Why do you need a Resume?

WHY DO YOU NEED A RÉSUMÉ? The job market has changed drastically from just a few years ago. While a résumé was once only needed by upper management and executives, today almost everyone needs a résumé to job hunt effectively. The résumé has only one purpose . . . to get interviews. A good résumé can not get you a job, but a bad résumé or no résumé will prevent you from even getting the opportunity to interview. A résumé is a marketing tool, plain and simple. Your résumé speaks for you when you are not there to talk yourself. Many companies want you to send your résumé in response to an advertisement on the internet or in the newspaper. In order to remain anonymous and avoid a flurry of phone calls, they only list their fax number or an e-mail address. If you do not have a résumé you will not be able to respond to these types of advertisements. Many people think of a résumé as a history or summary of their career. This is not quite correct. What makes a well-written résumé so effective is that it provides potential employers with relevant information about why they should consider hiring you. An effective résumé will show the employer all the benefits they will receive from hiring you. An effective résumé is an investment, whether in the time it takes you to prepare it yourself or if you decide to hire a professional to help you. However, a well-written résumé is an investment in your future. Think about the salary you are costing yourself from missed opportunities and failing to convince employers to call you for an interview. A good résumé will get you more calls, more interviews and therefore a job much more quickly. A great résumé can also convince an employer you are worth more salary! Here are some key components that make an effective résumé: YOUR RÉSUMÉ MUST SELL AN EMPLOYER YOUR BENEFITS The process of looking for a job is a sales presentation. You have become a salesperson and the product you are selling is YOU! Any good salesperson will tell you that you have to sell a customer on the benefits they will receive from the product. Your customer, the prospective employer, wants to know how you will return the investment they will make in you as an employee. In other words, don’t just tell them you are organized; tell them you have the ability to bring order to any chaotic situation that will increase the efficiency of the office. Don’t just tell them you are dependable, let them know that you have a spotless record of attendance and you are never late. YOUR RÉSUMÉ MUST BE ERROR FREE One typo or one misspelled word could be the reason that hiring managers are not calling you. Proofread your résumé forwards and backwards. Don’t rely on your computer’s spellchecker to catch your errors. Spellcheckers only find misspelled words; they don’t look for misused words. Consistency is very important when creating your document. Attention to detail in your résumé communicates to the hiring manager that you pay attention to details in your work. YOUR RÉSUMÉ MUST BE PERSONALIZED Templates or cookie cutter résumés are a problem because they look just like everyone else’s résumé. What you need is to stand out from the crowd. Remember, a résumé’s job is to entice the hiring manager to call you for an interview. Anyone can write a résumé for an administrative assistant. What will get your phone ringing for interviews is a résumé that tells the hiring manager why YOU are a GREAT administrative assistant. Most people feel about as enthusiastic about writing their résumé as filling out their tax returns. When you realize that your résumé, when done right, is your ticket to the job of your dreams it can motivate you to make the effort to get an effective résumé. Need professional help creating your résumé that will get you more interviews? Contact Lori Norris at Get Results Career Services, LLC 623.935.1525 www.getresultsresumes.com e-mail: lori@getresultsresumes.com