As a recruiter, I’ve seen thousands of resumes ranging from very
qualified and capable candidates all over the nation. These candidates
span from every industry and from administrative professionals to C
level corporate executives. Each time I review a resume, I would review
it under the eyes of the hiring manager. Through their eyes, I tried to
get a sense of who the candidate is and how they are wired. The goal is
to see if the candidate (communicated through a resume) capabilities
will drive a degree of success in a particular capacity. Research has
shown that a typical hiring manager or recruiter will only look at a
resume for approximately 15 seconds so bearing that in mind, I perform
this resume critique under three basic guidelines. If you want to be
noticed and receive the proper consideration, following these
suggestions will help improve your chances of landing an interview.
Building Your Brand
This is your professional identity and perhaps the most important
element that most resumes fail to develop. You can establishing your
brand and increase your marketing collateral by ensuring that your
resume is concise, clearly identifying your professional traits and
demonstrate how you will fit into the position and the company corporate
culture, captivating, grammatically perfect and of course free of
spelling error. It needs to flow, easy to read and pact with rich
content organized in a format which screams “HIRE ME!” Succeed here and
your resume will be pushed forward in the process. Fail here and your
resume will be filed away.
Differentiate Yourself
Whatever you do, do not copy someone else’s objective statements. Write
them yourself or with the help of an expert. The more unique your
profile is, the higher the chances of a full review on your resume. An
effective profile should be brief and encapsulate your background while
highlighting your capabilities and accomplishments. Always tailor your
profile to fit the position so do not use the same profile for every
submitted resume.
Value
How will you add value to the position? This is the first question
hiring managers or recruiters look for in a candidate. After all, that’s
why they are hiring in the first place. You can demonstrate your value
buy quantifying results. Describe how you helped a company increased
revenue, lowered cost and increase productivity. Don’t be afraid to use
numbers even if they are not exact.
Conclusion
Maximizing your brand will help identify and articulate your
professional skills to the decision makers the immediate value and
benefit that you bring to the company. This is your chance for good
first impression and believe me, first impressions are everything during
your job search campaign. Differentiate yourself will give you a
competitive advantage so revise your profile to create a powerful
effective 15 second pitch. Finally, quantify your success and show
decision makers how you can contribute to the company’s bottom-line. If
you take the initiative to embrace these three essential elements in
defining your resume, you will recognize greater results in your search
efforts.
Have an expert put together an organized, engaging and compelling cover
letter that’s poised for high impact. An expert can tailor our message,
convincing the reader to proceed to review your resume. Sadly, first
impressions count so unless you have an effective cover letter, no
matter how stunning your resume is, it will not be considered. Work
one-on-one with an expert to determine the approach that will get you
the interview. An expert can help you identify your uniqueness, uncover your qualities and build your brand.
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