Your resume is a relatively short, but powerful document. I know that not all of you believe that, but really, it is. Face it, the number of ways to get a hiring manager to consider you for an interview is limited. So, you want a strong, captivating, informative, and achievement-oriented page or two that will open doors and give you a chance to present your case.
It is your concise and economic autobiography of your work history, accomplishments, brand, and most of all your potential and value. Taking significant time and effort to craft this all-important testimony cannot be over-emphasized. You may spend your entire career never marketing anything, but when it comes to resume writing, everyone is marketing themselves.
Now for those of you who believe me (and a million other career consultants) that the resume should be as I just described it, be aware of just how much enthusiasm you apply to the effort. Here is what I mean.
A key and consistent tactic encouraged by resume writers everywhere is to quantify your achievements. Data can help a benign description of a task carry more impact and make more of an impression. Take, for example, the following work history task:
“Managed a call center.”
OK. Now compare this terse sentence to:
“Efficiently managed a 24/7 call center employing twenty-five, having expertly handled a 31% increase in volume over a twelve month period.” Big difference, right?
Therefore, it is important to try turning the tasks that everyone writes on their resume into quantifiable accomplishments. It improves the impression you present of your work history immensely and may just show more clearly the value you can add to a potential employer.
But be careful. It is not that easy to do if you are trying this for the first time. If you have not been keeping track of your accomplishments in a quantifiable way, then it will be difficult to look back at your past and start revising your history so that it reflects how much good stuff you increased and/or how much bad stuff you decreased.
In fact, you may find it so hard to do this task you may be tempted to embellish just a little bit. Avoid that. It can lead to you becoming disingenuous or worse. It is like the PTO treasurer at your kid’s school who takes a $20 bill out of the till they are managing, because they are a little tight that week and after all, who will know? Before long, they may become a part-time and long-term thief.
It could work like this with the resume, too. You might start with a little white-lie about the amount of profits you helped a former company make and before you know it you’ve got an engineering degree from Dartmouth.
Assume that a background check will be conducted on your resume. The more responsible the position is that you are applying for, the greater the chance that a background check will be conducted on your resume, if the firm is serious about considering you. They may initiate a check using their own in-house resources or they will contract the investigation out to an employee screening firm. Does it mean they catch everything? Perhaps not. But why take the chance?
Most importantly, don’t fabricate who you are. Take pride in your achievements. Sure, there will be resumes that will sound more power-packed than yours, but you are who you are. Highlight what you have attained in a clear, dynamic, and honest manner. If it sounds sparse, then you may have just set some goals for the future of your career.
Juice your resume, don’t fluff it. You’ll sleep better knowing you have a compelling and forthright chronicle that puts you in the best light.
