How to Write an Interview-Winning Resume in 3 Steps

Your resume has one job and one job only, so it needs to get it right.

Your resume’s job is to get you an interview. To complete its task, it has work to do - criteria to meet, stories to tell, and hoops to jump through.

Google for help and the results run the gamut:

“Your resume should be one page, no two pages, no unlimited pages.”

“Only include 10 years of experience, no 5, no everything you've done since grade school.”

"Use your photo, no don't use any graphics, yes use your kids' artwork!"

How would you like a resume easy button?

The 3-Step process to writing an interview-winning resume.

Caveat: this works if you are qualified for the position. If you’re a resume writer applying for a Head of Neurology position, it’s not happening.

If you’re a fit for the job and you can prove it, this is your way to an interview.

Write your resume, in this order:

Step 1. Write for the decision maker

The job of your resume in this step is to prove to the decision maker you are a good return on investment for the company. That you will bring in a greater value versus what it costs to hire you.

The decision maker won't believe that you can do the job just because you said so. And listing years of experience is not proving you're actually good at it.

I have experience sewing. I have 30+ years' worth of experience sewing. Am I qualified as a seamstress?

No.

In those 30-odd years, I've sewed on buttons and made attempts at mending holes. Attempts. That's as good as it gets. But I have 30 years of sewing buttons on that mostly stay on.

How do you prove your value? Start by filling in the following:

I did this [JOB REQUIREMENT} using these [HARD/SOFT SKILLS] which resulted in these [BENEFITS].

Write as much as you can think of. Make it messy, make it long, and don't skimp. Write everything you can think of.

This is the foundation for your bullet points.

Step 2. Edit for the gatekeeper

The gatekeeper is the individual who is scanning your resume to decide if it goes to the decision maker. This is not an easy job, but it is thankless.

According to one source, each corporate job receives 250 resumes...

It further states that only 4 to 6 applicants will get an interview. Of 250+ applicants.

This is why editing to make the gatekeeper's life easier improves your chances.

For this step, imagine you’re talking to a teenager. I don’t know about your teenager, but when I had one, it was fun. It gave me grey hair and question my sanity. But that's another story.

I knew I had AT MOST five seconds of his attention when we talked. My message had to cut to the chase to the most important communication I wanted to get across.

The gatekeeper doesn't want to muck about your resume. They want to know immediately:

1. What are you applying for
2. How are you qualified

And here is how you answer those questions:

• Clearly. On the top quarter of your resume, write the job for which you are applying
• Slice & Dice. You’ve already got your proof points from step 1, now make them stand out. Cut out all the unnecessary fluff and verbiage.

Slice and dice your contents until it’s clean, clear, and clutter-free. Words and space. We need lots of white space to make it easy for the eyes to read the content and the space frames what is important.

We also need to splice those sentences, they will not be perfect. We use the assumed I. Meaning, each sentence is read as though it begins with "I".

Instead of "I managed a team of 15...."

The bullet point is "Manage team of 15..."

It is human nature to fill in the blanks. Like those “if you can read this, you’re a genius” when only the first and last letters are correct.

Keep asking yourself:

• What is important?
• Why should or do they care?
• What do they need to know?

Anything that doesn’t answer one of those three questions can most likely go.

This reduced, easy-to-read demonstration of your value is your baseline resume. Your foundation to tweak for every position you apply for, which leads us to our final step:

Step 3. Tweak for the computer software

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software that collects and sorts resumes. You want to make nice with this software. It has no feelings, just code.

Every job has a purpose and requirements to succeed. These are hard and soft skills. For this last step, we need to mirror those listed in the job in your resume.

It may be as simple as changing “customer” to “client” if that's what the job description uses.

It may be changing “manages” to “manage” – some are very picky and want an exact match of tense.

It may be spelling out “Masters of Business Administration” instead of “MBA” (or doing both)

There are two reasons this is the last step:

1. A resume geared toward a computer will be rejected by a person. They pick up on keyword stuffing and are not impressed.

2. This is the least important step. Proving your value is the most important. It sets up your resume, LinkedIn, networking, and interview. This is word matching.

I've been writing resumes for nearly 15 years and this is the exact process I use. It works. My clients get interviews.

Remember:

Prove it. Simplify it. Tweak it.

You got this.

Which of the three call-to-action steps for writing an interview-winning resume has made it easier for you to put your branding together?

PS - Do you want to know a secret...

There are no hard fast rules for resumes. To answer the Google confusion at the beginning of this article:

• Your resume should be as long as will keep their attention.
• Include relevant experience.
• Format it so technology doesn't muck it up.

I support successful professionals in reaching their next level of career happy and life healthy. Here is what some of my clients are saying:

• "I got a 35% salary increase and a new multi-million-dollar territory"
• "From 1 interview to 15 in 2 weeks and multiple job offers"
• "A 300% increase in LinkedIn views, recruiters calling, and interviews"
• “I made one change you recommended; two recruiters immediately reached out”

Book your career consultation and let's talk soon!

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