The Goldilocks Resume Writing Syndrome
By Ann Baehr, Best
Resumes of New York
Many job seekers try in
vein to write their own resume, only to experience the
Goldilocks Syndrome of resume preparation. At first it’s
too weak and unfocused. Then it’s too strong and rigid.
Then after hours, days and even weeks of endless edits,
they get it just right (hopefully)!
So how can you avoid
such a process? You shouldn't! A great resume requires many
drafts and edits, even by a professional resume writer.
You see, most people do not take the time to research
what they need in order to prepare a resume that will
sell their qualifications to a hiring company.
It has
been said that preparing a resume is comparable to
preparing a tax return. In short, a real drag! Although
it is not mandatory to have a resume in many situations,
it must be prepared properly when it is required, and with more creativity
than what goes into preparing a tax return!
Many
people have limited work history and do not
know how to make the most of their paid experience and non-paid related experience, skills, and attributes.
Others have backgrounds that are so extensive, they
do not know where to draw the line, and make the mistake
of including too much information.
Still, others have just the right amount of experience, but
they do not know how to effectively present their
experience and most impressive selling points on paper.
Regardless
of how different everyone's backgrounds are, they will
all agree that writing a good resume is not easy task?
So where should you begin?
10 STEPS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED
1. Decide on the position and research various sources
to find job ads outlining the requirements of the
position.
2. Do a skills inventory exercise by making a checklist
from the list of job requirements.
3. Take the requirements matching your qualifications
and write a rough draft of experience next to each
requirement along with a note of each company.
4. Organize all of the roughly drafted sentences under
each employer listing the most recent employer first and
work your way down the page (“reverse chronological
order”).
5. Polish the sentences being sure to start each one
with an action verb such as managed,
coordinated, and supervised, and leave out pronouns such
as I, she, and he.
6. In addition to your routine work activities, do your
best to list a few select accomplishments. This could
include learning a new software at work and training
another person to "increase productivity" or to save the
employer money by avoiding the need to pay a software
training school to teach their employees.
7. Do not list sentences about your attributes in place
of experience. For example, under Professional
Experience or Work History, do not write, “Ensure
workflow efficiencies exercising exceptional
organizational and time management skills.”
This is not
specific enough about job-specific responsibilities. You
can, however, include a statement like this
under your Summary of Qualification as one of your
attributes. Do not limit your Summary of Qualifications
section to only attributes. Make sure you strike a
balance between experience overview, skills, and
attributes.
8. Decide which categories you will need. For example,
if you have a recent degree and limited experience, put
the Education first. If you have mostly experience, list
Education last. If you have impressive academic
credentials that were obtained a few years back and want
them to see that right away, still list it last, but
mention the credential in your profile or summary
section.
9. Include an objective statement. Do not make the
mistake of not including an objective thinking that you
do not want to limit your opportunities. If you take
this approach, the reader will not know what position
you are targeting and will most likely toss your resume
in the trash can.
You cannot be all things to all
companies. This goes back to the first step in the
exercise – choose what you want to do. Then build the
resume around that objective.
10. Format the resume so it is attractive. Be
consistence with the style of the headings, dates,
states and bolding. For example:
If you abbreviate the
name of the state where you worked, make sure it is
abbreviated in your address at the top and throughout
the resume with the exception of the sentences.
Do not
include the day of the
month you were hired. Limit it to the month and year.
Do
not include the full address of the employer. This is
for the job application form, not the resume.
First section: Objective
An objective for a job seeker’s first resume is very
important because the reader cannot skim the experience
section to make a quick assumption what a job seeker
wants to do.
The objective statement should be specific,
not making the mistake of being too cliche but stating
something so general as “seeking a position with a large
organization offering career growth opportunities”
because that says absolutely nothing and is all about
what you want, not what you have to offer the company.
The hiring
company has
a business to run. They are looking to hire people who
want to contribute, not just take. For this reason, the
objective should read this way: “Outgoing music
enthusiast exploring a position selling music equipment."
Offers a recent degree in Marketing and two years of work experience in events coordination and public relations.”
This is how the section should look:
OBJECTIVE
Outgoing music enthusiast exploring a position selling
music equipment.
Offers a recent degree in Marketing and two years of work experience in
events coordination and public relations.
Second section: Summary of Qualifications
A Summary of Qualifications section “summarizes” a
job seeker’s selling points relevant to the job they are
applying for. The easiest format to use is a few bulleted
sentences, each dedicated to experience, skills,
credentials and attributes.
This is how the section should look:
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
* Offers five years of experience in customer service and
workshop coordination.
* Works full time to finance education in Marketing; maintains excellent grades.
* Possesses outstanding project coordination skills and
technical acumen.
* Creative thinker who sizes up a
situation and brings new ideas to the table.
Third Section: Education
A job seeker may have five years of experience, but it is
not in their chosen field or in direct alignment with
their pending bachelor's degree. So, their most
impressive selling point is their education. Tip: when a
degree is pending, it is advantageous to include a short
list of the most important courses. Do not list high
school if you have college
experience. It is understood. The exception would be if
you are in your first year of college have very
accomplished experience in high school. Otherwise, just
to list it for the sake of including it is not
necessary.
This is how the section should look:
EDUCATION
Name of College, Town, XX
Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing;
expected December XXXX
Current GPA: 3.7
Select Coursework:
* Principles of Marketing
* Marketing Research
* Managerial Accounting
* Organizational Communications
* Business Policy and Strategy
Fourth Section: Work History
Until you have strong and extensive experience in your
“profession” you should hold off on using the category
“professional experience” and opt for “work history”.
This job seeker’s work history is in customer service as
a waitress. Although the term “customer service” is not
the same as a customer service position in an office
setting, it still is servicing customers.
As long as
this job seeker can justify their reasoning behind using
customer service as their areas of experience, they will
not be stumped in an interview.
The first line of this section should include the
company name, town, and state, but not the door address.
That information should only be included on a job
application form. On the same line as the company name
and location over to the right margin, the employment
dates. The job title should be listed on the second line
in bold. There are formatting variations from resume to
resume, but this is the basic approach.
In this position, the job seeker worked in a pizzeria as
a waitress. Although this is the actual title the
job seeker will list, the description will indicate that
they provide customer service excellence. This way they
can use the keyword phrase “customer service” in the
Summary of Qualifications section and in the cover
letter.
This is how the section should look:
WORK HISTORY
Rocco’s Pizzeria, Town, XX X/XX to Present
Second Shift Waitress
* Provide excellence in customer service to an average
of 80 patrons per shift.
* Train new staff members on shift procedures and
restaurant policies.
* Assist with the planning and set up of in-house and
off-site catering services.
Fifth Section: Community Involvement
This section will convey a strong work ethic,
willingness to contribute to the community, experience
working with people, an ability to plan, organize,
coordinate and carry out a program, and good
communication,
analysis, and problem solving skills.
This is how this section should look:
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Strikes and Spares Bowling Alley, Town, XX X/XX to X/XX
Volunteer Bowling Instructor
* Conduct bowling workshops to individuals and groups of
six to eight children ages 5 to 10.
* Work with pro shop to promote workshops and sell
bowling balls at discounted rates.
* Coordinate fundraisers to raise monies for awards,
marketing campaigns, and competitions.
Sixth Section: Computer Skills
Most people have basic computer skills such as Microsoft
Word. It is acceptable to list the names of software
programs without indicating the proficiency level.
This is how this section should look:
COMPUTER SKILLS
MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint and Internet research
-----------------------------
Let’s do another one!
-----------------------------
This client has a 25-year sketchy background that
includes several career transitions. Career choices
range from her early beginnings as a music education
teacher to her business partnership in video production
which is ongoing and sporadic to her more recent
experience in retail sales.
In between, she raised her
children and obtained a bachelor’s degree in media
production. Additional experience includes office
managerial positions and part-time evening work as a
dispatcher for an alarm company that she is unsure
about listing on her resume.
She is now looking to
leverage her career in a position with a TV video
production company so she can explore a position where
her eclectic background managing a similar business
will be utilized and developed. So how should she do her
resume?
This job seeker has decided to target a position as a
senior technician and work her way up the ranks. She is
very confident, and knows that this foot-in-the-door
position will launch her new career.
The emphasis will
be placed on her work producing independent films, her
technical expertise, (retail) business management and
music education experience.
First section: Objective Statement (Target Position)
Unlike an objective statement, a title objective
consists of a few words that serves as a headliner to
brand the job seeker and express their objective. This
is done best if the job seeker is experienced in that
occupational discipline.
Using a title objective rather
than a sentence-style objective statement is much more
direct and very powerful. If a job seeker is
transitioning to a new career, the use of a title
objective can be initially misleading. It is helpful to
preface the title objective with a statement such as
“Target Position” or “Position of Interest”.
This is how this section should look:
TARGET POSITION: SENIOR TECHNICIAN, TV PRODUCTION
Second section: Profile
Unlike the Summary of Qualifications section, a profile
is a paragraph that is more of a bio rather than a few
simple sentences. It tells a story and is much stronger
in language. The goal is the same, in that it still
conveys the scope of experience, skills, credentials and
attributes relevant to the position of interest. You do
not need to use the actual word Profile as you would use
Summary of Qualifications in our first example.
This is how the first two sections should look when
combined:
TARGET POSITION: SENIOR TECHNICIAN, TV PRODUCTION
Multi-talented business management professional with a
strong career path that combines music education,
business ownership in media / video production, and
business management. Strong team leader and client
consultant known for ability to develop scalable
solutions that dramatically improve efficiency and
productivity through management of project
specifications, timelines, resources, and budget
requirements from point of planning through production.
Third section: Professional Experience
Sometimes a chronological resume will not work because
the most recent experience is not the most relevant
experience. So, a combination resume is the strategy
that should be used.
The combination format combines the
elements of a functional (skills based) and
chronological format. Professional Experience will be
the main category, followed by sub-categories that are
appropriately named according to the function or job
title.
These will be Video Production; Music Education;
Business Management (Retail). Notice how the category is
not called Retail Sales Management. Rather, “retail” is
given a backseat because it is not the focus as much as
the business management end of what this jobseeker does.
But, before we even get to that point, a chronology of
employment will be listed first.
This is how the section should look:
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Managing Partner, Video Production Studios, Town, X/XX -
Present
Video Production Operations
VIDEO PRODUCTION
* Direct the hiring, training, supervision, and
evaluation of a production staff and volunteers.
* Fully coordinate the logistical operations of program
productions.
* Conceptualized, developed, and produced 30-minute
interview and music shows.
* Supervise and approve show formats, theme songs,
and casting decisions.
* Plan and organize the scheduling of program channels
and community events.
* Oversee the implementation of all technical
requirements and conduct group-training sessions.
* Direct stage productions, conduct orchestras, create,
edit, and produce videos.
* Build and administer system networks and handle all
aspects of creative technical writing.
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
* Served as a team member responsible for developing and
implementing business plans.
* Executed the distribution and promotion of all new
product lines.
* Led the market push of six new products from
conception to completion.
* Coordinated the design of graphics to created product
branding.
* Directed product production, achieving a
year-over-year cost savings of 25%
* Produced voice-overs, audio calls, and on-camera
product introductions.
* Trained video editors and operations staff in the
delivery of scripts.
* Managed weekly status meetings to instill a uniformed
vision of product development.
* Reduced defect reductions from 15% per unit to less
than 4% per unit.
Fourth Section: Education
Often, highly experience or more senior-level
professionals have graduated over ten years ago. They do
not want to emphasize their age or to show that their
education was so far back. So, the best thing to do is
omit the date. Since their experience far outweighs
their education, they do not need to list their GPA
either. The best approach is to keep it as simple as
possible.
This is how the section should look:
EDUCATION
Music Conservatory, Town
Bachelor of Arts in Music, XXXX
Fifth Section: Computer Skills
In some cases, there is specialized software in addition
to the usual MS Word and Excel. It is a good idea either
list them first or use subcategories so the technical
software stands out. If there is a series of
applications that all start with Adobe, Microsoft or
Apple, it is a good idea to list the company name once,
followed by the specific software from that company.
When using this approach, keep the group together on
their own line or separated by a semi-colon.
This is how the section should look:
COMPUTER SKILLS
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Image Ready
Apple Final Cut, Live Type, Motion and Apple Soundtrack
MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint
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