Friday, September 19, 2008
Five Ways to Transform Your Resume From Ho-hum to Wow
There's no question that your resume is a vital tool in any job search. Unfortunately, some job seekers' run-of-the-mill resumes actually hurt their chances of finding the right job. If you have had the same resume for a long time and just are not getting the response you had hoped for, it might be time for a "resume makeover." Here are five resume makeover tips that might put you back on the right path.
1. Think about your target audience
A resume is nothing more an advertisement. What are you trying to sell? Yourself. The first thing advertising executives do when selling a new product is identify the target audience. When revamping your resume, this should also be your first step. Make sure each resume you send is customized to the position and the company's needs. If you are seeking a marketing position and the company has indicated it wants to hire someone with market research experience, make sure you highlight that. Make it easy for the company.
2. Make sure you have the right type of resume
There are two types of resumes: functional and chronological. While most people are familiar with chronological resumes, which include qualifications listed by past employer in reverse chronological order, you may want to consider a functional resume instead. Chronological resumes are best suited for those with a good amount of experience or individuals on a standard career path. Functional resumes highlight your abilities rather than your work history and work well for those who are re-entering the workforce, transitioning to a new field, or have frequently changed jobs.
In a functional resume, the main headlines you use are skills and strengths. For example, section headlines for someone looking to break into sales might be "Sales Experience," "Customer Service Skills," and "Managerial Skills." Under each headline, list specific accomplishments and experience from past jobs. Employment history is included in a functional resume, but at the bottom of the page and is limited to company names, job titles and employment dates.
3. Include an objective or skills summary
Like any other sales pitch, your resume needs to gain the reader's attention right away. One way to do this is by telling them who you are right away through an objective or skills summary section. This lets the reader know what you bring to the table, right up front. Consider the following statements:
Objective: To provide a targeted, creative and unique marketing vision in order to increase sales and brand awareness in major consumer markets.
Skills Summary: Highly experienced, talented and dependable sales manager with more than 10 years experience in the retail marketplace. Skilled in all aspects of retail management, including customer service, inventory control, employee management and accounting.
Both of these introductory statements set the reader up for what is to come next. Another idea to consider is following up your introduction statement with a bulleted list of skills or core competencies. Think about the skills you have gained from your experience and list those at the top of your resume.
4. Focus on accomplishments, rather than job duties
It is important to use your resume to demonstrate how you can benefit the company and illustrate how you have benefited other organizations or solved problems in the past. Include a brief one or two sentence description of your job responsibilities, but then focus on specific accomplishments. Instead of saying "wrote press releases and company materials," tout your value by telling the reader that you "developed media materials that resulted in nationwide media coverage."
5. Add some hard data
Anyone can say that they were successful at a job, but not everyone has the numbers to back up their claims. Including evidence - numbers, dollar amounts, or other hard data - will make you stand out from the crowd. Take a look at the following two resume statements:
A. Developed plan for new warehousing system that saved the company time and money.
B. Developed and implemented warehousing system that saved company more than $500,000.
Option A provides an accomplishment, but option B will gain more attention from a reader, particularly a hiring manager at a company that is interested in cutting costs.
Bottom line
With a little work and attention, your resume makeover can help you go from just another candidate to the candidate at the top of the pack!
Posted by 5
at 14:48 |
| Comments (
30
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Mr.
Charlie Endicott, Moderator, SU Career Services
Comments
Posted by jeremy on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 17:06 | Link
great tips here... a strong resume is really key, do not take it lightly
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Posted by on Monday, April 27, 2009 16:14 | Link
I would be very honored to join discussions on resumes and interviewing...I wish we had a discussion blog when I graduated. lol Feel free to contact with any of your career issues and questions...I have 25 years experience in recruiting Mike
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Posted by on Monday, April 27, 2009 16:23 | Link
excellent advice and it will help in the real world...remember attitude is everything in a job search.
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Posted by on Sunday, May 31, 2009 11:02 | Link
I have seen people with 'average' resume but know people. There are also statistics showing referrals work and networking is the best way to do it. If you do not know people, go ask for introduction at ntroduction.com - I am not affiliated with this service but simply trying to help.
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Posted by on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 00:51 | Link
Great tips- having an effective resume can really make a huge difference and in order to get accepted (or even noticed) for competitive positions, it is a must.
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Posted by on Thursday, June 18, 2009 16:35 | Link
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Posted by on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 11:40 | Link
I was able to land a job based on the exact accomplishments section of my resume. The more articulate you can be on that point the better your chances are of getting the interview, IMHO
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Posted by on Thursday, July 2, 2009 21:56 | Link
Keep your resume nice and concise. Structure your resume in an easy to read format. Detail your experience and education background in a bullet points.
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Posted by on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 16:12 | Link
nice work and thanks bcoz i hav tried many CV formats but every time i was doing some mistakes .From those tips i come to know where were i wrong thanks
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Posted by on Monday, July 13, 2009 14:26 | Link
http://itrecords.blogspot.com/ good posting budy
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Posted by on Monday, July 13, 2009 14:28 | Link
Resume is the most important passport for a job in every applicant. This displays firsthand information about the applicant. Your resume plus this authors advice will surely help you in landing a job. Thanks to the author. http://www.receptionist.org
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Posted by on Sunday, July 19, 2009 06:01 | Link
Great tips and really very helpful.thanks for sharing this keep it up
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Posted by on Monday, July 20, 2009 17:50 | Link
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Posted by on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 18:55 | Link
excellent advice and it will help in the real world...remember attitude is everything in a job search.
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Posted by on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 08:10 | Link
Good advices here. The point 1 is very important. Often people send general rsum. The key is to target the company. This article confirm what I was thinking. Thanks
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Posted by on Friday, July 24, 2009 09:37 | Link
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Posted by on Friday, July 24, 2009 17:45 | Link
excellent advice... Most people don't get that you have to think about what the employer wants, but that is a key... and adding in specifics - or hard data - makes everything much more believable - people don't believe non-specific claims... I recently wrote an article on picking the best resume format for you... I think it complements this post nicely... Check it out by clicking my link - if you want... final piece of advice....the last bullet example gives you the chance to sell an employer on ROI... let's say you made the company $500k and you got paid $60k... that's just under ten times the cost - or a 1,000% ROI... any business owner on the planet wants thos kinds of returns!
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Posted by on Thursday, July 30, 2009 19:05 | Link
Great tips- having an effective resume can really make a huge difference and in order to get accepted (or even noticed) for competitive positions, it is a must
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Posted by on Sunday, August 2, 2009 15:40 | Link
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Posted by on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 08:05 | Link
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Posted by on Saturday, August 22, 2009 15:26 | Link
resume makeover can be really helpful, i really liked this article, in today's competitive world, it important to stand above the crowd, a good resume can be really helpful, for more resume tips, log onto www.thesearchenginepros.com
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Posted by on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 19:58 | Link
Extra emphasis needs to be given to point 5. Concrete examples of achievements are very valuable --- Deals
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Posted by on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 20:03 | Link
As for point 1, I would recommend totally redoing your resume for each employer and target it at them. Regards Deals
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Posted by on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 14:20 | Link
These are all solid tips, I just did an article on the types of resumes (functional, technical, etcetera). Check it out here: resumewritingtips.info
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Posted by on Sunday, October 11, 2009 15:34 | Link
Focus on accomplishments, rather than job duties
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Posted by on Thursday, November 12, 2009 16:28 | Link
Great post! My friend runs a small business we do internet marketing for companies and so a lot of our e-newsletter, blog and seminar content revolve around for promotion. Thanks!!!
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Posted by on Monday, November 16, 2009 12:14 | Link
Although having a great resume is importnat there is another option. Stability is one thing that does come with a corporate job but you can always work for yourself and strike out on your own. Become a professional in a field that interests you. I became a Cincinnati Realtor and have enjoyed working for myself for nearly nine years, for better and for worse.
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Posted by on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 05:34 | Link
Thanks for the useful information . Appreciated ! Richard
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