Who Are You? Who-Who, Who-Who?

Remember that Who song? “Who Are You – Who-Who, Who-Who?” Great tune! Always made me stop and think for just a second about who I was at that point in my life when I heard the song on the radio. For job seekers it can serve the same purpose when looking at your resume and trying decide what to put in it to make it work for you.

Who are you? Who do you want readers to meet? What do you need to let the reader know that will lure them in and make them want to read more about you? These questions are crucial in writing a powerful and effective resume. Three questions to ponder when developing your resume:

What do You Want Others to Know About You? – It is important to look ahead when writing your resume, look forward. What do you want to do now and in the future, not only what have you done in the past?

Once you know the specific position or job you are going to target the resume for, make sure your resume reflects all requirements expected in the new job.

Don’t just give a 2 or 3 page history of every wonderful thing you have ever done in your career and professional life. If the information isn’t relevant to the position you are going to apply for; then leave it off! Save the space for the most requested and useful information.

Recruiters and hiring managers do not have the time to read every word on your resume, sort through 15 – 25 years of experience to determine if you might be a good fit. So, if you have several sentences of fluff – the important skills, experience, and achievements will get overlooked.

Who Is the Resume Written for? – The resume is more effective if it is written to grab the attention of a few different types of readers. The gatekeepers, which can be the recruiters, HR department, administrative assistants or any first line of filtration need to be considered. They like to concise and to the point. So stay on point!

It should also be written for the actual hiring manager or your future boss. They usually want to see something special that other candidates don’t possess.

What is your unique or special something that will get you noticed?

Finally, if it is a medium or larger company (sometimes even small companies too) you will probably have to apply online. In that case you will have to make sure the resume has the correct industry and position jargon and keywords to get past the application system and its’ filters.

Write for readers of the resume and not for yourself. It is very hard to be objective and keep the resume focused on the target when writing about oneself and is why so many job seekers correctly by hiring a certified resume writer. Experiences or achievements that you’ve accomplished are only important if they are relevant to your future position.

What Information Are You Going to Use to WoW the readers? – What can you use to WoW your readers, especially if you are heading into a new industry or position? Use your dynamic transferable skills to grab their attention. You can still use the skills you’ve acquired from past experience but focus it in a new direction so readers can see the value you have to offer now and in the future.

A salesperson for example, that is switching industries or even moving into a different type of selling environment can still highlight skills that will be needed in their new job such as; communication, business development, solutions selling, negotiation, customer service, management, leadership and other outstanding skills. Try to use the skills from your past but remove the industry terms or jargon to focus on the skill and related achievements.

Implement this approach with each skill that is being asked of in the new position and you’ll WoW the reader with an unbelievable resume that is sure to garner you an interview offer fast!!

For most effective and fastest results make sure every sentence in your new resume focuses on the new position you are seeking. Know where you are focusing your resume, who you are writing it for and what will be most effective to incorporate into the resume. Keep the information relevant and concise and you’ll get noticed others – and that is the purpose of the resume – so let it do its job and work for you!