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How to Build a Resume and Advice on How to Build a Resume
Hi, Iím David J. Gardner, founder of Resume Success and author of the book Insider Secrets
to Building the Resume Top Companies LOVE!
Today letís talk about How to Build a Resume. And not just any resume, the most powerful
resume in your marketplace. Listen, in this economy, with this amount of competition,
an average or even fairly good resume will NOT get you that interview. It needs to be
top 5% to be considered seriously.
If youíve done some checking and I hope you have, or will, you know that we at Resume
Success.org have done a lot of research asking direct questions to recruiters in top companies
and agencies in North America, to find out exactly what they love to see, and that most
resumes donít include.
Some of the advice we give will surprise you, as it flies in the face of traditional resume
creation. Rest assured, this is what Recruiters and Hiring Managers today want to see most,
and so you must give it to themÖ itíll really make your experience shine and will give you
the edge over your competition.
Letís get started with some of the things you can do right away to vastly increase the
power of your resume:
Here are what weíve found to be the Top 3 things you MUST include if you want to bring
your resume to excellence. This first of these is the Core Competencies section.
Most people mistakenly include an Objective and/or Profile at the top under their contact
infoÖreasons will be given in another video, but letís just say Recruiters donít read
them as they are, and most often theyíre boring useless fluff.
Instead, you want to include a summary of your key skills we call Core Competencies.
How to Build a Resume using Core Competencies
Core Competencies are the top 5-8 Skills you possess that mean you are PERFECTLY suited
to the role youíre applying for. Theyíre usually a mix of hard and soft skills. List
these skills in a concise, distilled and quantifiable format. When itís done it will look something
like this.
Whenever possible, use numbers, years, dollars, whatever quantifiable information you can
synopsize here. Remember, as a document full of words, numbers and other characters jump
out and get noticed.
A tight CC area will show a Hiring Manager that you grasp the key ingredients in a successful
skill set for that role, and that you have them. You also show the Recruiter that you
match the skills outlined in a job description that the Hiring Manager has deemed important.
I admit itís hard to do a great CC list. It takes a lot of self-evaluation and organizationÖand
practice. Remember though, almost no one does this area correctly, and as a result the whole
first section of most resumes is wasted.
The 2nd area that most people neglect on How to Build a Resume is to include is what we
call a Company Synopsis.
Right here, under your company name, usually italicized not bold, list valuable and impressive
details of the company you worked for.
What industry, place in the market, how long in business, public or private, national or
international, all these things, when chosen properly and listed effectively, can and will
help a Recruiter qualify you for a role.
If you worked for BDM Inc. for example, you cannot expect a Recruiter to know who they
are, what industry, annual sales and so on that will make you a closer fit to their role.
And You do NOT want to make a recruiter go online to search out that company to learn
more about themÖthat takes time, it can be frustrating, and your stock as a candidate
goes down.
When your Company Synopsis is done itíll look something like this: Note that you donít
have to entitle it. Often a great idea is to include a link from the company name to
the company website as well, just in case they want additional information.
Helping a recruiter find the impressive facts about your previous employers positions you
as a more valuable candidate. Youíve saved them time and shown them what impressive companies
youíve been at, and therefore, by association, how great YOU are.
The 3rd and final area most people neglect is the Accomplishments area. Word for word
it the most powerful section in a resume according to Recruiters. When done well it puts you
on the short list to be called for interview virtually every time you submit. Most people
donít include it, or do so with weak, fluffy content that just shows a Recruiter you donít
get it.
If the Responsibilities section above shows them how what youíve done matches their job
description well, the Accomplishments section shows how youíre better than anyone else
whoís done it. It moves your experience from average to extraordinaryÖand let me tell
you companies always look for extraordinary.
Choose a few key contributions for each role here, and make sure theyíre listed quantifiably,
meaning include specifics, with dollars, percentages, or detailed impactive results.
When itís done itíll look something like this.
A great Accomplishments area on a resume shows a prospective employer that you are better
than the average applicant, and Recruiters LOVE to see them. This area done well puts
candidates at the top of MY call list every time.
So there you have it. There are other secrets that youíll need to incorporate into your
new MASTER RESUME to bring it to itís ultimate greatness, but these 3 represent some of the
most missed and powerful ways to impress Recruiters and Hiring Managers, and get that Interview.
I hope this video has helped you, feel free to head to our website to learn more about
us and see other videos! Good luck, happy job hunting, and letís get
working!
How to Build a Resume and Advice on How to Build a Resume