The resume dance

In many areas of work, there are jobs to be had. There are jobs advertised. There are openings. For each opening, there are many, many resumes. They are all grouped together. They get piled. They all get reviewed. Why do some result in a call while others get ignored?

What is it about one resume that gets attention over another? Is it the experience listed? The education of the person? Surely it is the typeface and the margins. The paper quality?

It is none of those.

Tell your story

Your resume is not just words on a page. Your resume is your avatar. It is presenting you before a potential boss. If it is just a string on skills and experience and nothing more, it will get the attention of no one. That style of resume will get ignored, no matter the typeface or the fancy paper upon which it is printed. This will be made worse when it is either submitted electronically where it may be converted to standard characters.

Your resume needs to tell your story. The reader should be able to get an idea of who you are, where you have been and why you have gone on that journey. The reader must feel they know who you are after reading it and why you will be able to help them. Don’t let them guess.

It is not, however, a creative writing exercise. It needs to tell a story, but not in a narrative form. Have your skills forward, your experience next and your education. Treat the submission of your resume not as a push to an anonymous person. Treat it as it is, a press release of yourself to your new boss. Don’t click and shoot. Be personal.