Résumé Writing – What the Employer Sees

This post is not really about leadership, but a friend recently asked me to coach her on résumé writing so, having put in the work, I thought why not share it with a wider audience.  So here you go. 

Sell, sell, sell, but play nicely

The point of a résumé is to sell yourself enough so that you will get an interview, so you need to show the employer enough of yourself to make a good impression.  If you get to an interview, it becomes your second opportunity to sell yourself a bit further. 

A numbers game

Sending out résumés is a numbers game.  Only about 2% of résumés lead to an interview, so you must be prepared to send many, but every one of them must be personalised to the employer’s needs.  An employer recognises a broadcast résumé in the first few seconds, and only the gracious ones will keep reading.    

Good résumés, with well-managed follow-up, can increase your likelihood of an interview from 2% to about 20%, so it’s well worth learning techniques to create a favourable impression. 

The sad reality is that most employers (myself included) rarely spend more than a few minutes on the first reading of each résumé.  We want to be able to assess quickly whether or not the person could be the one we are looking for. 

The Two Basic Questions

Every employer is looking for an answer to two basic questions, and all other questions serve to help answer these two.  They are:

     1.    Can this person do the job (competencies)?
     2.    Will this person fit into my team, branch or organisation (values alignment)?

What turns me on in a résumé . . .

As an employer, here are a few of the things that I look for in a résumé, and some of the things that research evidence says are effective in creating a good impression. 

ü  The résumé sells the competencies and character of the candidate to me succinctly, clearly and quickly. It is easy to skim read to get the information I want within a few minutes.  The candidate makes sure that every word counts.

ü  It is well set out, typed on size 12 Arial font or similar, is adequately spaced and makes use of bullet points, all of which make for easy reading.

ü  It has a heading with the applicant’s name, address, phone number, e-mail and photo prominently displayed, and each page is numbered. 

ü  The applicant displays an understanding of my organisation and shows that he/she is aligned to its values.

ü  The résumé has a reverse chronological record of employment, education and significant voluntary service with two or three sentences explaining each position.  These explanations will draw attention to measurable achievements, rather than just position/status only.  For example:  “Oversighted a team of 17 operatives all over Taiwan and turned around the trend in declining sales from NT$1,830,000 to NT$2,010,000 in two years”.  Most employers work on the premise that previous history is an indicator of future performance, so let them see your actual experience. 

ü  It has a list of the skills that have actually been practiced by the candidate.  Some of these could be included under each of the positions, but my preference is for a separate list.  I find it easier to skim read. 

ü  The candidate avoids statements that everyone uses like “A team player”.  I actually groan inwardly when I read this.  It is meaningless, and when I have asked about it in interview, applicants have often turned out not to have worked in a team environment.  If you really are a team player, it is better to say “Experience of working in teams”, but be prepared to speak to it in the interview.  The interviewer will be looking for how you handled conflict in the team, and how you used the synergy of the team to get better results. 

ü  If there are any gaps in your work history, put in a very brief note of explanation, or employers will think the worst (unemployable, in prison, drug problem, chronic illness).  A sentence like “Time off for overseas travel” will cover it, but be honest.  Don’t say “Home-schooling my children” when you couldn’t get a job.  If your absence from the workforce is problematic, remain silent on it in the résumé, but be prepared to speak honestly about it in the interview, if asked.  (Most employers will detect if you are fudging.)

ü  The résumé will include some information about what is important to the candidate, how he/she spends her spare time, etc.  This will give me an understanding of the kind of person he/she is (helping to answer basic question 2 above).

ü  The names and phone numbers of previous employers from whom I can ask for a reference.  If I cannot readily get good quality references I will almost certainly abandon the candidate, even if he/she presented a good résumé and performed well in the interview.  If it cannot be confirmed by an “outside” party it could be faked. 

Pretentious Trends that are Meaningless

There are a few trendy things that seem to be coming up in résumés more and more in recent years.  Personally, I do not find them helpful, just rather pretentious.  They don’t help me to answer the two essential questions “can this person do the job?” and “Will he/she fit into my team?”

The first of these is the personal employment objective.  I do not believe it is easy to honestly disclose one’s employment objective.  I Think an applicant is more likely to give the employer wants to hear rather than “To become CEO of the company” or “To gain experience in this job so I can get a better one”, or even “To earn money to live”.  This whole idea attracts dishonesty and I don’t take any notice of them, nor do other employers that I know. 

Another is the personal mission statement.  Let’s be honest, how many people go through life on a personal mission.  Unless you are an evangelist,  social worker, medical missionary, a Salvation Army officer or something similar you’re not likely to be on a mission, so where is your mission statement going to come from? 

Covering Email

Each time you send your résumé, include a covering email.  The purpose of the covering email is to:

1. Demonstrate that you can communicate with professional courtesy, and
2. Sell yourself enough to motivate the employer to open your résumé.

In a covering email, I expect to find . . .

ü  An introductory statement about the reason for your email.  Give the name of the job and where you saw it advertised. 

ü  A paragraph of about three or four sentences that briefly capture your main selling points.  I look for evidence of experience, competencies and values alignment.  You could throw in one major achievement here, but don’t be too verbose. 

ü  A paragraph about how you may be contacted and your availability (Make it as easy as you can for the employer). 

ü  A request for an interview, and a courtesy comment about looking forward to their response. 

ü  Correct grammar and spelling, and a warm and upbeat style throughout.  (In Taiwan it is understood that applicants are using English as a second language so there is some latitude with this, but this would disqualify you from getting an interview in most English speaking countries.)

ü  The email should be short and to the point.   

Follow-Up

If you follow up with a phone call a few days later the chance of getting an interview increases dramatically.  

(The image in this post is provided by freedigitalphotos.net.)