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Summary of What's included in this Step:
4: Write Like a Reporter
Last Update: 2-21-03
Communicate like a pro.
Your resume has three aspects: what it says about your past, what it implies about your future, and how it is presented right now. In other steps we have addressed the first two topics; in this section of The Resume Kit we are most concerned that you know how to make the resume speak to readers, interviewers and reviewers in a way that keeps them interested and paying attention to the things you want to emphasize.
A good reporter makes certain that the most compelling part of the story is in the first paragraph. A powerful resume writer will do the same thing. Other than your contact information you will want the next thing the reader sees to say YES to continue to read with interest. Depending on the format you use this may be an objective- if you have a real and compelling objective, not just a pro-forma statement, or the name of the last firm you worked with, or a major success at school if you are using a Chronological resume. Or this could be a job target, or a function. The top of your resume serves as a type of headline. It must keep the interest flowing.
This is especially true in the digital marketplace - covered in depth in The Resume Kit. Unless you have really captured the reader's attention - as a well done Targeted Resume can do by being very well researched towards the employer's needs- the recruiter/reader will probably start to scan the resume in her own way- generally trying to find the "knockout" factors, those things that disqualify the candidate from the job. This is the unfortunate result that occurs when a resume reader has to discard 80% of the resumes he gets to see AFTER the digital sorting and filtering has gone on.
A knockout factor implies that no matter what skills or experience the person has we can't use them unless they have "X" (willingness to travel etc.) also. The problem with this "scan out" approach is that it promotes a kind of inattention for all but the best-written resumes. If you are saying too much, or using wind up phrases: "I was the person responsible for meeting with…" instead of bulleted power statements: (Managed…, Achieved… ), or are repeating the same skills from job to job, the reader's eyes start to gloss over and you can get lost. Even when you have a short history of experience you need to be concerned about this.
Even in the digital formats used so frequently by many resume banks, substance and responsiveness are required to keep your resume out of the spam category. Activities or duties are not enough; outcomes or results are required to make a compelling case. Quantification is needed. Having a backup Presentation Style (well prepared printed version) resume is a must for use in interviews.
The Resume Kit includes 15 really good resumes in a variety of formats you can learn from and even use as templates for your own resume.
Without someone looking over your work in advance even the best writers are lost to mistakes. Double editing is required: one pass from someone familiar with the kind of work you do and one pass from a person who can find the deadly typos and grammatical mistakes that can flunk you out. A career counselor is invaluable here.
The Resume Kit provides word choices, layout rules, and more
about the skills of writing resumes.
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