BCA

Make a Lasting First Impression

In today’s market, executives and recruiters are besieged with resumes. To make a great impression, your resume should highlight your past 10 to 12 years of relevant work experience and summarize any previous positions. Make sure to cover any employment gaps and always be truthful.

You have 30 seconds to convince hiring managers to consider you.  Make the most of your resume.

Make it Easy to Read!

On first glance the reader should see:

• Time at each company
• Titles with complete dates
• Selected accomplishments associated with each role

Don’t clutter your resume – it should have plenty of white space and breathing room.

Have you had several titles within one organization?  Make it clear that this demonstrates advancements rather than job hopping.

To download a sample resume, click here.

Showcase Accomplishments

Be descriptive in your position and span of control.  For example:

Director of Human Resources, Chicago, IL (Dec. 2002 to Dec. 2005)

Direct responsibility for 4 manufacturing sites, 2 distribution centers and division headquarters totaling 4,500 employees. Report directly to SVP, Human Resources and VP Operations and manage a team of 50 people through 8 direct reports. Control a $6.5 million annual operating budget.  Achieved 40% improvement in cost per hire and cycle time through staffing process redesign, automation, and the formation of a shared services staffing group.  Led a major reorganization initiative to consolidate several divisions into a single market-focused organization design that promotes cross-functional product teams to be more responsive to customer demands; improved cost, quality and cycle time; and significantly increased new product introductions.  Improved operating profit by $17M in 1998

Executives and recruiters see a lot of resumes and if they do not spot results in the first 10 seconds, the resume is history. Compare the following statements:

• Implemented new process improvement program

VERSUS

• Implemented process improvement program, which resulted in a 25% increase in daily productivity and 64% increase in customer satisfaction.

Remember: Recruiters won’t read between the lines for relevant information  -  you must spell it out.

Which & Which Resulted In

The words “which” and “which resulted in” compel you to take your activities and achievements to their logical conclusion. Continue asking the “which” question until you have identified every rewarding result. Do not stop with just one result if there are several worth including.

• Identify all results first, then decide which to use in your resume.  Keep all of them in mind for interviews!
• Stress the action and follow it up with the result of that action.
• Descriptive action words add power to your resume. Use words like established, analyzed, implemented, created, streamlined, organized.
• Start each sentence using an action verb.

Proofread!

Hiring managers and recruiters hate spelling and typing mistakes. Typos reflect the poor quality of work they can expect from you. Proofread! Perfection is a necessity to remain competitive, so do not trust computer spell checkers. Read every word to be sure it is correct.

A Final Note

It is no longer considered professional or wise to include information about marital status, gender, height, weight or health on your resume. This information violates discrimination laws and most organizations prefer that  you do not include it.

Employers know you will provide references upon request, so it is not necessary to say so at the end of your resume.