You are the marketing expert already in your job. Now deploy those skills in your resume and job search. Treat yourself as a business and a brand, and your resume as the most important piece of collateral you have ever worked on.
100, 200, 15 What do these numbers mean? Why should I care?
100: Average resumes per day a recruiter will review 200: Typical applications per week for each job posted 15: The number of seconds a recruiter will devote to scanning your resume before deciding if your candidacy merits more time.
Even if you are a king or queen of networking and social media, if you want a new opportunity you still need to put forward a resume early in the job application process. You will undoubtedly have competition for the job, and your resume will be compared to others.
My point? Invest time in your resume and treat it as a critical tool in the job hunting and interview process. And don't forget to use the same care and attention crafting your LinkedIn resume. Recruiters now rely heavily on LinkedIn to find candidates.
Here are 6 tips to help your resume rise to the top 1. Content & visuals are equally important Visual formatting leads the reader through your resume, and helps the hiring manager easily find the value statements and information they are looking for to qualify your skills and experience.
- Use bullet points - NOT paragraphs.
- Judicious use of bolding, italics, and underlines can help the resume flow and make it easier to read.
- Font usage is important. Using a variety of fonts in one document can be distracting.
- Avoid complex document layouts that may not be preserved when your resume is saved in various electronic systems.
2. ABC Company -Ever heard of them? Neither have I. The person reviewing your resume may not know much about your current and previous employers. Under each company name, include a brief description that includes industry type, size, and whether the company is local, regional, global, etc.
3. Avoid the one-size- fits-all mentality The resume does not get you the job -it gets your foot in the door to interview for the job. Tweak your resume for each job you are seeking, or company you are soliciting. Position each resume to solve the problem that the employer or company has. Less is more -focus on relevant information for each position, and avoid listing everything you have ever done.
Use the old newspaper ideology of "above the fold" and fold your resume in half from top to bottom, is there anything above the fold that encourages viewers to continue reading? The same principle applies when your resume is viewed electronically. The top portion should give your reader a reason to scroll down and continue learning about you.
4. Credibility and Results Senior level managers and executives are expected to be results oriented. What kind of message are you sending if there are no results in your resume?
Demonstrate your career progression and summarize your results at each past job. What will be your next employer's return on investment for hiring you? Include hard numbers and results of campaigns and projects that you have managed. Consider each entry as a "micro-case study" for yourself. These will set you apart from other candidates by showing a track record and demonstrating credibility -not just competencies.
5. Format and Length One page or two pages? Two-page resumes are absolutely acceptable at a senior management and/or executive level. More than two pages is generally frowned upon by recruiters and hiring managers.
While the most common format is the chronological resume, you may also consider a functional resume. This is a trend for many senior level professionals who performed very similar activities throughout their past jobs who want to avoid repeating those activities in a chronological job listing.
6. Use Keywords Just as you use keywords to optimize marketing content for the web, use them in your resume to make it more likely to pop up in recruiters' searches online and especially on LinkedIn.
Consider the kind of job you want, and what search terms a recruiter might use when seeking candidates for that job. As you wordsmith your resume, include those likely keywords whenever possible.
Here are just a few of the “hot jobs” Clearpoint is working on this week. Please apply for anything that is a fit for your skills and experience, and as always please feel free to share with your networks.
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