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With employers
receiving hundreds of resumes you must make sure that your resume hooks
an employer's attention within a 5-second glance. A great way to do
this is to use job titles and skill headings that relate to and match
the jobs you want. For example, compare the headings Roger used in his
before resume to the headings used in his after resume.
Before Resume:
Accounting / Recordkeeping
Administrative
Computer Skills |
After Resume:
Management of A/R and A/P Accounts
Computerized Accounting Applications
Departmental Administration / Recordkeeping |
Which set of headings are the
strongest for an Accounts Payable / Receivable Manager position?Even though Roger's
title was Accounting Assistant, he actually managed over 1,000 A/R and
A/P accounts. Using skill headings that market the true nature of
Roger's job duties will generate him more interviews and higher salary
offers. For more examples, like this one and the ones discussed below,
click NEW - 180 resume branding and
writing tips!
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Tip
2 - Use Design That
Grabs Attention |
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Employers make snap
judgments when glancing at your resume. If they see unrelated job
titles or skills the likelihood is very high that they will make an
immediate assumption that you are not qualified for the job you want.
Adding to this problem is the fact that employers don't have the time
to read through each of your job descriptions to determine if you have
the skills they need.
You
Must Do That For Them! The
design of your resume must highlight the most important information
about your work experience, skills and education. At first glance this
information forms the image that employers have of your skills and
abilities.
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| Tip 3 - Create Content That Sells |
Resume design should get attention but it's really
the content of your resume, the descriptions you include of your skills
and abilities, that determine how many interviews you generate--as well
as the level of salary offers you receive. Compare the before and after
statements from Roger's resume shown below:
Before Resume:
Maintained records for
accounts receivable and accounts payable accounts. |
After Resume:
Managed over 1,000
accounts receivable and payable accounts working directly with the
Chief Financial Officer. |
Which of these examples
presents Roger as being more qualified, having higher skills and worth
a higher salary? As this example illustrates, our image of Roger is
changed and elevated when we read the after example. For more examples
of how to create powerful content click on 60 Free Online Resume
and Job Search Workshops. |
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Tip
4 - Quantify and Use
Power Words |
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As Roger's after
statement demonstrates, using numbers to describe your achievements and
responsibilities can greatly expand and elevate your image. Using
numbers and quantifying creates vivid images in our mind when we read
them, whereas general statements like the before examples are easy to
skip over or forget. Typically the more specific you can be in
describing your duties the better.
Another strategy that
is extremely important in controlling the image that employers develop
about you--is to use Power Words or verbs that match the level of
position you want. For example, Roger wants to use the experience he's
gained to move into a management position. To strengthen his image he
should use as many "management oriented" words as possible. Which
example below do you think is the strongest?
Typical Verbs:
Gave work assignments to
staff of entry level accounting clerks. |
Power Words:
Directed workflow,
supervised and trained accounting staff performing posting to general
ledger, accounts receivable and payable accounts. |
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Tip
5 - Analyze Ads and Job
Descriptions to Identify Key Words |
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Learning how to
analyze the key words that employers provide in help wanted ads and job
descriptions is a key element in creating powerful resumes. For
example, read the ad Roger found for an Accounts Receivable Manager
below and see how many key words, phrases, or skill descriptions that
it includes.
Accounts Receivable Manager
Seeking experienced A/R
Manager to oversee accounts, manage billing and collections, train
accounting and clerical staff, develop status reports for management
and prepare monthly balance sheets. B.A. Degree or A.A. Degree with
minimum of 2 years experience required. |
Even though this ad
is small it contains 12-13 key words or phrases that should be
addressed in Roger's resume. Roger can also key words from an ad like
this to create headings for his resume such as:
Key Word Skill Headings
Management of A/R
Accounts
Billing and Collections
Supervision of Accounting and Administrative Staff
Balance Sheet and Management Status Reports |
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Tip
6 - Identify and Solve
Employer's Hidden Needs |
| In addition to the skills or needs listed in the
ad shown above, the employer will have many more needs that Roger
should identify and address in his resume and cover letter. For
example, this employer will need someone who can deal effectively with
other departments, research accounting issues and records to solve
problems. To beat today's heavy competition for jobs, it's important
that you identify and anticipate the full range of needs each employer
faces and show how you can solve those needs. |
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Tip
7 - Sell the Benefits
of Your Skills |
Most resumes provide a list of duties that each
applicant has been responsible for--without explaining the benefit of
those skills to employers. For example, a secretary's resume might
state she can type 80 wpm and is extremely accurate. This statement
lacks an explanation of how her typing speed and accuracy benefit an
employer's bottom line. The real benefit is that the employee can
produce more work and ultimately save the employer money. A better
statement for this person's resume would be:
Selling The Benefits of
Skills
· Achieved top production volume by maintaining high
degree of accuracy with typing speed at 80 wpm.
· Cut labor expense over $6,000 annually by
eliminating the need for part-time wordprocessing staff. |
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Tip
8 - Create An Image
That Matches The Salary You Want |
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As you write your
resume, keep in mind the level of job and salary you want. Be sure to
create an image that presents you at the appropriate level. For
example, language used in a resume for an $8 an hour position is much
different than the language used for a $16 an hour position. I recently
met Lynn, who had held a Health Insurance Claims Management position
making $42,000 per year. She had retrained for the accounting field and
hadn't yet gained any "direct accounting experience" although she had
prepared monthly accounting reports as a Department Manager.
I was appalled when
she shared the resume she had been counseled to create. It began with
this statement:
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Seeking an entry level position in the accounting
field.
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Now what pay rate do
you think this statement would motivate employers to offer Lynn? A much
better statement would be:
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Seek an Accounting position utilizing my
experience:
· Managing a department and accounting for up to
$250,000 in monthly claims.
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My goal is to help people
either stay at their current salary level or move up--not go backwards.
As you can see, the last statement greatly elevates Lynn's image and
will be much more likely to generate salary offers comparable to her
last pay rate.
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Tip
9 - Prioritize the
Content of Your Resume |
Another big mistake that job seekers make is to
list very important data in the lower sections of their job
descriptions. As you compile statements for your resume, prioritize
them by importance, impressiveness and relevance to the job you want.
Remember that a strong statement which uses power words and quantifies
will affect every statement under it. Read the two examples below.
Which one has the most impact?
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Unprioritized
Maintained records
control, filing, office supply purchasing and equipment maintenance.
Managed front office functions to support the President, Vice President
and staff of 20 Sales Representatives.
Prioritized
Managed front office
functions to support the President, Vice President and staff of 20
Sales Representatives. Maintained records control, filing, office
supply purchasing and equipment maintenance.
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Tip
10 - Tweak and Target
Your Resumes and Cover Letters |
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You will generate
many more interviews by tweaking your resume and cover letter so that
they address the specific skills each employer requests. For example,
Sally originally wanted a customer service position, then found an ad
for a Retail Management opening. How well qualified do the headings in
the left hand column present her for the Retail Management position? Do
you think the headings in the right hand column will generate more and
better interviews for Retail Management positions?
Customer Service
Cash Accountability
Computer Skills |
Retail Management /
Customer Service
Cash Accountability / Supervision of Retail
Stations
Retail Accounting Applications |
Sally's actual title
had been Lead Cashier, even though she managed her own retail
cashiering station in addition to 6 other cashiers and stations. Once
Sally had created her original resume, it only took about 5 minutes to
tweak and relabel her skill descriptions to fit Retail Management
positions. This "relabeling" is entirely truthful and is extremely
important in landing more interviews because it allows job seekers to
apply for, and look qualified for, a wider range of jobs.
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|
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string of jobs you have or held the exact set of job functions you
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to effectively describe such skills.
One word of caution
about using only the resume examples.
Many of us want a fast way to create a resume and we often think the
easy way to do this is to find a resume and copy it. I've
found this results in very weak resumes because you need to market your
unique set of skills and achievements ... that's why the entire Proven
Resumes series is so important. It teaches you how to
understand and control your image, choose whether your job titles or
skills headings will market you best, how to analyze ads to identify
the top skills employers want and that you should market in your
resume, provides worksheets with 2,000 skill headings and 70 Questions
to help you develop strong resume content. Once you write the
body of your resume, you're provided with detailed examples of how to
create a powerful objective/summary of qualifications section ... most
people cannot achieve the same level of strength in creating a resume
by looking only at the examples compared to using the full set of
worksheets and exercises provided in the entire series. This
is very important to me because the better job you do of
identifying and matching your skills to what employers want the
stronger your resume will be ... the 60 examples
are great but merely copying them won't take you through all of the
steps provided in the Proven Resumes series, and that may result in a
weaker resume.
3) Cover Letters: Strategies
That Have Increased Salaries
The cover letter
chatper teaches you how to analyze want ads to identify the top skills
and areas of experience employers want, create customized paragraph
headings that will grab attention in seconds and provides examples that
show you how to prioritize your strongest qualifications to match
skills listed in each ad. It includes graphing strategies so that you
can understand the image you are projecting with your letters and how
to follow up after you've sent your letter.
If you're considering purchasing the cover letter booklet by itself,
then make sure that your resume is as strong as your cover
letter. Sending out a great cover letter with a
weak resume will cause you to lose interviews. If your resume
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everything you'll learn in the Entire Proven Resumes series ... if you
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they'll read your resume. Many HR staff,
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4) Interviewing: Strategies That
Have Increased Salaries
The interviewing
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HOWEVER,
if the interviews you're landing are not at
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you are getting into the 3rd interview but not getting hired
... then I recommend you step back and take another look at your
resume! You may need to improve your interviewing skills but
more importantly you may be shooting yourself in the foot with your
resume and cover letters. They may be just strong enough to
land you interviews but weak enough to cause problems during the
interview by bringing certain weaknesses to the attention of
interviewers. When this happens, it can damage your image
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5) Electronic Resumes, Online
& Offline Job Search Strategies
The electronic
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to creating an effective electronic resume. Keywords are how electronic
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Search Booklet takes you step by step through the process of creating
ASCII, scannable and e-mail resume formats.
FROM 2 HITS IN A MONTH TO 40 HITS IN A WEEK!! Recently,
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important key words so that your resume gets picked up when scanned!!!
Just inserting key words won't affect or elevate the image presented in
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Job Search
Organizer (43
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