The job search heats up for many this time of year, particularly for new grads, anyone who’s had enough of his/her current job, or those who have simply put it off too long.
So, I’m reposting this piece on writing the resume. Other Business Fitness posts to revisit are on transferable skills, the interview process, and questions you need to ask the interviewer. May you land a job that fits you well!
The dreaded resume! Every job seeker desperately needs one but no one wants to write one. Why? Because it’s agony.
The irony is that we fear our resume—the very thing that is our entry ticket to the job we want. Since we resist the things we fear, we put off writing it or suffer major distress when we must. Our concern: “What if my resume isn’t good enough!”
Our “resumophobia” has three main causes:
- Frustrating uncertainty about what recruiters/businesses want
- Doubt or confusion about the value of what we’ve done
- Lack of confidence in our ability to write it “right”
These are legitimate and paralyzing reasons. But we cannot succumb to them. Why? Because—no resume…no interview. No interview…no chance.
The resume is a rite of passage in nearly every job search.
There are lots of great books and experts to teach you how to craft a great resume. What I’m offering are insights that will unfreeze your thinking, so you can get started.
Your resume is packaging.
It is not a biography, a job description, or a sales pitch. It’s your package!
The content of a good resume showcases concrete results that you have achieved in other jobs. It contains the products (results) that you created. So when you write your resume, make sure it is about important outcomes you delivered. Not everything you ever did—just the most significant results.
Your resume is a picture.
A resume is art and you want the viewer to be absorbed by yours.
Great artists control the eye of the viewer. Great resumes do that too. The screener’s first scan needs to spot something of interest. That means you need to:
- Position important facts where the eye falls.
Don’t make screeners struggle to find what they’re looking for. When they come to your resume, they will scan down the middle. So make sure that their eyes will land on the words, job titles, and achievements they are looking for. Highlight in bold the words that link what you accomplished to the duties listed in the job posting.
- Create white space so the eye has relief.
Wading through resumes is visually exhausting. White space is relief so use a font size that isn’t too small. Avoid dense copy that sends the message that you couldn’t identify your priority accomplishments and don’t know how to write concisely. Use bullets, avoid paragraphs.
- Include interesting information that keeps the eye reading.
Everyone brings their own uniqueness to their jobs. Capturing that in a resume differentiates us from other candidates. So be sure to mention a fresh approach you may have taken to a routine work process or to an initiative that you led.
The sections called “interests,” “activities,” and “affiliations” are your big finish. Interesting tidbits there often turn out to be the “big opening” during an interview.
Your resume is your voice.
The tone of your written words becomes the sound of your voice. That’s the only glimpse into your personality that the screener will get from your resume. When your words are clean and clear, precise and easy, they create a sense of your nature, your confidence, and your approach to work.
Please remember:
- The screener is your audience
- Your purpose is to provide an honest, factual story about your work life
If resume writing still intimidates you, if you are having a difficult time sorting through all that you have done, or if you have some unfortunate “wrinkles” in your work history, investing in some professional assistance may be in order.
The bottom line is that it’s always a good idea to have an up-to-date resume on file, especially in these times. Enough said!
Photo from Corey Ann via Flickr
Goodness, Dawn – what a lively, descriptive, pragmatic and meaningful post! Your ability to grab the reader with important messages in a concrete, illustrative way always amazes me.
As well, this particular subject (resumes) is close to my heart (as you know). I love the term, “Resumophobia” <– how apropos! And, you're right, most people 'fear' their resume for the 3 main reason you describe (frustration of what readers want; doubt surrounding their own value; and lack of confidence in ability to write it 'right').
Further, NOT succumbing to these concerns is CRITICAL to propelling careerists to their next success move.
I literally liked 'every' point you made, so I'll just highlight a couple that particularly rang loudly: "Your resume is packaging;" and, "Your resume is a picture." … it is art! Here is where many people get stuck, because they 'fear' that not following certain resume rules that are subjectively tossed around, especially on the Internet, then they will be rejected. The truth is, by doing as you say, 'capturing their uniqueness, fresh approach to a routine work process/initiative' is the heart of a meaningful resume, and it will garner the right attention!
Thank you so much for taking time to reflect on and share your strategic insights and creative thoughts on this integral career topic!
Your fan,
Jacqui
Jacqui,
I can’t thank you enough for your generous and affirming comment. Coming from you, a dedicated professional with the credentials and experience so essential for job seekers, your words add to the message of the post.
You are so right: “NOT succumbing to these concerns is CRITICAL to propelling careerists to their next success move.” Procrastination is the death knell to the job search process. The more people wait, defer, and avoid the process–particularly preparing the resume–the farther behind they fall.
Your support here, Jacqui, really touched me. In so many ways, we share a crusade to help people find the career niche that will give them the career joy that they want just as we have. A great resume captures their value and reminds them that we all have something positive to offer. Sometimes your job and mine is to get job seekers to believe in their own value, something they may have difficulty doing on their own.
It’s wonderful for me to know that you and so many of your collective colleagues are out there singing from the same song book. Our task is to get others to catch on to the tune and learn to sing it themselves.
I’m blessed to have you as a fan! Thanks so much.
Dawn
Greetings! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading through your posts.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics?
Thanks for your time!
Thanks so much for commenting. It’s what keeps us bloggers going
! I’m delighted that you enjoyed the post. You might want to follow Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter at Career Trends and Dawn Bugni at Write Solution. You can find them and their wonderful posts on FB, G+, and Twitter. Both are well-credentialed, experienced, practical, down-to-earth and committed bloggers on all thing resume, job search and careers. I hope you’ll take the time to visit there work. I look forward to hearing from you again. Have a great week!
Hey Dawn – Nice post abt sprucing up a resume! I find that my resume is way too dense now that I am an old fart and have alot of, well, stuff – (yes- accomplishments) to list…this was a useful pst….and I like the interest/affiliations sections…dont have those there but sounds like good additions…
Thanks, Kathy. You’re right that it’s often easier to write a resume before you’d been in the workplace for a good while. The upside is that you have a lot of experiences that made a difference to individuals or the organizations you worked for. That’s what goes in the resume… the wow stuff! I think have a long way to go before you achieve old fartdom! Onward! ~Dawn
Great advice Dawn!
I see my blog as my resume for clients seeking me out to help them with their relationship issues. So what stood out for me? Everything! Package, picture, art, voice, rite of passage and to remember not to clutter and say too much so the reader don’t see the important stuff. You describe the fear of writing a resume/blog just right to get the job.
Great comment,Irene. I’m happy that the key points connected with you. I think our blogs are places where people hear our voices. Our resumes chronicle our career paths and capture the significant achievements that contribute to the perspectives they read in our blogs. The two are partners and it doesn’t hurt to include the fact that you’re a blogger on that resume! So nice to hear from you, as always. ~Dawn