The Undercover Recruiter

How to Take Your Resume from Bland to Bold

Following on from my last post about 30-second resume screenings, I am going to give some ideas about how you can use the first few lines of the profile section of your résumé to grab and hold the reader’s attention. Of course, there is no single perfect approach and almost every résumé can benefit from further ‘word smithing’.

These are examples based on real documents of some of my clients and are used with their permission. They have received positive feedback from recruiters and potential employers, and helped the job seeker to get noticed in a competitive market. Some details have been omitted or made generic for privacy reasons.

Example 1

Before

Able to work constructively across all levels and brings stakeholders together to embed sustainability practices and to create unique solutions within business structure and processes. Is focused on enabling organisations to reap the benefits of operating sustainability. Industry exposure includes a mix of professional associations (Australian organisation), global not for profit (NFP Organisation) and industry-specific NGOs focused on environmental sustainability.

After

Inserted this as a separate statement above the paragraph in the Before version:

A decisive and energetic leader with deep expertise in the creation of sustainability/CSRstrategies. Achieves traction, and has the grit to take these through to completion. Outcome driven and able to draw threads through complex environments in order to deliver change.

Example 2

Before

A highly experienced senior executive in the banking industry. A results driven innovator with a proven track record of process re-engineering, portfolio management and Basel II solutions. Well known within the Australian and overseas credit models and portfolio analytics community with access to a large network for establishing new departments and liaising with local and overseas banks and regulators. An individual that brings a unique combination of experience, strong technical skills and state of the art operational efficiency.

After

Inserted this instead of the first sentence in the Before version:

A pragmatic senior banking industry executive who creates and delivers efficient process without compromising quality and service standards.

Other changes – ‘well known’ was changed to ‘recognised authority’, which the client felt he could justify in an interview and through reference checks. We also changed ‘unique combination’ to ‘rare combination’ to avoid over-claiming.

When it’s working, don’t mess with it too much!

The last two examples could probably still use some tightening up, but they have been very successful in positioning these clients with their target audiences and have been effective in helping them to secure meetings and interviews.

Example 3

An accomplished business leader who has developed a strong reputation for program delivery and project portfolio management in a large complex organisation.

Over xx years within the financial services industry, with a successful track record in leading teams across many parts of Major Bank. He has delivered in senior line and project roles, in Australia, New Zealand and Other Asian Country. He has strong leadership skills in managing large teams and achieving business results.

Client Name holds relevant tertiary professional qualifications including Master Project Director and Advanced Diploma in Project Management.

Example 4

Leadership Qualities

Demonstrated leadership founded on earned respect and deeply embedded trust which inspires others to outperform expectations
Influences others and engenders personal commitment in areas such as strategic development and execution, and driving commercial outcomes
Can quickly address a wide range of issues simultaneously and remain focused and positive in difficult situations
Deep experience in senior leadership roles particularly in businesses with integrated value chains exposed to highly cyclical and structurally challenged conditions
A relentless drive for business profitability, with a strong financial and commercial background based on analytical rigour and a fundamental knowledge of business drivers, balancing customer and operational needs

It can be challenging to shift the profile like this but it is invariably well worth the time and effort. It usually does not take invention of completely new content. I usually find the key phrases we need somewhere in the rest of the profile, or hidden away in some achievement statements. A conversation with client often brings these to the surface as well.

Prove it!

Parting thought – many people feel a little uncomfortable with this at first. There is a natural desire not to seem like they are ‘big-noting’ themselves. None of us really likes to brag too much.

The test for this, which can give you the confidence to state your claim boldly, is simple:

Make sure that your value proposition is backed by substantial achievements in the first two pages of the resume
Make sure your claims will stand up to a thorough reference check.

photo by: Marina(im.back)

Gavin Lister

Gavin Lister is an executive career coach who guides senior leaders through transition. A former recruiter and manager, he is dedicated to helping clients articulate and communicate their "special edge" in a competitive marketplace.

Filed Under: Job Search, Resume Tagged With: CV, Personal Branding, Resume, Resumes

30 Second Screening: Will Your Résumé Survive?

Anecdotal evidence consistently suggests that many recruiters and hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds on the first reading. Will a Summary or Profile section help your résumé to cut through?

I hear many opinions both for and against the idea of including a Summary or Profile section at the beginning of a résumé. Some recruiters say they ignore them because they are usually fluffy motherhood statements that add no real substance to the document. In most cases I would agree with that, because the Summary is often a rather bland, generic section containing rather tired over-used résumé-speak.

On the other hand, if well written, the Summary (I personally prefer to call it a Profile) can be a powerful way to get the reader’s attention and differentiate yourself from other candidates. This should help to sustain a high “strike rate” surviving the usually brutally brief first screening.

There is plenty of good material around on what the Summary should include – hard skills, soft skills, range and depth of experience, industry background, key strengths and so forth. No argument with any of that but if you are not careful it can end up looking a bit generic, just like other people with a similar background. All this adds up to a “ho hum” reaction from your target reader and a real possibility that they will assume the rest of the résumé is of limited interest and only skim read it.

So what can you do to grab ‘em and hold ‘em?

The 2-line value proposition

Take a leaf out of the book of professional marketers and develop a crisp, differentiated brand statement that clearly articulates your value proposition in no more than two lines.

Think of well-known brands. Copywriters communicate the core message of the brand and its main attributes instantly. They know that on a billboard, in a magazine advert or on TV, they have only a few seconds – in some cases less than a second – to grab and hold your attention.

What if you took the same approach to the first two lines of your resume?

Take some time to think through what it is that really sets you apart. You may have more material to draw on than you think.

For example:

Review 360 degree feedback and performance reviews you have had and look for the positive commentary and strong results
Reflect on what your referees will say about your strengths and personality
What do you think you are known for (positively of course!) in your organisation and even within your industry?
Think through the evidence for how you have delivered value in your career; focus on the most recent 5 years
Try to articulate what motivates you deeply; what’s really important to you, professionally

Work on weaving this crucial information into a 2-line statement that clearly indicates how you will add value in a new role and organisation. Be prepared to draft, edit and re-write several times – it’s worth it.

Look out for another post in which I will try to show some examples of bland versus powerful 2-line value propositions.

photo by: The CV Inn

Gavin Lister

Filed Under: Job Search, Resume Tagged With: CV, Resume, Resumes

Creative Resumes – How Much Is Too Much?

Those of us who make our living in the field of recruiting have seen our share of resumes. During my tenure as a Sourcer, I would venture to say I viewed over a thousand resumes a month. Nearly all of these were standard print resumes posted on internet job boards and career sites.

Recently, I saw an article entitled 13 Insanely Cool Resumes That Landed Interviews at Google and Other Top Jobs. These included incredible works of innovation and graphic design, some of which were worthy of wall space in the Guggenheim. Resumes resembling movie posters, subway maps and Facebook pages, resumes that included tables of contents, info graphics and videos, even a resume embroidered on a piece of fabric were all featured in the article.

However, despite the originality and artistic splendor that these resumes displayed, another descriptor came to mind…overkill. I couldn’t help but wonder how these types of resumes were viewed by employers – as a display of true creative genius, or as a cry for attention from unemployed candidates with too much time on their hands.

There Are Always Exceptions

The fact that a candidate was able to secure an interview at Google with an over-the-top resume does not surprise me. Google is known for being unique in every respect, and it works for them. Any company whose employees descend slides and fire poles in the office instead of staircases has got to appreciate the outside-the-box thinking that such a resume demonstrates. But what about the rest of the world’s employers that don’t hold board meetings on beanbag chairs?

Here’s a creative resume example (you decide whether it’s too much or not!): How To Make a ‘Creative’ Resume on Prezi.

Sometimes Less Is More

An article printed in Brigham Young University’s school magazine tells of an MBA student who sent his resume to Johnson & Johnson, only to have it returned with the instructions that it “needed to be printed on white paper, mailed unstapled in an 8 ½ x 11 envelope, and could not have fancy printing or graphics, bold, underlines, italics, or small print.” This particularly concerned three BYU professors of Management Communication whose teachings included embellishing resumes with these items.

The professors decided to conduct a study of the prevalence among Fortune 500 companies of electronic resume management (ERM) systems – systems that manage resume data in a database that allows the data to be searchable. The issue at hand was whether these companies who received large volumes of resumes utilized scanners to input resumes into the ERMs, and if so, would their scanners be able to accurately read text from embellished resumes.

The results showed that 60 percent of the companies surveyed did not scan their resumes, instead choosing to input the data manually. Of the companies that did scan the resumes they received, 77 percent said their scanners would generally accept embellished typography. In the end, the three professors felt they could safely continue to counsel students to embellish their resumes.

Know Your Audience

Despite a company’s ability to input a resume’s contents into their database, the question remains whether or not employers look favorably upon lengthy, flashy or overly-creative resumes. In some industries such as graphic design or advertising, the resume may act as a living, breathing example of the candidate’s ability to do the type of work that the job entails.

What better way to prove you’re worthy of a job than with a resume that demonstrates your skill to the hiring manager before they even read a word? But for jobs that do not directly involve the skills used to create the resume, many employers will view the candidate as someone with misplaced priorities – someone who spends too much time amusing himself with creating a document instead of focusing on putting that document to work in order to achieve its intended result.

Always Have a Back-up Plan

The fact is that every job is different, as is every employer. If a candidate has the skill and originality to create a resume that will set him or her apart from the competition, and the creation of such a document is what the candidate truly enjoys doing, then why not put the skill to use in order to obtain employment? But the candidate should always remember to keep a plain, unembellished copy of his or her resume on hand as well for those employers who want nothing to do with creative, artistic resumes.

In the end, the eye-catching flash and flare on a candidate’s resume that gets him or her the job at one company is the exact same distraction that will route the resume straight into the hiring manager’s trash can at another company.

Image credit Buy Alex

John Feldmann

John Feldmann is a Sourcing Analyst for Insperity Recruiting Services in Houston, TX. He has more than six years of copywriting and editing experience in the advertising industry, and six years of recruiting and sourcing experience in such industries as real estate, construction, engineering, accounting and healthcare. He currently specializes in employment branding and advertising. Follow John on Twitter @John_Feldmann.

Filed Under: Job Search, Resume Tagged With: Resume, Resumes

How To Design an ‘Alternative’ CV on Prezi [Interesting Example]

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results” – Albert Einstein

I have always thought about doing something different, but that meant that I had to leave my comfort zone and that’s not always easy.

So I decided to leave my comfort zone and move to another country, learn a new language and experience a different culture. I soon realized that I would need a new approach for standing out in the crowd. And that became my goal to achieve.

I consider myself an out-of-the-box thinker, even though I spent a lot of time tailoring a standard CV, I felt that it was so impersonal, dull and simply not engaging. With the technological evolution of the Internet and the failing economy, I needed something more visual that would keep the employers reading and wanting to know more.

The CV is the best personal marketing tool, my goal was clear: make an `alternative´ CV, one that captures the reader’s attention and curiosity, then tell my story, who I am and where I come from.

Why did I choose Prezi?

It turned out that one of my friends who is in the presentation used the programme and told me about it. I manage quite well with PowerPoint but it does not convey exactly what I wanted, I was looking for originality, movement and innovation.

Prezi is super intuitive, and you don´t need to be an IT expert to figure out how you should use it. It has a friendly use. Also it has an excellent community support and forums where people share their tricks for using it effectively.

‘Creative’ CV for a non-creatives?

I have seen some “creative” CVs before, but it’s always by graphic designers. What about people looking for jobs outside that field? I’m a marketer and I believe this tool could be useful for me as well.

I’ve managed to create my CV as I used to do with a proper product or service. I made up my own marketing plan, answering questions such as; who I am, what I do, who is my target, and how do I plan to get their attention. It’s a combination of a good planning and execution. Let me add, selling oneself is not easy at all.

I relied on the questions of a typical job interview but adding more value. I didn’t desire to speak in the first person about how awesome I am, so I realized that maybe the best option was that anyone who knows me well, friends and former coworkers do that for me. They had to explain my selling points. I sent them an email telling what my idea was and added some questions, which they had to answer freely. I was very surprised with the comments even though some of them thought it was a little bit risky and crazy.

Will a Prezi CV help me stand out?

I’m not sure if this will work but, I am happy because I’m doing my best to get my dream job. I would be more disappointed if I didn’t.

Let me finish with a different quote: “A crazy idea doesn’t seem quite so crazy once it works!” -Disney Pixar

So, let’s see how this works!

About the author: María Ortiz Sánchez is an enthusiastic marketing professional looking for new challenges. Follow her on Twitter @mortizs.

Related reading: Why Your CV is Boring and Ineffective.

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Filed Under: Job Search, Resume Tagged With: CV, Resume, Resumes