The biggest concern with the majority of my clients is the ability to market themselves. The competition is tough right now and hiring managers are swamped with qualified candidates. In order to be considered as a worthy applicant, you need to understand how to stand out.
Be clear, concise, and dig deep. Although hiring managers need to understand your past job responsibilities they are even more interested in your accomplishments. How did you save the company money? Streamline processes? What value do you offer? What sets you apart from other candidates? If you’re not clear, you can’t expect a company to be clear either.
Don’t hide your value. Your accomplishments should be front and center on your resume and cover letter. Don’t bury it beneath verbiage that isn’t as strong. Hiring managers typically don’t have time to read a resume in its entirety, so be strategic where you place information on your document.
Make sure the jobs you are applying to are the right fit. If you read the requirements and only fit two of them. Please, save everyone’s time and move on. You should meet 98% of the job requirements in a posting. This is where some job seekers struggle if they are making a career change. If that’s you, then hire a professional that specializes in those types of resumes.
Choose carefully. I often work with clients that want to add every single piece of information for the last twenty years. You can’t. No one will read a three or four-page resume. The standard is two pages for most situations unless you’re an executive or recent graduate. Also, twelve years of work history is appropriate and discourages age discrimination.
Weighing Out Your Information. Again, you can’t include all your awesomeness in the document. If you do, hiring managers will have no reason to contact you for an interview. Dangle the carrot with some of your accomplishments and leave some for the interview. How do you choose? Review the job announcements and see what the company is looking for.
One of the most difficult things is writing your own resume. If I were searching for a job, I’d have someone else write mine, and I’m a professional. Often, we are on autopilot and can’t see what value we offer. A professional resume writer is trained to ask questions that will assess your skills and value, and strategically present it in a well-designed and formatted marketing document. It’s worth the investment and your peace of mind.
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