Thirty to forty-five seconds that’s all the time you have to impress your potential employer. When the resume-reader sits down to review the application letters and resumes, the leader’s first task is to sort the applicants into three interview choice piles – yes, no, and maybe. And of course, we want our resume to land in the ‘yes’ pile to get the call for the interview. So, now let’s review your document-creation decision-points, so that you get the leader’s attention.
Before we start talking about the resume, we need to first talk about you. Do you know where you are going? You need to choose your life’s direction. Where do you want to be in 1 year, in 5 years and in 20 years from now. When you know where you’re going, you can create the steps to achievement. It’s focused attention that yields success. So, your preparation step is to study you – your strengths, your gifts and talents, your likes and dislikes, your limitations.
After you know more about you, then you’re ready to make your resume document-creation decisions. Let’s explore them now.
Decision One: What are the company values?
For instance, let’s say you value ‘customer wow’ – you just love to go out of your way to impress the customer, and let’s say you are researching a company and learn that they value timeliness. It’s likely that you, at some point, will be in a dilemma situation when these two values conflict – Do you spend lots of time with a particular customer to impress them or not? If you spend too much time with them, your employer will not be happy with you. This is a base-line decision. In order to be happy and in order for your employer to be happy, you and the organization need to care about the same thing.
Decision Two: Who is the reader?
What are the person’s values? You must know who will read your resume. Does this person think hierarchically or collaboratively? Does this person prefer details or big-picture thinking? Maybe this leader values details to a heightened level. You need to know your reader in order to craft your language to better connect that person. If you are unable to learn information about the decision-maker, then write toward the company values. Study the advertisement or job description to know what they want. You decision is to understand your audience and match your language to his/her perspective within the bounds of honesty and integrity.
Decision Three: List an objective or don’t list an objective?
Employers can tell how much interest you have in the company and the open position by the way you write your objective. Here’s the hint – be sure you write a very short direct objective, like Systems Analysis for ABC Corporation. Don’t write something like ‘to obtain a position with a local company where I can utilize my education and experience.’ That last statement tells the reader that you do not know what you want. And if you tell the prospective employer that you do not have clear direction, you are sending your resume directly to the ‘no’ pile. Leaders want confident employees.
Decision Five: What is the best language for the reader?
The words, the language, that you use will engage or repel the reader. You need to make a number of decisions.
- How formal or not formal
- Just a few powerful words and concise elaboration
- Number of bullet points for the categories (The more bullet points a category gets, the more important you are saying that information is.)
- The way you word the bullet point as it links to your objective
Decision Six: What is the best organization for the reader?
Organization is key. Since the reader is only giving you seconds of initial attention, you document needs to be easy to read. And what makes the document easy to read is…it’s organization and beauty on the page. Your resume needs to be readable in a glance. Be sure to ask yourself what information needs to be the power positions on the page. The power positions are the top 2/10ths – 3/10th’s of the page and the last position on the page. Be smart about what you locate in these positions and how much weight you give that information. This decision tells the leader what you deem valuable.
Decision Seven: How much personality do I show and how do I do that?
Your employer is going to choose someone that positively connects. All of us want be with people we like. So, in your resume document, notice what sets you apart from others, review your words thinking about you – what picture are your painting about yourself.
The important question that the leader is answering is ‘Are you a perfect fit?”
Successful Business Communication 