Hi there,

 Perhaps the most common mistakes I see in my career coaching practice surround resumes.  Things like what goes in them, how long they should be, what stays out of them and most importantly how accurately they ‘speak’ to the needs of the advertised position (or target role).   

Many of my clients present with a curriculum vitae (CV) styled document that is 5 or 6 (sometimes even more) pages long.  Current industry standards for resumes are that for a mid career professional the document should be no more than 4 pages long (less is better) and that an abundance of white space makes the document more attractive to the reader.   

An important distinction I make with all of my clients is the difference between a resume and a CV.  A resume is defined as “a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education…”  Curriculum vitae, while commonly used to describe the same thing, is actually Latin for course of life.  Armed with this definition the writing prospect becomes a whole different kettle of fish.  Compare the two: 

Resume	Curriculum Vitae
Summary of relevant job experience	Document describing the [entire] course of your life or career.

 Consider for a moment your potential employer.  They’ve advertised for a position and because of the marvel of the internet and email receive 20 applications.  It’s important to note that although there is a widely recognised skills shortage in industrial, trades and manufacturing roles many professional services vacancies are still experiencing high volume responses to advertising campaigns.  Meaning, it’s still important that your resume stands out in the pile… for the RIGHT reasons. 

So let’s assume you agree with me and opt for a brief, succinct, individually tailored resume approach.  Now how do you ensure that the right information gets in there?   

It all starts with job analysis.  This is perhaps the single most important step of any job seeking process.  It is at this point that you have the most opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  A little bit of effort exerted here can return big dividends further down the track.  So, how do you do it? 

There are a number of ways you can find out more about a position.  The most common approach is looking at the job ad.  Identify the key skills and experiences and make sure your resume demonstrates your abilities.  A good analysis doesn’t end here though.  Remember that those job ads are sales documents.  The employer wants to attract a good pool of applicants.    

There are two reasons you might analyse a role. 

1)     To determine how best to compete for the role.

2)     To ensure you really want to work in that job or for that organisation. 

You won’t get all the info you need to do either of the above by just looking at the job ad.  The next step is often the position description (PD).  If possible get a copy of this as it often provides a comprehensive overview of the requirements, responsibilities and duties of the job.  They often include information about the company or work unit as well that can be useful.  It’s important to acknowledge however that sometimes PD’s aren’t up to date, or they may be generic so don’t stop here if you want to separate yourself from the rest.

 

Speak to someone in the know.  This may be the recruiter, a nominated contact officer or someone in the organisation (like the HR Manager).  You may need to access your own network for assistance too.  It’s important to speak with someone because you get an opportunity to build a relationship AND you can ask some very specific questions about the role and/or the company.  Things I like to know include:

 

• What’s an average day look like?
• If there are 3 main things I need to accomplish in the first 6 months, what are they?
• How will my performance be measured, what’s important?
• What challenges is the role or the team or the organisation facing right now?

 In all my experience in recruitment or running selection panels, I would say that less than 20% of applicants ever rang to speak to me about the role.  Simply by doing this you’re giving yourself a much improved chance of identifying the critical things in your work history that demonstrate your ability to resolve the problem the employer is trying to fix by recruiting.  The trick is to include everything that demonstrates how you have tackled those issues successfully in the past and nothing that doesn’t.  Less is more.  The resume’s purpose is to get you an interview, not win you the job.  Put enough information in so that the employer is interested in knowing more about you.  Whet their appetite so they have to interview you to find out more, don’t give away the farm by telling them everything you’ve ever done.  It lacks finesse and you fail to demonstrate that you’ve acutely understood their issues and are uniquely positioned to solve their problems for them. 

In my next e-zine I’ll talk more about how to structure your resume so that it gets the results you’re looking for.  If you’ve had a read of the above and still aren’t sure if you’re on the right track why don’t you talk to us about a complimentary coaching session?  Click here to arrange for someone from our office to contact you.

 

Warm regards,