Recent News Releases
| Sell Yourself! Four Questions: One Winning Move by David H Roper |
They’ll ask four questions of your resume—make sure you have the answers Answering the following four questions in a fully persuasive way will greatly increase your odds of developing a winning resume. These questions are the crucial elements of the resume formula. Answering them will not only give you the material you need for building a strong resume, but will also prepare you for networking and interviewing. Question #1: What do you want? That’s your Objective. Don’t struggle or agonize over this. It’s a simple question to which employers want a simple, specific answer. The most common objectives are the most damaging. Example: “To obtain a challenging, growth-oriented position within a dynamic organization that can utilize my skills.” What did you say about what position you want? Nothing. Skip the gobbledygook. Besides, who doesn’t want a challenging, growth-oriented position in a dynamic company? Would anyone want the opposite: a boring, dead-end position in a failing company? Tell them what you want as it fits what you feel they need. Change your objective for different markets, if you have to—it’s not a problem with today’s word-processing technology. Examples of Objectives: Administrative Assistant, Marketing Department. “C” Language Computer Programmer. Head Nurse. Elementary Teacher. Senior Auditor. And your Objective section doesn’t need to say what type of organization you want. They know that. You sent the resume to them! Question #2: Why are you qualified to do it? That’s the Summary of Qualifications section. Answer, in succinct form, why you’re qualified to accomplish your objective. That should be simple. Ask yourself why the should hire you. (You’ll need to get ready for that one at the interview anyway!) Summarize the answer. You might say:
These points become your Summary or Qualifications section (call it either). They prove you warrant your Objective. When done properly, this section satisfies the readers that the rest of your resume is worth reading, bringing them to the next question. Question #3: Where have you done it? That’s the Experience section. The reader wants to relate to the experience you’ve had. Identify the company in its most relevant light. If it’s not a recognizable company, write a line about its high points. Build it up. On the resume, the reader will often equate your value with that of your employer. Example: Notknown Corporation, Boston, Ma, a fast-emerging company in the field of plastic extrusion, with 35% yearly growth and numerous Fortune 100 accounts. Question #4: How well have you done it? That’s the Achievement section. This is where you should put in your most thought and effort. Think about what you did for each employer to make that company better. It could be a big thing or something small. But it should be enough to show value. Did you have an idea that was implemented and has saved the company money? Were you promoted several times as a result of consistent contributions? Were you given highly rated reviews, and why? Were you selected out of numerous employees for a key performance or training? Bullet these points separately from and after your job description: Recruiting Manager—Technical Temporaries (1987-present) Direct overall operations of two locations, maintaining full sales, P&L and budget responsibility ($12 million to $16million). Hire train, and manage section managers and staff. Review the productivity of each section to maintain positive fill ration, increase in percentage of markup, and a steady flow of qualified applicants/clients. Initiate and coordinate the recruiting of qualified applicants. Establish and maintain tracking mechanisms. Prepare and evaluate ongoing training programs in sales and recruiting areas with managers and sales reps. Key Achievements:
About the AuthorDavid H. Roper founded A-Script in 1982 as a premiere resume writing/job sea assistance firm focusing on changing market needs and staying on the cutting edge of resume writing techniques. An award winning writer, he is the author of "Getting the Job You Want Now" as well as having written for numerous national publications and having his writing published in eight different languages. |
|
|
