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Strong First Impression:
Creating a Résumé That Stands Out

By Jean M. McLean
AL.com

Making a résumé stand out is a new challenge in a market where workers are leaving one industry for another, seeking interviews outside their established fields

Job seekers are emphasizing applicable and transferable skills, said Marlene Wallace, founder and president of Career Concepts, a Birmingham-based national career management firm.

Wallace calls an effective résumé a concise, bulleted two-page “marketing brochure” that quantifies achievements, designed to “get an interview, not a job.”

“You should demonstrate why your skills would be an asset to any company,” said Duanna Pang-Dokland, certified business coach with Birmingham-based Igniting Possibilities. The company coaches clients on leadership, team-building and transitioning strategies, including résumé writing.

Good résumés include job content and accomplishments, Pang-Dokland said. Action verbs (“directed, implemented, restructured”) are combined with specific results (“... reduced turnover by 30%”).

Avoid industry jargon and acronyms, said Wallace and Pang-Dokland, since you should emphasize how skills developed in one industry can apply to another.

Each résumé should be tailored to the opening.

One way to do that is to provide what Wallace describes as a “teaser” letter, comparing the position’s requirements with the applicant’s qualifications.

Sent before the résumé, the teaser includes a brief, margin-to-margin introduction followed by two columned lists. The candidate lists the position requirements in bullets on the left, with his corresponding qualifications on the right. The result looks like a “T.”

Although a résumé should include concise, basic information, “No one should have just one page,” said Wallace. The two-page document should emphasize accomplishments, with concise, action-packed results.

“A dull résumé might say, I raised the level of sales,” said Pang-Dokland. “An effective résumé might say, ’I reversed negative sales trends, implementing employee training that raised sales 40%.‘”

“The individual owns their skills,” said Wallace. “They must be able to effectively explain them, to tell their story.” She calls this a CIB, for Circumstance-Improvement-Benefit. The worker gives a short summary of the circumstance (low sales), the improvement (employee training) and the benefit (40% increase).

How far you go back depends upon your experience, said Pang-Dokland. A 45-year-old should focus on accomplishments within the past decade. An insignificant short-term job needn't be mentioned, said Wallace. Although you should never misrepresent anything, this is not an affidavit. It is a marketing tool. While older workers focus on leadership/management, younger workers might emphasize technical abilities.

Here are some basics for every level:

“Your résumé is not your obituary,” said Wallace. “The résumé is much more than what you did. It’s what you want to do.”

Posted on AL.com - Sunday, June 14, 2009
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