Finding the Fairytale Job:
How to Tell Your Story
The average headhunter will spend about eight seconds looking
at your resume before moving on to the other hundreds of pieces of paper on his
or her desk.
Pretty scary statistic, huh? If you
cannot capture that headhunter's interest in those eight seconds, you can kiss
your chances to interview for that fairytale job goodbye forever.
So,
how do you create a resume that tells your story accurately and effectively, and
grabs that headhunter's attention?
Neon green paper
isn't the answer, tempting as it may sound.
Size
Matters
One of the biggest questions I hear is, "How
can I present a fifteen, twenty, or thirty year career in just one page of text?"
The answer: you cannot. Feel free to elaborate to
the length of two or three pages. I once got a resume from a college student who
was applying for an internship; it was four pages.
At
the age of 19, that was obnoxious. If you at a level where you are comfortable
applying for senior level executive positions, then a one page resume is doing
you a disservice.
While a recruiter will only spend
few brief moments looking at your resume, you should provide enough material so
that he or she can understand the full scope of what you've accomplished.
Numbers
Add Up
So, now that your resume is longer, how do
you capture a headhunter's brief attention? It's not the cover letter, it the
numbers on your resume!
Including specific numbers
on your resume allows a headhunter to scan through and quickly discern whether
you have had the correct level of depth, breadth and scope of experience for the
position for which he or she is recruiting.
The headhunter
will only go back and read your cover letter if there is enough meat in your resume
to prove it worthy.
List numbers of dollars raised,
staff managed, grants written, board members trained, speeches written, press
mentions secured.
But don't get too carried away;
listing salaries, number and ages of children, or your own age is crass, and in
some cases illegal for the recruiter to even take into consideration.
But
What Did You Actually Do?
When was the last time
your day to day job reflected what was in that position description you agreed
to years ago?
If you are like most of us, it's not
likely lately. Most of us fall into the habit of reflecting our job descriptions
in our resumes because it is the easiest starting point to help us explain what
we do.
But, your job description lists tasks, i.e.,
what you are supposed to do, but not your accomplishments, i.e., what you actually
did.
Why say, "secured donations from private corporations,"
when you can say "raised $5 million in corporate donations through three $1 million
major gifts, four community events, and the recruitment of two new board members"?
Are you a Resume Do or a Resume Don't?
Do
you find yourself telling interviewers, "Well, it's not on my resume, but ."?
Does your resume accurately portray your level of
responsibility and accountability on projects?
Is
your resume opening enough interview doors?
Has it
been more than five years since you last actively interviewed or reviewed the
efficacy of your resume?
Do you have a clear understanding
of how to phrase your accomplishments in terms that recruiters will understand
and appreciate?
If you answered yes to more than
three of these questions, it's about time you had a professional recruiter take
a look at your resume and cover letter.
Just ask
Laura@ExecSearches.com
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