Photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian

Have you been applying for jobs, getting little to no response and, therefore, wondering if you should hire a résumé writer?  First, let me say that I have great admiration for good résumé writers and their transformational abilities with career search documents.  Based on the time and effort they put into creating résumés, they easily earn their fees, which can run anywhere from $300 to $900+.  But, is delegating the writing of your résumé the right thing for you?  Consider these three reasons for writing your own résumé:

(1)     Résumés that work are résumés that are customized for each job applied for.  If you are going to tweak your résumé for each job, to maintain quality and consistency, you need to learn how to write your document.

(2)     Your résumé should be in your words and be representative of who you are.  If you are called in for an interview and there is a disconnect between who you are on paper and who you are in person, that will be disconcerting to the interviewer and will make them less likely to hire you.

(3)     When you interview and are asked about statements on your résumé, you want to feel comfortable that you can easily answer those questions.  If someone else writes your document, you might not even recognize your own accomplishment statement because it isn’t in your words.  If you aren’t comfortable with every statement on your résumé, the interviewer won’t be comfortable with you.

Having someone help you write your résumé, such as a friend or career coach, is always a good idea for many reasons.  If a certified résumé writer is willing to work with you and show you how to write your résumé, that is ideal.  But handing off the task and letting someone else write the document for you may not provide the expected benefit.

What has your experience been creating your résumé?

A reader writes:

I have a specific question on “qualification of summary”. How does one write a good Profile Summary ? What should it include and how should one present the details. If you can elaborate more on this topic and include an example or two, that will be really useful.

My reply:

Your qualifications summary is the first thing the hiring manager will look at.  This is where you want to present the value and benefits you bring to the employer.  There are different options for how to write a qualifications summary but here are some general guidelines.  Your qualifications summary should clearly state what job title or function you are seeking.  If it isn’t clear what job you are seeking, you will not be considered.  You want to establish your brand and present your value proposition.  You do this by highlighting your most impressive, relevant accomplishment(s) and your greatest strengths.  Write your summary to address the employer’s needs and use keywords from the job posting whenever possible.  You want to be authentic in your description of who you are while at the same time presenting yourself as the perfect fit for the position.

The format you choose for your qualifications summary will depend on your experience and your targeted position.  Choose a format that allows the reader to quickly scan it and immediately recognize your fit for the job.  Below are two examples of different formats.  The first example worked to get the job seeker an excellent human resources position that she loves.  Following her summary, she included a section showing her certifications, education, and awards, which acted as a supplement to her qualifications summary and verified her accomplishments.  The information she provides is concise but powerful enough to generate interest to read further.  The second example was taken from the book Résumé Magic written by Susan Britton Whitcomb.  There is much greater detail provided in this summary, but by using bolded keywords, the reader is drawn to the bullet points and motivated to read on.  Focus on job fit, keywords, and the unique personal brand value and benefits you offer.

Example 1:

Summary of Qualifications

Results-oriented management professional with extensive experience in Human Resources, customer service, process improvement, and new product launches.  A proven leader with 20 years of experience building and leading cross-functional teams. Recognized for excellent employee development, product deployment, and project management skills. Other skills and strengths include:

Example 2:

QUALIFICATIONS

PHYSICIAN EXECUTIVE qualified for senior-level management opportunities where strengths in strategic planning, development, and visionary leadership will promote high-growth business ventures.  Highlights:

• Market-Driven Executive—Initiated business re-engineering in a 38-physician practice to address the emerging commercialization of medicine; cut operating costs through innovative cost-containment programs; brought consensus among divergent interests during transition to market-focused paradigm.

• Academic Qualifications—Harvard MBA program graduate with management and financial skills backed by clinical competence of 15+ years of practice as a board-certified internist and anesthesiologist.  Substantial experience in emergency services, aeromedical evacuation, and special operations.

• International Orientation—Advanced the accessibility of health care in third world nations through commitment to international healthcare organizations (eight trips to Honduras, Mexico, and Vietnam as team chief and service as program director for an overseas teaching hospital).

• White House Fellowship—Regional finalist among highly competitive candidate list of 800+; seeking to address global health care issues (special project:  research for development of counter-strategies for medical terrorism).

During my teleseminar the other day, a participant asked how to express results in a resume when there are no quantitative measures.  What a great question!  I can relate to that, can’t you?  Don’t we all have accomplishments we are proud of that don’t have measurable results we can tout?  Fortunately, there is a solution when numbers aren’t available.  A vibrant qualitative description of the results you attained can be a powerful descriptor and carry a lot of weight with a hiring manager.  Here are a few examples of how you can summarize your accomplishments qualitatively:

Resolved customer complaints with active listening and proactive resolution skills resulting in the receipt of appreciation letters from customers commending my services.

Facilitated productive weekly team meetings demonstrating exceptional communication and organizational skills that elicited a performance review comment from my manager as “best in class meeting facilitator.”

Cross-trained staff outside of normal job responsibilities resulting in increased productivity and increased customer service response time with reduced headcount.

If your résumé is going to work for you, there are seven essential elements that you will need to include.  Here are elements five through seven.

…Continued from yesterday.

5. Succinct, Specific, and Descriptive. When writing your copy, write and edit until the statements in your document are direct and to the point, giving the most important information necessary to boldly illustrate your talent and worth.  Use powerful words, keywords, and descriptive language, and keep it succinct.  You don’t have to exaggerate, just paint a clear picture with your terms.

6. Contact Information. Make sure your name is prominent and easy to find in a stack of résumés.  Ensure your email address is professional.  If the employer is interested, you will most likely be contacted by phone, so place your phone number where it is easily found.  If your document is two pages long, place your name and phone number at the top of the second page in case the pages get separated.

7. Readability. If your résumé makes it past the scanning process and gets onto the hiring manager’s desk, readability becomes key. The hiring manager will judge you based on the look and layout of your résumé.  Use an easy to read font and a font size between 10 and 12 points with your name in a larger font.  Use category headings and balance your text with a lot of white space.  Bullet points that follow the rules listed above enhance readability.  Use a bold typeface to highlight key information, such as your name, category headings, and previous employers.  Your résumé should never be more than two pages long.

Although it may be tempting to hire someone to write your résumé for you, it is worth the time and effort to prepare your document yourself.  If you need help, hire a career coach or other professional who will work with you and advise you on putting together the document.  The work you do preparing your résumé is also preparing you for the interview.  Ideally, you need to customize your résumé for the different positions you apply for and you will need to update your résumé as time goes on, so this is a valuable skill to acquire.

The purpose of your résumé is to get you an interview.  Your résumé doesn’t tell the employer your whole story; it is an advertisement designed to stimulate enough interest so that the employer wants to know more.  Keep in mind that you are selling yourself and your goal is to communicate the benefits you have to offer the employer and to express them in a clear, concise, professionally presented manner.  By incorporating the seven essential elements above, you are well on your way to producing an exceptional résumé.

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