Fear and Loathing in Your Personal Resume Viewpoint and the “Game”

???????One of the first principles of the entire job hunt and resume creation process is to know that nothing going forward will be about you.?What??Yup, it is all about me – the employer.??If you think about it, an employer is trying to make money by selling goods or services.?The one thing he or she needs is someone to help him or her make money.?So, what are they thinking??Well, it’s not about your personal “objectives;” it is not about your accomplishment or about anything you belong to or anyone you know.?It’s about how someone is going to help them make money.

?????????????If you are going to be successful in getting the attention of these greedy folks (hey, you past employers now looking for work, remember?), you have to “position” yourself as someone who can, so to speak, bring home the owner’s bacon.?Piggish, I know, but that is how business is run.?And, it’s a game.?A resume is really a way to keep you out.?Don’t believe me? ?Read on.

?????????????Once you get this --it takes time for some people to gain this perspective --the entire process of writing a resume, writing a cover letter and eventually interviewing becomes easier.?Your resume must be:?1.?Easy to read; ?2. ?Interesting; ??3.?Positioned so you come across as someone of “value;” 4.?Unable to be “thrown away” because your skill sets exhibit things they want; and 5.?Created so anyone can eyeball it in 10 seconds and put it in the “short pile” to read later.?That’s the game.?Find faults and it is tossed or shredded!

?????????????For those of you who have had to read resumes, remember that stack of 55 that you had to review by Monday morning???How did that 7-pager go (saw one once)???What about the 2-page cover letter in slanted font size 7??Did the first 15 try to sell you on how wonderful they are??Did the next 22 seem like they needed you to help them get a job at another company???Spelling and punctuation errors??Ugh.

?????????????Here is why the “5 musts” help the poor dear wade through all that crap:??

1.??????????Easy to read: Use a professional font (no frilly stuff please) and use margins approaching 1” on all sides.??Put a line of space between every section.?Put 2 (YES, 2!) spaces after every punctuation period (the poor bastard needs to breathe between thoughts you know).?I’ll share thoughts on type fonts later

2.??????????Interesting: When I get to the skill sets and the bullet posts, you’ll see what I mean.?Do NOT try to cram every “key word” that you have ever learned or been taught to sneak into every nook and cranny of this document.?You don’t speak that way and frankly, I can buy a robot cheaper than I can hire you.

3.??????????Position of value: ?This has to do with a summary that is written in the view of the employer.?Think, what value can you share, deliver and bring to the table???When I get to the summary post, you’ll see why this is hard to write on your own but when done correctly, garners immediate attention.?

4.??????????Cannot be thrown away: ?If the document is consistent in following the first 3 items above, and if your cover letter is constructed properly (more in a later post), your package goes to that short pile that will allow time for someone to actually read in detail, ?later.??At this point, you passed the paper shredder test.

5.??????????10 Second Rule: ?Remember, that stack of 55 must get down to 4 or 5 in an hour or two.?No time for figuring out what you are trying to say or advertise to be.?You have been given a 10-second period to allow the reader to move your cheese to the small pile.?Use this wisely.?Ask any expert.?

?????????????Seems easy right???No, it is hard to do.?Put your ego on ice and start thinking about your new boss.

Thomas Fleury is a small business advisor, a resume re-positioner and a facilitator of peer to peer groups for Small Business USA.?He can be reached at [email protected].?Details on LinkedIn at ThomasRFleury?