Current trends have changed the world of recruiting. We all know economic conditions in the last three years have created a much smaller job market. But what is new is how technology and the current emphasis on social networking have also contributed to changes that affect your job search.
The Resume is More Important Now than Ever
With job openings at a premium, the resume has taken on a stronger marketing role. It is your personal advertisement, a method of conveying what makes you stand out, given the job duties that you executed in the past. As a good marketing tool, your resume needs to do two things:
- It should proclaim your accomplishments.
- Be tailored to the job for which you are applying.
If your idea of updating your resume is to cut and paste from your last job description, it's time to re-think your strategy. Today savvy social networkers use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create their personal branding. Some of these folks may be your competition for the job, so becoming more aware of how to market yourself is essential.
The good news is that it's easy to find assistance. Start with a resume template to learn more about style and format. (Microsoft Office has them, and there are many online or in career books that you can find at the library.) Many libraries now offer classes or free coaching. Check to see if your city provides classes through government or non-profit agencies. While there are coaches that specialize in this area, the cost of hiring someone to help you is high, ranging from $500 to $1,500 for resume writing or coaching. If you decide to go this route, do your homework to ensure you are hiring excellent talent.
What Sells: Accomplishment Statements
Recruiters and hiring managers are looking to find a fit between the individual and the job. Before meeting you, the hiring manager wants to glean essentially two things from your resume:
- Can you do the work?
- Can you fit into the business culture?
Some of the specific questions that recruiters are quickly scanning your resume to determine are:
- Do you have the talent and skills they need?
- What competencies have you demonstrated in your current and past roles?
- What behaviors do you possess that meet their needs, and finally
- Are you someone who they want to pursue?
If the resume is your initial contact with the company, there is an enormous amount riding on that document. Given the questions listed, ask yourself, does your current resume convey sufficient information about you? Does it paint a picture of skills and abilities?
Accomplishment Statements answer the question, how did you make your job your own? These statements tell the story of your successes, conveying in one sentence the Situation, the Action you took and the Results you achieved. These are the bullet statements in today's resume.
Here are sample questions that can help to create an Accomplishment Statement.
- Did you increase sales or reduce costs? That's important.
- Did you create, change, expand, fix or improve systems? This is how you get at what your talent and skills are, and how they relate to the job for which you are applying.
- Did you reduce the error rate?
- Did you serve on a committee that got something done?
- Did you process all the work that you were given?
With the Situation - Action - Results (SAR) approach in mind, let's create an Accomplishment Statement. We'll start with a typical old-style resume statement that sounds like a job duty:
(Original Statement)
Responsible for monitoring work as part of a team, and making recommendations as needed.
How to revise the statement using the SAR approach:
- Situation: part of a team assigned to recommend improvements to production method.
- Action: team met weekly; interviewed employees; observed operation steps; researched new methods online; developed ideas; wrote recommendations.
- Results: recommendations were agreed to by management and implemented. Analysis showed improvements and a cost savings of 20% within one month.
The revised Accomplishment Statement summarizes; it turns facts into a power statement.
(Revised Statement)
Member of a team that analyzed work flow practices and recommended operations changes that improved production and saved 20% costs within one month of implementing.
Resume Structure: At Least that Seems Familiar
While there are several formats for resumes, hands down Recruiters still prefer the Chronological Resume. That is, reverse chronological order, starting with your present or last position, going back 15 years. While your work history may date back much farther, it is not as relevant, given the changes in technology since that time. Unless you are just returning to the work world after a long lapse, do not list pre -1995 work experience. This helps you to keep your resume to a maximum of two pages, and if you are a Boomer, it will make you more competitive. (Note: Your past work history is not lost forever. When you fill out an application for a company, you will list prior work experience, so keep the details handy for the interview).
As a Recruiter and Career Coach, I have seen thousands of resumes. What continues to surprise me is that so many people choose to do little to update or modernize the resume they have been using for years. Hiring managers are looking for talented people who have current expertise. Make your talents and abilities shine by highlighting relevant experience and using a modern style resume. It is your personal advertisement as you market You, Inc.
Next month watch for my third article in this series, "What is Social Networking, and Do I Really Have to Do It?"
About the Author: Patricia Bright, Recruiter at Sequent.
Patricia Bright works part time as a Recruiter at Sequent. She is also a Career Coach and Consultant. Patricia is the author of Breathing Through Career Transition, a manuscript in search of a publisher.