All the money you’ll make in this life will most likely be because of your resume. Even once you own property and other investments, you had to start somewhere… and that somewhere required a resume. I have a few pointers I believe will help you accomplish a few things, AND MAKE MORE MONEY!
A better resume will get looked at more often than others.
A better resume often returns to the top of the pile for the next person to see.
A better resume leads to more phone conversations that could lead to more interviews. (That’s on you)
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
The more opportunities you have to interview, the better you will become. Interviewing is like any other special skill. If not properly prepared it will created anxiety, fear and apprehension and often lead to undesirable results.
Interview as much as you can.
Interview for as many positions possible, even if you do not want the position.
Interview while you already have a job!!! I can not stress this enough.
Get comfortable talking about what you do with others…
Once you become an accomplished interview candidate, you will learn how to greet your interviewers, how to sit, how to act and display your best attributes, how to take notes, and how to ask better questions during the interview. Often when asked a question during an interview, you will benefit from asking a return question such as rephrasing or suggesting multiple possible answers and asking then interviewer to be more specific which often accidentally leads to the answer being leaked because the interviewer did not properly do their homework and prepare to breakdown their request without crossing the subject material they want to hear/talk about. (Thank me later)
THE RESUME
In regards to your resume, there are a few things that came to mind. If you do not have a ton of experience you should have a ‘general’ version of your resume. A lot of people say to write your resume geared towards the position you are applying for… and I think that is great advice when your resume can not speak for itself and let others know what you are great at through past accomplishments. As you move from position to position, your future positions will either compliment the previous position proving you are expert, or the positions will not directly relate to each other in which you will want to somehow relate these experiences together. For example… if your next position is management… then perhaps you can go back to your past positions and tailor sections to emphasize your management career path. Until then… my advice is to customize your resume for the positions you are applying to.
BULLET POINTS
As you put bullet points there are 3 levels of bullet point quality.
- Listing technologies and skillsets like a dictionary, perhaps with a trendy action word:
- Mastered Microsoft Office products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. This is a waste of paper.
- Listing how you utilized skillsets and technologies:
- Created reports, kept detailed records of meetings and other administrative tasks using applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Project etc. This at least gives the reader a better idea of what you did and how.
- Listing how you utilized your skillsets for the benefit of the company:
- Created timely reports for management to use ensuring project delivery while decreasing the amount of effort required from managers and increasing awareness between stakeholders allowing for projects to be completed successfully in shorter periods of time.
The 3rd example not only emphasizes what you did… but also how it benefited company. It also leads to the question of what applications did you use to to accomplish this, which opens the door for a good interview where you can mention Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. You can always include a list of technologies and applications and list apps somewhere else. The big thing to think about is… do you want to be hired for using Word… or because you help managers delver on-time projects? If you have used nitric app you might want to specifically mention those. Salesforce, Workday, CAD, VMware, etc. If you have experience with rare apps, it is good to highlight… if going for that kind of role.
BUZZ WORDS
Here are two sites that has a bunch of words to use or avoid. Great advice and contrast between the message of these sites.
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To make it to yes, you need to choose resume buzzwords that count. The best buzzwords describe your abilities, match them up with the job qualifications, and show that you’re a better fit for the position than the other candidates.
www.thebalancecareers.com
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List of resume action words, action verbs and power words to use instead of: team player, leadership, responsible for, communication, and lots more. Plus how to use power words in a resume to get more interviews. See lists of resume buzzwords, verbs, and adjectives, and which words to avoid and use to land that dream job fast!
zety.com
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GIVEM WHAT THEY WANT
Okay, so this is a very shady trick… works amazing. As I mentioned you should make a few resume types unless you plan to target one very specific area. Let’s just say you were thinking Accountant, Project manager and Administrative Assistant.
Search for jobs with those titles. Grab the majority of the job requirements and put them all in a list for each type so you end up with 3 lists of 20+ bullet points. Now… weed out anything you are uncomfortable with… take out anything that seems too basic, and hopefully you are left with good core qualities of those positions that you can live up to, but you did not have to do any of the fancy writing. Now, like a book report from 5th grade… change as many of the words so you are not plagiarizing… BUT… pick words from the list I sent you above.
FORMAT
I like a 1-page fancy format, but if you are like me, you will outgrow it someday. Try to avoid a resume that consumes a lot of ink. Ink makes a mess, and some employers get upset form the waste of ink. I noticed one of the links I provided you showed the name on a black background. I wouldn’t recommend that. Also… I was told to use PDF many years ago. Over the years I ran into a few people who could not open it because they didn’t have Adobe, using an Iphone which has no native adobe, or some other complication. I also found making quick edits were painful so I switched to Word many years ago and have never had another issue or even comment regarding this. So I have learned… WORD is completely acceptable, easier, and you should probably switch. Up to you.
Follow these steps and you will have 4 amazing resumes in under an hour.
Lastly, I ran into a great list of questions and videos showing how to handle then on LinkedIn. I highly suggest checking it out.
I hope you find this information helpful. I wish you the best of luck and a lot of money. Feel free to drop a donation when you get rich! 😉