Any job hunter will tell you that their resume needs updating. I’m no different. I don’t think I’ve ever been happy with it. One issue I have with my resume is that it doesn’t seem to represent who I am. It doesn’t sound like me or have my personality and it often ends up looking like a job description. I am more than a list of job responsibilities.
Since I’m on the job hunt again I’ve been looking through Wayne Breitbarth‘s insightful book, “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success.” Be sure you check out his book. I’ve also gone through some notes I took when I saw Joe Konop of One Great Resume last year. If you’re looking for someone who knows how to present yourself in the best light, contact Joe.
Here are a three resume tips you need to use to show off your true self.
1) You need to market yourself. Joe’s had a 20 year career in marketing, so when he mentioned that you need to market yourself like a product, it made a lot of sense to me, being a marketer myself. You need to show why you are the best product (person) on the market. You need to show what you’ve done before, but more importantly, what you can do for a new employer. The potential employer needs to feel like they’re making a great decision to bring you on board. You need to quickly and accurately tell people who you are, what you’ve done, and what you can do for them. Think of preparing a tagline. What would your tagline be?
2) Showcase your strengths. Tell the story and give context around what you are really good at. Don’t downplay or diminish your talents. Joe explained that if you say, “I wrote the newsletter” that doesn’t convey as much information as “I wrote a weekly newsletter that was 14-15 pages of original content that talked about new initiatives, company news, and new products, which was distributed to 20,000 people.” See how different those two descriptions are? Think of yourself in broader terms. What is the full scope of your strengths? Because you perform a job so often, you often forget how interesting, complex, and important the work you do is. What was the impact and reach of your work?
3) Talk about what makes you unique. Joe talked about a client who said they were fluent in Chinese but they didn’t list it anywhere on their resume. That’s a unique selling proposition. Flaunt it, use it to tell the world that you are unique!
What seems odd or different to you could be exactly what somebody else thinks is special. It reminded me of a time when I submitted a job application and filled out the “Hobbies” section by writing that I liked “collecting Beatles records, and watching the Simpsons.” When I went in for an interview the manager said, “Right off the bat, I have to say you scored points with me because I love watching the Simpsons too.” You never know what will make you stand out from the crowd.
These three resume tips have made me see myself differently. I need to make sure my resume matches who I am, what I’ve done at my previous jobs, and what I can do for other organizations. If I can do that, I’ll be able to market myself more effectively.
Constantly keep track of your work. Write down what you did, why you did it, and what impact it had. It’s so much easier to go through your notes than it is to try and remember what you did when you need to look for that new job. Facts become fuzzy and you may forget important details. Keep working on that resume, even if you’re happy with your current job. It might just be the factor in getting a raise or a promotion. As long as we keep working a resume is never done.
Do these tips make you think differently about yourself? How do you present your true self?
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