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

Avoiding Being a Cookie-Cutter Job-seeker In Your Resume and Throughout Your Job Search

on October 8, 2009 1:57 PM | Permalink

As a member of a new community of resume writers, career coaches, and other career experts called the Career Collective, I am posting this entry as one of many responses to the question, “Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?” I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, linked at the end of this entry. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

When I think of “cookie-cutter job seekers,” a couple of scenarios come to mind:

Do you use a Microsoft Word template as the basis for your resume? There’s nothing inherently wrong with these templates, and they can be useful to get started on your resume if you’ve never created one before. But consider how many thousands of people are probably using the same template. If you use one, your resume will not stand out. And, as useful as a template is for prompting you to plug in the appropriate information for your resume, I’ve found that these Microsoft templates are rather inflexible if you want to try to customize them to create a standout resume.

If you need prompts and organizing tools to get started with your resume, consider looking at samples created by talented and effective resume writers. You can find samples in many resume books, all over the Internet, and of course, here at Quintessential Careers. See our resume samples here. Also think about using worksheets, such as those we offer here to develop your resume. (But don’t be a cookie cutter by copying every aspect of a sample resume!)

The Cookie-Cutter syndrome is not limited to resumes. Take this story about a former student of mine who graduated last year. She is bright talented, had two majors and minor, and had completed several excellent internships. Alas, she graduated right about the time the economy melted down and struggled mightily to find a job.

I told her the best thing she could do is conduct informational interviews. Informational interviewing is a subset of networking and a highly effective way to get your foot in the door with an employer.

Several weeks after I gave her that advice, I asked her if she was doing informational interviews. She said she didn’t put as much stock in them as I did and wasn’t doing them.

Why? Did she have any real experience doing them? No. But because informational interviewing is not a well-known job-search technique and is out of the mainstream, she thumbed her nose at this approach.

How’s she doing now? She’s struggling to make ends meet by working a retail job and an entry-level office job. Both are far below the kind of job her college experience prepared her for. Sadly, she preferred to be a cookie-cutter job-seeker and simply employ the same methods every other job-seeker uses.

More Career Collective thoughts on avoiding being a cookie-cutter job-seeker:

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.

Consider Qualifications Summary or Profile on Resume

Katharine

on October 3, 2008 2:08 AM | Permalink

You may wish to present a Qualifications Summary or Profile section on your resume. In addition to Profile and Qualifications Summary, these resume-topping sections go by numerous names: Career Summary, Summary, Executive Summary, Professional Profile, Qualifications, Strengths, Skills, Key Skills, Skills Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Background Summary, Professional Summary, Highlights of Qualifications. All of these headings are acceptable, but our favorite is Professional Profile.

Twenty-five years ago, a Profile or Summary section was somewhat unusual on a resume. Career experts trace the use of summaries or profiles to include information about candidates’ qualities beyond their credentials to the publication of the late Yana Parker’s The Damn Good Resume Guide in 1983. For the last 20-plus years, resume writers have routinely included these sections; however, the age of electronic submissions has now caused the pendulum to swing the other way.

On one hand, electronic submission means that hiring decision-makers are inundated and overwhelmed with resumes and have less time than ever before to peruse each document. That means that many of them do not read Profile or Summary sections.

On the other hand, the age of electronic submissions has increased the importance of keywords so that candidates can be found in database searches. Even some of the hiring decision-makers who don’t read Profiles and Summaries advise including them as a way to ensure sufficient keywords in the resume.

A vocal contingent of decision-makers, especially among recruiters, strongly advocate for a Summary section — but one that is quite succinct — a short paragraph or single bullet point. They want to see in a nutshell who you are and what you can contribute.

For a detailed discussion of these sections, including guidelines for crafting them and samples, see Chapter 3 of our e-book, The Quintessential Guide to Words to Get Hired By: Your Professional Profile: Bullet Points that Describe Your Strengths in a Nutshell.

And use our Resume Professional Profile/Qualifications Summary Worksheet to help you develop bullet points for this very important resume section.

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.

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