Vital to create resumes with stand out qualities that can WIN interviews

Are you new to the work force, thinking of a career change or promotion, seeking employment in another sector or planning on entering the work force after a few years off work?

If your answer is yes and you don’t know where or how to start, you should seek professional advice.

You can cut your learning curve and avoid some time wasting and costly mistakes that can ruin your chances of winning the interview for that dream job.

What you need, first and foremost, is a WOW factor resume and cover letter. Your resume is your strategic marketing tool.  Jobseekers have been writing resumes or CV, as known in some countries, for decades, yet they are boring, the lack excitement, passion and dynamics and are totally devoid of thought, style or flair.

After you have submitted application after application and haven’t got that call back, you really need to re-look at your resume . You need to do a better job selling yourself. Your resume has to convince your would-be employer that you have the skills needed for the job and the abilities to do it successfully and proficiently.  And it needs to do that in less than 45 seconds, which research shows is as much time as a recruiter or employer will give to your document before deciding if you are worthy of an interview.

The most important purpose of a resume

The specific purpose of your resume is to win an interview. If it doesn’t, then, it is not effective; bearing in mind competition to win that interview is often fierce.  A resume is like an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less. Your resume has to be:-

• a strategic marketing tool
• easy and quick to read
• and sell YOU as well as your skills and experience

Your resume must, after being read within 30 seconds, convince, inspire and excite the Human Resource Manager or Recruiter in wanting to reach for the phone and invite you for that very important interview.

Your resume should:-

• Highlight your skills and achievements as well as who you really are as a person.
• Focus on delivery of skills needed by your would-be employer.
• Provide evidence of your abilities, qualities and achievements.
• State clearly your career objective and why you are the perfect candidate for that specific job. Target your audience.
• Lead with your 30 second elevator pitch . In most cases, this could be the only section to be fully read by your would-be employer. This can make or break you.
• Use power words, be concise and keep to the point, yet make your resume look great and appetising.

Presentation and layout of your resume

Your resume must be like a work of art, appealing to look at and engaging to the reader. You must pay attention to uniformity and consistency in the use of:-

• Punctuation
• Syntax
• Grammar
• As well as the use of
• Fonts
• Capital letters
• Italics
• Bold faces
• Bullets

The unique style of presentation developed by the Successful Resumes Group has conquered two basic barriers to information assimilation:-

• We beat the 45 second barrier
• Seven Plus or Minus Two: [brainchild of Prof George Miller of Princeton University] citing limits on our capacity for processing information.

Your resume is YOUR strategic marketing document and it has to be right the first time.
So we suggest you seek the assistance of a professional resume consultant if you feel challenged writing one yourself. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

Article by Lim Larry, Co-founder and Consulting Principal, Successful Resumes Singapore