April 6, 2016

What Is A Résumé - Really?

To start off, it is a French word meaning ‘summary.’ SUMMARY…not the Magna Carta! LOL!
 
In the U.S. we do not use the two accents aigu above the ‘e.’ Okay, so much for THAT definition. Now, the reality in the workplace. A great resume is a hiring proposal intended to market you in such a way that the company sees you as too valuable not to hire; too valuable to be with a competitor; too valuable to lose once hired! Does your current resume quickly convey THAT message?
 
Everyone would like to get “more than they paid for.” Your portable skills, achievements, and successes can go a long way in proving that and providing the hiring decision-maker (DM) an R-O-I (return-on-investment). The better the R-O-I appears; the more value is created to gain that interview and the subsequent Job Offer. DMs WANT AN R-O-I ON VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING! - BUT SO SHOULD YOU!

To break the train-of-thought for a second, is this resume about you, or the DM? Most people will say “…it’s about me.” Well, since most resumes are nothing more than chronological obituaries, that’s probably true. No offense. How many of these have you had to write in a lifetime? A handful? How could you do anything a handful of times over the years and expect greatness? I guess that is why certified, professional writers like me do what we do. Also, the eyes of another can see things that you often cannot – “too close to the forest to see the trees?” A GREAT RESUME MUST BE A MARKETING MASTERPIECE THAT CLEARLY STATES HOW YOU HAVE, OR WILL, PROVIDE MORE VALUE THAN THE COMPETITION AND PROVIDE A NICE RETURN-ON-INVESTMENT. THEY ARE WRITTEN FOR, AND ABOUT THE DM AND HIS/HER ISSUES AND CHALLENGES THAT MUST BE SOLVED!!

DMs spend 3 to 7 seconds skimming a resume.

In that time (s)he MUST quickly recognize (a) your ‘market brand,’ e.g. “Creative, Proven, Information Technology Professional,” (b) hard skills (CAD/CAM Expertise) AND soft skills (Effective, Creative Communication) that are portable to the position being considered, and (c) achievements and successes that are also portable; things they would like to happen here! You now have the reader for longer than 7 seconds thus greatly improving your chances of that first page actually being read. Bonus! If the following page(s) provide(s) more, brief, performance ‘storytelling,’ one might actually read it all – “Please call this person for an interview!”
 
As a trusted colleague recently wrote, you must be perceived as indispensable…not necessarily irreplaceable. INDISPENSABLE! “How could we make it without this person?” “We could reach our goals more quickly and efficiently with THIS person onboard!”
 
Lastly, be respectful and ‘likable!’ It is always much easier to hire someone that you like (to whatever degree) than someone you dislike, or couldn’t form an opinion one way, or the other.
 
It all starts with that ‘marketing masterpiece’ of a resume and continues with you branding yourself and truly seeing yourself as indispensable! Confidence and pride show without a word. As a former VP/GM, “I like that!”