In today's economy, where there are so many people looking for work
and so few opportunities available the challenge for job seekers is not simply finding the right position for themselves,
but also differentiating themselves from the masses seeking employment. How do candidates, with all things being equal differentiate
themselves to move to the top of the pile. Capturing your essence, your value and experience in 2 pages or less can be a daunting
task and a very frustrating experience especially if you are not getting the results you expect.
The reality of it though is that your resume is not designed to tell your whole story but rather
to capture your major highlights and achievements. Very easily, your resume can be likened to that of a commercial, a 30 to
45 second spot designed to entice consumers, or in this case hiring managers and recruiters to want to learn more about the
product being sold. Resumes then need to written in such a way that they captivate and compel hiring managers and recruiters
to want more.
Your initial opportunity to captivate and
hook your audience is extremely short. Your opening needs to be well positioned, enticing, energetic and passionate about
what you do. It needs to exude confidence and leave no doubt in the readers mind that you are a person that needs to be seen.
Write your hook with the same enthusiasm and passion that you use when you talk about your favorite sports team, your kids
or even your bike... whatever it is that you love to do.
Beyond
your hook, the two most important pieces to any resume are its layout and its content. When considering both the layout and
the content of your resume it is important to recognize that both of these facets will equally impact the success of your
resume. If your layout is not sharp, easy to follow and creative and your content is weak, irrelevant to the position and
grammatically faulty you may as well hang out at the corner store buying lottery tickets as your chance of success will be
greater there then in today's job market. The layout of today's paper resumes need to have an easy flow to them, while at
the same time sharp and creative. On the content side well positioned, grammatically correct relevant responsibilities and
achievements are a must. And where ever possible it is important to quantify your resume, simply because numbers have real
value, they are demonstrable and comparable.
Finally,
beyond page 2 today there really needs to be something more. With the continual growth and ease of social media tools such
as Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace etc. it simply is no longer enough to only have a paper resume. Top shelf
candidates are finding ways to use these tools to further their career aspirations and job search success.
