It’s been a while since I gave you a resume writing tip. Honestly, I thought we exhausted this topic. Yet, there is an avenue we have not discussed at length; putting you in the role of the hiring manger. I’m currently working with a gentleman who has over 20 years of experience in the IT field, and three years of experience in property management. His vision for a perfect resume is to combine his entire work history into one resume. The resume writing tip of this article is to think about what would attract you to a candidate.
It sounds simple and convenient from a time management perspective to have all your experience on one resume, yet will prove fatal to a successful job search. Everyone has a set of skills. You have to know which skills are job related and which skills are transferable. In his case, his ability to do light carpentry has no business on a resume geared toward information technology. If you were in the role of hiring for an information systems manager, would it interest you to know how that someone is an accomplished electrician? Of course not. While this skill is transferable to many jobs, it does not transfer to THIS SPECIFIC job.
The pressing part of this resume writing tip, it is to tailor your message to your intended audience and the specific job. If you were the hiring manager, you would want to know that the applicant is targeting you specifically. The applicant has studied the job posting and knows which skills are required to perform the duties of the position. To earn your attention, the resume has to include relevant strengths, experience, education, skills and competencies.
Know your audience. Put yourself in their role. What would stand out for you? What information, skills and experience would interest you enough to pick up the phone and call an applicant? If you read your resume and notice that it doesn’t answer the question of, “Am I uniquely qualified for this job?”, then you need to re-evaluate and either make the necessary changes to your message or make the necessary changes to the types of positions you are considering in your job search.
Each resume writing tip is provided to help you with a successful job search. Earning employment is a process requiring a commitment on your part.
