Everyone knows that our economy is in shambles. Jobs are scarce
and everyone is worried about money. As a college student it can be even
scarier because not only do you face all the same challenges as everyone else,
but you also have to deal with not having any real world experience which can
really be a major pain in the ass when it comes down to figuring out how to
write a resume.
After years of studying the hiring process and
learning how to become successful with interviewing and landing jobs
consistently, I've discovered that the first step in getting hired ultimately
comes down to being able to GET THE INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST PLACE. And this can
be done by learning how to write a resume.
But not just any resume... A resume that will
AUTOMATICALLY attract employers and hiring managers and literally force them to
want to interview you.
So what can you do to start learning how to
write a resume?
Here are my 5 "Hidden Secrets" on
how to write a resume:
1) Learn How Hiring Managers Think - How will
you persuade employers to interview you? How can you make yourself look good
enough on paper so that hiring managers will be convinced that you are worthy
enough to bring in for a job interview? That is probably the most challenging
assignment there is when it comes to creating a resume. Take Sun Tzu's advice
from The Art of War, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need
not fear the result of a hundred battles." Study hiring psychology. Study
the hiring process. Figure out what employers are REALLY looking for.
2) Write With Their Needs In Mind - If you
give employers what they want, they'll listen to you. What does every employer
want in your resume? That's hard to say, because every employer has a different
job that needs to be filled. Its your job to figure out what they want and
deliver on those needs in your resume. Hiring managers generally ask themselves
a few questions when they pick a resume to read. Here they are:
1. "Who cares?"
2. "So what?"
3. "What's in it for me?"
2. "So what?"
3. "What's in it for me?"
When you think about it, hiring managers are
looking over your resume for their reasons, not yours. They don't care what you
want. They care about what they want. Every employer, every hiring manager, is
the same. Can you provide the answers? If you cant, your employers-well, you
wont have any employers. Consider this step a part of your research phase in
how to write a resume. Its an essential step in how to write a resume that will
nail your future employer's eyes to the page.
That's what you want, isn't it?
3) Select The Format That Gets RESULTS - I get
this question a lot from my clients, "How should I format my resume?"
And do you know what I tell them? Use whatever format that does the job and
gets you the interview. Period.
Now it turns out, there have been some formats
that have been statistically proven to drive the best results and some formats
that have been proven to drive the worst results. Based on my research, I'd
recommend using the accomplishment based resume format and I would never EVER
use the skills based (or functional) resume format.
4) Learn How To "Word-Smith" Your
Accomplishments - This is where most of us "non-writers" get stuck in
the resume writing process. "How do can I make my responsibilities sound
really good?" The answer: Learn how to write a resume with hypnotic text.
Learn how to build desire. Emotion. Learn how to let your words paint a picture
and tell the story of your previous successes. Reel them in with benefits and
curiosity. And give them reasons or logic for why they should interview you.
Think about the hiring manager's emotional concerns, and talk to them in a way
they cant ignore. If you do, you'll create a resume that is both persuasive and
hypnotic. For example:
Before
"Typed, performed data entry, answered
phones, receptionist duties"
After
"Performed data entry for 16 regional
hearing officers as member of eight person office team. Assisted with email
responses, distribution, report generation, and payroll input. Helped purge
backlog of 1,000 obsolete files."
Are you beginning to see why its important to
learn how to MARKET yourself to employers?
5) Learn Resume Design Principles - Did you
know studies of resume screeners have shown that "pretty" resumes are
more likely to get into the interview pile than an "average" looking
resume? Its true. This fact has been proven countless times. Having a resume
design that is both simple and professional is crucial if you want to be able
to stand out among the masses. The key is to make your resume look inviting and
easy to read. You have to ask yourself, "If I were forced to read through
thousands of resumes as my job, which ones would I naturally be biased towards
before ever reading a single word?"
Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and wide
margins. If you pick up a resume and it's a solid block of text, would you want
to read it? Probably not. It's not inviting. It looks like work. Instead make
your resume attractive. How you lay out your resume is a key factor in how to
write a resume which can make people like it before they even read it.
As you can imagine, how you use those secrets
is up to you. Go through your resume-go through the entire document-with these
pointers in mind. Look for places to rewrite, reformat, or in any other way
grab and hold your reader's attention. And as you absorb this information,
you'll see that a resume is not merely a piece of paper used to convey your
work experience. Its actually a marketing tool used to PROMOTE you as someone
worthy of a job interview.
See the difference?
So in the comments below, let me know which
one of these 5 secrets interests you the most...If I get a lot of good
feedback, I might just post more detailed tips on "How To Write A Resume".
Trust me, there's a lot more funk where this came from!
