Resume writing advice can load you down with a wide range of what is required to create the perfect resume. Every job hunter is searching for the factors that will quickly motivate every employer to rush to the phone and call them in for an interview. Too often the resume has the exact opposite effect. Dead silence, like the resume was dropped into a deep hole never to be seen again.
Many resumes are only written with the job hunter in mind. Yet to be an effective communicator you know the item has to focus on the needs of the audience. So why the misplaced emphasis on the job hunter in writing a resume? Perhaps because it's easier. Or maybe the job hunter read some advice to load their resume with all their accomplishments and responsibilities. Then they sit back and hope the reader will connect the dots and call them in for an interview.
This is definitely not the way the job hunting game works. You have a product to sell, and to market yourself you have to know the needs of your customer (employer).
Telling the prospective employer how great and impressive you are in your resume will normally not get the job done. The employer is focused on how a candidate will fill the needs of the job and whether they have the skills and qualifications to do the job. Anything in the resume beyond this is overkill, may disqualify you, might be good for your ego but will do little to get you the job interview.
Do you see where we are going? Writing a resume isn't about telling prospective employers about you and your career or how the job will improve your career prospects. Bottom line: it's about communicating information the employer is looking for. If you don't do that, your resume can be the any length, great formatting, the right font and well written and it will go no where.
If you don't meet the needs of the reader-you are simply not communicating. Don't get me wrong, a well written resume, free of errors and properly formatted should be part of the application package. But it should be done after you zero in on the needs and requirements of the employer.
One size resume will not do the job with different employers. Job hunters hate to hear this, because it's a lot more work to tailor your resume for each job applied for.
If however you write your resume like your career biography and add what you want out of a job you are in for a quick rejection or will never hear back from the employer.
Do the necessary research on the needs of the employer and incorporate this information into your resume. Pull the accomplishments from your draft resume and move them up to match the requirements of the employer. Use the same keywords used by the employer in the job announcement. You may have to change a job title to match the title used by the employer.
Now you have a narrowly focused resume that closely meets the needs of the employer and offers them a solution, just what they are looking for. Combined with a resume cover letter to introduce the resume and you have a winning combination.
