1
Straight Talk About Your Résumé
(From a Guy Whose Living Depends on Using Them)
THIS WEEK I sent 221 résumés of my candidates to different clients and helped three people find jobs. On average, I receive up to 40 résumés a day from people seeking my help in landing a job. I receive a lot of résumés, and I send out a lot of résumés.
I am a professional placement and recruitment specialist, and rĂ©sumĂ©s are the tools I use to help my candidates get interviews. Since 1973, I have reviewed more than 32,000 rĂ©sumĂ©s and have been personally responsible for placing more than 8,500 individuals in jobs, all on a one-on-one basis. That means I picked up the phone, called a hiring authority, got them an interview, helped with subsequent interviews, and negotiated an offer for themâ8,500 times.
Thatâs why I know what types of rĂ©sumĂ©s are the most helpful for getting interviews that lead to job offers. In fact, my livelihood depends on that knowledge. The truth is that the vast majority of authors who write rĂ©sumĂ© books and articles have never found anyone a job, nor have they had to justify to prospective employers the quality of good candidates with poor rĂ©sumĂ©s.
Most of the stuff written about rĂ©sumĂ©s reflects those authorsâ opinions of what they imagine works. Instead, I tell you exactly what does work, based on the opinions of the hiring authorities I speak with every day. So, in this book, youâre getting proven rĂ©sumĂ© knowledge about what works in the real world.
Here is a quick example. Some national âpersonal marketingâ firms (i.e., professional rĂ©sumĂ© services) write rĂ©sumĂ©s for fees of $150 and up. They recommend, and will write, a âfunctionalâ rĂ©sumĂ© for anyone willing to pay their fee. Unlike the traditional chronological rĂ©sumĂ©, a functional rĂ©sumĂ© lists all the duties and responsibilities spanning a personâs career. Then, at the bottom of the rĂ©sumĂ©, are the names of companies the person has worked for, along with the corresponding dates. Usually there is little or no explanation of what each company does. Yet, here are the facts: Most hiring authorities donât like or read these types of rĂ©sumĂ©s. (RĂ©sumĂ© types are discussed in Chapter 3, where youâll also find the results of a survey involving more than 3,000 hiring authorities, which backs up this fact. Indeed, you will learn what they do want to see in a rĂ©sumĂ©.)
Does this mean that no one using a functional rĂ©sumĂ© ever gets an interview? Or ever gets hired? No, of course not. But it does mean that your chances of getting an interview are better if you donât use a functional rĂ©sumĂ©. And, after all, doesnât it make sense to stack the odds in your favor?
The reason hiring managers donât appreciate functional rĂ©sumĂ©s is that the experience and accomplishments of the candidate are not set in the context of particular companies or job functions. That is, after all, the context in which they are hiring.
A functional rĂ©sumĂ© crossed my desk a few years ago, in which the candidate had written: â#1 salesperson in the U.S.â I went ahead and interviewed the candidate because I recognized the companies he had worked for, listed at the bottom. But I explained that he needed to write a chronological rĂ©sumĂ© connecting his experiences and successes to each job held. When he did so, it turned out that he had been the â#1 salesperson in the U.S.â 10 years ago! Thatâs why hiring authorities donât like this type of rĂ©sumĂ©. They hide the details. Unfortunately, this candidate had paid $5,000 to a âconsulting firmâ that had guaranteed the functional rĂ©sumĂ© it wrote would land him a job. Guaranteed?
The primary reason people spend so much time, money, and effort in writing a rĂ©sumĂ© is that this is the one activity within the job search that they can control. Instead of picking up the phone and calling a prospective employer to ask for a face-to-face interviewârisking potential rejectionâpeople agonize over their rĂ©sumĂ©s. Itâs true that agonizing over a rĂ©sumĂ© wonât get you rejected, but spending hours on your rĂ©sumĂ© doesnât automatically mean it will be successful, either.
Hereâs the Truth: Nothing you think about your rĂ©sumĂ© matters unless it helps you get interviews that result in job offers! So, hereâs what I suggest. If anyone charges you money to write a rĂ©sumĂ©, tell the person you will double the asking price after the rĂ©sumĂ© gets you an interview, let alone a job. Yes, you read that right. Tell the agency or individual you will pay contingent upon the rĂ©sumĂ©âs working for you. If the agency truly believes the rĂ©sumĂ©s it produces are as effective as it claims, then it should have no problem taking this deal.
The Real Value of a Résumé
It is rare for someone to get hired by simply submitting a rĂ©sumĂ©âthe purpose of the rĂ©sumĂ© is to help get you an interview. And at the interview, remember that 40 percent of a hiring decision is based on personality. The series of interviews is used to judge the compatibility of your personality with those of people in the company. That is, companies hire people they like; a rĂ©sumĂ© cannot communicate your personal traits.
Itâs that simple. Your rĂ©sumĂ© wonât get you hired; rather, your rĂ©sumĂ© should help you get face-to-face interviewsâso that your winning personality can convince your interviewers.
It is possible that you may be lucky and get an invitation to interview strictly by sending your rĂ©sumĂ© to a hiring authority. But in this market that situation isnât likely. Youâre going to have to do a lot of other things to secure the interviews, and I tell you what these things are in the chapters of this book.
Résumé Secrets? Résumé Magic? Hogwash
If you Google the words rĂ©sumĂ© magic, you will get over 1.9 million results. If you Google rĂ©sumĂ© secrets, you will get 22.5 million results. Whatâs so absurd about all of this is that there is no magic, there are no secrets to rĂ©sumĂ© writing. In fact, the process is not even mysterious. Writing an effective rĂ©sumĂ© is simpleâas long as you have an effective rĂ©sumĂ© strategy.
You want to write and use the most effective rĂ©sumĂ© possible so that you can get as many interviews and job offers as you can. Itâs a simple statistical challenge. But this book will help you learn how to write a rĂ©sumĂ© that will have a higher probability of helping you get those face-to-face interviews.
Conquering the Biggest Challenge
Youâve come to the right place. Here, you will learn how to write a simple, straightforward, and effective rĂ©sumĂ©. But thatâs actually not the hardest part about getting a face-to-face interview. Your biggest challenge is knowing what to do with the rĂ©sumĂ© after youâve written it.
How you use your rĂ©sumĂ© to secure face-to-face interviews is where the rubber really meets the road. The vast majority of people who call me to complain about their zero job responses think that their problems lie with their rĂ©sumĂ©. And while for some there may indeed be some rĂ©sumĂ© kinks, that is not the primary reason theyâre not getting interviews. Rather, the problem is a lack of technique and strategy.
In Chapters 2 through 7, I show you, step by step, how to write an effective rĂ©sumĂ©. Then, in Chapters 8 through 10, I coach you on how to use your effective rĂ©sumĂ© to get resultsâthat all-important golden egg, the face-to-face interview.