Do you ever wonder why the vast majority of résumés are so lackluster? I chalk it up to 2 reasons:
People have been trained to think of the résumé as a detailed biographical document that explains their work history in exhaustive detail, including all of the duties they've ever performed. That's diametrically opposed to its true purpose, which is to be a sales brochure that leaves the reader wanting to know more, and excited about talking to you.
The good news is that since such a large percentage are weak sales documents, you have the opportunity to polish yours up and make it stand out as a breath of fresh air to hiring managers!
Now before you run out to pay someone to do that for you, let me just warn you that I've also seen many that were done by professionals that were still pretty weak. Although those writers understood that the résumé should be a marketing document, they didn't know how to apply that knowledge beyond adding nice sounding but somewhat generic phrases you could find in any book, or putting in fancy graphic elements to make it look glitzy. That isn't REAL marketing.
I recall one business associate who showed me a résumé she had paid someone on the order of $1,000 to write, and she wasn't very happy with the result. My first reaction to it was, "What BS!" We sat down for lunch, and over then next 1 1/2 hours, transformed it into a sales document that represented her well, highlighted what she brought to the table, and really `sold' her package.
For the rest of the article, just drop me a note at John@JHACareers.com, and you can check out the contents of past issues and selected articles at www.JHACareers.com/Newsletter.htm
Other topics I covered in this issue include:
John
___________________________________________________
John West Hadley Career Search Counselor (908) 725-2437
"Land The Job And Pay You Deserve" Get 100's of Career Tips at www.JHACareers.com
