Are you actively communicating who you are on your business website? Do your potential clients get a good sense of your background, your values, your commitment to service excellence or your friendliness and sense of humor? Are articles about you engaging and illuminating or vague and sales-focused? Does your résumé articulate what an asset you are or portray you as just another replaceable cog?
When I graduated with my undergraduate degree, it was the best of times and the worst of times. In California, we were experiencing rolling blackouts in the midst of the Enron Scandal. Businesses were nervous and reluctant to hire. Meanwhile in Nevada, Las Vegas was experiencing a ridiculous housing boom while the boundaries of its city continued to stretch west to Red Rock. Interstate 15 might as well have been paved with gold. I got on down the road to Sin City and found myself interviewing for a job in radio sales. Though the only thing I’d ever sold in life were Girl Scout cookies, I was determined to get the job.
The manager asked, “We don’t require prior sales experience but I still need to know why you think we should take a chance on you.”
I said, “No matter who you are in life, you’re always selling yourself. The way you look, dress and speak, your ideas, your feelings, everything is a sale. I’m selling myself to you right now.”
She replied, “You’re right about that.”
Then I added, “Look. I’ve got 25 cents in my purse and about two dollars in my bank account right now. I’m highly motivated.”
I got hired and began working the very next day.
In that moment, I realized how important it is in business to make a personal and sometimes vulnerable connection. Therefore, when I write bios and articles for my clients, I ask them to tell me their story and give me as much detail as possible. They may not think the minutiae of their life journeys are important (or that revealing things like failure or heartache are good) but that’s only because they are living it and familiarity (and/or supposed shame) can be blinding. But for anyone and everyone else, it’s these little tidbits of experience that really humanize a person and cultivates the desire to form a meaningful relationship with him or her.
When I write and revise résumés for my clients, I practice the same storytelling approach. Any old résumé can recount the duties and responsibilities of a job. It’s that special résumé, however, that articulates how a person’s performance of those duties proved to be an invaluable asset to their company. Therefore, I make sure to communicate the personal success of a client. Often my clients don’t even realize just how many valuable contributions they’ve made throughout their careers until we discuss their professional history together.
In all of these things, never discount telling the story of you. It could mean all the difference in your career success.
Ladies, Are You Letting Your Resume Roar?
Tips and TricksOver the past decade, I’ve written scores of resumes for folks ranging from recent college graduates to IT wizards to top brass military agents to multinational venture capitalists to fashion designers to nonprofit directors…. I could go on.
No matter the industry, years of experience, home location, political background or educational history in question, I’ve noticed one major difference between most male and female jobseekers. While men (male identifying) have no problem listing every single personal business win, I’ve had to drag awards, honors and achievements out of women (female identifying).
I understand why. Just about every woman I’ve ever known with drive and focus simply devote their attention to achieving a goal and get it accomplished. They don’t take the time to consider the impact and implications of that database they reorganized or the new service delivery process they developed. They just know it needed to be done and led the charge in doing just that.
No matter your gender, this LACK of popping your proverbial collars AKA praising yourself for a job wealth done MUST STOP.
Don’t be shy about following up on the outcomes of your hard work, especially if your organization is tracking metrics and performance on a regular basis. If you have improved a system or process, instituted a new policy that saved your organization time or money, trained half of the staff on the job or done anything else to make a positive difference, put it on your resume with pride. Please stop selling yourselves short—especially when you have done and are willing to do what others have and did not.
You rock.
If you need help with explaining how hard you rock, contact me.
How to Properly Share an Accomplishment on Your Resume
Tips and TricksWhen citing your achievements, you want to LEAD WITH THE RESULTS. Why? Hiring managers are busy people and don’t have time to read each resume that comes across their desk as if it is a juicy romance novel. They mostly skim to look for the meat that matters to them, and if they can’t find it quickly enough then they look elsewhere –like at another candidate.
BAD EXAMPLE: Reorganized departmental processes, updated process technology, and retrained team to produce a 50% increase in productivity and an 80% boost in customer satisfaction.
GOOD EXAMPLE: Generated a 50% increase in productivity and an 80% boost in customer satisfaction through departmental reorganization, technological updates, and team development.
A hiring manager’s first question is, “What in tarnation makes you so special?” So, give them the goods first. (I made an additional $10K for this company, Homes.) Then they want to know how you did it. (Because I worked my tail off out this piece.) Therefore, tout the results first and then explain the work behind it.
For more resume tips, or to have your resume turned from good to golden, contact me.
Just how well are you telling your professional story?
ResumeAre you actively communicating who you are on your business website? Do your potential clients get a good sense of your background, your values, your commitment to service excellence or your friendliness and sense of humor? Are articles about you engaging and illuminating or vague and sales-focused? Does your résumé articulate what an asset you are or portray you as just another replaceable cog?
When I graduated with my undergraduate degree, it was the best of times and the worst of times. In California, we were experiencing rolling blackouts in the midst of the Enron Scandal. Businesses were nervous and reluctant to hire. Meanwhile in Nevada, Las Vegas was experiencing a ridiculous housing boom while the boundaries of its city continued to stretch west to Red Rock. Interstate 15 might as well have been paved with gold. I got on down the road to Sin City and found myself interviewing for a job in radio sales. Though the only thing I’d ever sold in life were Girl Scout cookies, I was determined to get the job.
The manager asked, “We don’t require prior sales experience but I still need to know why you think we should take a chance on you.”
I said, “No matter who you are in life, you’re always selling yourself. The way you look, dress and speak, your ideas, your feelings, everything is a sale. I’m selling myself to you right now.”
She replied, “You’re right about that.”
Then I added, “Look. I’ve got 25 cents in my purse and about two dollars in my bank account right now. I’m highly motivated.”
I got hired and began working the very next day.
In that moment, I realized how important it is in business to make a personal and sometimes vulnerable connection. Therefore, when I write bios and articles for my clients, I ask them to tell me their story and give me as much detail as possible. They may not think the minutiae of their life journeys are important (or that revealing things like failure or heartache are good) but that’s only because they are living it and familiarity (and/or supposed shame) can be blinding. But for anyone and everyone else, it’s these little tidbits of experience that really humanize a person and cultivates the desire to form a meaningful relationship with him or her.
When I write and revise résumés for my clients, I practice the same storytelling approach. Any old résumé can recount the duties and responsibilities of a job. It’s that special résumé, however, that articulates how a person’s performance of those duties proved to be an invaluable asset to their company. Therefore, I make sure to communicate the personal success of a client. Often my clients don’t even realize just how many valuable contributions they’ve made throughout their careers until we discuss their professional history together.
In all of these things, never discount telling the story of you. It could mean all the difference in your career success.
How to Avoid 5 Common Grammar Goofs
Tips and TricksCertain homonyms and expressions are often the bane of good writing. Mixing up the spelling of words that sound alike can be costly when finalizing an important writing project. To make sense of English’s most common mix-ups and to save on time and money, remember the following.
Don’t Just Share How You Work. Share How You Shine!
Tips and TricksNo matter your industry or management level, competition for the position you want is out there—particularly if the job offers great benefits. Therefore, it’s not enough to share a resume that states you know how to do the job. Instead, it is critical to use this two-page opportunity to broadcast how your unique knowledge and expertise is indispensable to the organization’s mission.
Remember, your resume is your chance to sell yourself sight unseen to somebody strange. They want to know what you can deliver for them. Think of it this way, if you are a movie, then your resume is the exciting trailer that entices hiring managers to tune into you.
Don’t just talk about your daily rigamarole. Tell them how your kickass unique contributions have saved your previous employers money, or increased customer sales, or boosted operational efficiency. They want to know how you improve the machine—not just whether or not you can operate it.
For more resume tips, or to help with finding the words to tout your awesomeness, contact me.
Why You Should Keeping a Running Record of Your Activities Outside of Work
Tips and TricksI’m often guilty of not documenting the stuff I do outside of writing and editing stuff for clients. Lately, I’ve had to remind myself of getting in the habit of keeping a list of the other stuff I do because it matters. It’s important to tout any involvement in civic leadership, creative pursuits that can be leveraged to assist a client, personal contributions to building and sustaining one’s community.
For example, I most recently volunteered with a local interest group to educate voters on the cityhood movement in West Cobb County. I NEED TO PUT THIS ON MY RESUME. And if you’ve been up to similar good deeds, you should too.
Be sure to document the volunteer activities you do. They speak volumes about your character and your ability to work in a variety of settings with diverse groups on myriad interests. Most of all, your extracurricular leadership activities say that you’re much more than just a cog in a machine; you take initiative to shape and benefit the world around you.
For more resume tips, or to see what is and isn’t working with your resume, contact me.
Should You List Your College Experience if You Didn’t Earn a Degree? Yes!
Tips and TricksSome of the most creative, innovative and outstanding talents I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing for did not receive their college degree though they did attend (or are currently attending) college. Despite their many career accomplishments, they often regard their lack of a degree as a fault and therefore omit the education section from their resume altogether.
However, it is perfectly okay to list whatever education was attained. If you attended college or professional development classes at all, give yourself credit for the time you spent there and the knowledge you gained. There is absolutely no shame in that—particularly if you were successful in applying that knowledge and have the capacity to demonstrate to hiring managers that your experience trumps a fancy piece of paper. What you are able to do with whatever tools you possess is every bit as valuable.
For example, if you pursued a degree in Criminal Justice but did not get it, please put “Criminal Justice Studies” on your resume and list the school you attended.
If you’re continuing your degree and you have not yet finished, put your anticipated graduation date (for example: Master of Business Administration, Anticipated 2023) and claim that victory on your resume too!
For more resume tips, or to get your resume rewritten to perfection, contact me.
Why Not to Share Your Complete Home Address on a Resume
Tips and TricksWhen listing your contact information at the top of your resume, there is no need to list your entire home address. In fact, it is best not to. Many companies tend to discriminate based on your proximity to their location. The reasons range from not wanting to hire out-of-state applicants to believing that an applicant may not be able to commute in a timely fashion. It’s wrong but it happens.
To overcome this potential screen-out factor, simply list the metropolitan area in which you live. If you are an out-of-state applicant looking to relocate, list your destination metropolitan area. For example, if you live in a suburb of Atlanta or if you wish to relocate to metro Atlanta, simply list Atlanta, GA. If you are able to do the job and get there on time, it’s none of their business what your actual zip code is until it is time to cut you a check.
For more resume tips, or to have your resume polished for professional success, contact me.