Your dream job just posted. It is open only for a week. Are you ready to send in your resume? Whether it is applying for an internal or external job, the resumes which worked in the past, will no longer do the work for you.
World has changed:Â The world has changed. So have resumes. In a world with increasingly shorter attention spans, your resume needs to grab attention fast. Having the right headline, keywords, a concise summary are just some of the new must-haves. Get rid of all those confusing words which mean nothing. A crisp 3 sentence summary is more effective than a winding paragraph filled with lots of jargon.
Links to your Social Media Presence: Lets face it – the first thing that most of us do when we meet someone or hear of them, is do a quick search on social media. You definitely need to be out there. Don’t worry, if you are not very active. Do however make sure that your social presence is appropriate. You don’t want to be active in the job market, and have those images of you partying at the latest club be out there for public viewing. Rest assured, the hiring folks have definitely seen those pictures. Always better to avoid any biases.
Define yourself upfront: The resume is not the story of your life. You need to define yourself clearly in the headlines and summary. The recruiter needs to get it that you are a great match for the dream job. What are the advantages you bring to this position? What would the company miss if they did not hire you? Highlight your key achievements with facts and figures. At senior executive levels, I recommend graphs which showcase your business results.
Be Authentic: This point cannot be stressed enough. Stay away from fluffy sales talk. Ensure that all the data in your resume is absolutely correct. So, you had a gap between jobs, no problem. In today’s world, gaps between jobs is not a deal breaker. Just don’t try to embellish the facts. There is nothing worse than finding out that a person has lied or tried to cover up. You would not want to hire such a person, so why become that person?
Need More Help
If you are struggling to write your own resume, entering the job search market after a long while, or just not seeing results from your resume, then don’t hesitate to connect with me. I’m passionate about helping career professionals who may not have the time right now to craft their winning resume.