Resume Help
When preparing for an interview would you consider rolling out of bed and not at least showering or spending a little time on your appearance before heading into an interview? Would you walk into an interview in shorts and a pair of sandals? Why would you be willing to spend time on your appearance before an interview? Is it not because we know first impressions matter. Then why not spend the same time and money to make sure your resume is presented in the most professional manor?
As a recruiter I see so many candidates who have $100k salaries and $50k resumes.
Your resume will be the only thing the hiring manager will see that you have created and will define your first impression. You want a $100k job than create a $100k resume. In a day when hiring managers can expect to be sent 50-100 resumes for a job posting it would be easy for a hiring manager to overlook one strictly because of appearance. Blow them away with your resume and it will buy you the opportunity to sit before them.
There are many different formats to choose from when building your resume and there are many parts that go into the resume, but there are a few points that I tend to see getting ignored the most that are critical aspects that I want to see when reviewing a resume.
When beginning to work through your professional history start by noting the size and industry of the company you worked for under the initial title of the employer. Under professional experiences, the top two lines should include, who is your employer and how long you have worked there followed by what the company does/makes and how much they produced. The next area should then be what was your title/role and how much of the revenue did you have responsibilities to. If you had multiple roles, then use titles with dates to indicate how long you were in each role. Below is an example of what I am talking about.
Mohawk Ind., Inc. 2011 – Present
$6B leading supplier of flooring for both residential and commercial applications
Sr. Director Operations Finance - $.5B 08/ 2014—Present
This is even more important when you have been promoted or carried multiple title in the same company. If listed wrong, it can easily look to a hiring manager who is only skimming your resume that you have had 3 different jobs in 6 years instead of actually being promoted internally, which is a big difference. In the line you list the employer, list the total time you have been with the company and then when you list your title list the time you spent in that title.
Once you have listed the company and your role bridge your title and the list of accomplishments with a summary statement of what your role was designed to do.
Sr. Director Operations Finance - $.5B 03/ 2014—Present
Ensure full delivery of all manufacturing financial Systems by directing the efforts of three plant controllers (and their staffs) and driving their partnership with operational management on site for a $0.5 billion Solid wood/engineered wood/laminate manufacturer, serving both global and domestic markets. Lateral move to sister company to assist with turnaround plan. Reported to divisional CFO.
Now begin to list your accomplishments. Don’t simply list your job description, but give a picture of what you accomplished and sells yourself by listing off what you did and how.
· Responsible for the SAP Master Data group and delivered reduced error rates from prior years.
· Strategy developed that reallocated the capacity to lower cost facility to improve Wood segment of business financial results by $8M from prior year with minimal capital investment required.
· Developed daily KPI/financial reporting that helped lead to a better understanding of results and improve reaction time to change course to help achieve expectations.
· Developed profitability by product line to help drive P&L improvement, resulted in the elimination of a species of product that had become extremely unprofitable and couldn’t be saved.
Notice how this person listed what he did and the results that came from that work. He didn’t just list that he developed profitability by product line, but he showed what resulted from this work. This might take you some time and you might not be able to list a financial dollar amount to everything you have done, but strong candidates achieve results and you should be able to list your results.
Another thing to consider is the language you use in describing your work. A good resume will use strong active verbs and descriptive adjectives to describe how and what you accomplished. You are not creating a job description. You need to look at it more like a menu at a restaurant. The menu could say ground beef between bread, but restaurants spice it up a little and give it a name like Cowboy Jack’s Burger. Use the same thinking in building your resume. You want to use words like “initiated” or “designed” or “directed.” Companies will pick up on these buzz words.
Lastly, you don’t have to ramble just to fill up the page. Too much content is a bad thing, focus as much of your writing on the last 5-7 years. 70% of the content on your resume should be what you have done in the last 5-7 years. Past that timeframe limit what you list off. Hiring manager are not as concerned about what you did 10 years ago, it’s just not as relevant and doesn’t demand the same consideration as what you are currently doing now.
Use your resume to sell yourself to the hiring manager on why you are qualified for the position you are interviewing for. To best due this tailor your resume to the job description you are apply for. Look through the job description of the role you want and consider what the person will do in that role and what the company is asking for. Then fill your resume with experiences you have had where you did the work they are looking for or that prepare you for the role. Sell to what the buy is buying.
Your resume is not just your ticket in to the interview, but it is also setting your first impression. If you want to be considered among the 100k + jobs, you need to have a 100k plus resume. I do offer resume writing as a service, if you are interested send me an email to let me know and I will be happy to help.
Thanks,
Chris Payne
The Cost Accounting Recruiter
He has risen! Luke 24:5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/costaccountingrecruiter
You can also follow me on Twitter: TalentFinder