Stick With A Simple Resume
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012The previous week, I received a telephone call from a friend that’s a financial advisor. He wants to be considered a real mover and shaker in the local world of business, so I can be expecting a lunch invitation once or twice every twelve months. (I’m low on the totem pole of the local business scene.) More often than not, the lunch will feature a couple people from linked industries that my friend is intending to cross network. I always go. In my small business, I don’t frequently do a lot locally, nevertheless it’s free food.
This occasion, I arrive at a fantastic, sunlit seafood restaurant by the beach to discover my friend sitting with some guy in a suit who he then introduces as a resume writer. The guy in the suit quickly attempts to rebrand himself as being a career coach, although after a few questions, it turns out that the majority of his business is just selling people on the concept that they need a professionally fashioned resume.
Ostensibly, the thought is that there could very well be some working synergy between a recruiter and a resume writer. I can’t blame my pal for the logic, it looks reasonable. All things considered, both take care of people during career transition. However, the reality is that it couldn’t be further from reality.
The resume writer endorses the misconception that a resume gets an interview. Further more, they offer the thought that an extravagant (higher priced) resume does a much better job. As a headhunter, we detest that style of reasoning.
If we start working with a candidate, we work with a tactic of focus. The most marketable achievements of their work history as it pertains to the job being sought and isolated. These are typically specific cases with numbers. Whatever else is then minimized, and these success stories are moved to the front and advertised.
Amongst other factors, this means that at our direction, the resumes are normally rewritten. Flowery language and jargon is cut. Padding and embellishment is eliminated. The resume is changed into a uncomplicated chronological road map which leads from one success to another. It is a snap to follow hoping that it’s going to lead an interviewer into dealing with the best things the job candidate possesses.
The moral of the story would be that recruiters don’t trust convoluted resumes. The resume should be easy and straightforward highlighting achievements that happen to be very specific. Resumes are tools to be utilized during an interview, not to get an interview. Don’t subscribe to the myth of a $500 resume. It provides no real value.
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