Kris McGuigan, owner of Professional Courage and an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW), shared with us her secrets on how to write a resume that gets you the job you desire. Kris recently earned the prestigious ACRW designation, making her only a handful of Academy Certified Resume Writers across the globe also to hold an MBA. With nine years of experience and training alongside some of the industry’s top experts, Kris creates and delivers career marketing tools that get results. These include resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Kris was invited to join the Forbes Coaches Council in 2017. She covered topics such as fonts, headers, location of your name, and keywords. You might be surprised what makes your resume stand out from the rest.
Things to keep in mind
For every 100 online applications, HR only conducts three interviews due to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that have preset fields that numerous companies create to narrow down candidates who apply online. ATS systems are used to comb through resumes and look for key attributes that companies desire. They score your resume with these preset fields such as education, experience, and keywords. Note that ATS systems deny nearly 75% of resumes summited.
Prominent Header
Let’s start from the top, literally. Your name should be easy to find, placing it on the top of your resume in large bold font. Make it pop and make sure it doesn’t blend in with the rest of your text. Below or near your name you need to include your contact information so the employer can reach you once they have decided they NEED you. Your contact information should include your email address, phone number, and your LinkedIn URL. Keep in mind that the email address you use should be your professional account. Do not use something along the lines of “kittycatlover@hotmail.com.” You should include your address as well but only use your City and State.
Executive Summary
Remember that your resume is a piece of marketing material and you should treat as such. Market yourself to the position you desire by creating a secure brand title. For example “Senior field marketing executive” shows your value to your past employer and your next one. Also, this is a summary so it should not be too lengthy, keep it too around two or three lines of your background. Core competencies are also ideal, as they also help get through ATS fields.
Mrs. McGuigan shared some word cloud websites that help find those keywords that will get you through the ATS system. The sites are Tagcrowd and Wordle.
Remember that your resume is a piece of marketing material and you should treat as such. Market yourself to the position you desire by creating a brand title. For example “Senior field marketing executive” shows your value to your past employer and the value you offer to your next one. Also, this is a summary so it should not be too lengthy, keep it around two or three lines of your background. Core competencies are also ideal; they also help get through ATS fields.
Don’t Tell me, Show me
List outcome-based achievements. They should be answering questions not asking them. Below are some examples
| Attended an annual conference | Introduced company brand to 3k+ potential clients, participating as a vendor at dealer conference. |
| Answered phones | Handled 20+ customer inquiries daily, maintain 98% customer service rating. |
| Managed special projects | Drove capital investment initiative, leading a cross-functional team to achieve 100% of project deliverables two months ahead of schedule and $50K below budget. |
| Responsible for timekeeping | I have spearheaded staff scheduling for a team of 18 FT employees, entering data for up to 200 timecards every month. |
Relearn your ABC’s
- Assess
- Understanding your value — What your skills and experience can you bring to the table will help you not to oversell yourself.
- Brand
- Articulate your value — Market yourself and your value to your position by creating your brand. “Senior field marketing executive” is your brand, now explain why they need your “brand.”
- Connect
- Share your value — Highlight your core competencies, achievements, and past responsibilities to show what value you have to offer.
Basic Guidelines
- Do not use Times New Roman font on your resume as it is an outdated font that is overused.
- The minimum size font you would want to use should not go lower than size 10. Any smaller and the HR rep would think they need their eyes checked!
- Speak to the audience, not the writer.
Please come to our Next Hudson Job Search Meeting!
De-de Mulligan from Mulligan Management Group will be speaking at our next meeting on May 20th from 7:15-9:00 pm at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora St. Hudson, OH. De-de will give you specific tips to make your LinkedIn profile stand out!
All our events are free of charge and open to anyone who lives and works in the greater NEO area, whether you currently have a job or not. No need to register in advance, but seating is limited to approximately 40 individuals. Please dress business casual.