Resume Writing Tips: How To Develop A Winning Resume!

Bio: Ken provides professional resume services in Vancouver, BC and is regarded as one of the world’s leading resume writers.  Ken is a multi-certified (CMRW, CERM), international award-winning resume writer, experienced executive recruiter, and former staffing agency owner. Ken specializes in writing resumes for some of North America’s most senior executives in a variety of industries and is routinely sought out by clients who have worked everywhere from the White House, Pentagon and NSA to Parliament Hill via every major industry in North America. If you are looking for professional resume writing services in Vancouver, BC, get in touch.

Introduction

In this article, I’m going to give you a few essential tips for preparing a highly effective resume.  Over the past 23 years I have assisted job seekers of all levels in securing their dream role, initially as a recruitment consultant and executive recruiter, and since 2009 as a world-leading resume writing specialist providing professional resume services to a diverse client base.  Throughout my career, I have accrued a wealth of knowledge as to what does and does not constitute an effective resume.

As an executive recruiter, part of my role was to identify and vet suitably qualified candidates for the job my client was recruiting for. A large part of this process revolved around the interview where I leveraged my interview skills to identify and build out skill sets, experience, and accomplishments that would be directly relevant to the target job. Then, I would prepare a resume document, optimally structured to present the job seeker in the most effective way possible.

I’m sure you can imagine the sheer volume of assignments I worked on, the number of industries I worked across, and of course the countless hiring teams and HR professionals who were tasked with assessing the suitability of the candidates I was presenting.  Based on this insight, I was able to hone my approach to developing hard-hitting, highly effective resumes capable of winning over even the most intransigent of hiring managers.  As a Certified Master Resume Writer and Certified Executive Resume Master, I have been able to capitalize on my prior experience in the world of recruiting to deliver best-in-class resume writing services to job seekers all over the world.

Ok, let me walk you through a few key areas to get you started and help you slip into the correct mindset.

Design & Structure

Think about your audience.  What do they want to see?  Do their work for them. Don’t make them have to read every single bullet point on your resume before they start to appreciate what you can do.  Why? They probably won’t do that!

You’ve got 10-15 seconds to grab the attention of the reader.  Fail to communicate your worth or suitability for the role, and you’re out.

You need to choose a design and structure for the document that clearly communicates the fact that you have the skills and experience they need.

You need to build in enough white space to make high-impact sections pop and ensure excellent readability.  Use wide margins, clean type, and clear headings.  Don’t use zany fonts.  You can also apply bold or italics strategically to draw the eye of the reader and guide them through the document.

Format

Choose a format appropriate to your situation.  Whether that’s a hybrid/combination style document, reverse chronological, or functional style resume, depending on your background and experience you should pick the format that accentuates the positives, minimizes the negatives (too many jobs?), and gives you the space you need to pitch.

Selling, not Telling

You should seek to identify accomplishments, not just regurgitate job descriptions.

Yes, we need to see content that’s relevant to the role and this is very important when navigating Applicant Tracking Systems, however you must identify and position your key achievements in each role for maximum impact.

You’ll see many people, including myself, advising you to have a couple of lines to introduce the job, then list accomplishments.  Many of the best resumes I’ve written have followed that pattern. And yes, in the strongest of accomplishments listed on a resume, you will take ownership of the activity performed and be able to take credit for the net benefit to the company or client.

However, for many people putting their resumes together by themselves, they struggle with citing numerous accomplishments, especially if they’re performing transactional work.  That’s a reality.

Sit down and think about your impact at your current and previous companies.  What were you able to accomplish?  Did you help improve customer experience?  If so, how did you do that?  Did you help increase revenue, if so by how much and how did you do that?  Did you help improve office productivity?  If so, what did you do? Try to quantify the impact you made.

You can always tie the work you do and the function within the business you serve to the end product or the effective operation of the business itself.  If you weren’t there to perform that function or if you didn’t do it well, what would the impact be on the business? 

You can use that to say that you “help support” the ongoing effective operation of the business / department.  Perhaps you “help facilitate” the acquisition of new clients by ensuring potential customers are re-directed to the sales professional with most expertise in their area?

Listen, don’t get yourself lost here grasping at straws or bending the truth just in the service of trying to get an “accomplishment” on your resume. 

As a recruiter, I came across this type of situation often.  In those cases it would have been better to focus on core content that made those people qualified for the job.  At least then you’re giving me something I can use, as opposed to a half-baked, not-so-impressive “accomplishment” that may be bending the truth anyway.

If you’re coming up short, use the type of detail your target employer uses in their job description.  Reflect as much of it as you can to optimize the document.

Remember though, don’t give upon identifying accomplishments just because you find it hard.  Put the work in and you’d be surprised at the material you’re capable of producing.

Maximize Impact of Accomplishments

Ok, so you’ve identified your accomplishments.  How can you structure them for optimal impact?

Use metrics wherever possible.  This greatly increases the impact of the accomplishment and allows the reader to truly understand the benefit and impact of the work you do.

You should try to prioritize the placement of these accomplishments in your resume.  In addition to heling you identify those key accomplishments, this is where the expertise of a professional resume writer can be of tremendous value to you in shaping the presentation of relevant, high-impact material on your resume.

On-Target Resumes

The on-target resumes will be customized to target the role you’re going for.  This is essential.  A generic resume will yield mediocre results.  You need to take the time to fine tune your document to target the role you’re going for.

Use the target job description to help you understanding what the employer is looking for and use content from that spec to help you demonstrate your suitability.

Don’t use any content from that specification you can’t legitimately lay claim to having done.

Take the time to customize your resume and you’re results will improve dramatically.

You need to cater for your target industry as well.

Don’t use flashy looking resumes for a conservative profession.  Be mindful of the target audience, always.

Top tip: Use the target job description as your guide. Let it act as a prompt to remind you of the duties you have performed in the past and if you have, make sure you present them in the resume.

The closer you can get your resume to the target job description, the better!

Objectively Bad

Here’s another tip.  Lose the “Objective” at the top of the resume.  When a resume is being reviewed, your application is being assessed against the requirements of a candidate profile and the specific technical aspects of the role.

The last thing a recruiter wants to see at that stage is what you expect to get out of this exercise or what you want long-term.

Not only does the Objective communicate the wrong message, it wastes valuable resume real estate that could have been used to sell in your suitability for the role.

Use this space instead for a Branded Statement.  A powerful showcase highlighting your unique value proposition.

The Secret.

If you can clearly and quickly communicate your value to your target employer, you’ve cracked the code.

If you can do that, and happen to also present that information in a high-impact and accessible manner on your resume, you’re on to a winner!

I sometimes hear clients say “But, I already know that I have to show value, the second bit I didn’t think about as much, but I already had the jist of it.”

Really? Then why does your current resume not do that?

Knowing something should be a certain way, yet not ever getting it done seems to be part of the human condition.

“I don’t have the time to think about that!”

“I don’t know how to do that!”

“I don’t know what they want to see!”

“I wasn’t trained to do that!”.

Sometimes admitting to yourself that you can’t do it all is the first step to seeking the help you need to get something done.  In my experience that’s how smart people operate. 

Whether they’re seeking external assistance with something, or delegating work to a talented employee – knowing what you’re good at, and what you’re not good at, is a level of self-awareness we all should embrace.

I know what I need to do to fix the oil leak I have in my car’s valve gasket, but I don’t.  Why?  Because I don’t have the skills to do that.  I’m going to need help.

I know what should be done to correct the uplift in the bridge on my acoustic guitar, but I don’t have the skills needed to execute that as effectively as someone who has been doing that very thing for decades.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

For some reason, many people beat themselves up about the need to ask for assistance from a professional resume service with their resume.  There is absolutely no need.

It’s a specialized skill set.  It’s selling. It’s marketing.  It’s not just a list of stuff you did!

Over the years I’ve written resumes for broadcast journalists, a TV anchor, HR Directors, and people who have worked everywhere from the White House to the Fortune 500, and Parliament Hill in Canada.  These are super talented people, some of them actually wrote for a living.

They recognized the value in seeking the assistance of someone who actually did this for a living.

And in doing so, it gave them an edge they didn’t have before. You can book my professional resume writing service here.