Resumes are the basis of a job hunt.
This is the second part of the article series on the Millennial job hunt. Go to Page 1.
Every recruiter or hiring manager will need a snapshot of your career to decide if you warrant an interview or an automatic email stating, “We appreciate your interest in Company XYZ but…”.
Well, you know how it ends.
With this in mind, I dusted off the USB flash drive and sat down at a local coffee shop to update my resume.
Here are 3 changes I made to make my resume stand out.
1. Pitch perfect
In recruiting I see lots of resume’s that start out with an objective that consistently mentions the same phrase: “To obtain a position that will utilize my skills…”
This statement does nothing for your personal branding and it does not give a recruiter any insight.
Instead, use this space as an opportunity to sell yourself and the value you bring to a company.
Think of it as the attention grabber or an elevator pitch.
It should tell who you are, what you do, what you are looking for and what value you bring.
Tip: Read your pitch out loud. How does it sound? How long is it (try <15 seconds)?
2. Word up
In my job search, I am actively applying for positions but, I’m also relying on passive job leads using resume data bases.
Recruiters and Hiring managers search resume databases using keywords. That means I have to think like a recruiter when creating my resume.
I started with Indeed and copied the job descriptions of my target positions and pasted them into Word Cloud. The words became my keywords.
I made a conscious effort to add these words and phrases into my resume to increase the likelihood of my resume being found.
3. Back that thang up
Looking over my resume I noticed it had a lot of fluff. Bullet point after bullet point of what I did but no proof, as in measurable results.
For example, a sales manager might change “Increased sales” to “Increased sales by 22% over the course of 1 year.”
I changed my positions to include a brief description of what I did, followed by 3-4 bullet points on my measurable impact on the position.
Not only does this prove your statement but leaves room for a hiring manager to ask follow-up questions like, “How did you increase sales?”
Final thoughts
- Every resume should be tailored for the position and company that is receiving it. Adjust your elevator pitch, keywords and data-proven successes to reflect the company and position. Resumes are never a one size fits all.
- Never depend on resume databases to reach a recruiter. I joined Twitter chats and Facebook groups that connect job seekers with recruiters to increase the likelihood of my resume being seen.
- Take opportunities to ‘sell’ yourself. Through my social engagements, I have guest-blogged and will be joining several podcasts and webinars to share my knowledge but also promote my job search.
Are you on the job hunt? What changes have you made to your resume? Tweet me @Josewats using #MillennialItch
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