What Is A Resume Review And Why You Should Consider One
Ben Wann, CPA, CMA, MBA is an experienced Controller and the author of “Getting Shit Done, The No-Nonsense Framework for Closing the Strategy Execution Gap.” Ben also offers several courses on Excel, Business Intelligence, and Leadership and is a known expert in the accounting and finance space. After meeting on LinkedIn, Ben challenged Cole to see if he could improve Ben’s resume. The following is Ben’s commentary on the process and result.
Introduction
A few days ago, Cole Sperry and I were speaking after hitting it off on LinkedIn, and he asked if I would be interested in going through the resume review process that he offers through his business.
He gave me a challenge; let him review my resume and prove that he could improve it.
I paused and thought for a moment. I’m happy in my current role, and between you and me, I’ve spent a good deal of time and effort on my resume over the years- I was skeptical. Who was Cole to know me and my resume better than me?
But I’m always open to a bit of fun, so I messaged him back with a snappy “you’re on!” What could it hurt? I’ve always been keen on career advice and keeping my narrative up to date, so I thought this would be a
competitive way to test my mettle and knowledge. I would go toe-to-toe with an expert to see how much I could learn (or he would learn)! 😎
This was, after all, the resume that landed me my current position. I thought it was foolproof and that Cole would be eating his words!
So, off we went to get my first professional assessment on my resume.
The Process
Cole and I scheduled a time and date and sat down one afternoon to kick off the discussion.
We both logged into our Zoom call, and right off the bat, I was impressed. My guard came down quickly (which isn’t easy). Cole was friendly, warm, and knowledgeable. We cracked a few jokes, got to know each other a little better, and then got down to business.
We began with an overview of who I was and what I wanted to achieve in my career. Cole took a sincere interest in my goals, and I could sense the wheels spinning as he compared the model of what I presented to what I wanted to become.
Instead of diving straight into the technical details, we talked first about potential career paths and roles that seemed to fit my background and skillset. Cole listened, let me express my thoughts, and took it all in. Then, he asked a few clarifying questions that helped me hone my pitch and help Cole get a complete picture.
I found that Cole asked questions in a way that made me quickly open up. I found myself explaining not just the career I envisioned for myself but how I wanted to get there and why it was important to me, and what I wanted to achieve.
From there, we began working our way through my resume, top to bottom. Even though Cole offered his assessment pro-bono, he showed his character and professionalism by not skimping to get it done as soon as possible. For each line item, Cole took the time to explain what worked, or didn’t, possible revisions that tied back to my goals, and importantly, why.
Right from the beginning, I realized that Cole knew what he was talking about. He looked at my resume from multiple angles with an expert lens. He explained his takes, feedback, and suggested improvement on the formatting, text, what was said, and how it was said. It was evident that Cole had deep knowledge and experience in the accounting and finance space.
As we reviewed the resume contents, Cole quickly revealed a few blunders I had made, and he suggested fixing them.
A great example I saw of this expertise in action was when Cole thought to review my resume in both Word and Google docs format to identify potential formatting issues. This is something that I would have never thought of! He pointed out each document to see how it looked and felt in person. By doing this, we revealed formatting issues that didn’t print well, and he gave me notes on how to fix the problems.
As we kept going along, other improvement opportunities revealed themselves.
My formatting was inconsistent, my story jumped around, and even though I had strong accolades, key points weren’t in the right place to grab and keep attention. As Cole explained, the goal is to “keep a recruiter nodding along.” When this doesn’t happen, the resume hits the wastebasket. As a former recruiter himself, he knew how hiring teams read and assess resumes and why successful candidates stand out.
As Cole continued to chat, we targeted each section of the resume; the header, keywords, critical skills, and job history. Even though I had a lot of great content on my resume, Cole had a sharp eye for how just about everything could be improved. Descriptions could add more storytelling, roles could add more metrics and impact, and consistency could be improved. Even as we spoke about my current title and position, he suggested ways to adjust the wording to emphasize the work that I was doing and impact my organization.
Another great example is how Cole understood and explained all the different ways to describe my controller experience. We spent time talking about strategically worded titles and job descriptions that connotate different meanings and perceptions to the reader. He reinforced the message that the wording must tie to what is being sought, not looking backward. By understanding where I wanted to go, he had excellent suggestions in helping me communicate and transfer my skills and knowledge into a forward-looking fashion.
As I’ve advanced in my career, I’ve also kept all my previous roles listed. Cole was great in pointing out how I could eliminate, deemphasize the past, refocus attention on what I’ve done most recently, and how that change would add value. Clearly, he understood what it takes to stick out in the field and what hiring managers are looking for from both a formatting and storytelling perspective.
As we reached the bottom of my resume, Cole added value, once again, in explaining how I had great stuff buried too deep. Instead, we discussed layout changes that would communicate the “Ben Wann Story” much better.
By the time we had wrapped up our session, my notepad had more than three pages of notes on what could be improved. I thought that I’d have a few minor comments and revisions, and instead, I realized that I needed to rethink my entire approach. Thanks to Cole, though, I had a clear game plan for improving my story.
What struck me throughout the resume review process was that Cole really knew and understood the accounting and finance space.
What I especially liked is that, although Cole could have just given me the 20 improvements to make or sent me back a scanned document with markups, he made the experience personal and memorable.
Cole brought several things to the table, a recruiter background and understanding of how resumes are read, an industry expert perspective of understanding the skills and descriptions required to grab attention, and the human aspect of understanding my aspiration and how to convey them authentically.
Takeaways
First off, I was wrong.
No matter who you are, what stage of your career you are in, or whether you are looking for a job or not, professional resume advice is critical. Cole is in the business of reviewing resumes each day and studying the industry; I’m not; I read articles and blurbs when I can, but this isn’t enough to write a winning resume.
In the future, I would gladly pay for both Cole’s resume review, career coaching, and interview prep. I’ve spent too much of my career shooting from the hip and finding career opportunities with a hit-and-miss methodology. Spending a few hundred dollars once to earn a few thousand more annually seems like a no-brainer that I should have recognized much earlier.
When I am looking forward to future roles, Cole will be my first call.
