Breaking through the noise with your resume
Writing a resume can be a daunting task for even the most skilled. It takes time, thoughtfulness, and knowledge of how recruiters and hiring managers view your one to two page document. It can be challenging to fit all that you are into a few pages. What do you include, what do you eliminate? How do you structure it? That’s what we’ll tackle in this article.
Career Objective vs. Career Summary
Stop, no, don’t. Objective statements are typically generic statements that most recruiters and hiring mangers have become immune to. Everyone is tuned into one radio station, WIIFM (what’s in it for me), employers are no exception. Instead use your opening to give a concise, compelling summary of what you bring to the table. Don’t be afraid to add some personality to it and don’t forget keywords. Here’s an example:
Keywords
When recruiters search for resumes in thier own databases, through resume libraries, or on LinkedIn, they type in a combination of keywords and the most relevant profiles will appear. Larger companies with sophisticated ATS (applicant tracking systems) systems have a computer that does this automatically and filters out resumes that are missing the keywords sought. Keywords are what determines where you fall in the lineup and if your resume even makes the cut.
When you’re crafting your resume, focus on the things that matter to employers (these will be your keywords). Then think of examples of how you are the best at those key skills and highlight them with statistics throughout your resume. For example, if you were applying to an accounts payable job you would want to focus on:
Accuracy | “Match and code 5,000 invoices monthly from key suppliers with 100% accuracy, ensuring all payments are made within contract terms.”
Efficiency | “Created the spreadsheet for tracking AP aging resulting in a 20% reduction of time needed to produce reports and schedule invoices.”
Automation | “Part of two Concur implementations which resulted in a $5 per-invoice savings on processing.”
Show the proof
The proof is in the pudding my grandmother said. Stop it with empty claims such as “accustomed to fast-paced environments,” “analytical,” “dependable,” or “self-starter.” You’ll look like everyone else who has these claims littered throughout their resume and summary. The problem with these statements is that they are devoid of proof. Hiring managers want evidence before they call you. They want to see the numbers, the dollars, the percentages. Here are some examples of how those devoid statements could be changed:
Spent 5 years in a fast-paced environment successfully juggling 500 AP invoices per week, 200 collections, and an entire division’s balance sheet reconciliations.
Same thing, but with proof and littered with keywords like “accounts payable,” “collections,” “balance sheet,” and “reconciliations.”
Here are some additional examples we’ve put together for job seekers:
Experienced cost accountant with 5 years in food manufacturing, managing standard cost updates for 1,000+ perishable SKUs.
Created an automated month end close procedures to reduce closing time by 2 days.
Five years of never missing a deadline.
Eight years of perfect attendance.
Numbers are the most important evidence. Employers want to make money and you are a cost. They want to know if the value you bring will exceed your cost. If you don’t provide the numbers, they will use their imaginations to guess the amount. Giving them figures increases your chances of getting a face-to-face interview.
Try replacing some of your empty claims with these:
Accomplished (and say what)
Accomplishments include (make sure you have factual numbers)
Time saved
Increased profits
Reduced costs by
Created new
Developed
Improved
Increased productivity by x percent
Initiated cost savings of x
Secured five new x worth $x
Under budget by
Keep in mind these four questions when writing your resume
Think of some mythical person that the company may have hired who would have done the job poorly. Compared to you, how much more would that person have cost them?
Did you save the organization time and thus increase profit? Either by accomplishing more work in less time than your predecessor, by meeting impossible deadlines and always saving the organization a penalty, or by taking on additional responsibilities so that they didn’t need to hire an additional person? Put a guesstimate number on all of these!
Did you save the organization money and thus increase profit? Either by finishing a major project below budget, while others would have gone over, or by coming up with some true cost-saving ideas with respect to procedures they had always done the “old way. “Again, put a guesstimate or number on these.
Did you increase the organization’s total sales and thus increase profit? Either by attracting new customers or clients, by generating new business, by alerting the organization to a problem they were missing that could easily be solved, or by pointing out an opportunity or new market they were missing? Again, numbers!
Questions?
Everyone’s situation is unique. If you have specific questions about writing your resume, schedule some time with a Career Advisor today!