A Powerful Technique to Create a Resume That Hiring Executives will Rave About – Part One

I am guessing that you are reading this article because you are among the 70% of the US workforce that is unhappily employed.  And, therefore, are contemplating whether to start looking or, you have already started a full-blown job search. Imagine feeling totally confident and excited about your decision to find something better because you have a value stacked resume that will significantly increase your interview response rate and dramatically cut your job search time in half. Crumple up your current resume and throw it away along with your insecurities.

In my forthcoming article series, I will expose to you how you can implement my value-stacking technique to help your resume pass the six second glance test, so that interview offers pour in.

Let’s start from the top shall we?

It is being communicated quite well across  career success  platforms that the “Objective” statement has become obsolete. So what value stacked content should you use instead? A proven strategy that I have implemented when professionally writing resumes and one that you should consider is to exhibit a unique personal brand. The key to doing this effectively is to use marketing words that evoke emotion, and showcase your value in a nutshell. The following resume top section is one that I wrote for a candidate applying for marketing director roles. She landed an interview and an offer for the first job she applied for, and the hiring executive complimented her resume saying: “Your resume is very well stacked and impressive. I don’t see one this good very often.”

(The original formatting of this sample has been altered to fit the article format)

 TOP-PERFORMING MARKETING DIRECTOR

Team Leadership Account  Management  Client Relationships  Program Development & Execution

Recognized, high-impact decision maker, persuasive presenter, C-level communicator and contract negotiator; career history of exceeding demanding sales goals in competitive markets; deliver solutions through exceptional leadership, tactical business development, strategic market positioning and organizational planning; outstanding communicator; unique ability to establish immediate rapport, and build high-value, loyal client relationships that sustain growth.

EXECUTIVE STRENGTHS

                Product & Brand Activations/Analysis/Critical Thinking/Action Planning/Forecasting/Recruitment & Team Building                  Time & Project Management Skills/Budget Management/P&L/Oral& Written Communication/Microsoft Office

SUCCESS BY THE NUMBERS SNAPSHOT:

Secured an incremental $1mm in NSV for sales teams in 6 months Supported 80% incidence against key measures Managed $12mm A&P budget and $24mm media budget across division Achieved +1.2% depletions and profit above plan Advanced performance metrics by 25% and spend efficiency by 15% Drove incremental +45% in sales vs. previous years Cultivated 10mm earned impressions and 33% increase in sales in key outlets in Year 1

“Dina’s core strengths: 1. Solid at generating ideas and moving them to action. 2. Market Knowledge 3. Maximizing Trade Marketing/Brand Investment & Promotional Effectiveness. 4. Wants to make a positive difference to business performance. It is pretty clear why she continues to be successful.” Manager Name, SVP/GM Division Marketing, Company North America

Tips:

1. Consider using the same title of the position you are targeting complimented with an adverb. In this case it was a “Director” role rather than a “Manager” for instance. “Top-Performing Marketing Director” is more value-driven than simply “Marketing Director” alone.

2. Infuse value-driven phrases relevant to your industry. For this resume, I used “decision-maker”“high-impact,” and “persuasive” to describe desired qualities of an accomplished marketing director.

3. If there are job descriptions for the positions you plan to apply for go through and highlight key words like “analysis” and “action planning” as well as main objectives like “team leadership” success, and “client relationships”. Transfer those that match your competencies to your resume.

4. Take a proactive approach to answering the interview question “what would your previous boss say about you?” Consider including a quote from a former or current manager right on your resume. You might pull one from a performance review (hopefully you kept copies) or reach out to them and ask them for one. Hopefully, you departed or are leaving on good terms and can also use them as a reference.

Instead of making hiring-managers and recruiters search through your resume to find your “super-value” provide a snapshot at the top. This will entice them to read on. A competitive resume is stacked from top to bottom. In my next article, I will dissect the “Professional Work Experience” section. In the meantime, you may access additional free job-winning tips, tools, sample resumes and more at www.careercoachsally.com.

Would you like to see how your resume stacks up now? Request a free resume assessment here.