Resumes: Four simple tips to get the best out of your effort

This is the eighth in a series of eight posts, each linked to one of eight categories in the Career Resumes blog. These posts sum up the best pieces of advice, tips, direction, insights, and answers discovered and shared on the blog by Allen Voivod, Chief Blogger for Career-Resumes.com from October 2006 to September 2008.

Okay, I’ve saved the ultimate on-target post for last – the one about resumes.

First off, let’s put this in perspective. I am not, by trade, any kind of professional resume writer. In the position as Chief Blogger here at Career-Resumes.com, I’ve had the opportunity to read, research, review, and distill the best resume advice out there for consumption on this blog, which gives me a fair bit of latitude to opine on the subject.

What’s more, since the resume is just one link in the whole job search chain, it’s been natural to expand the focus here on the blog to include other career-search-related topics. It’s a point of differentiation for Career-Resumes … if everyone just talks about resumes, why pick one company over another?

I grant you, few (if any) resume writing businesses in the field have the sky-high level of expertise Peter Newfield and his team of hand-picked resume writers have, so that’s another authentic point of differentiation.

But as I’ve been blogging here for the last 23 months, my goal has been to give you – the mid-career professional, the manager, the C-level exec – a reason to keep coming back, to make it more valuable, and (selfishly) to cast a wider net, create multiple reasons for you to come here, and win your trust over the long haul.

That said, when it comes to boiling down my resume-related advice, I’m going to keep my few tips as simple as possible. The pros can really put it into action for you, but here are four essentials.

1. Active verbs. Resumes which use active verbs throughout are much more interesting and compelling to read than a resume with passive be/do/have verbs.

2. Customization. One resume does not fit every company. Invest a little time to tweak it for the specific company, and all other things being equal, your results are bound to improve.

3. Hard results. Numbers, dollars, percentages. There’s no arguing the kind of effect you could have on a new company if you can bring the incontrovertible proof of your value to light on your resume. Being able to quantify your past performance makes it easier for a hiring manager to imagine what you could do for them.

4. What do you want? If I had a nickel for every time this question got asked of a job seeker, and the job seeker had no clear answer besides “More money,” I’d be cruising with my whole family on the Voyage of the Vikings every year until I die. Think about your whole career path, where your next position fits in on that timeline, the kind of life you want outside of work, and how your new position can best support that vision. Then, and only then, will you be able to start applying for the right jobs for you, and you’ll improve your odds of landing that perfect job.

Finally, I’d just like to say thank you for reading the blog while I’ve been at the helm. It’s been an honor, and knowing that this content will live on here over the years, I hope that you find just the right bit of information or inspiration you need when you come looking for it.

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