RESUME ADVICE FOR GRADUATING COLLEGE STUDENTS
By: Jim Loria
As a person that has hired hundreds of employee prospects over the years, I wanted to offer some personal advice for the college students that are either crafting or updating their resume with graduation coming up in a few months. First, know that the job market is much more competitive now than ever before. As a result, more businesses are relying on headhunters and staffing agencies to handle the hiring process. They just can’t handle the load of inquiries. Thus, so many candidates for positions will be dashing off a cover letter, resume and applying for the same job. What separates candidate #1 and candidate #100?
First, do not underestimate the power of your cover letter. In my opinion, it’s what sells the reviewer of every application. I believe that most HR professionals don’t even get to the resume if the cover letter doesn’t first peek their interest. If I use my time as a hiring manager in year’s past, usually I gave the cover letter a quick look-see and if something didn’t capture my attention in about 8-10 seconds, my assumption was that the resume pretty much would not jump out as well either.
A prospect’s cover letter needs to be thought of as a very powerful tool that should scream out "interview me immediately!" When a job candidate throws together a cover letter with little-to-no personalization or at least some form of creativity, you might as well just sent out a blank sheet of paper.
I can’t emphasize enough to make the effort to find out what your target employer's slogan/catchphrase/mission statement might be and brainstorm ways to include it in your cover letter introduction? This extra effort and creativeness will quickly capture the employer's attention and demonstrate that you are familiar with their business which can make you stand out from the other candidates.
Feature a strong headline near the beginning of the cover letter. Keep it brief, yet powerful. Address one of the employer's key concerns or spotlight your expertise or an attribute that will be particularly appealing to the employer. You could also develop your own slogan or mission statement and include it near the top of your cover letter.
I’ve often told the students that I help mentor to start capturing “testimonials.” In the base of your cover letter what better way to support claims you make about your candidacy for the job than to include a “quoted testimonial” from an established and recognizable professional that speaks on your behalf!
Know that it is not always the content inside the resume that sells the employer; rather, its how ‘you present you’ as a candidate for the position that matters most! Like a restaurant meal. Your taste buds ramp up if the wait staffer delivers you a dinner plate that is beautifully decorated. The same is true when you are seated at a restaurant and notice that the silverware is filled with dishwasher stains, your mindset gets totally turned off.
Every resume comes with a listing of a candidate's career experiences. Despite many written accomplishments, I do believe that it is the process of selling you and letting the employer know what “you offer the company”. I am going to close by stating a sales analogy I have often used when speaking to marketing students in college which is “Businesses buy the Person first before the Product.” Same holds true when reviewing a person’s resume and that is where a solid cover letter can be a difference maker!
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