| Repeat After Me:
Résumés Are Not Biographies
The job résumé is so familiar that we assume we know what it is and what it's for. But that can be a mistake: what you don't understand about résumés can work against you in the job search process. The conventional wisdom is this: your résumé is a reverse- chronological or functional description of everything you've done: job descriptions, responsibilities, employers, and key competencies. That's where the misunderstanding starts. Contrary to conventional wisdom, a résumé isn't a personal history – it's what marketers call "collateral." The product is you; the buyer is the potential employer. As a sales rep for a product called you, your résumé is your product flyer, your "foot in the door" that persuades a buyer to investigate a little more and call you back. When you try to do something else with your résumé – such as showcase your versatility or point out your sterling (but unrelated) achievements – you undermine your résumé's value and effectiveness. So what are the implications for your next résumé? Weigh every word. Every single word in the résumé needs to "pay its way." If it doesn't help market you, consider cutting it out. If you majored in English, for example, but are applying for an engineering job, why mention it? While a résumé must be accurate, it doesn't need to be comprehensive: artful omissions are part of the résumé-drafting process. Be concise. Most résumés are too long. Unless you're a senior executive with board memberships or a professor with years of publications, a one-page résumé should be sufficient. If you protest "But I've done more than can fit on a single page," you are forgetting that the résumé isn't a biography – it's an ad. Your reader might spend a second or two scanning yours. Ask yourself what will make him or her pluck yours from the stack: Clean layout? Relevant summary? Easy scannability? Convincing evidence that this "product" solves the company's problem? Focus on the job, not on yourself. A powerful résumé is oriented to employer benefits, not to your personal features. Remember that Black & Decker is selling holes in the wall, not drills. The more you can quantify your contributions, the better. If you don't know which benefits to emphasize, you don't know enough about the opportunity. You want to tell a story through your resume that's compelling because it so closely fits the employer's need. Create résumé versions for different purposes. Not only do you need to tailor your résumé to a specific job opportunity, you need a "flavor" of your résumé for different applications: some employers want an attached Word file with your cover letter, while others insist on a text résumé pasted into an online form, for example, or a printed résumé when you interview. Still others require you to fax your résumé, which demands a typeface that survives transmission and suggests that the résumé will be scanned for important keywords. Everyone – even the blissfully employed – needs an up-to- date résumé. Although résumés aren't particularly complicated, you might be too close to your own story to do a good job on your own. Solicit help from a friend or colleague who's helped with many résumés, or find a service that asks lots of background questions and guarantees satisfaction. It goes without saying that your résumé must be free of typos and grammatical bloopers, but a good service also addresses structural, stylistic, and layout issues. An investment here can pay dividends, not only in a compressed job campaign but also in creating a versatile portrait-in-words that you can amend as you add personal experience.
Business consultant Daniel P. O'Brien, president of O'Brien Resources, operates The Résumé Café, online at www.theresumecafe.com. © 2004 OnTrack Coaching & Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved. |