By now you've heard several times that the job market is
competitive and it's more important than ever that you stand out to
employers through your cover letter and résumé.
Well, you're about to hear it again.
"While
it is always important to have a remarkable résumé, a bad economy makes
it even more important," says Kathy Sweeney, a certified professional
résumé writer for The Write Résumé. "With this situation in mind, it is
more important than ever to communicate the value you bring to a
potential employer."
Here are a few pearls of wisdom:
Communicating your value to an employer is not done by crowding your
résumé with phrases like "results driven" or "motivated." It won't be
done by listing what you think is an impressive list of job duties, and
it sure as heck won't be done by sending out one standard résumé for
every application. None of these mistakes will help pave your way for an
interview, but you can bet they will aid in digging your career grave.
Content Writers Are In HUGE Demand Right Now!
So what is the easiest way to grab an employer's attention? Simple: Spell things out for them.
"The
primary function of a résumé is to get a candidate noticed in an effort
to gain interviews," Sweeney says. "It is a marketing document, in
which a candidate sells his or her value to the employer. If the meat of
the résumé is simply job duties, it will not do the job seeker any
favors."
If you need help creating your high-definition résumé,
here are five common résumé errors you might be making, and how you can
make things crystal clear for employers:
1. You aren't quantifying resultsApplicants
often don't know the difference between quantifying results and just
stating a job responsibility. A job responsibility is something that you
do on a daily basis and a quantified achievement is the result of that
responsibility, Sweeney says.
"In this tight economy, employers
want to know whether you can make or save them money," Sweeney says. "By
quantifying results, you show the next employer the results you have
been able to obtain, either in dollar figures, percentages or
comparative numbers."
To truly impress an employer, you need to
highlight situations where you went 'above and beyond' your normal job
duties. If you developed a process or procedure that reduced time in
completing a certain task, finished a project 10 days ahead of schedule
or recommended a way to cut costs, included those in your
résumé, Sweeney says. All of these can be calculated out to show dollars
saved for an employer.
2. You didn't include keywordsWe
hear a lot about using keywords in our résumés and letters, but many
job seekers just don't get it. They don't know what they are, where to
find them or how to include them in their résumé.
Keywords are
usually found in the job description for an available position. Keywords
are not "team player" or "good communication skills," Sweeney says.
Keywords are specific to the position. For an accountant, for example, keywords might include "accounts payable," "accounts receivable" or "month-end reporting."
"The
whole goal from an employer's perspective is to drill down to the least
amount of candidates possible for interviewing purposes," Sweeney says.
"Keywords are utilized to trim down applicants to the most qualified
candidates."
3. You buried your achievementsPerhaps
you did list some accomplishments on your résumé, but they are mixed in
with your job duties. What good is that going to do you? This method
will not allow an employer to quickly assess your ability to produce
results, which is ultimately why they want to hire you.
"If a
candidate buries his achievement in a job description, nothing is going
to stand out. A job seeker needs to outline what his duties are, as
those are what most often match the job posting," Sweeney says. "On a
job posting, you will see duties listed. For instance, 'Candidate will
be charged with creating relationships with customers and selling XYZ
product line.' However, job postings will never say, 'Must produce at
least $5 million per year in revenue.' While it is important to list
that you 'develop relationships and sell products' as a job duty, you
need to separate your daily functions from your results, as employers do
not want to 'wade through' your job descriptions to identify your
achievements."
In order to make your achievements stand out,
Sweeney suggests listing the job duties first in paragraph format, and
then incorporate a bulleted area below the paragraph entitled "key
accomplishments" to list your achievements.
4. You didn't include a summaryIncluding a summary on your résumé is one of those steps that many job seekers
forget to take -- and if they do remember, they usually include the
wrong information. Your career summary should portray your experience
and emphasize how it will help the prospective employer, Sweeney says.
It should be very specific and include explicit industry-related
functions, quantifiable achievements or your areas of expertise.
"You
will lose an employer's attention if this section is too broad,"
Sweeney says. "Know the type of position you are targeting and use the
keywords that relate to it based upon your background."
5. Your résumé isn't targetedThe
best way to make things clear for an employer is to target your résumé
to that company and its open positions. If your résumé is generic, it
makes the employer have to guess at the type of position you want.
"Human resources
managers do not have time to figure out what position will best suit a
candidate," Sweeney says. "Let an employer know where you fit into their
company."
You
should target all areas of your résumé to match what the employer is
asking for -- if nothing else, change the summary, because it will be
the first area read by hiring managers,
Sweeney says. "Look at what is important in the position posting. Then,
tweak your profile and perhaps some of your position descriptions to
match your qualifications to the position," she adds.
Now what?Now
that you've got your HD résumé, you need to put it in front of the
right pair of eyes. Don't just post it to a job board and wait for
something to happen. Utilize your networks, post on social and
professional networking sites and answer questions on industry forums or
blogs in a well-thought-out manner, Sweeney suggests.
"You might have a great résumé, but if no one can find it, it defeats the purpose," Sweeney says.
Source: careerbuilder