Writing a resume is dull for most of us, it’s a task we tend to procrastinate doing and even updating it as we gain experience gets put off but it is so important. No worries though, I will give you some advice on how to get the basics down to a good start that will get you ahead of the competition. Even though you think of it as a dull list of your life and experience, try to think of it more as an intriguing advertisement like when you open up a magazine or see a commercial on TV. Keep in mind as you write your resume the person going through them has on average 100-1000 applicants to go through. And just like how you or I find it boring to write them they are just as bored going through them so they are only skimming the majority for the keywords and phrases they want. Imagine reading through that many and looking at every detail of everyone’s work history. Wouldn’t you do the same? It’s enough to drive you crazy or put you to sleep. They know there are many in there for people who just took a shot in the dark for a random job but don’t have the right skills or desire to be a true aspect to the company. They are looking for that one in a hundred person and the performance of their company depends on this decision. It’s up to you to help provide them with that wow factor. Your potential employer is most likely going to be skimming the top sections of the resumes for about 10-20 seconds. You need to make that top section grab their attention and capture their interest or it’s going in the trash and you wasted your time writing all that for nothing. So make it worth your while. Make it interesting, for your sake and theirs. You don’t necessarily need to have better skills than the rest of the applicants. You just need to stand out in the crowd. If you advertise yourself better than someone with better skills and a boring resume you will be more likely to be chosen for an interview.
“Without reaching out you don’t stand out”
Your probably wondering now, so how do i stand out? Well that is all in the keywords. And by keywords I don’t mean spamming them all across your resume. I mean by finding what the employer wants and strategically placing them into your objective or summary which should be at the top of your resume. Do a search for a position in your field. Get ready to take some notes. You need to hone in on exactly what they want. If there is a particular post you are interested in ask yourself what does this employer need in a candidate? What are they looking for? Look through the posting and notice the skills they are listing. Which of those relate to you? If they have contact information or you know the company and can research their contact info, take it down and call them. Get the details, your potential employer may be able to give you better insight to the available position. Don’t be afraid to call them. This also helps get you noticed by the employer. It shows your interest. Makes you stand out from the crowd a little more. Mention who you are so your name stays fresh in their mind when they are skimming through the applications. Show them you want to make sure the position is a good fit for you and want details on what they are looking for. This shows you are taking the job seriously. Often times I have had the employers ask for my name again when we are ending the conversation and they take the time to write it down. Especially when you do a follow-up call after applying. I always try to get their email and phone number so I can reach out to them. It increased my chance for an interview drastically. Without reaching out you don’t stand out. I almost never if rarely got a call when I didn’t reach out but when I did, they were more likely to reach out to me. Do your research, don’t guess what they want. Write down all the answers in a notebook, brainstorm these needs and write down the best, most relevant to the employer to expand upon. These will help create your resume. Be creative, some skills don’t need to be job related, but they are still skills that could be useful for a position. Your skills can be built on personal experience, church, volunteer work, school, hobby,etc. You just need to know how to word them and embellish a little so it sounds more professional. If you do something related find a way to put it in there.
“Make sure you understand your terms and definitions”
Case Study:
I have a friend that has worked in the church as a volunteer for years, she did clerical work, organized paperwork, files, and computer related tasks. She never had an office type job but really wanted one. She worked as a Quality Assurance Tech in the food industry with me at the time. Most of her tasks were walking around checking food quality and policing employees for safety and sanitation procedures. She was running around a large building all day in the cold with a lot of stress and wanted a change. She asked me how she could get into a more office like position with her current skill set with no prior experience. We talked about everything she did in that position. Turns out she actually did a lot of paperwork too. That was a very important part of it. I told her to focus more on that. “What else did you do with that paperwork? From start to finish what are your tasks?” I asked. Even though I knew what she did since I did the same I wanted her to tell me. I wanted her to see from her own point of view what she did. She thought about it for a minute and finally said, “Well, I document everything I check, monitor everything, then I check it again to make sure everything is accurate. It has to comply with FDA and USDA guidelines, you know.Then I turn it in. I put it in a designated bin.” “So” I replied, “instead of saying you did paperwork., say exactly that. Only say it as an action phrase, “Document reports for FDA and USDA regulatory compliance’. Doesn’t that sound so much better?” Find words that sound better. you can google synonyms for paperwork and get a list that is related. In her case it was reports. On top of that she would be using key phrases into her description. She documents, and uses FDA and USDA as a great key phrase for a related field that would be more like an office. Use related terms. make sure you know what they mean. I have had a couple of managers interviewing me ask me if i knew what FDA, HACCP, USDA and SQF, stood for when they saw them in my resume. I had to explain the acronym and what it meant. So be prepared for that. If you have terms that are abbreviated you want to make sure you understand them fully and sound like you know what you are talking about. This is a test to see if you really are what you say you are. They may not even know what all of them mean but it shows you know what you are talking about and what you are selling to them. Don’t get caught up sounding like a dummy that didn’t do their research. I hate when I go to buy something like a phone or car and ask an employee about something and they need to refer to the manual or paperwork to explain to me what it does. It seems very unprofessional and is a huge turn off. I automatically want to get someone else to help me because I feel like they can’t give me the sound advice I need to make a decision. But when I have someone who can tell me straight up and give me examples and experiences that really makes them stand out and makes me feel like I am making the right decision. These key phrase can really help you stand out, so don’t be afraid to use them. She could also say “Verify documents and reports are accurate and up to date” instead of I check it again or double-check for accuracy. Using the term verify as her action. With her church experience she could say “maintain files for storage and retrieval in an organized manner” instead of file paperwork. Just go on from there. Pick your terms you want to emphasize and expand on them. She used her experience as a QA tech and focused on expanding her office related tasks and her volunteer work at the church. By doing this she was able to get a job in a lab as a QA Tech instead of running around on the floor all day like a chicken with her head cut off. She stayed in a related field but found something better suited and was ok with that. This in turn helped her realize that she loved lab work and now wants to be a biologist and is going to school for it.
“It is best to specify your profile for each job you are applying for”
Your resume should be broken down into 2 sections. The first one should have your abilities, qualities, awards and achievements. The second section should have all of your experience. Your resume should not be any more than 2 pages long if you can help it. Always put the most relevant experience first and in the most detail then either leave the rest out or do a quick summary in another section if you need to explain any large time gaps. Make sure all gaps are covered. Start out by capturing them with your profile. This can also be labeled your objective. There are many terms to use just use one that is relevant and typically used. This is where they will see a brief detailed description of who you are and decide whether its worth reading further down your resume. Don’t be vague. It is best to specify your profile for each job you are applying for to obtain the best results. I had multiple resumes at once whenever I was job hunting all tailored to a specific industry and even a couple for specific job opportunities I was interested in. Don’t be afraid to make more or alter your current one a little differently. This detail can really make a difference. They know what a general resume looks like and will just throw it in the trash pile if it doesn’t tailor to their needs. This is also very handy when you are fishing for anything and want to stand out. I had to do this out of desperation when I was laid off out of the blue when my employer went out of business just to pay the bills until I was able to tailor for a higher paying more specific job. Again you want to use those action words and phrases. Stay away from using the phrase “seeking a position where i can develop my skills as/in ……..” They don’t care about developing your skills, they want you to help them. What can you do for them?
Example:
I”m going to research a position.Let’s say you’re looking for an administration or sales position. Of course you would tailor this to whatever position you are actually looking into whether it be a chef, management, or some kind of machine operator, etc. So I’m going into a job search engine on monster.com. I typed in administration, this can be a very generic term so you can always be more specific to what type of administrator you want to be. Since this is just an example I don’t need to be specific, but this can also be useful for when you aren’t really sure what’s out there and you can see terms related to your experience then narrow down your search based on what you find. Here is a result I found that gives me good details as to what the company wants so I can tailor my resume and objective to them. Source: http://jobview.monster.com/v2/job/View?JobID=168758462&MESCOID=4300692001001
“Sales Administration Manager at Precious Moments
Wouldn’t you like to work for The World’s Most Recognized Inspirational Brand? Precious Moments Company, Inc., a leader in the gift and collectible industry, is seeking a Sales Administration Manager to be based in our Elgin, IL office.
Reporting to the Vice President of Sales, the Sales Administration Manager is responsible for sales administration of an active and growing network of field sales reps in the gift industry.
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
· Serves as primary liaison between field reps and sales office
· Communicates with sales reps on account and territory performance metrics
· Administrates contact and territory changes at the direction of the VP of Sales.
· Supports major accounts and sales reps by developing and executing sales materials, product launch communications and webcast administration
· Manages new product launch samples, appointment book and showroom set up for various gift shows
· Leads the new account set up process
Successful candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing or related field and at least 3 years sales administration or related experience
Must be able to:
· Demonstrate excellent communication skills
· Effectively represent the Company to field sales representatives and others outside of the Company
· Demonstrate excellent organizational skills.
· Develop and maintain effective internal partner relationships and relationships with customers
· Demonstrate a strong customer service focus
· Work independently with limited direct supervision
· Perform multiple tasks simultaneously with strong attention to detail
· Handle confidential information and use discretion
· Maintain a professional image and act in a professional manner at all times
· Demonstrate proficiency in using Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
We offer a competitive salary, a generous benefit package, and a dynamic, fast-paced environment for the right candidate.
If you are looking for an opportunity with the satisfaction of making a personal contribution, please apply! Please include your cover letter, resume and salary history when applying. We are an equal opportunity employer.“
“Target those keywords”
So in this post we are looking for the main keywords they are seeking. It clearly states at the top they are “seeking a Sales Administration Manager”, and the position is “responsible for sales administration of an active and growing network of field sales reps”. This is all great information for your objective/profile. There are also many great key words within the responsibilities section as well. “Supports major accounts and sales reps by developing and executing sales materials, product launch communications and webcast administration”, “Develop and maintain effective internal partner relationships and relationships with customers”, and “Administrates contact and territory changes at the direction of the VP of Sales”. By using these words we can create a relevant objective. So if we want to turn our objective into an actionable direct pitch to capture their attention we can say,
“Objective: A sales administration management position in an organization seeking exponential growth, developing and maintaining positive partner/ customer relationships while creating effective sales materials.”
This shows the potential employer you want what they are offering (a sales management position), you have the skills they are seeking and can give them what they are looking for. (growing network of field sales reps “growth” and relationship/ sales material development.) Use this strategy to build your objective. A great formula I love to follow from http://rockportinstitute.com/ is:
Objective: A position in an organization where and would be needed. Or A position in an Organization seeking and . The first part is filling in the position you are applying for and the second and third space is for the skills/qualities that stand out the most and will make the biggest impact.
“Brag about your accomplishments”
This is the juicy stuff. Stand out among the herd. After creating your profile/objective you want to create your key skills, achievements, certifications, awards and education. How you format this depends on your particular experience. I personally put key skills in one section and all the rest in another. I considered awards and achievements to be similar so I just put achievements to keep it less cluttered. Do what suits you best though. I didn’t have much relevant awards but many achievements. Put your education in order of most recent to least. If you need a separate section for this do so. If you have numbers or percentages to go with your achievements like how much money you saved the company by implementing something or excelling at your target sales goals this is a great place to put them. Brag about your accomplishments. Even if you can’t get actual numbers its good to put in something. I was top of the tier in re-book rates with my clients for another job I had. My manager always told me and sent out a report so we could see how we were doing compared to the rest. And although some areas I was not so strong in I made sure to emphasize the ones I was. This shows you are driven. Putting out your best effort and the more proof you have and details the better it is.
Next You want to put in your experience. When creating the title for this section stay away from words like Employment or Work History. These tend to sound unimpressive and low-level. Just use Experience. And just as in finding your objective and like your own experience try to make it sound as professional as possible. I always did research on the position I was currently in when trying to explain my work history. When I started this habit I increased my call back rate. For example:
I currently work as a pet groomer. My main responsibilities are bathing, cutting hair, clipping nails and cleaning ears. But if I really dig into my responsibilities, I also check for any health issues that I can warn the client about that they wouldn’t otherwise notice. And I have had many of them compliment and thank me wholeheartedly when I detected things they had no idea about and was able to get it taken care of before it became worse or even deadly. If I wasn’t sure of what I was looking at I did some research before talking to the client so I could give them sound advice and know what to expect when going to the vet. I dealt a lot in customer service as well. Making and receiving calls, paperwork of sorts, maintaining all their records, etc. So even if I were applying for a completely irrelevant position I still had relevant experience for a lot of opportunities.
“Dig Deep”
So dig deep into your responsibilities. Look at other positions available and search resumes for your current position and see what else relates to you. Do you do any of these tasks they list? List all of the ones that you do. Word them in your own words and use action words. Don’t copy paste an entire description onto your resume. They can easily search this and find out if you are faking it. If you do a lot of similar tasks, re-order them and re-word it for yourself. Take bits and pieces from different sources. Try to add in anything unique to you in between if you can. And always be genuine. Never lie or embellish the truth. This could come back to bite you in the end. Avoid using “I” at all costs if possible. Start all sentences with things like: Accomplished, Created, Communicated, Trained, Produced, Conducted, etc. These are your action words. Try to have a variety of words at the beginning of each sentence. Avoid being boring or repetitive.
List your experience from the most recent first to the least. The most recent and relevant jobs get the most detail. The least recent or relevant jobs can be put in with less detail and even a short summary paragraph if necessary to cover gaps. Remember to keep it to only 2 pages if you can. Merging sections, using bold type for titles and bullet points help divide the space evenly without using too much space. Keep your resume clean and organized. All font must match and use a simple, clear, easy to read font. It is unprofessional to use anything else. Stick with Arial or Times New Roman. No cursive or frilly fonts! No bold colors. Font is always black. Now I do currently use a template that has divider boxes in a very light blue that is easy on the eyes. This is acceptable and I have received many compliments on it from anyone who has interviewed me. I would recommend divider boxed templates for this reason. They always tell me it makes it so much easier to find everything, easy on the eyes and visually appealing. But they can be a pain to edit. I hate editing mine but it gets the compliments so I keep using it. I may find an easier one to use in the future. I would tell you what it is but I have no idea and can no longer find it in Microsoft Word so I think its discontinued. I just copy my old resume every time and edit it from there. But try to find an easy to use and easy on the eyes template. It could take up more space as well so be aware of that and be ready to make adjustments.
“bilingual people are highly sought after”
Also avoid putting in likes/ hobbies. They don’t care if you like reading novels and hiking. This is a job offer not a meet up for friends and dating. Unless it happens to be super relevant, its best to avoid it. And even then it could be considered a part of experience. If you know another language other than the native tongue currently spoken put it on there. Now a days bilingual people are highly sought after. That alone could be your edge. I highly recommend learning a new language for this reason alone. I currently study Spanish since it is a very common language in my area and many employers are looking for English/ Spanish-speaking employees. And trust me it makes it so much easier if you run into a customer or employee that only speaks a little or almost none of your current tongue to get conversations across. There’s nothing more awkward than trying to sign language and getting frustrated with each other. People respect you more for knowing another language and rightly so. It can be challenging but very rewarding. And believe me my Spanish isn’t perfect but it has helped in so many situations and in the end they are just happy to be able to communicate with someone even if it isn’t perfect. Don’t feel bad. You still know more than they did. But if you are still learning, you can put your level of experience with the language. Mine is about intermediate. If you are beginner I may avoid that until you have it down better. Employers are generally looking more for fluent but some situations may not always need perfectly fluent speakers. I worked for one that tested me before hiring me to see if I knew enough to get by and said I passed the test and he was pretty impressed that I knew as much as I did. My job was mostly paperwork and working on my own but did require some small communications with Spanish-speaking individuals at times. And working in that environment really helped improve my Spanish even more so it was a win, win. So get to doing your research. It’s a lot of work but well worth it and you can turn in a resume to be proud of. I hope this helps you get some opportunities for an interview and make resume building a little easier. Good luck!
