What's Holding You Back From Writing a Better Resume? (Part Two)

Resume Help

by Barbara Safani on Jan 6th, 2010

This is part two in our series examining people's excuses for not creating more compelling content for their resumes and tips for moving past the excuses. Which of these excuses are holding you back?

Writing a Better Resume: Part One >>

I plan to explain the impact of what I do during the interview. Good luck getting to the interview. Without proof of your accomplishments in the resume, it is unlikely that you will get to plead your case in the interview. Use the resume as the teaser for what's to come in the interview. Give them enough information about your actions and results to leave them wanting more. Don't leave them in the dark and assume they will ask for more if they want it because they probably won't.

I don't want to write too much on my resume about what I did because doing so will make my resume too long. You can create impact without being verbose. Concentrate on delivering a key metric and a succinct glimpse or the accomplishment and you will be able to keep the resume to a reasonable length.

I just graduated from college and I haven't done any meaningful work yet. Perhaps you haven't done much paid work yet, but you've certainly done work that will help you prepare for the next steps in your career. Focus on the accomplishments within your coursework, internships, volunteer positions, and leadership roles on campus.

I know I had an impact , but I have no idea how to quantify it. Take a look at previous years' performance reviews for indicators or your impact or talk to colleagues about projects you worked on. Impact isn't just about the numbers. Perhaps you introduced some "first-ever" initiatives or reversed an "at-risk" relationship with a client. Discuss the successes within these accomplishments and use phrases such as "significantly improved' or "substantially reduced' to prove impact.

I was not in my job long enough to show impact or the last company I was with failed and there is little opportunity for me to show stories of success.You may still be able to discuss projected results or impact for a company where your tenure was short. If the company was struggling, write about what you did contribute. Perhaps you set up the company's first infrastructure or built the company's sales pipeline from the ground up. Separate your successes from the failures of the company, and if possible, back those successes up with a quote from a supervisor, client, or vendor.

Break free of these resume writing excuses and instead opt for creating a resume that focuses on your strong stories of success and measurable achievements.

Barbara Safani is the owner of Career Solvers, www.careersolvers.com, and author of Happy About My Resume: 50 Tips For Building a Better Document to Secure a Brighter Future and #JOBSEARCHtweet.

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