Resume Writing: Your Opening

Every week I see hundreds of resumes sent to me for a free evaluation. Most of them start with an Objective indicating what that individual is seeking. Then they list the various roles and responsibilities they have held in the past. Where this style of resume was successful 5 years ago, it isn’t going to work in today’s market.

You used to be competing with about 200 other resumes for the interview. Now you are competing with about 600. Companies can’t bring in 100 people for interviews and they can be choosy, so your resume better make you stand out.

Think about it – an OBJECTIVE says “this is what I want”. Better to start a resume with “this is what I offer”. So instead of an Objective, have a Profile of the skills and experience you offer. Try to put meaningful information in the Profile, not just fluff. Imagine yourself on a game show and the host is about to introduce you – “Our next guest….”. What would they say? This should be your Profile.

Next, under your Professional Experience, don’t just list your roles and responsibilities. Everyone knows that an Administrative Assistant answers phones and files correspondence. Tell how successful you were on the job. Indicate the scope and scale of your responsibilities. For example, state that you “Provided administrative support for 5 managers and 15 staff in an extremely fast-paced, deadline-intensive environment”. Tell them that you were “Consistently praised for professionalism, pleasant demeanor and the ability to meet the most aggressive deadlines.” See the difference?

Simply put, unless your skills are so unique and your accomplishments so great that you truly stand out, you should consider investing in your career by hiring a professional resume writer. The state of the art of resume writing has changed so much in the last few years, as has the economy, that knowing what keywords to include and what skills and accomplishments to highlight is a tough task. And it’s difficult to write about yourself – I’ve written thousands of resumes and I think I would hire a professional to serve as a sounding board and draw out of me the things that should be on my resume.

If you are unsure, take advantage of my Free Evaluation and I will personally review your resume and let you know what it needs.