resume advice | Robin's Resumes (r)

Resume Advice Your Mother Would Agree With

May 12 2019

A lot of the advice our mothers share with us throughout our childhood holds true value for resumes. Here are examples of Mother’s Day advice that any job seeker should follow:

If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all. As resume advice, this adage is particularly important when you are writing or speaking about your current or previous employers. Badmouthing your boss, fellow employees, vendors, or customers is a sure way to make future employers nervous. It is fine to explain how you solved problems (“turned around” a company or “developed procedures” or “up-leveled staff”) but not to complain and vilify. The line is clear—if you do not know how to draw it, call on Robin’s Resumes® for help.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel. This mantra encourages you to clearly state on your resume what you offer to a company. Check advertisements and job postings for the education, hard and soft skills, and accomplishments that employers are looking for in the position you want and make sure that you (honestly) include them on your resume. Employers want to know what you have achieved.

Choose your words wisely. Certain business words go through cycles of popularity: core competency, empower, talent, proactive, operationalize. But they quickly become overused and even dated. This resume advice urges you to make sure you know what business jargon means and decide whether it helps you to truly communicate your value or merely show off your vocabulary.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Embarking on a job search is never easy, whether the decision is your own or forced upon you. Updating your resume is an essential first step. You need a current resume to respond to job postings, advertisements, or requests from your network. You also need it to refresh your own memory about how much you value you have to offer to a new company. In the throes of looking for a new job, you can easily forget that your talents, skills, accomplishments, and education have worth.

Contact Robin’s Resumes® on this Mother’s Day, and we will gladly help you take that first step to a resume that is positive, powerful, and clearly written.

Resume Advice from a Marketing Writer

May 28 2017

I have often mentioned that resumes are not life stories but marketing documents, intended to “sell” you to a company who will then invite you in to an interview. This is exactly the way marketing brochures, websites, and other collateral are intended to work: a customer becomes interested and contacts the company for more information on the product or service.

So I thought it might help to have a marketing writer’s perspective on what a marketing document—in this case the resume that markets you—should and should not do.

Marketing documents should always address a specific customer—not the world at large. In resume terms, this means that you should focus your resume on meeting the specific requirements of the job and position you are interested in. You cannot possibly be all candidates to all industries. Even shoe stores are sectioned off in athletic, dressy, comfort, men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes.

Marketing documents should offer a solution to the customer’s problem. In resume terms, that means your resume should let the company know what value you will bring to the position. A dozen people might have your background without ever accomplishing what you accomplish. Only you can offer your special combination of skills, insights, and achievements to solve the company’s problem.

Marketing documents should be clear and concise. In resume terms, this goal holds up exactly as stated with short, punchy bullet points outlining your career.

Marketing documents should be interesting. “Interesting” in resumes means, in part, that you vary your verbs. “Responsible for” is one of the most boring constructions; try “leads” or “improves” or “enhances” or “facilitates” or any number of other verbs.

Marketing documents should be specific. In resume terms, this means you should provide specifics about your achievements such as the number of people affected, the revenue produced, or the improvement generated. You should also be specific about the size, location, and primary business of the companies you worked for in the past, especially for little known companies.

Marketing documents should sound and look professional. A professional resume writer not only helps create a professional look and content for your resume, but keeps up on the latest expectations of hiring managers, recruiters, and electronic applicant tracking systems.

Marketing documents start working when they are sent out. The longer you struggle with your resume and fail to send it out, the longer you will wait for invitations to interview. As a professional electronic career coach and job career transition coach (JCTC), as well as a professional resume writer, I can give you the advice and support you may need to send your resume out into the world.

Please contact Robin’s Resumes® today for resumes that are strong marketing documents and personal statements.

The Worst Resume Advice

May 14 2017

A couple of years ago, I wrote The 10 Worst Resume Suggestions You Ever Received. It is time to update that list with a few more examples of the world’s worst resume advice for job hunters.

Do not say anything that sounds like bragging. Then hope that companies will be awed by your lack of success, progress, and confidence.
Fill your resume with acronyms so that hiring managers and recruiters are struck dumb with admiration. They will also feel dumb—hiring managers and recruiters do not actually understand every acronym used by every specialty in every company in the world.
Do not tie yourself down to a specific job title. Leave it to hiring managers to figure out where you might fit in their company; they have nothing better to do.
Do not read job postings or advertisements to get a handle on what companies are looking for. If you pile on enough achievements and skills, you are bound to be qualified for something somewhere, right?
Be sure to fill social media with your complaints and rants about your current job. Hold on to your belief that constant complainers are high on everyone’s list of best employees or that hiring managers never consult social media.
Never network; ignore your friends, coworkers, family, and peers when you are job hunting. Stick to the computer and hope that the perfect job finds you.
Do not proofread. Trust your online grammar and spelling checkers, which never make mistakes, like accepting fiancé when you meant to write finance.
Lather on the adjectives. Who cares what you actually have accomplished as long as it was “best in class” or “unparalleled” or “state of the art” or “exceptional”?
Do not check your contact information. Trust that you will never transpose a number, write different email addresses on different pages, or abbreviate your state the wrong way.
Refuse to talk with a professional resume writer. What do professionals know anyway?

At Robin’s Resumes®, I am dedicated as always to steering job hunters away from bad advice.

What To Do When You Get Conflicting Advice on Your Resume

Jun 19 2011

A recent job hunter sent her resume around to all her friends and relations asking for advice. A fellow job seeker argued against including so much information. A former co-worker suggested expanding to two pages. One friend said, “You should center your education section.” Another friend said, “Get rid of all the centering.” An aunt recommended removing information about specific college courses. An uncle praised the details about her college career.

The job hunter froze. How could she consider applying for a job when she couldn’t even get the resume right?

Like many job seekers, she suffered from too much advice from amateur resume writers. I recommend that you limit the number of your reviewers. There are a dozen ways to write a resume. In truth, great resumes vary a lot both in format and content. What is perfect for one job applicant may not serve another one at all. At Robin’s Resumes® we customize each resume to you—your experience, your achievements, your industry and your expectations.

If you are frozen by conflicting advice, give Robin’s Resumes® a call. I will set you firmly on the path to the job you want. Remember, the only resume that succeeds in getting you a job is the one you send out.