3 Ways to Strengthen Your Resume
If you’re like most people, you worry your resume doesn’t help you stand out.
You’re likely correct.
When I look at a resume, I find it often does not show the strength of someone’s ability.
When your strengths are not highlighted appropriately, you won’t stand out.
How can that be remedied? I find there are three main culprits:
· Examples are not strong enough
· Words are not strong enough
· Accomplishments and awards are buried in job descriptions
These three things will strengthen your narrative and get you in the door for interviews.
Strengthen Your Examples
Most career profiles and job descriptions contain lists of requirements. Most resumes also read like lists of responsibilities.
When an employer receives resumes of people with similar responsibilities, who will stand out?
Go beyond listing responsibilities to highlight examples of your work. A lot of people think specific examples of work should be saved for a cover letter and/or interview. That’s not the case.
Examples with detail will demonstrate how you have performed your responsibilities. Use names of partners or clients (if it’s confidential, you can use vague descriptions). Include titles of people with whom you work. Incorporate numbers, such as numbers of attendees at a conference where you presented; how many people you trained or supervised; or the number of people in the organization you support as director of IT.
Most importantly, what were the results, or what did you aim to achieve if no result is yet evident (or if nothing came of it)? Don’t tell the employer you are results-oriented. Show them through examples.
YOU will feel better about your accomplishments when you present yourself this way, and in turn, you will stand out.
Strengthen Your Words
When you use specific examples, make your language strong. Start each bullet with a verb. You want to create a clear picture in the employer’s mind of what you did. Here are examples of some of my favorite verbs:
· Built
· Engaged
· Presented
· Selected
· Introduced
Extract Accomplishments and Awards
Too often I see achievements and awards buried in job descriptions. Pull them out!
Awards warrant a separate section of your resume, or else you run the risk of employers not seeing them.
You should write as if all of your job description bullets are achievements.
Your resume is a story of your strengths and accomplishments, so refine your examples and words to create a clear narrative that makes you a strong candidate. That is how you will stand out.