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| | | | | The Secret of a Great Resume by Edward Navis, SPHR | | | Most resume formats miss the mark when read by recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers. The causes for this are directly related to how you are managing this job search, and interestingly enough, are easily remedied.
I’ve been reading resumes and making strategic hiring decisions for a long time now: more than 25 years, in fact. As an HR strategist, I work inside my client’s company on special projects. Maybe I’m creating an HR department, or acting as the head of their HR initiative because they are too small to have a full timer. Either way, I do a lot of applicant sourcing and hiring. In that time, it never ceases to amaze me that resumes contain such irrelevant information, and that in most cases, I cannot decide if the person is qualified or not. Why? Because I receive hundreds of resumes a day, and that’s just for small recruiting initiatives. So calling each person to clarify this document is just not possible.
Let’s uncover the big secret of a great resume. First, think of a large ticket item you might want to buy: a car, for instance. And so it’s value approximates a possible salary level, let’s say you’re willing to spend about $30,000.
You go to a car dealership because you heard they have good cars there. A sales person approaches you and asks you how much you want to spend. You tell them $30,000. He disappears and returns a few moments later with a shiny red wagon, complete with a black handle and a white decal on the side.
You tell him that’s not what you had in mind, and he runs to the back and brings out a ten-year-old bicycle with a dented handlebar and a flat tire, but the salesman points out that it has a shiny new bell. You again tell the salesman that you are looking for a new car, and he takes the bike back to the storeroom, only to return with a donkey.
This is what it’s like to read resumes. If I advertise for a marketing executive with ten years of experience in online advertising and an MBA, I’ll get a good number of resumes from people who believe themselves qualified because the just completed a course called “Sell Anything”.
A good many more will be qualified, but will expect me to ferret through their resumes to figure out that this is so because they originally wrote their documents for generic marketing positions.
Like most of my colleagues, I tend to choose resumes that quickly show me that the writer is the best possible candidate for my opportunity and is worth a hefty financial investment. The language mirrors that on the company website or that used in the industry. It clearly and quickly shows me relevant skills and accomplishments. And there are never – and I mean never any errors.
And therein lies a huge question: if you were in the market for something that cost as much as your expected salary, would you not expect the related marketing document to quickly and accurately address your very specific needs? Wouldn’t you expect a document that is error free? Isn’t it true that you should not have to read documents to figure out if this is the item you’re looking for?
The same applies to those who read your resume. Your resume is your marketing document. Learn as much as you can about the opportunity, the company, the industry, and the people in it. Then – and this is the big secret, so get ready, here it comes – truthfully highlight your skills and experience to address the reader’s needs as best as possible. Do this with bulleted statements in your “Professional (or “Executive”) Summary” placed just below your name and contact information. Use this summary instead of an objective, as objectives are out of style and frequently do more damage than good.
There are other good points as well, but for now, a customized resume will get you well on your way and might just increase your response rate.
| | | | Article Source : Article-treasure.com | | Publication date : 10-18-2008 | | | | Article by Edward Navis, SPHR | | | | Edward Navis is an HR Consultant. He works internally with companies to improve their operations, and frequently distributes his inside knowledge to job seekers through articles, publications, and teleconferences. His latest book, Confessions of an HR Professional: Secrets for Getting Your Foot in the Door, is available in the "HR Coach Now" section of his Web site, www.FullSpectrumHR.com, as are several relevant teleconferences. | | | | Keywords : job, employment, resume, HR | | | | | |
