critical documentation prior to distribution. One of the key functions of a resume is to land you that all-important interview! Let’s not derail that mission with any unnecessary errors.
Obviously, the resume should be polished, professional and ready to land you that face-to-face interview. If your resume is designed to secure a sales position, include your sales performance in raw numbers and rankings. In fact, in the strictest sense, the resume in itself is a sales document. It should grab the attention of the interviewer by displaying your abilities and qualifications in a positive light. Hopefully, you will have given the interviewer enough information so that they ask you follow-up questions. This in turn will allow you to elaborate upon your successes.
Do not to rely solely upon spell check to catch potential errors and other grammatical pitfalls. Most spelling and grammar applications won’t know the difference between their and there! So there! Practice a little due diligence up front in working up your resume and cover letter and it will really pay off down the road. Now, go win that job!
If you need further assistance, find out how a Career Coach might help.
