I have a friend in marketing who often counsels companies that their brochures and websites are their “resumes to the world,” letting customers know how great the company is.
By the same token, you should view your resume as your brochure to the world, or at least that part of the world consisting of recruiters and hiring managers. Think about a brochure, maybe for that car or home you always wanted, that really drew your attention.
Here are the ways that the content of a great resume and a great brochure are similar. They both:
- Focus on meeting a customer’s need, whether for a faster car, a bigger house, or a more skilled employee—so they contain the facts that the “buyer” (the recruiter or hiring manager) is most interested in.
- Are clearly and simply written and carefully proofread to avoid errors. Would you buy a car from a company that can’t spell “brake” correctly? Well, hiring managers are equally dubious about an applicant who can’t spell.
- Go beyond the mere facts. A brochure for an off-road vehicle shows the car climbing over mountains, because that ability is the car’s biggest accomplishment and represents the greatest value to the buyer. A resume should describe accomplishments, too, and show your potential value as an employee.
- Are positive. A brochure about an expensive home mentions the great school district, not the persistent leak in the roof. Without lying or exaggeration, a resume should show you at your best.
- Provide good information that can let the discussion move forward, with a tour of the home, a test drive, or an interview. A brochure in itself is usually not enough to close the deal and neither is a resume; but they both provide a strong foundation.
When you think of your resume as selling a product (you) to a customer (the company), you free yourself from anxieties about bragging, saying too much or too little, or being unprepared for the interview. Resumes from Robin’s Resumes® attain those goals and more. Contact us today.