Your Resume: The Story of YOU
Posted on November 27, 2012 by Meryl Frank Harari, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Use your resume to best highlight your skills, abilities and experiences to create and market your unique "brand".
Does Your Résumé Tell a Story?
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there’s a big difference between a curriculum vitae and a résumé.
If you want to construct a narrative for your credentials, use a résumé—and understand that you will almost certainly need more than one version. Each will highlight and interpret your experience differently in light of the job or career alternatives you’re exploring.
The process of putting together a résumé is as valuable as the product. It entails drafting your story and presenting it in a way that shows you in the best possible light. In short, it is a marketing tool and the product is YOU!
Everything in the résumé must point to one goal—which, of course, is the climax of the story you’re telling. It should reflect that YOU are the person the hiring manager is seeking. YOU are the one who is the best fit for the job at hand.
Think about building your resume in three main sections – not to exceed 2 pages:
• Summary
First, in 3-5 short sentences, summarize who you are using powerful descriptors that are accurate and that you can support if asked. An example might be: Experienced, Pragmatic, IT director skilled in creatively solving complex business problems.
• Strengths or Expertise
Second, create a bulleted list of experience highlights that clearly demonstrate your ability to do that job. Consider every piece of experience you have (don’t forget volunteer work or anything else that might apply), and identify those that best support your fit for the position. Examples are: Budgeting and Cost Containment; Quality Assurance; Team Leadership, etc.
• Experience
Third, summarize your professional work. This section of your résumé includes in reverse chronological order all the relevant positions you’ve held. For each job, show company name with a brief description, your title, dates of employment and a bulleted list of your responsibilities and accomplishments. All the experience detail should correspond with and support the terms you listed in both the Summary and Strengths sections. In fact, every claim (which supports your overall goal) must be supported by your job summaries.
The final sections of your resume round out and complete the picture of who you are. Here’s where you can indicate your: Education, Specialized Training, Volunteer/Community Activities, Professional Affiliations, Licenses, Presentations, Publications.
Follow these steps, and your résumé will tell a coherent story of YOU: the work you have done and the skills and interests you have developed and demonstrated. Tailor your content for each job application by highlighting certain relevant experiences and re-ordering your bullet points to best correspond with the job requirements….all the while, leveraging your strengths!
As a bonus, I’m betting you’ll be able to stand back and admire the YOU reflected in your resume as someone pretty accomplished and successful.
Good Luck!!
