Lately, I've been working with a few people on their resumes and trying to bring them into the 21st century. And really each of them began with what Career Services helped them put together in school. Now, there's nothing wrong with having them help you with putting something together...if you want it to look like a thousand other resumes. I don't think I have to tell you right now that that is NOT a good thing if you want to get a job in the next 90 days.
I think we need to take more of a cue these days from the resume "portfolios" that marketing and design professionals use. Make it more DYNAMIC. Don't just tell me, SHOW me. I want to see you jump off the page at me. I don't say this to any one profession. The tools exist NOW on the web to make even the least web-savvy person capable and an "interesting" candidate.
Next time you are re-working your resume, or getting ready to send it out remember that the vast majority of people you are sending it to will view it first on their computer. So let's run with that. Here's 3 tips to consider:
1. Use Slideshare. We've all done presentations over the course of our career or education. I suggest linking 2-3 of your best and most outstanding presentations to your resume. Slideshare is easy and free to use. It can even give you the opportunity to embed the presentation into a page if you like. I recommend starting just with the link it provides and go from there. On the resume, include the name of the presentation, the value it created (briefly, please) and the link. People will be so intrigued that they will have to click.
2. References. You would think people would have picked up on this by now but most have not. If you are waiting for the company to check your references after they have made an offer to you, you have missed out on a HUGE opportunity to stand out using one of the oldest principles of influence. This one is easy. Call your top 3 references and ask them to write you a letter of recommendation and to send it to you in both a MS Word and PDF format (Primo PDF can convert for free if they don't have a way to do that). Now, follow this format:
COMPANY NAME, Title, Dates
Accomplishments: blah blah blah....
Quote from Reference: "John Doe is the greatest employee I've ever had he helped us
save/make 1 gazillion dollars, and I would have his babies if I could....."
Experience:......
You get my idea here. What this does is important, using the principle of "social proof" you create a buzz about you by listing what other people say, and they WANT to read on. Now, see that I said a QUOTE, not the entire reference letter. Put that at the end so they can read on later.
3. Include links to your Linked In profile Notice I did not say your Facebook page, assume that they will try to look that up - and adjust accordingly. By providing links to Linked In, they can see additional recommendations you may not have included and they can see the "company you keep". They may even see someone they know who they can contact to talk about you. You may even help them land the next big client, or next big idea.
All of these are meant to make your resume more dynamic, while still providing the hiring manager with what they need to see. And remember, the resume ONLY get's you the interview so once your behind those doors it's up to you to prove yourself in person.
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