Knowing what you want your resume to convey and writing it so that it conveys what you want can sometimes feel like an insurmountable hurdle. "I know what I want to say, I just don't know *how* to say it!" laments the struggling resume writer. Lament no longer, good friend, this is easier (and more difficult) than you think.
Structure is the easy part, and this article will give you some direction you can really use. The hard part, however, comes before you set even the first word to paper (or screen). You need to know what you want. You need to *really* know what you want. Then, you need to know what *they* want, the hiring managers holding the keys to the positions you're targeting.
Deciding what you want may be more difficult than you first imagine. Not only do you need to decide what you'd like to do, today, but it's in your best interest to decide what you'd like to do five years from now. Why? Because knowing where you'd like your career to take you helps you to make better decisions regarding the jobs you accept today. Being offered a job isn't always the end of the job search, and an immediate "Yes!" isn't always the best response to every offer. Select the positions you accept as carefully as you select any of the commitments in your life.
Knowing what the hiring manager of the minute wants doesn't mean you have to be a mind reader, but it does mean accepting that in that brilliant mind of yours you already have at least half the answers. You already know what it takes to do a job (almost any job) well. Don't believe me? Well, try this; think of any job in the world for which you have little or no experience. Let's say, "Brain Surgeon." I bet you can give me a dozen pieces of key criteria that will determine whether a brain surgeon is successful in his or her career, or not. What personal and professional characteristics would you want a brain surgeon to possess if it was your head they'd be working on? The hiring manager is no different. They have a position to fill, and with that position they have some established criteria they believe a candidate needs to possess in order to do the job well. You already know at least half the criteria. If you're responding to an ad, you'll know a few more.
Your second opportunity to learn the criteria of the position is at the interview. You're not there to simply answer questions. You are not the only one being interviewed. If you fail to interview the hiring manager, take the opportunity to fully learn the position's criteria and accountability, the company's missions and goals, the working environment's structure, etc., you can't make the kind of informed decision that will allow you to give a "Yes!" response with real confidence. Why do so many people end up in jobs they hate? Because they fail to see beyond the smiles and good intentions and ask the questions. While you're asking yourself, "What characteristics, both personally and professionally, do I possess that will allow me to do this job well?" ask yourself, also, "What criteria do I need in my employment situation for me to succeed to my full potential?"
But interviewing comes after the resume, and the resume is what we're heading for here, so. . . let's get to it.
CONTACT INFORMATION
What's the most important information on your resume? Is it the great contribution you made to the production efforts of ABC Company last year? Is it the shiny new MBA you recently achieved, with honors? Is it your exceptional communication skills and winning presentational presence? Nope. It's your contact information. Who you are and how your reader can reach you is, when all is said and done, the most important information in your entire document.
See, this is getting easier. You know who you are, you know where you live, you know your phone number and e-mail address. You already know the most important information in your entire document!
OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
That done, the next piece of information to include (or not include) is your "objective statement." Do you need one? Well, let's take a look at your career history, first. Is your background consistently (and clearly) in line with the position you're currently targeting? Without an objective, will the reader know your career direction and recognize the position for which you're applying? If your background is in operational management, and the three most recent positions you've listed on your resume are "Operational Manager," and the position for which you're submitting a resume is Operational Manager, is there any real need to say you want to be an operational manager?
Objective statements are most useful when:
- • The resume is being submitted for a specific position (To obtain the position of
- Operations Manager for ABC Company),
- • The candidate is changing career paths (To use my extensive background in sales,
- marketing, and personnel management for the benefit of ABC Company's operational
- efforts),
- • The candidate is a recent graduate with little hands-on experience,
- • Any time when the career history alone does not present an easily identifiable "fit" for the
- position being targeted.
At all times in writing your resume you have to remember your audience. You want to make this easy on your reader. Don't write an objective that is vague, or tells the reader what *you* want, but rather what you're offering *them.*
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