Three Difficult Truths About Resumes: Denial Can Cost You Dearly

A SURPRISING CONFESSION was recently made to me by a client of mine. Kris, who had served for many years in the role of hiring manager, came to me for help revamping his resume. As we began discussing his document, he said: “If I were the hiring manager reviewing my resume, I would immediately rule me out of consideration. Based on my resume, I would never hire me.”

Think about that for a moment. Here’s an intelligent man, an experienced human resource (HR) professional, who for an active job search for himself had been using a resume that he himself recognized as so inferior that by his own standards, he would never be hired! It was only after repeated rejection over an extended period of time that he eventually sought me out to help him, after the efforts of two other resume writers had failed to achieve the desired results.

"Based on my resume, I would never hire me.” — Kris (HR professional)

What does that tell us about resumes (for which a recruiter or hiring manager typically spends no more than seven seconds on an initial scan)? For me, the takeaway is that it can be very difficult—even for intelligent, experienced professionals—to confront the hard work of redoing a resume. This leads to THREE DIFFICULT TRUTHS, the denial of which can cost you dearly.

Pare down and clarify

First, difficult as it may be, you need to pare down and clarify your verbiage. Clear and concise is what you’re shooting for, in other words. Over the years, everyone tends to accumulate content that calls for a thorough reevaluation.

Think makeover rather than modification

Second, updating or “polishing” is almost never sufficient, if your goal is a document that’s going to open the door to your dream job or position. Think complete makeover, rather than minor revisions. The world changes a lot in a short time these days—and you need to change with it.

Work together collaboratively with your resume writer

Third, as appealing a fantasy as it may be, you can’t just drop the job into someone else’s lap and expect to get a high-quality resume back in return. It will take significant mental effort on your part, working collaboratively with the writer, to produce a compelling document.

These truths may be difficult but you ignore them at your peril. Keep in mind that your resume is representing you in one of the most important contexts imaginable: competition for desirable employment. You want it to be fully up to the task.

Remembering that “Life Is Like a Resume,” let us count the ways:

1. You get out of it what you put into it.

2. Honesty is the best policy.

3. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes yields huge rewards.

4. It pays to be focused.

5. Longer is not necessarily better (as we were saying above).

And to make your resume development and job-search strategy all the more effective, consider these three bonus tips:

? Make your resume shine, with an individual mission statement.

? Turbo-charge your job search, with the ultimate five-step strategy.

? Fast track yourself to your desired employment, with alumni networking.

Finally, if you think this article might be helpful to anyone you know, feel free to forward it along to them.

As dozens of five-star reviews on?Google?and?Yelp?attest, Daniel Berman has over the years been achieving excellent results with helping people write and improve their resumes, not just for purposes of job applications but also as supporting material for applications to academic programs. Readers are invited to access his resume website website or email him directly ([email protected]) to discuss assistance.