In 2019, a couple of job seekers applied to Goggle. Well, that is not exactly on point. It turns out that a “couple” was 9,000 resumes per day. (Source: Carrus-How to Land a Job at Google).
And, while few companies get deluged like Google, in today’s ultra-competitive job market getting noticed for your dream job requires a resume that stands out. If you want a new and better chapter in your career history, one that could change your life, you need to write and format your resume so that your phone rings. Here are some actions that will help.
Get Them Hooked From The First Glance
By writing a compelling professional summary at the beginning of your resume, the reader’s interest is captured. Use words that start the process of communicating that you are a doer and difference maker. For example, instead of saying you have a strong work ethic, write something like this: “Able to manage a high-volume workload in a fast-paced environment.”
First Present The Impact-Then Explain How
A “let me call this candidate” resume goes far beyond statements that state the duties you were assigned to perform or your qualifications. It educates everyone involved in the hiring process about the potential impact you could have in helping their team and the organization meet their goals.
Wherever possible showcase the impact first and then show the talent you used to achieve it. As you will see below, each of these shows both results and skills.
- Saved $500,000 through assertive negotiations with vendors
- Increased customer retention by identifying and satisfying their needs
- Ensured 100% compliance with company and regulatory requirements through accurate record keeping
Each statement helps convey a “here’s what I can do for your company” message. And should a big leap in the accuracy of record keeping be a “must have” for the position, you just significantly upped your cases for an interview.
Purposeful Sequencing
As you review what you wrote for a job you hold, or held, take the time to format the sequence so that the first entry captures interest and that the next one to two builds upon it. Oftentimes, we lead-off and follow up with what we feel most comfortable talking about. While this is not a big blunder, the objective is to grab the reader’s attention and begin getting them to envision you in the job.
Less is More
Hunker down when it comes to editing your resume and making yes/no decisions about what to include. Remove redundant entries and those that do not solidly contribute to the case for hiring you.Yes, the fact that you volunteer tells readers that you are a person who likes to give back. But it is doubtful you will get hired because you do!
There is much more than just these items in terms of what it takes to create a door opening resume. Feel free to contact me at donaldbenenson@yahoo.com for my Resume Tip Sheet.
For a free no obligation chat about your job search, feel free to contact me at 631.428.5877.
Good luck in your search efforts.
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