Tagged Get the Job:

Resume Cliches

By Amanda Pouchot

I am effective at creative organization problem-solving and I’m highly motivated. My track record shows my dynamic communication skills and innovative abilities throughout my extensive experience.  

Huh?

Read the above sentence again. From the description, do you have any idea what I am capable of (other than run-on sentences)? Neither do I. Other than a ton of adjectives that describe, well, anything, I don’t have any idea what I am actually capable of.

I get it, and I’m a victim of it: expressing yourself on paper is really hard. Putting your life’s work onto an 8.5″x 11″ sheet of paper in a way that makes you stick out to future employers and recruiters is quite the challenge. That’s why we cover it frequently. From formatting, to sentence choice, to word choice, there are a lot of things to consider when compiling your resume.

Today’s lesson thanks to the most popular words used on LinkedIn is move away from adjectives and towards verbs. The words compromising the above run-on sentence are now officially “filler words”: they no longer indicate a candidate who can have significant impact on a company’s bottom line.

Remember in 3rd grade when they told you to show, and not tell? Well, that applies on your resume. Show people what you’ve done in your career. Don’t tell them you are have an effective track record – actually share your track record.  Don’t tell someone you are dynamic and creative– instead, write about the project you lead that shows your creativity and dynamic-ness (yes, I just made up a word, and no, DO NOT do that on your resume).

I read a lot of resumes: whether helping proofread resumes of friends or reviewing recruits for Levo. There are plenty of forgivable mistakes decent candidates make, but if I have absolutely NO IDEA what someone’s actually done based on their resume, it sufficiently impairs my desire to learn more about them to the point where they go in the ‘throw-away’ pile.

Using broad descriptive words, while somewhat fancy, shares very little about your abilities. How am I supposed to know how well you solve problems by putting down “great problem solver”? How do I know whether the problems you solve include finding ways to reduce cost and not headcount, or if your problems are along the lines of figuring out what to order for lunch for a team of picky eaters? Telling me you are a strong problem solver, and failing to actually enlighten the reader by sharing the problem(s) you solved does little.

You’re “motivated.” Good. What else? How do I see proof that you are motivated, and how do I gauge what motivated means to you? You may think motivated means you came to work every day. Motivated to someone else may mean that they showed up 15 minutes early in order to prove to their boss that they were ready for the day and to accomplish more work. State what your motivation has driven you to accomplish.


Words I like to see

Quantifying words: Increased, decreased, brought together, improved by, connected, expanded, reduced, created, developed, implemented. The list goes on. These words are great because they’re hard to use without following up with a quantity, a program, a restructuring, &c. Let the recruiter or your future employer know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and what the results are– now go forth and conquer the world.

If you’re in need of resume feedback: email your resume to amanda(at)levoleague.com. Before you do, make sure to read all the Levo League Resume series articles. 

Amanda Pouchot is a co-founder of Levo.
Dec 21
Resume Cliches By Amanda Pouchot I am effective at creative organization problem-solving and I’m highly motivated. My track record shows my dynamic communication skills and innovative abilities throughout my extensive experience.   Huh? Read the above sentence again. From the description, do you have any idea what I am capable of (other than run-on sentences)? Neither do I. Other than a ton of adjectives that describe, well, anything, I don’t have any idea what I am actually capable of. I get it, and I’m a victim of it: expressing yourself on paper is really hard. Putting your life’s work onto an 8.5″x 11″ sheet of paper in a way that makes you stick out to future employers and recruiters is quite the challenge. That’s why we cover it frequently. From formatting, to sentence choice, to word choice, there are a lot of things to consider when compiling your resume. Today’s lesson thanks to the most popular words used on LinkedIn is move away from adjectives and towards verbs. The words compromising the above run-on sentence are now officially “filler words”: they no longer indicate a candidate who can have significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Remember in 3rd grade when they told you to show, and not tell? Well, that applies on your resume. Show people what you’ve done in your career. Don’t tell them you are have an effective track record – actually share your track record.  Don’t tell someone you are dynamic and creative– instead, write about the project you lead that shows your creativity and dynamic-ness (yes, I just made up a word, and no, DO NOT do that on your resume). I read a lot of resumes: whether helping proofread resumes of friends or reviewing recruits for Levo. There are plenty of forgivable mistakes decent candidates make, but if I have absolutely NO IDEA what someone’s actually done based on their resume, it sufficiently impairs my desire to learn more about them to the point where they go in the ‘throw-away’ pile. Using broad descriptive words, while somewhat fancy, shares very little about your abilities. How am I supposed to know how well you solve problems by putting down “great problem solver”? How do I know whether the problems you solve include finding ways to reduce cost and not headcount, or if your problems are along the lines of figuring out what to order for lunch for a team of picky eaters? Telling me you are a strong problem solver, and failing to actually enlighten the reader by sharing the problem(s) you solved does little. You’re “motivated.” Good. What else? How do I see proof that you are motivated, and how do I gauge what motivated means to you? You may think motivated means you came to work every day. Motivated to someone else may mean that they showed up 15 minutes early in order to prove to their boss that they were ready for the day and to accomplish more work. State what your motivation has driven you to accomplish. Words I like to see Quantifying words: Increased, decreased, brought together, improved by, connected, expanded, reduced, created, developed, implemented. The list goes on. These words are great because they’re hard to use without following up with a quantity, a program, a restructuring, &c. Let the recruiter or your future employer know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and what the results are– now go forth and conquer the world. If you’re in need of resume feedback: email your resume to amanda(at)levoleague.com. Before you do, make sure to read all the Levo League Resume series articles.  Amanda Pouchot is a co-founder of Levo.

So you’ve found the perfect company or industry you want to break into. You know you’d be great for the role – you’re smart, personable, and you’re confident you’ll rock the interview. Congrats! How do you make sure you’ll be considered for the job?

Your first task is to get past the resume screen and land that call or in-person meeting. The single best piece of advice I’ve learned about resumes: know exactly what the recruiter is looking for. Know the description, skills, and qualifications needed for the role (conveniently, they’re listed right in the job posting) and know how to explain why you fit those qualifications perfectly.

Put yourself in the position of a recruiter for a heavily sought-after employer – whether in consulting, PR, banking, nonprofits, or whatever industry of your choice. She receives hundreds of resumes for any position needed. Her job is to work with internal business partners and provide them with the best pick of candidates who have exactly the skills and competencies they want. If you’re lucky, she’ll skim your background for 20-30 seconds and something will catch her eye to put you in that small “Yes” pile before she moves right along to the next resume in the batch. With your resume, you’ve got one shot to convince her you are the perfect candidate she should bring to the team.

Your goal is not just to impress her. Your goal is to convince her you have just the skills and experience she is looking for to fill the role. You might be a stellar candidate with an amazing background, but if she sees your application and thinks, “Wow, Jen is really smart and has done lots of interesting stuff – she studied abroad in Argentina! However, I’m not sure how that’s relevant to position XYZ,” then you’re out of luck.

But here’s the catch. If you know this job’s the one for you, you do have exactly the skills and interests necessary to do great in this position. Now all you need to do is sell it.

The main point is this: Don’t let a recruiter paint her own picture of who you are from what she can piece together in your resume – past job titles, descriptions, and other tidbits. You should always be in control of what that picture is. Here are a few tips on how to:

#1: Write a professional summary

Start your resume off with a summary that highlights the general skills, experience, and interests you bring to the table (which just so happen to align perfectly with this open position). Or for those starting off from college, a career objective statement also works well. This is the easiest way to control the image that recruiter has of you from square one.

Instead of reading first about your education (“Hmm, so Liz majored in Government, but now she’s applying for a role in marketing?”) or your previous job, she sees:

“A dedicated team player with three years of sales experience seeking a position in marketing, advertising, or PR. Has direct experience managing projects and working with clients in industries XYZ. Fluent in Spanish.

Bingo. It’s easy to tailor and the first impression the recruiter has of you speaks just to what she’s looking for. There are plenty of good resources online for how to write an effective professional summary. The key to remember: Don’t make a recruiter work to read through your resume and figure out how your past experience is relevant to this new role. Lay it out plain and simple – right at the top of the page.

#2: Create customized resumes for every different type of position or industry you apply to (or even better, for every individual job)

I know it sounds like a ton of work, but it really isn’t. 90% of your resume content will generally stay the same, but tailoring that last 10% (your professional summary and a few quick changes to your past experience or college coursework) will make your resumes much more convincing to the recruiter that you’re a shoo-in for the role.

Say you’ve set your sights on a PR firm, but you’re open to starting out in whatever role will get your foot in the door. Depending on what position is available, the skills you want to play up are different if you’re applying to be an Administrative Assistant versus an Accounts Manager. The recruiter knows exactly what skills are needed for the role that’s open, and you’ll be much more successful in getting that interview offer if you’ve tailored your resume accordingly.

Tip: Stay organized if you have multiple electronic versions of your resume. Keep a master folder of resume templates that you can easily refer back to, and store customized versions in subfolders categorized by industry or type of position. Use whatever works for you to stay on top of everything so you don’t send the wrong resume out to the employer!

#3 Be mindful of how the rest of your resume fits into the narrative you build about who you are

This is particularly important if you’re looking to enter a new field. Maybe all your experience to date has been in healthcare work and you’re looking to expand broadly into business. That’s OK – you know you have the skills and potential to make the switch, so just make sure you can communicate that convincingly. Don’t let a recruiter pass over your resume thinking you can’t find a job in the area you really want and you’re just wildly applying to new fields. Once you get that interview, you can explain in more detail why this industry is the natural evolution for your career – yet you still have to get past the resume screen.

This doesn’t mean every past position you list needs to fit perfectly into the job you’re applying for. It’s great that you bring a unique set of experiences to the table, but don’t pigeonhole yourself by only highlighting experience applicable to the field you’re trying to leave! Wherever possible, play up skills and accomplishments relevant to the position you want. Use buzzwords that are applicable to the industry and emphasize general, transferable skills you bring. Don’t let it sound fake, but where it works, make tweaks to your professional summary and to the bullets or descriptions you list for each job.

The bottom line is this: once that recruiter’s picked up your resume, you’ve got 30 seconds to sell yourself. Make sure every item on that page is impressive, interesting, and relevant. Then start preparing for your interview!
Aug 15
So you’ve found the perfect company or industry you want to break into. You know you’d be great for the role – you’re smart, personable, and you’re confident you’ll rock the interview. Congrats! How do you make sure you’ll be considered for the job? Your first task is to get past the resume screen and land that call or in-person meeting. The single best piece of advice I’ve learned about resumes: know exactly what the recruiter is looking for. Know the description, skills, and qualifications needed for the role (conveniently, they’re listed right in the job posting) and know how to explain why you fit those qualifications perfectly. Put yourself in the position of a recruiter for a heavily sought-after employer – whether in consulting, PR, banking, nonprofits, or whatever industry of your choice. She receives hundreds of resumes for any position needed. Her job is to work with internal business partners and provide them with the best pick of candidates who have exactly the skills and competencies they want. If you’re lucky, she’ll skim your background for 20-30 seconds and something will catch her eye to put you in that small “Yes” pile before she moves right along to the next resume in the batch. With your resume, you’ve got one shot to convince her you are the perfect candidate she should bring to the team. Your goal is not just to impress her. Your goal is to convince her you have just the skills and experience she is looking for to fill the role. You might be a stellar candidate with an amazing background, but if she sees your application and thinks, “Wow, Jen is really smart and has done lots of interesting stuff – she studied abroad in Argentina! However, I’m not sure how that’s relevant to position XYZ,” then you’re out of luck. But here’s the catch. If you know this job’s the one for you, you do have exactly the skills and interests necessary to do great in this position. Now all you need to do is sell it. The main point is this: Don’t let a recruiter paint her own picture of who you are from what she can piece together in your resume – past job titles, descriptions, and other tidbits. You should always be in control of what that picture is. Here are a few tips on how to: #1: Write a professional summary Start your resume off with a summary that highlights the general skills, experience, and interests you bring to the table (which just so happen to align perfectly with this open position). Or for those starting off from college, a career objective statement also works well. This is the easiest way to control the image that recruiter has of you from square one. Instead of reading first about your education (“Hmm, so Liz majored in Government, but now she’s applying for a role in marketing?”) or your previous job, she sees: “A dedicated team player with three years of sales experience seeking a position in marketing, advertising, or PR. Has direct experience managing projects and working with clients in industries XYZ. Fluent in Spanish. Bingo. It’s easy to tailor and the first impression the recruiter has of you speaks just to what she’s looking for. There are plenty of good resources online for how to write an effective professional summary. The key to remember: Don’t make a recruiter work to read through your resume and figure out how your past experience is relevant to this new role. Lay it out plain and simple – right at the top of the page. #2: Create customized resumes for every different type of position or industry you apply to (or even better, for every individual job) I know it sounds like a ton of work, but it really isn’t. 90% of your resume content will generally stay the same, but tailoring that last 10% (your professional summary and a few quick changes to your past experience or college coursework) will make your resumes much more convincing to the recruiter that you’re a shoo-in for the role. Say you’ve set your sights on a PR firm, but you’re open to starting out in whatever role will get your foot in the door. Depending on what position is available, the skills you want to play up are different if you’re applying to be an Administrative Assistant versus an Accounts Manager. The recruiter knows exactly what skills are needed for the role that’s open, and you’ll be much more successful in getting that interview offer if you’ve tailored your resume accordingly. Tip: Stay organized if you have multiple electronic versions of your resume. Keep a master folder of resume templates that you can easily refer back to, and store customized versions in subfolders categorized by industry or type of position. Use whatever works for you to stay on top of everything so you don’t send the wrong resume out to the employer! #3 Be mindful of how the rest of your resume fits into the narrative you build about who you are This is particularly important if you’re looking to enter a new field. Maybe all your experience to date has been in healthcare work and you’re looking to expand broadly into business. That’s OK – you know you have the skills and potential to make the switch, so just make sure you can communicate that convincingly. Don’t let a recruiter pass over your resume thinking you can’t find a job in the area you really want and you’re just wildly applying to new fields. Once you get that interview, you can explain in more detail why this industry is the natural evolution for your career – yet you still have to get past the resume screen. This doesn’t mean every past position you list needs to fit perfectly into the job you’re applying for. It’s great that you bring a unique set of experiences to the table, but don’t pigeonhole yourself by only highlighting experience applicable to the field you’re trying to leave! Wherever possible, play up skills and accomplishments relevant to the position you want. Use buzzwords that are applicable to the industry and emphasize general, transferable skills you bring. Don’t let it sound fake, but where it works, make tweaks to your professional summary and to the bullets or descriptions you list for each job. The bottom line is this: once that recruiter’s picked up your resume, you’ve got 30 seconds to sell yourself. Make sure every item on that page is impressive, interesting, and relevant. Then start preparing for your interview!

The Levo League

Posted on Wednesday December 21st 2011 at 05:51pm. Its tags are listed below.

Resume Cliches By Amanda Pouchot I am effective at creative organization problem-solving and I’m highly motivated. My track record shows my dynamic communication skills and innovative abilities throughout my extensive experience.   Huh? Read the above sentence again. From the description, do you have any idea what I am capable of (other than run-on sentences)? Neither do I. Other than a ton of adjectives that describe, well, anything, I don’t have any idea what I am actually capable of. I get it, and I’m a victim of it: expressing yourself on paper is really hard. Putting your life’s work onto an 8.5″x 11″ sheet of paper in a way that makes you stick out to future employers and recruiters is quite the challenge. That’s why we cover it frequently. From formatting, to sentence choice, to word choice, there are a lot of things to consider when compiling your resume. Today’s lesson thanks to the most popular words used on LinkedIn is move away from adjectives and towards verbs. The words compromising the above run-on sentence are now officially “filler words”: they no longer indicate a candidate who can have significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Remember in 3rd grade when they told you to show, and not tell? Well, that applies on your resume. Show people what you’ve done in your career. Don’t tell them you are have an effective track record – actually share your track record.  Don’t tell someone you are dynamic and creative– instead, write about the project you lead that shows your creativity and dynamic-ness (yes, I just made up a word, and no, DO NOT do that on your resume). I read a lot of resumes: whether helping proofread resumes of friends or reviewing recruits for Levo. There are plenty of forgivable mistakes decent candidates make, but if I have absolutely NO IDEA what someone’s actually done based on their resume, it sufficiently impairs my desire to learn more about them to the point where they go in the ‘throw-away’ pile. Using broad descriptive words, while somewhat fancy, shares very little about your abilities. How am I supposed to know how well you solve problems by putting down “great problem solver”? How do I know whether the problems you solve include finding ways to reduce cost and not headcount, or if your problems are along the lines of figuring out what to order for lunch for a team of picky eaters? Telling me you are a strong problem solver, and failing to actually enlighten the reader by sharing the problem(s) you solved does little. You’re “motivated.” Good. What else? How do I see proof that you are motivated, and how do I gauge what motivated means to you? You may think motivated means you came to work every day. Motivated to someone else may mean that they showed up 15 minutes early in order to prove to their boss that they were ready for the day and to accomplish more work. State what your motivation has driven you to accomplish. Words I like to see Quantifying words: Increased, decreased, brought together, improved by, connected, expanded, reduced, created, developed, implemented. The list goes on. These words are great because they’re hard to use without following up with a quantity, a program, a restructuring, &c. Let the recruiter or your future employer know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and what the results are– now go forth and conquer the world. If you’re in need of resume feedback: email your resume to amanda(at)levoleague.com. Before you do, make sure to read all the Levo League Resume series articles.  Amanda Pouchot is a co-founder of Levo.
Resume Cliches By Amanda Pouchot I am effective at creative organization problem-solving and I’m highly motivated. My track record shows my dynamic communication skills and innovative abilities throughout my extensive experience.   Huh? Read the above sentence again. From the description, do you have any idea what I am capable of (other than run-on sentences)? Neither do I. Other than a ton of adjectives that describe, well, anything, I don’t have any idea what I am actually capable of. I get it, and I’m a victim of it: expressing yourself on paper is really hard. Putting your life’s work onto an 8.5″x 11″ sheet of paper in a way that makes you stick out to future employers and recruiters is quite the challenge. That’s why we cover it frequently. From formatting, to sentence choice, to word choice, there are a lot of things to consider when compiling your resume. Today’s lesson thanks to the most popular words used on LinkedIn is move away from adjectives and towards verbs. The words compromising the above run-on sentence are now officially “filler words”: they no longer indicate a candidate who can have significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Remember in 3rd grade when they told you to show, and not tell? Well, that applies on your resume. Show people what you’ve done in your career. Don’t tell them you are have an effective track record – actually share your track record.  Don’t tell someone you are dynamic and creative– instead, write about the project you lead that shows your creativity and dynamic-ness (yes, I just made up a word, and no, DO NOT do that on your resume). I read a lot of resumes: whether helping proofread resumes of friends or reviewing recruits for Levo. There are plenty of forgivable mistakes decent candidates make, but if I have absolutely NO IDEA what someone’s actually done based on their resume, it sufficiently impairs my desire to learn more about them to the point where they go in the ‘throw-away’ pile. Using broad descriptive words, while somewhat fancy, shares very little about your abilities. How am I supposed to know how well you solve problems by putting down “great problem solver”? How do I know whether the problems you solve include finding ways to reduce cost and not headcount, or if your problems are along the lines of figuring out what to order for lunch for a team of picky eaters? Telling me you are a strong problem solver, and failing to actually enlighten the reader by sharing the problem(s) you solved does little. You’re “motivated.” Good. What else? How do I see proof that you are motivated, and how do I gauge what motivated means to you? You may think motivated means you came to work every day. Motivated to someone else may mean that they showed up 15 minutes early in order to prove to their boss that they were ready for the day and to accomplish more work. State what your motivation has driven you to accomplish. Words I like to see Quantifying words: Increased, decreased, brought together, improved by, connected, expanded, reduced, created, developed, implemented. The list goes on. These words are great because they’re hard to use without following up with a quantity, a program, a restructuring, &c. Let the recruiter or your future employer know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and what the results are– now go forth and conquer the world. If you’re in need of resume feedback: email your resume to amanda(at)levoleague.com. Before you do, make sure to read all the Levo League Resume series articles.  Amanda Pouchot is a co-founder of Levo.

Resume Cliches

By Amanda Pouchot

I am effective at creative organization problem-solving and I’m highly motivated. My track record shows my dynamic communication skills and innovative abilities throughout my extensive experience.  

Huh?

Read the above sentence again. From the description, do you have any idea what I am capable of (other than run-on sentences)? Neither do I. Other than a ton of adjectives that describe, well, anything, I don’t have any idea what I am actually capable of.

I get it, and I’m a victim of it: expressing yourself on paper is really hard. Putting your life’s work onto an 8.5″x 11″ sheet of paper in a way that makes you stick out to future employers and recruiters is quite the challenge. That’s why we cover it frequently. From formatting, to sentence choice, to word choice, there are a lot of things to consider when compiling your resume.

Today’s lesson thanks to the most popular words used on LinkedIn is move away from adjectives and towards verbs. The words compromising the above run-on sentence are now officially “filler words”: they no longer indicate a candidate who can have significant impact on a company’s bottom line.

Remember in 3rd grade when they told you to show, and not tell? Well, that applies on your resume. Show people what you’ve done in your career. Don’t tell them you are have an effective track record – actually share your track record.  Don’t tell someone you are dynamic and creative– instead, write about the project you lead that shows your creativity and dynamic-ness (yes, I just made up a word, and no, DO NOT do that on your resume).

I read a lot of resumes: whether helping proofread resumes of friends or reviewing recruits for Levo. There are plenty of forgivable mistakes decent candidates make, but if I have absolutely NO IDEA what someone’s actually done based on their resume, it sufficiently impairs my desire to learn more about them to the point where they go in the ‘throw-away’ pile.

Using broad descriptive words, while somewhat fancy, shares very little about your abilities. How am I supposed to know how well you solve problems by putting down “great problem solver”? How do I know whether the problems you solve include finding ways to reduce cost and not headcount, or if your problems are along the lines of figuring out what to order for lunch for a team of picky eaters? Telling me you are a strong problem solver, and failing to actually enlighten the reader by sharing the problem(s) you solved does little.

You’re “motivated.” Good. What else? How do I see proof that you are motivated, and how do I gauge what motivated means to you? You may think motivated means you came to work every day. Motivated to someone else may mean that they showed up 15 minutes early in order to prove to their boss that they were ready for the day and to accomplish more work. State what your motivation has driven you to accomplish.


Words I like to see

Quantifying words: Increased, decreased, brought together, improved by, connected, expanded, reduced, created, developed, implemented. The list goes on. These words are great because they’re hard to use without following up with a quantity, a program, a restructuring, &c. Let the recruiter or your future employer know what you’ve done and how you’ve done it and what the results are– now go forth and conquer the world.

If you’re in need of resume feedback: email your resume to amanda(at)levoleague.com. Before you do, make sure to read all the Levo League Resume series articles. 

Amanda Pouchot is a co-founder of Levo.

The Levo League

Posted on Monday August 15th 2011 at 05:52pm. Its tags are listed below.

So you’ve found the perfect company or industry you want to break into. You know you’d be great for the role – you’re smart, personable, and you’re confident you’ll rock the interview. Congrats! How do you make sure you’ll be considered for the job? Your first task is to get past the resume screen and land that call or in-person meeting. The single best piece of advice I’ve learned about resumes: know exactly what the recruiter is looking for. Know the description, skills, and qualifications needed for the role (conveniently, they’re listed right in the job posting) and know how to explain why you fit those qualifications perfectly. Put yourself in the position of a recruiter for a heavily sought-after employer – whether in consulting, PR, banking, nonprofits, or whatever industry of your choice. She receives hundreds of resumes for any position needed. Her job is to work with internal business partners and provide them with the best pick of candidates who have exactly the skills and competencies they want. If you’re lucky, she’ll skim your background for 20-30 seconds and something will catch her eye to put you in that small “Yes” pile before she moves right along to the next resume in the batch. With your resume, you’ve got one shot to convince her you are the perfect candidate she should bring to the team. Your goal is not just to impress her. Your goal is to convince her you have just the skills and experience she is looking for to fill the role. You might be a stellar candidate with an amazing background, but if she sees your application and thinks, “Wow, Jen is really smart and has done lots of interesting stuff – she studied abroad in Argentina! However, I’m not sure how that’s relevant to position XYZ,” then you’re out of luck. But here’s the catch. If you know this job’s the one for you, you do have exactly the skills and interests necessary to do great in this position. Now all you need to do is sell it. The main point is this: Don’t let a recruiter paint her own picture of who you are from what she can piece together in your resume – past job titles, descriptions, and other tidbits. You should always be in control of what that picture is. Here are a few tips on how to: #1: Write a professional summary Start your resume off with a summary that highlights the general skills, experience, and interests you bring to the table (which just so happen to align perfectly with this open position). Or for those starting off from college, a career objective statement also works well. This is the easiest way to control the image that recruiter has of you from square one. Instead of reading first about your education (“Hmm, so Liz majored in Government, but now she’s applying for a role in marketing?”) or your previous job, she sees: “A dedicated team player with three years of sales experience seeking a position in marketing, advertising, or PR. Has direct experience managing projects and working with clients in industries XYZ. Fluent in Spanish. Bingo. It’s easy to tailor and the first impression the recruiter has of you speaks just to what she’s looking for. There are plenty of good resources online for how to write an effective professional summary. The key to remember: Don’t make a recruiter work to read through your resume and figure out how your past experience is relevant to this new role. Lay it out plain and simple – right at the top of the page. #2: Create customized resumes for every different type of position or industry you apply to (or even better, for every individual job) I know it sounds like a ton of work, but it really isn’t. 90% of your resume content will generally stay the same, but tailoring that last 10% (your professional summary and a few quick changes to your past experience or college coursework) will make your resumes much more convincing to the recruiter that you’re a shoo-in for the role. Say you’ve set your sights on a PR firm, but you’re open to starting out in whatever role will get your foot in the door. Depending on what position is available, the skills you want to play up are different if you’re applying to be an Administrative Assistant versus an Accounts Manager. The recruiter knows exactly what skills are needed for the role that’s open, and you’ll be much more successful in getting that interview offer if you’ve tailored your resume accordingly. Tip: Stay organized if you have multiple electronic versions of your resume. Keep a master folder of resume templates that you can easily refer back to, and store customized versions in subfolders categorized by industry or type of position. Use whatever works for you to stay on top of everything so you don’t send the wrong resume out to the employer! #3 Be mindful of how the rest of your resume fits into the narrative you build about who you are This is particularly important if you’re looking to enter a new field. Maybe all your experience to date has been in healthcare work and you’re looking to expand broadly into business. That’s OK – you know you have the skills and potential to make the switch, so just make sure you can communicate that convincingly. Don’t let a recruiter pass over your resume thinking you can’t find a job in the area you really want and you’re just wildly applying to new fields. Once you get that interview, you can explain in more detail why this industry is the natural evolution for your career – yet you still have to get past the resume screen. This doesn’t mean every past position you list needs to fit perfectly into the job you’re applying for. It’s great that you bring a unique set of experiences to the table, but don’t pigeonhole yourself by only highlighting experience applicable to the field you’re trying to leave! Wherever possible, play up skills and accomplishments relevant to the position you want. Use buzzwords that are applicable to the industry and emphasize general, transferable skills you bring. Don’t let it sound fake, but where it works, make tweaks to your professional summary and to the bullets or descriptions you list for each job. The bottom line is this: once that recruiter’s picked up your resume, you’ve got 30 seconds to sell yourself. Make sure every item on that page is impressive, interesting, and relevant. Then start preparing for your interview!
So you’ve found the perfect company or industry you want to break into. You know you’d be great for the role – you’re smart, personable, and you’re confident you’ll rock the interview. Congrats! How do you make sure you’ll be considered for the job? Your first task is to get past the resume screen and land that call or in-person meeting. The single best piece of advice I’ve learned about resumes: know exactly what the recruiter is looking for. Know the description, skills, and qualifications needed for the role (conveniently, they’re listed right in the job posting) and know how to explain why you fit those qualifications perfectly. Put yourself in the position of a recruiter for a heavily sought-after employer – whether in consulting, PR, banking, nonprofits, or whatever industry of your choice. She receives hundreds of resumes for any position needed. Her job is to work with internal business partners and provide them with the best pick of candidates who have exactly the skills and competencies they want. If you’re lucky, she’ll skim your background for 20-30 seconds and something will catch her eye to put you in that small “Yes” pile before she moves right along to the next resume in the batch. With your resume, you’ve got one shot to convince her you are the perfect candidate she should bring to the team. Your goal is not just to impress her. Your goal is to convince her you have just the skills and experience she is looking for to fill the role. You might be a stellar candidate with an amazing background, but if she sees your application and thinks, “Wow, Jen is really smart and has done lots of interesting stuff – she studied abroad in Argentina! However, I’m not sure how that’s relevant to position XYZ,” then you’re out of luck. But here’s the catch. If you know this job’s the one for you, you do have exactly the skills and interests necessary to do great in this position. Now all you need to do is sell it. The main point is this: Don’t let a recruiter paint her own picture of who you are from what she can piece together in your resume – past job titles, descriptions, and other tidbits. You should always be in control of what that picture is. Here are a few tips on how to: #1: Write a professional summary Start your resume off with a summary that highlights the general skills, experience, and interests you bring to the table (which just so happen to align perfectly with this open position). Or for those starting off from college, a career objective statement also works well. This is the easiest way to control the image that recruiter has of you from square one. Instead of reading first about your education (“Hmm, so Liz majored in Government, but now she’s applying for a role in marketing?”) or your previous job, she sees: “A dedicated team player with three years of sales experience seeking a position in marketing, advertising, or PR. Has direct experience managing projects and working with clients in industries XYZ. Fluent in Spanish. Bingo. It’s easy to tailor and the first impression the recruiter has of you speaks just to what she’s looking for. There are plenty of good resources online for how to write an effective professional summary. The key to remember: Don’t make a recruiter work to read through your resume and figure out how your past experience is relevant to this new role. Lay it out plain and simple – right at the top of the page. #2: Create customized resumes for every different type of position or industry you apply to (or even better, for every individual job) I know it sounds like a ton of work, but it really isn’t. 90% of your resume content will generally stay the same, but tailoring that last 10% (your professional summary and a few quick changes to your past experience or college coursework) will make your resumes much more convincing to the recruiter that you’re a shoo-in for the role. Say you’ve set your sights on a PR firm, but you’re open to starting out in whatever role will get your foot in the door. Depending on what position is available, the skills you want to play up are different if you’re applying to be an Administrative Assistant versus an Accounts Manager. The recruiter knows exactly what skills are needed for the role that’s open, and you’ll be much more successful in getting that interview offer if you’ve tailored your resume accordingly. Tip: Stay organized if you have multiple electronic versions of your resume. Keep a master folder of resume templates that you can easily refer back to, and store customized versions in subfolders categorized by industry or type of position. Use whatever works for you to stay on top of everything so you don’t send the wrong resume out to the employer! #3 Be mindful of how the rest of your resume fits into the narrative you build about who you are This is particularly important if you’re looking to enter a new field. Maybe all your experience to date has been in healthcare work and you’re looking to expand broadly into business. That’s OK – you know you have the skills and potential to make the switch, so just make sure you can communicate that convincingly. Don’t let a recruiter pass over your resume thinking you can’t find a job in the area you really want and you’re just wildly applying to new fields. Once you get that interview, you can explain in more detail why this industry is the natural evolution for your career – yet you still have to get past the resume screen. This doesn’t mean every past position you list needs to fit perfectly into the job you’re applying for. It’s great that you bring a unique set of experiences to the table, but don’t pigeonhole yourself by only highlighting experience applicable to the field you’re trying to leave! Wherever possible, play up skills and accomplishments relevant to the position you want. Use buzzwords that are applicable to the industry and emphasize general, transferable skills you bring. Don’t let it sound fake, but where it works, make tweaks to your professional summary and to the bullets or descriptions you list for each job. The bottom line is this: once that recruiter’s picked up your resume, you’ve got 30 seconds to sell yourself. Make sure every item on that page is impressive, interesting, and relevant. Then start preparing for your interview!

So you’ve found the perfect company or industry you want to break into. You know you’d be great for the role – you’re smart, personable, and you’re confident you’ll rock the interview. Congrats! How do you make sure you’ll be considered for the job?

Your first task is to get past the resume screen and land that call or in-person meeting. The single best piece of advice I’ve learned about resumes: know exactly what the recruiter is looking for. Know the description, skills, and qualifications needed for the role (conveniently, they’re listed right in the job posting) and know how to explain why you fit those qualifications perfectly.

Put yourself in the position of a recruiter for a heavily sought-after employer – whether in consulting, PR, banking, nonprofits, or whatever industry of your choice. She receives hundreds of resumes for any position needed. Her job is to work with internal business partners and provide them with the best pick of candidates who have exactly the skills and competencies they want. If you’re lucky, she’ll skim your background for 20-30 seconds and something will catch her eye to put you in that small “Yes” pile before she moves right along to the next resume in the batch. With your resume, you’ve got one shot to convince her you are the perfect candidate she should bring to the team.

Your goal is not just to impress her. Your goal is to convince her you have just the skills and experience she is looking for to fill the role. You might be a stellar candidate with an amazing background, but if she sees your application and thinks, “Wow, Jen is really smart and has done lots of interesting stuff – she studied abroad in Argentina! However, I’m not sure how that’s relevant to position XYZ,” then you’re out of luck.

But here’s the catch. If you know this job’s the one for you, you do have exactly the skills and interests necessary to do great in this position. Now all you need to do is sell it.

The main point is this: Don’t let a recruiter paint her own picture of who you are from what she can piece together in your resume – past job titles, descriptions, and other tidbits. You should always be in control of what that picture is. Here are a few tips on how to:

#1: Write a professional summary

Start your resume off with a summary that highlights the general skills, experience, and interests you bring to the table (which just so happen to align perfectly with this open position). Or for those starting off from college, a career objective statement also works well. This is the easiest way to control the image that recruiter has of you from square one.

Instead of reading first about your education (“Hmm, so Liz majored in Government, but now she’s applying for a role in marketing?”) or your previous job, she sees:

“A dedicated team player with three years of sales experience seeking a position in marketing, advertising, or PR. Has direct experience managing projects and working with clients in industries XYZ. Fluent in Spanish.

Bingo. It’s easy to tailor and the first impression the recruiter has of you speaks just to what she’s looking for. There are plenty of good resources online for how to write an effective professional summary. The key to remember: Don’t make a recruiter work to read through your resume and figure out how your past experience is relevant to this new role. Lay it out plain and simple – right at the top of the page.

#2: Create customized resumes for every different type of position or industry you apply to (or even better, for every individual job)

I know it sounds like a ton of work, but it really isn’t. 90% of your resume content will generally stay the same, but tailoring that last 10% (your professional summary and a few quick changes to your past experience or college coursework) will make your resumes much more convincing to the recruiter that you’re a shoo-in for the role.

Say you’ve set your sights on a PR firm, but you’re open to starting out in whatever role will get your foot in the door. Depending on what position is available, the skills you want to play up are different if you’re applying to be an Administrative Assistant versus an Accounts Manager. The recruiter knows exactly what skills are needed for the role that’s open, and you’ll be much more successful in getting that interview offer if you’ve tailored your resume accordingly.

Tip: Stay organized if you have multiple electronic versions of your resume. Keep a master folder of resume templates that you can easily refer back to, and store customized versions in subfolders categorized by industry or type of position. Use whatever works for you to stay on top of everything so you don’t send the wrong resume out to the employer!

#3 Be mindful of how the rest of your resume fits into the narrative you build about who you are

This is particularly important if you’re looking to enter a new field. Maybe all your experience to date has been in healthcare work and you’re looking to expand broadly into business. That’s OK – you know you have the skills and potential to make the switch, so just make sure you can communicate that convincingly. Don’t let a recruiter pass over your resume thinking you can’t find a job in the area you really want and you’re just wildly applying to new fields. Once you get that interview, you can explain in more detail why this industry is the natural evolution for your career – yet you still have to get past the resume screen.

This doesn’t mean every past position you list needs to fit perfectly into the job you’re applying for. It’s great that you bring a unique set of experiences to the table, but don’t pigeonhole yourself by only highlighting experience applicable to the field you’re trying to leave! Wherever possible, play up skills and accomplishments relevant to the position you want. Use buzzwords that are applicable to the industry and emphasize general, transferable skills you bring. Don’t let it sound fake, but where it works, make tweaks to your professional summary and to the bullets or descriptions you list for each job.

The bottom line is this: once that recruiter’s picked up your resume, you’ve got 30 seconds to sell yourself. Make sure every item on that page is impressive, interesting, and relevant. Then start preparing for your interview!

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