Spring Makeover Series: Use Quantifiers to Distinguish Yourself from Others
View Before Resume
View After Resume
Client Background
Robert came to me with a very simple existing resume that neither showcased his broad skill set nor his career achievements. Despite having held significant responsibilities during each of his professional engagements, his resume did not capture the full scope of what he had performed or achieved. Additionally, his resume was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye and dated his candidacy by including work history back to 1968.
Résumé Strategies
In addition to making Robert’s résumé pleasing to the eye, information needed to be prioritized, and accomplishments had to be reviewed thoroughly in order to differentiate his candidacy from his competitors. Robert’s career overview, which appeared on his original résumé, was a good attempt to provide a brief summary of his most notable skills, but needed some crucial prioritization, focus, and reformatting. His new qualifications summary is much more appealing and engaging, and through strategic formatting and presentation, communicates his key qualifications to a hiring manager easily within the 10-15 second screening process. Additionally, to further support the screening process, a core skills list was included to explore Robert’s diverse competencies.
In the professional experience section, accomplishments were explored during the consultation and displayed in an engaging and eye-catching manner. Quantifiers were added whenever possible to distinguish his experiences and achievements from others with similar roles. Key challenges were also explored and presented in order to provide a clear picture of the significance of each achievement. Additionally, only Robert’s last two positions were dated in order to avoid unnecessarily aging his candidacy. Earlier engagements were presented without dates to showcase additional skills and experiences that still supported his candidacy.
Lastly, Robert’s professional development was presented to minimize the impact of not having a college degree, something that was missing from his original résumé.
Client Comments / Results
Shortly after receiving his résumé, the client called and stated:
“Samantha, I need to discuss a problem with you…” Robert said. “I have too many interviews and not enough time.”
Later, the client wrote:
“I was very pleased with the entire process with Ladybug Design. They did everything that they promised in a timely fashion. My finished resume is without a doubt one of the best résumés that I have ever seen. It highlights all my strengths and plays down weaker areas. The response has been remarkable. The first seven résumés sent all resulted in personal interviews. These people know what they are doing!”
Client update:
Robert recently reported that after 9 interviews in just 8 short weeks, he accepted a position with a new company and attributes his success to the new and improved resume.
To send your question to Dear Sam for possible publication, please email her at dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
If you would like Dear Sam's firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or 1-888-9-LADYBUG.
Samantha is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer with a graduate degree in Marketing and Communication, and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service résumé writing and interview coaching firm.
View After Resume
Client Background
Robert came to me with a very simple existing resume that neither showcased his broad skill set nor his career achievements. Despite having held significant responsibilities during each of his professional engagements, his resume did not capture the full scope of what he had performed or achieved. Additionally, his resume was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye and dated his candidacy by including work history back to 1968.
Résumé Strategies
In addition to making Robert’s résumé pleasing to the eye, information needed to be prioritized, and accomplishments had to be reviewed thoroughly in order to differentiate his candidacy from his competitors. Robert’s career overview, which appeared on his original résumé, was a good attempt to provide a brief summary of his most notable skills, but needed some crucial prioritization, focus, and reformatting. His new qualifications summary is much more appealing and engaging, and through strategic formatting and presentation, communicates his key qualifications to a hiring manager easily within the 10-15 second screening process. Additionally, to further support the screening process, a core skills list was included to explore Robert’s diverse competencies.
In the professional experience section, accomplishments were explored during the consultation and displayed in an engaging and eye-catching manner. Quantifiers were added whenever possible to distinguish his experiences and achievements from others with similar roles. Key challenges were also explored and presented in order to provide a clear picture of the significance of each achievement. Additionally, only Robert’s last two positions were dated in order to avoid unnecessarily aging his candidacy. Earlier engagements were presented without dates to showcase additional skills and experiences that still supported his candidacy.
Lastly, Robert’s professional development was presented to minimize the impact of not having a college degree, something that was missing from his original résumé.
Client Comments / Results
Shortly after receiving his résumé, the client called and stated:
“Samantha, I need to discuss a problem with you…” Robert said. “I have too many interviews and not enough time.”
Later, the client wrote:
“I was very pleased with the entire process with Ladybug Design. They did everything that they promised in a timely fashion. My finished resume is without a doubt one of the best résumés that I have ever seen. It highlights all my strengths and plays down weaker areas. The response has been remarkable. The first seven résumés sent all resulted in personal interviews. These people know what they are doing!”
Client update:
Robert recently reported that after 9 interviews in just 8 short weeks, he accepted a position with a new company and attributes his success to the new and improved resume.
To send your question to Dear Sam for possible publication, please email her at dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
If you would like Dear Sam's firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or 1-888-9-LADYBUG.
Samantha is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer with a graduate degree in Marketing and Communication, and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service résumé writing and interview coaching firm.
posted by Dear Sam at Sunday, April 22, 2007
<< Home