When writing resumes, it is important to remember whom it is you're
trying to please - (is it you, or the hiring authority?) In this article I
will present my ideas of what makes up really aggressive documents, based
on my many years in the industry, and my career in owning and managing a
successful resume writing and career marketing firm.
Who Is Reading
Your Resume?
Make no mistake about it, aggressive documents are
necessary to be successful in today's competitive job search. But first,
some history. Let's examine some of the "hiring authorities." Before my
career in the resume writing industry, I spent several years as an
executive recruiter, placing mid- and senior-level executives in top
corporations. Eventually, I managed that firm, which employed 24
recruiters working 10 "desks." A "desk" is a specialty: finance, banking,
engineering, information systems, legal, are all known as "desks" and each
recruiter (or team of recruiters) specialized in placing upper managers
and executives in a chosen field.
I no longer place candidates,
and devote all my energies to resumes and the career marketing industry as
a whole, and my own firm in particular. However, I still have many
connections with recruiters, and have respect for the really great ones,
and distaste for the all-too-often bad ones!
I think it's
important to remember that these days, people in career transition are
driven to explore many methods in their job search. In the past, it was
much easier to look for a job - individuals simply read the classified
ads, called the telephone number listed and chatted with the person over
the phone, setting up an in-person interview for the next day. What a
snap!
These days, however, the job search is much more complex.
Competition for employment has never been greater. The entire process is
often drawn-out, depersonalized and hard, hard, hard! Resumes are no
longer just asked for, they are DEMANDED. In reality, they are a
prerequisite for a job search.
My point is, you have to remember
what the resume's purpose actually is and write accordingly. The dynamics
in this field are very exciting but also very volatile. The buzz words are
forever changing. Companies, for example, were at one time laying-off,
then downsizing... rightsizing... reorganizing, and now reengineering.
Whew!
Recruiters, company hiring managers and human resources
professionals are all components in your job search, and it is the
resume's job to land interviews.
I routinely speak with
professional recruiters, H.R. professionals and hiring managers to get
their reactions and opinions to resume styles, formats, contents and
verbiage. Remembering that resumes are actually marketing pieces designed
to sell you to potential employers, aggressive resumes are NOT simply a
listing of your work experience or your biography (life on paper).
What Makes A "Winning" Resume?
Here are some of my methods
and suggestions for writing aggressive resumes, based on my own experience
as a recruiter, my interaction with hiring professionals and employment
specialists and my clients' success rate in obtaining interviews within 30
days.
Successful resumes need to SELL you over and above your
peers and they create a sense of urgency for the reader to pick up the
phone and call (or email) you to arrange an interview. Otherwise, the
alternative is the reader scans the resume, thinks, "Yeah, this person has
a good background," and then moves on to scan the next resume, pitching
your resume in the old "circular file."
So let's examine some ways
to write aggressive, up-to-the-minute resumes that really SELL you.
OBJECTIVES
There are lots of opinions about whether or not
to use an objective, or just how to do so, if one IS used. The only
"given" about the use of an objective, is definitely NOT to use one on
senior level resumes. A CEO, CFO, COO or other executive's resume actually
looks/reads silly when an objective is used. But for the mid-level or
entry-level candidate, an objective can be useful. Here are a few ways to
incorporate the concept into a resume...for a very targeted client who
knows exactly what she/he wants:
BUYER...PURCHASING
MANAGER...PROCUREMENT AGENT
or, for someone seeking to remain in
their career pattern: EXPERIENCED COST ACCOUNTANT seeks a position with a
progressive organization that will utilize a successful career to
meet/exceed company goals.
or, for a client who has several fields
she/he want to pursue: Results-oriented manager seeks a position with
advancement opportunities; areas of interest include retail, electronics
and communications technology.
or, if someone wants to change
careers: AGGRESSIVE individual seeks a career in sales utilizing strong
interpersonal skills to penetrate untapped markets and build a loyal
client base.
What you'll notice in the above cases, is what's
stressed in the objective: the BENEFIT the COMPANY will receive if they
hire the candidate. What is not stated is what YOU want. Companies don't
care what you want - they want to know what you can do for THEM.
A
flaw in writing objectives, is that they sometimes just say the same thing
that 78+ other resumes sitting on the hiring authority's desk state:
Seeking a challenging position that will utilize my skills in editing,
proofreading and copy writing.
Oh, that's exciting...makes you
just want to jump to the phone and give that person a call, doesn't it?
Stating that the person is seeking a challenging position is ridiculous.
Would you ever state that you were seeking a boring position? Of course
not - so don't state the obvious - it's a cliché.
REFERENCES
PROVIDED UPON REQUEST
Using this phrase at the end of the resume is
archaic. It's a given (talk about a cliché!), and contemporary resumes
omit this. The better approach is to generate a prepared Professional
Reference sheet which you can bring with you on interviews and leave with
the interviewer when references are requested.
RESPONSIBLE
This word is often so over-used in a resume,
that at GetInterviews.com, we never use it. Recruiters employed at
retainer-only search firms have told me that the word "responsible"
signifies mid-management and below, not executive-level candidates.
Personally, I believe the word "responsible" is actually useless in a
resume. Instead of writing, "Responsible for all departmental functions
including accounts payable/receivable, payroll and invoicing..." I would
suggest to use an action word that best depicts what that person actually
does - for example, "Perform all departmental functions, including..." or
"Oversee all departmental functions, including..." or "Review all
departmental functions, including..." See what I mean? "Responsible"
doesn't really SAY anything, it doesn't give a clear indication of what
you actually do. Do you perform the functions or direct them?
"Responsible" is too vague to say which.
MY, MINE, THIS,
I
Using words like this in the resume indicates you are writing in
a narrative voice, as if you are having an actual conversation, a dialogue
with the reader. This is not the case: you are presenting your
achievements, skills and credentials to a potential employer. My
suggestion would be to keep the resume more business-like, more
professional. In descriptions, the word "a" could be substituted for the
word "this," as in: "Promoted to a $30 million division of an
international widget manufacturer to expand sales into untapped markets"
as opposed to "Promoted to this $30 million division...."
ALSO
I have seen this word used when describing daily
functions: "Control and administer annual budgets totaling $12 million.
Also, interface with vendors to negotiate more favorable terms and gain
higher profits." Again, the "also" is a dialogue word, and quite
unnecessary. In writing resumes, it is best to do what my Creative Writing
professor called "tight writing." That is, to eliminate as many "an's,
the's, also's, a's," etc., as possible. They typically aren't necessary
and can be cut from the resume without loss of meaning.
NUMBERS
Contrary to the rules of grammar, EXCEPT for academic resumes, it
is best to use numerals in a resume rather than spell out the number, even
when that number is 10 or under. I know that grammatically, we are taught
to spell out numbers like three, five, seven, etc., and write 12, 14, 16,
etc. The numerical version, however, jumps off a page, whereas the spelled
out version often gets lost. Because resumes are often only scanned by the
reader 15-20 seconds, the actual use of numbers helps to capture the
readers' attention - they are drawn to the numbers, which means they are
spending more time looking at and reading your resume - and that's a GOOD
thing! I made the reference above to academic resumes, because teachers,
principals and superintendents are very sensitive to grammatical rules,
even in resumes. It's best to spell out any number under 10 for these
types of resumes. I would never recommend, however, that the words
"percentage" or "dollar" be used ("30 percent" or "12 million dollars") -
instead, use the symbol, as in 30% or $12 million.
EDUCATION VS.
EXPERIENCE
Knowing when to highlight someone's education vs.
experience is important. With certain fields (teaching, for example), the
general preference is to lead off the resume with the client's credentials
and educational background, even if they have considerable experience.
Recent college grads should also have their education first, as it is
typically their greatest achievement. However, someone who returned to
college (part time nights, for example), while concurrently employed full
time for the past 9 years as a travel agent, should have their resume lead
off with their experience, and NOT emphasize they just obtained their
Bachelors degree. They are not entry-level candidates - their experience
is more vital to a company than their education. Remember that all resumes
do NOT have to lead off with the client's education.
PAST /
PRESENT TENSE
Writing in the present tense is always more
aggressive than writing in the past tense. Verbs in past tense are in a
passive voice, so whenever feasible, write in the present tense.
Obviously, if you are still employed, your current job listing is written
in the present tense (manage, direct, supervise, control, etc).
PICTURES
Unless you are an actor or model, do not include a
picture of yourself under any circumstances. Companies these days are so
concerned about EEO lawsuits, discriminatory cases and the like, that at
best, they will immediately throw out the picture, or at worst, possibly
throw away the entire resume, especially if the picture is printed into
the resume. I can guarantee you recruiting firms are highly sensitive to
this, as well.
GRAPHICS
Be careful not to make your resumes
"too cute." Remember, companies see you as an INVESTMENT - they are
spending x amount of dollars to obtain you (salary), and want to see a
return on their investment. It is a business negotiation. If the resume
appears too "decorative" or distracting because of cute clip art images or
overly decorative paper, you may be dismissed and the resume tossed.
PERSONAL INFO
Marital status, date of birth, health,
hobbies, etc., are not relevant on a resume these days.
Remember,
you aren't writing your biography, you are marketing yourself on paper:
why does the employer want to hire YOU above all others, especially when
there are 91+ resumes from equally qualified candidates sitting on that
decision-maker's desk? Answer that question in the resume, and you will
have written a tight, solid, results-oriented resume...in short, a
winning, aggressive resume, and the sort of resume that is vital for
today's job search - and that of the next millennium.
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