What's Your Story..?
My last post discussed what I felt were a number of good indicators over the last several months that the employment picture was looking better…not nearly great yet, but much improved when compared to even just a year ago.
The turnover experienced by job seekers groups has increased (this is one situation in which turnover is a good thing!) with the time period between separation to landing a new job significantly decreasing.
Yet, I continue to speak with people who are very frustrated with the lack of activity/success in their respective job searches. I know one of the main reasons why that is…but most folks don’t want to hear it or become exasperated when I tell them that:
Their resumes are boring.
Over the last month, I’ve done resume reviews at the networking events our company sponsors and a “resume clinic” sponsored by a local corporate outplacement firm along with making presentations at a Career Transition Camp, three job seekers’ groups, a corporate outplacement firm and for a Fortune 500 company that had just laid off a number of employees. With all of the resumes I reviewed at or as a follow up to all of these events, not even one of those documents would have caused me, as a hiring manager, to schedule the respective candidate for a phone screen or first interview…not one.
Why? The resumes read like a job description vs. an engaging “story” about the candidates' skills, competencies and accomplishments – customized to the criteria noted in the description for the job they were seeking.
Although the employment landscape is improving, it is still clearly a buyer’s market, with hiring managers continuing to exercise their right to be very picky and deliberate regarding their ultimate candidate selection…(by the way, employers continue to report receiving hundreds of resumes per posted job opening). Thus, one of the first objectives of every job seeker should be to put as much distance as is possible between themselves and their competition, and that most often begins with the resume.
The resume is your “novel”…the story of “you” and why you, the candidate, should be one of the few people who are selected (from the stack of hundreds of resumes received) that will be called for a phone screen or to schedule the first in-person interview. Think of it this way - You go into a book store where there are hundreds of books from which to choose…but you only budgeted to purchase one…so, the book selected has to be something that really sync’s up with your criteria for a “great read”.
Thus it is with resumes and hiring managers.
Here are some of the key components that will make your resume a “great read” for the intended employer:
• Key Achievement bullet points that speak to what you accomplished at your previous employers, NOT what you “did” (duties & responsibilities). Demonstrate clearly, using specific examples, how you applied the skills & competencies listed in the job description to produce exceptional outcomes/results.
• Provide perspective for each accomplishment. Include factors/metrics that describe timeframes, rankings, awards, recognition (i.e., don’t just tell me that you “increased sales by 30%”. Tell me that you “increased sales by $5MM or 30% in 90 days, which was the shortest period of time needed to achieve that level of growth amongst the 15 members of the sales team, resulting in recognition by the CEO as ‘Sales Leader of the Quarter’.) How do you think that compares to another candidate whose bullet point reads, “Built strong relationships that resulted in an increase in sales”..? Incorporating the use of perspective into your accomplishments will do much to separate you from the other candidates.
• Content customized to the specific criteria being sought by the hiring manager for the job you are seeking. Folks, cookie cutter resumes are not going to get any hiring manager excited about the prospect of you working for them. This also means only relevant information is included in your resume. What if author Dan Brown included several pages of love poems throughout the many chapters of his book, "The Da Vinci Code"? It would obviously disrupt the flow of the reader as it would have no relevance to the story. Dan Brown might be very good at writing love poems…but that is not why the reader purchased a copy of "The Da Vinci Code".
• Enable me to visualize you as a “game-changer” on my team by clearly demonstrating why you have been so while at past employers, in similar situations/environments to that found in my organization.
Just today I met with a job seeker who had held a high level sales position at a very large company. Her resume did not reflect what I believed to be (after meeting and speaking with her) the level of sales skills to support her verbalized accomplishments. I reminded her that hiring managers and HR recruiters have to rely on the resume – without her in the room to explain what each bullet point really means – to learn enough in order to decide to schedule an interview or send a “No thanks” letter. Her “story” – as told by the resume - fell flat and was not engaging to me, the hiring manager. I would not have spent more than 30 seconds or so on this person’s resume if submitted to me for consideration. And, there would have been no interview scheduled.
We discussed how, with some revamping using the concepts noted above, her resume could become a great read for hiring managers and recruiters.
In a job search, EVERY candidate is now a salesperson…and, they are the “product” being sold. The “features” of the product are skills, competencies, experience, drive, enthusiasm, passion and ability to apply the skills being sought to produce excellent results. The benefits of the “you” product are the many ways in which you will convince me that my team/group/division will be better because of bringing you on board.
So…time to write your “best seller”.
What’s your story?
The turnover experienced by job seekers groups has increased (this is one situation in which turnover is a good thing!) with the time period between separation to landing a new job significantly decreasing.
Yet, I continue to speak with people who are very frustrated with the lack of activity/success in their respective job searches. I know one of the main reasons why that is…but most folks don’t want to hear it or become exasperated when I tell them that:
Their resumes are boring.
Over the last month, I’ve done resume reviews at the networking events our company sponsors and a “resume clinic” sponsored by a local corporate outplacement firm along with making presentations at a Career Transition Camp, three job seekers’ groups, a corporate outplacement firm and for a Fortune 500 company that had just laid off a number of employees. With all of the resumes I reviewed at or as a follow up to all of these events, not even one of those documents would have caused me, as a hiring manager, to schedule the respective candidate for a phone screen or first interview…not one.
Why? The resumes read like a job description vs. an engaging “story” about the candidates' skills, competencies and accomplishments – customized to the criteria noted in the description for the job they were seeking.
Although the employment landscape is improving, it is still clearly a buyer’s market, with hiring managers continuing to exercise their right to be very picky and deliberate regarding their ultimate candidate selection…(by the way, employers continue to report receiving hundreds of resumes per posted job opening). Thus, one of the first objectives of every job seeker should be to put as much distance as is possible between themselves and their competition, and that most often begins with the resume.
The resume is your “novel”…the story of “you” and why you, the candidate, should be one of the few people who are selected (from the stack of hundreds of resumes received) that will be called for a phone screen or to schedule the first in-person interview. Think of it this way - You go into a book store where there are hundreds of books from which to choose…but you only budgeted to purchase one…so, the book selected has to be something that really sync’s up with your criteria for a “great read”.
Thus it is with resumes and hiring managers.
Here are some of the key components that will make your resume a “great read” for the intended employer:
• Key Achievement bullet points that speak to what you accomplished at your previous employers, NOT what you “did” (duties & responsibilities). Demonstrate clearly, using specific examples, how you applied the skills & competencies listed in the job description to produce exceptional outcomes/results.
• Provide perspective for each accomplishment. Include factors/metrics that describe timeframes, rankings, awards, recognition (i.e., don’t just tell me that you “increased sales by 30%”. Tell me that you “increased sales by $5MM or 30% in 90 days, which was the shortest period of time needed to achieve that level of growth amongst the 15 members of the sales team, resulting in recognition by the CEO as ‘Sales Leader of the Quarter’.) How do you think that compares to another candidate whose bullet point reads, “Built strong relationships that resulted in an increase in sales”..? Incorporating the use of perspective into your accomplishments will do much to separate you from the other candidates.
• Content customized to the specific criteria being sought by the hiring manager for the job you are seeking. Folks, cookie cutter resumes are not going to get any hiring manager excited about the prospect of you working for them. This also means only relevant information is included in your resume. What if author Dan Brown included several pages of love poems throughout the many chapters of his book, "The Da Vinci Code"? It would obviously disrupt the flow of the reader as it would have no relevance to the story. Dan Brown might be very good at writing love poems…but that is not why the reader purchased a copy of "The Da Vinci Code".
• Enable me to visualize you as a “game-changer” on my team by clearly demonstrating why you have been so while at past employers, in similar situations/environments to that found in my organization.
Just today I met with a job seeker who had held a high level sales position at a very large company. Her resume did not reflect what I believed to be (after meeting and speaking with her) the level of sales skills to support her verbalized accomplishments. I reminded her that hiring managers and HR recruiters have to rely on the resume – without her in the room to explain what each bullet point really means – to learn enough in order to decide to schedule an interview or send a “No thanks” letter. Her “story” – as told by the resume - fell flat and was not engaging to me, the hiring manager. I would not have spent more than 30 seconds or so on this person’s resume if submitted to me for consideration. And, there would have been no interview scheduled.
We discussed how, with some revamping using the concepts noted above, her resume could become a great read for hiring managers and recruiters.
In a job search, EVERY candidate is now a salesperson…and, they are the “product” being sold. The “features” of the product are skills, competencies, experience, drive, enthusiasm, passion and ability to apply the skills being sought to produce excellent results. The benefits of the “you” product are the many ways in which you will convince me that my team/group/division will be better because of bringing you on board.
So…time to write your “best seller”.
What’s your story?
Comments
Post a Comment