Recently I’ve reviewed, corrected, and rewrote several resumes for clients and friends. I’ve seen several styles and formats. Some are better than others for certain positions and fields. A lot depends on the perspective of the person hiring, something I’m learning many people are neglecting to consider when writing their resumes and letters of intent (or cover letter). There are many experts and books out there to discuss the do’s and don’ts of resume writing, but let me share with you some ideas from the perspective of the person hiring!! I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes and letters in my career and only the great ones were called in for an initial interview. Now with the economy being down and so many people unemployed, imagine the number of resumes hiring managers receive today? So what makes your resume stand out in the stack? Below are some tips to consider when writing or reviewing your resume and letter of intent.
WIIFM: This stands for “What’s in it for me?” This is a good approach to consider no matter what you are writing. Strongly consider your audience! If the job calls for a quality expert, then discuss how you helped your department or company become ISO 9000 certified, or that you were instrumental in helping your department pass an external audit. Simply to outline your skills without giving any thought to what your potential employer may want is a waste of your time. A resume should be standard and rarely tampered with for each position. But in the letter of intent you have the opportunity to really spell this out. It’s what they read first and helps them to consider if they want to continue to the next page, the resume.
Parallel Duties and Skills: To follow up with the suggestion above, the best way to explain “what’s in it” for the employer is to parallel their needs with your skills. I once applied for a job at a travel company simply because I loved their philosophy and using their services. In my letter of intent I outlined how I recognized quality was key in their organization, how it was in my current organization, and how I would bring that same philosophy to them. I got a call from HR the very next day! Good writing will bring you the attention you want. (But not always the money, thus I didn’t take the job :D )
Bullets Please: An easy way to carry out the second point is through bullets. Highlight their needs, and then follow it up with your skill. Bullets are also nice because (again thinking about the reader who has a stack of resumes to review) they allow the reader to quickly view aspects that are important to them.
Results Always Win: This is easy if you’re in Sales or any other field dealing with numbers. A little more challenging if not, but never impossible. Consider the hiring process the same as the buying process. In the buying process, their are five benefits that will entice one to buy: save money, make money, save time, enhance image, and survival in the market place. I’m currently working with a client who is the PR field. Providing numbers in her documentation is challenging, but not her results. She was instrumental in creating life saving communication in a previous job. This tremendously helped the image of her previous employer. So I instructed her to put in bold a specific sentence in her paragraph that would capture the attention of any hiring employer.
Be Creative: This can be tricky because it can easily slid into “cheesy”, so do so with caution. Not everyone young woman who decides to put her resume on pink paper and spray perfume on it will have the same results the character Elle Woods did in the movie “Legally Blonde”. One French computer programer applied for a job creating a cartoon resume and put it on YouTube. It was done extremely well and he did land a job at a well know software company. If you are not normally a creative person, please don’t do this on your own. Get expert advise. But try to stand out.
