can your resume avoid black hole ?
TRANSCRIPT
Marketing Document
Promote YOU !
Intrigue — Capture reader above the fold (top 1/3 of 1st page)
Sell it ! Don’t tell it.
— modesty’s not effective approach
Focus — Showcaseachievements &skills specific to position sought
Don’t Lie !
Ronald ZarrellaBausch & Lomb CEODidn’t earn MBAFORFEITED $1.1M BONUS
Scott Thompson
Yahoo! CEODidn’t earn
BS-Computer Science
BOARD FORCED OUT
Long Line of Applicants
Competition’s Fierce
Showcase your personal brand, achievements and value
Remain compelling, concise and focused
List RESULTS not responsibilities
Use keywords & buzzwords
Start with Blank Slate
Type Career Achievements
CAR Stories — Challenge, Action, Result Quantify — $, %, #
Use in highlights & work experience sections
Stay on Course
Achievements / experience relevant to position sought
Not too little / too much information
Mall Corp. needs a technical writer. Courtney’s a software developer. Should she apply?
TARGET your job search
Tenicia sums up her objective and expertise
Seeking a search engine
optimization position in the
banking industry where I
can utilize my SEO skills
and 10 years’ experience
to increase Website traffic
and search engine
placement.
Professionally committed
and responsible. Meet
challenges head on.
Word
y&
Vague
Title + ProfileSEO Strategist / Director
10+ years’ success in
banking SEO and online
marketing. Routinely
ranked in Top 5 for
competitive key words in
Google, Bing and Yahoo.
Increased online customer
engagement and qualified
Website traffic 40-200%
for several firms.
Achievements Front and
Center
Umar’s a Senior Lending Officer• Credit Portfolio
• Asset Restructuring
• Risk Assessment /
Underwriting
• Regulatory
Compliance
• Lender Liability
Minimization
• Financial Analysis
Leadership Achievments
Acquisitions : Led team to develop RFP – >$100M Enterprise Pre-D Recording Service to National Reconnaissance Office as SETA at SAIC. Contract Management : Slashed budget from $150M to $105M by improving staffing and technology efficiencies for EPRS as Lead SETA for SDDS programs at General Dynamics.
Or CAR Statement
Challenge : Resolve operational performance—high costs and productivity bottlenecks in travel division. Action : Streamlined processes, realigned key personnel, and re-engineered banking functions by establishing relationship with high-tech bank.
Result : Improved customer service while slashing invoicing and collection costs—from 10% to <5% and $5M. Volume grew to $30M, reducing ratio even further.
Responsible for restaurant staffing needs and recruitment.
Responsible for food concessions —sales and payment system.
Career Experience
Director of Human Resourcesand Operations
Boooring
Highlight Results !
Secured a group of motivated general employees who were paid 15% less by law.
Cut additional labor costs from 28% to 20%, significantly increasing net profits to investors.
Increased concession sales 22% to $2.5M by re-engineering food service stations and fast response payment system.
Add a Testimonial
Pull from performance evaluations or recommendation letters
Philippe Martine, MDCharleston VA Hospital
Ben showed initiative as our head nurse. He
redesigned our walk-through and time-keeping systems, saving both manhour and
billing costs.
What’s Wrong ? Directly under Heading
EDUCATIONMA – Clinical Psychology, Case University, St. Louis, MO 1994- Successfully managed the demands of working full time while
carrying a full time graduate school course load. - Senior thesis project : Organizational behavior—How can Barnes & Noble and Amazon co-exist?
- Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
BA – Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee 1990- Developed Telemedicine System as member of Florida Neurological Institute team- Noles Daily Photography, Editor- Member women’s tennis team
Education Not Top Appeal
MA – Clinical Psychology, Case University, St. Louis, MO 1994- Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
BA – Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee 1990
Alyssa’s Worked 18 Years
Degrees no longer top selling point. Move to the end —unless required in job listing.
And Here? CAREERSoftware Development Lead 1986-1990Raytheon Seattle, WA
Software Developer 1984-1986Microsoft Seattle, WA
Computer Programmer 1980-1984IBM Seattle, WA
Administrative Assistant 1977-1980Gulf Oil Fairbanks, AK
EDUCATIONBS – Computer Science Duke University, Chapel Hill, NC 1976
Ageism Exists
Show only 10-15 years’ work experience
List prior experience without dates or responsibility bullets
No dates for college
Plus 1st job not relevant to career path
Is This Relevant ?
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Salvation ArmyServe as mentor for the Team in Training program, which recruits persons to raise funds while preparing as a group for marathon. Led 15 persons to instruct and assist with meeting their fundraising goals.
Wharton Civic AssociationFundraising Committee – Preparing events for tree planting and playground projects. Held dinner with silent auction and 50-50 raffle.
PERSONAL
Married with 3 children. Enjoy hiking and reading.
Don’t Waste Space
Showcase your career qualifications
Certifications, technical skills, professional memberships, awards & publications
All illegal — social affiliations, age, marital / family status, nationality, disabilities & medical conditions
Avoid Gaps
Out of work for a while?
List courses, volunteer, related temp jobs
Back to school?
Place at top or within work history
Page 2 not always read
HONESTY is BEST
State why
Laid off or let go?
Contract not renewedCompany relocated to
NY
Left the workforce?
Assisted terminal parent
Raised child for 3 years
Ample white space
Modern fonts Arial, Helvetica, Calibri
Traditional fonts Times, Century, Palatino Font size 11 / 12 points
Usual techniques Bold, italics, ALL CAPITALS
Bullets
Simple lines
Minimal use
Format Strategies
Electronic Resume
Title & key words in job posting
.txt file extension, unformatted ASCII
Sans serif font
Left justify all
text
Use symbols to replace bullets or create lines — — —
Strip Formatting
- bold, italics, underline - bullets - tabs - tables - text boxes - page breaks - page numbers
E-mailing Resume
Follow ad’s instructions
Word preferred over pdf (if not .txt)
Name
“FullName_Resume.docx” Helps recruiter file & find it Subject line, your
name & ad’s position
Body, paste
resume Attach resume &
cover letter