Writing a great resume requires
careful balance. While you should utilize a style that
employers will be familiar with, you also need to find ways
to highlight your abilities. Imagine your resume as an
important self-marketing tool. The sole function of the
well-written resume is to convince potential employers that
YOU are the perfect candidate for the job you seek.
As a career coach, I've come across
many resumes over the years. Interestingly, most people
struggle with the "self-promotional" aspect of resume
creation, instead preferring to list out the titles they
held at each job in their career history, and describing the
tasks they performed while working at those jobs. It's fine
to let your potential employer know the responsibilities
that have been entrusted to you, but don't leave it at that.
You need to let them know exactly why you are a better
choice than the next job candidate who comes along. That
means offering tangible evidence of your value.
Next time you think of something
positive to include on your list of career accomplishments,
figure out a way to position the statement so that it
appeals to the reader from a standpoint of need. Here are
some very straightforward examples of how to turn
achievements at your job into value-oriented statements that
will help market you to your future boss.
List of Career Accomplishments:
* Consolidated budget, established
sales projections for 2004
* Helped develop order processing and fulfilment procedures
for new department
* Assumed temporary manager role during director's extended
absence
* Responsible for daily customer service including
communicating with vendors and troubleshooting order issues
Same List of Accomplishments,
Highlighting Sought-After Skills and Value to Employer:
Finance Management: Consolidated
budget, established sales projections, reduced overhead
costs by 40% for 2005.
Exceptional Planning Skills: Helped
develop order processing and fulfilment procedures for new
department.
Strong Leader: Assumed temporary
manager role during director's extended absence.
Solid Relationship Builder:
Maintained excellent rapport with vendors on a daily basis.
Effective Problem Solver: Handled
day to day challenges, resolved customer service issues
calmly and professionally.
As you can see, with the simple
addition of a few bold category headers and a few strong
words throughout the copy, you can easily develop a solid
case for why you're the best candidate for the job. For some
people, resume writing from the "selling" standpoint can be
a challenge, which is why as a career counsellor I recommend
having a seasoned resume writer take a look at your resume
and make changes as necessary. To learn more, click the URL
at the bottom of this article for a personal career
consultation today!
Want free tips, tools and expert advice on finding a career
you're passionate about? Visit Certified Career Coach Hallie
Crawford at
http://www.halliecrawford.com . Sign up for Hallie's
monthly e-newsletter, Creating Your Own Path, at
http://www.halliecrawford.com/newsletter.html
Bookmark her career tips blog at
http://www.halliecrawford.com/blog for
recommendations on resume writers, online career tests and
more career resources. |