Results tagged “headline” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

This posting is a guest entry from The Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen

Mauro writes:

I read an article of yours — Resume Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers — and found it very interesting. I have been applying for quite a few jobs recently and have not had much luck getting interviews, and I think this has a lot to do with my resume. I know it can be improved a lot and was wondering if you could provide me with some critique given your knowledge and experience. I sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.

The Career Doctor responds:

I’m sorry for your lack of job-searching success, but pleased that you have taken the time to analyze your situation and recognize that your resume is probably the problem. Anytime you are not getting job interviews, the problem generally lies with your resume or cover letter. (It could also be that you are applying for positions for which you are not qualified — or overqualified, but let’s assume that is not the case.)

I was kind of stunned recently when the results of a recent online poll revealed that almost 50 percent of business professionals thought their resume needed improvement. I can only imagine how high that percentage would be for all job-seekers.

Your resume is one of the most — if not the most — crucial career-marketing tool a job-seeker uses, and yet, as evidenced from the thousands and thousands of resumes I have seen over my career, many job-seekers just do not get either the importance of the resume or simply do not put the time in that is necessary to produce a resume that results in employer interest.

Sometimes, all it takes is some tweaking and minor adjustments, but other times, it is best to start from scratch. How do you decide? Get your resume professionally critiqued. If you are a college student or alum, go to your college’s career services office. Or, hire a professional resume writer (many will critique your resume at no cost). Or, even just ask some of the people in your network to critique for you.

Here are some suggested links for mastering the resume-preparation skills you need:

• Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume
• Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers
• Resume Tutorials for all Job-Seekers
• Why Hire a Professional Resume Writer?

  A career change gives you the opportunity to sharpen the focus of your resume toward the new career or industry. Study ads and job postings in your desired new field, and frame your resume bullet points so that your skills and accomplishments in your current career can be seen as directly applicable to your new career. Use copious keywords that relate to your new career, and tailor your profile, headline, branding statement, or objective statement to your aspiration. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.

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  Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

  

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume is not tailored to the targeted vacancy. Shawn Slevin, HR and human capital solutions provider for Chair Swim Strong Foundation in the New York City area, called resumes that are the same for every position “cookie cutter.” Instead, your resume should closely match the requirements of the job you are targeting. While hiring decision-makers don’t pay much attention to Objective Statements, the headline technique can be effective in telling the recipient immediately what job or type of job you’re targeting. When targeting a job advertised by a corporate recruiter in a specific company, demonstrate in your resume that you’ve researched that organization and can tie your accomplishments to the employer’s needs.

As recruiter Lisa De Benedittis, president of Elite Staffing Services in the San Diego area, noted: “Resumes are auditions without the benefit of you being around. I will decide if you are a match for my job/client within 20 seconds. Your resume will speak volumes about your communication skills. Do you use words to demonstrate your value or is it boilerplate? Did you put thought and effort into this audition?”
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

What are the most important things to remember about writing an effective resume? They can be encapsulated in a six-letter acronym, FAKTSA, in which the letters stand for:

• Focus
• Appearance
• Keywords
• Transferrable Skills
• Accomplishments

Focus: A sharp focus is an extremely important resume element. Given that employers screen resumes for between 2.5 and 20 seconds, a resume should show the employer at a glance what you want to do and what you’re good at. In a study by the former Career Masters Institute (now Career Management Alliance), employers wanted resumes to show a clear match between the applicant and a particular job’s requirements. A “general” resume that is not focused on a specific job’s requirements was seen as not competitive. In a more recent study by CareerBuilder.com, 71 percent of hiring managers preferred a resume customized for the open position.

One way to sharpen focus is through verbiage at the top of your resume that instantly catches the reader’s eye and identifies the area(s) in which you can make a contribution.

This verbiage can take one of several — or a combination — of forms:

1. Objective statement: Described in more detail below.
2. A “headline,” usually simply the title of the position you’re applying for, which can be adjusted for every job you apply for.
3. A branding statement, a punchy “ad-like” statement that tells immediately what you can bring to an employer.

The headline and branding statement are often used in combination. Example:

If you go with an Objective statement, it should be labelled as such and use language telling how you’ll benefit the employer. Something like:

Objective: To contribute strong _ skills and experience to your firm in a __ capacity.

You can read more about resume objectives in our article Should You Use a Career Objective on Your Resume?

Watch for additional information on resume enhancers in upcoming blog entries.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.