A Resume That Gets You In The Door

Apr 8th, 2005 | By Bill | Category: Employment News



A Resume That Gets You In The Door

A good rsum gets you a job interview and a bad rsum gets you nothing.

A good rsum isn’t just a summary of your work experience. It grabs the attention of a prospective employer and sells you as a hot prospect. Your pitch is: This is the type of work I can do for you.

Think of it as an advertisement for yourself and then ask some basic questions: What are you selling? How do you want to present yourself? What’s the most effective way to make your pitch?

But first, here’s what you don’t want to do.

Cutesy Kills. The surest way to kill your chances is to write something intended to be cute, but goes clunk. Moral: Write your rsum in a clear, concise style.

The Unpardonable Sin. Don’t exaggerate your accomplishments or claim a college degree you don’t have. The first may get you fired over the long haul, and the second will get you booted immediately. Moral: Just the facts, ma’am.

Flashy Graphics Get Tossed. Your rsum should be logically organized and easy to read on one or two pages on heavy stock paper. No pink or purple, and don’t use folded parchment with gold trim. Graphics are best left on the menu at a new age restaurant. Moral: Presentation counts, so Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

The rsum is used in conjunction with your cover letter, but the rsum should stand alone in presenting you to a prospective employer. Always remember that a rsum is a marketing tool, and you are selling yourself. To that end, punch up the language without exaggerating.

Consider rewriting: “Maintained account receivable records and accounts payable,” to something such as: “Managed more than 1,500 accounts receivable and payable on XYZ system. Shortened collection cycle and increased payments on delinquent accounts 25%. Reported to the Chief Operating Officer.”

The revised version underscores your skills, energy and dedication to work, and tells the prospective employer: Good candidate. Might be worth a good salary.

Tailor your rsum to specific ads. If the ad seeks an electrical engineer, use the term in your rsum and highlight engineering experience. If a job seeks experience with computer-aided design, work the term into your rsum.

But that’s not enough. Be sure to state how your skills are relevant to the opening and why your background qualifies you to handle the job.

Unless you’re seeking your first job, don’t include your college grade point average because it’s ancient history and prior job experience quickly eclipses academic performance–especially in an age of grade inflation. Make it:

Masters of Business Administration, University of Pluto, 2000.

Bachelor of Science, Economics, Equator State University, 1995.

There’s no need to include academic awards, unless it’s something that will knock the socks off the prospective employer. If you won a well-known scholarship or academic prize that’s the equivalent of stamping “Genius!” on your forehead–maybe. Otherwise, forget about your glory days at school because no one cares–except your mother–and she’s not doing the hiring.

In most cases, don’t include a line on hobbies and interests–they’re not relevant. But if you’re applying for a job as editor of an outdoors magazine, the publisher needs to know that you’re active and noting your passion for skydiving, whitewater rafting and winter camping would be helpful.

In addition to our career section, there’s a wealth of career advice on the Web. The major job sites, such as CareerBuilder.com, Monster and HotJobs, all have advice and resource centers.

It’s also a good idea to ask to see the rsums of your friends. Ask them for tips and find out what worked and what didn’t. Check each for style, but don’t go nuts with different fonts. You want clarity–not clutter.

Finally, if you’re named Dana, Pat or Lee, don’t leave ‘em guessing if you’re male or female. Use Mr., Ms. or Miss on your mailing address.

OK, kiddo, knock ‘em dead.

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