7 Essential Elements of an Exceptional Résumé – Part I

How do you prepare a résumé with the resilience to survive the onslaught of elimination drills conducted by employers these days?  How do you ensure your résumé will stand out from the other 500-plus applicants?   Although it is true that your résumé is a record of your past achievements, your training, skills, and abilities; first and foremost, your résumé is a marketing tool.  It is imperative that you showcase your unique brand and your value proposition.  When preparing your document, always start and end with the mindset of the employer, which is “What’s in it for me?”  If your résumé is going to work for you, there are seven essential elements that you will need to include.

1. Personal Brand and Value Proposition. Your résumé is an opportunity to show the employer who you are, what your unique strengths are, and how you can provide exceptional value to meet the needs of the hiring manager and the company.  You set yourself apart from the competition by highlighting your personal brand and value proposition in your Qualifications Summary at the beginning of your résumé and maintaining a consistent focus on your brand throughout the rest of the document.  Before you begin writing, take the time to reflect on what you are passionate about doing and how you can communicate your special brand and particular value to the employer.

2. Accomplishments. Avoid any and all use of the terms “responsibilities” and “duties.”  Employers are interested only in what you have accomplished.  Past results are indicative of future results, so provide explicit descriptions of your achievements.  The easiest way to compose your accomplishment statements is to use the SAR technique by writing out the Situation, the Action you took, and the Result.  Include quantitative measures whenever possible, such as dollars saved, profits earned, or percentages reduced/increased.  Reduce your SAR description to a concise accomplishment statement that begins with a strong action verb or keyword noun.  A general rule of thumb is to list five accomplishment statements for recent jobs and three to five for more distant employment.

3. Keywords. Whether by software or human eyes, your résumé is likely to be scanned for keywords.  The more keywords you include, the more likely your résumé is to move to the next stage of the process.  To identify keywords, find three or four job postings for the type of job you are seeking and incorporate the commonly used keywords and their synonyms into your résumé.  The keywords should be prominent and frequent.  One caution:  Do not overuse a keyword if you don’t have the skills or experience to support it.  This will backfire on you and you will be eliminated from consideration.

4. Relevance and Authenticity. Only include information that is relevant to the job for which you are applying.  Listing irrelevant skills doesn’t beef up the résumé; it merely dilutes your applicable qualifications.  If you are changing careers and your past experience is in a different area, concentrate on your transferable skills that are relevant to the new position.  Always be authentic and honest.  Do not exaggerate your skills or experience.  Never, ever lie!  Most companies do background checks and exaggerations and lies can cost you the job, even after you have been hired.

…Check back tomorrow for Part II

Tags: accomplishments, branding, keywords, resumes, strengths, value proposition

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