Spring Makeover Series - guiding you through first professional résumé

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I often find entry-level candidates do not understand the transferability of the strategies I speak of each week to their own situations, thinking what I speak of only applies to professionals and executives. In this week’s example, I am presenting a résumé I rewrote for a client of a local social service agency and I hope this demonstrates what entry-level clients can and must do to differentiate their candidacy.

Candidate’s Background

Ann had previously struggled with substance abuse issues and had a history of misdemeanor offenses, but had recently completed a job readiness training program and was excited to reenter the workforce. She spent recent years as a caregiver for a family member and had previously been a stay-at-home Mom for 12 years leading up to 2004. Ann’s goal was to secure a customer service position in the medical field.

First Impression

Ann’s original résumé was lacking in both design and content. Her résumé was plain and did not showcase the skills she demonstrated in her past roles. By utilizing a dynamic format focused on her extensive skill set, the negative impact of three recent short-term engagements was minimized. In addition, her résumé needed to reflect a combination of her daily duties and achievements or functions in which she performed particularly well. While Ann’s original résumé did a good job of detailing her job descriptions, it was lacking in highlighting areas in which she excelled. Lastly, as she was seeking an entry-level position, there was no need to unnecessarily age her candidacy by including 12 years of experience as a homemaker. It would present a much cleaner image of her background if her résumé began with 2004 and progressed through her most recent roles and training, versus highlighting non-related experience and a high school diploma from the 1980s.

Resume Strategies

Ann’s new résumé uses a two-column format focusing the reader’s attention on her skill set versus the responsibilities of her most recent positions. This format not only engages the reader through its unique design, but also helps present a “full” one-page résumé despite limited experience and education. I also added a qualifications summary, which presents a strong statement as to why Ann is qualified for her current objective.

Upon reviewing Ann’s objective and experience, I defined key qualifications that would be required for the types of roles she was seeking. Armed with this master list of keywords, I wove those skills and functions throughout her résumé, prioritizing based on what would enhance her candidacy the most. By using the left column to present core skills related to her objective, she would also be able to prioritize or interchange skills based on specific opportunities of interest, making for a simple way to retarget her résumé.

In the professional experience section, I used my knowledge of the jobs she performed and the descriptions from her original résumé to craft sections that not only told the story of what she was paid to do, but more importantly, what she did that differentiated her from the competition. I omitted her homemaker experience and her diploma, two items that aged her résumé unnecessarily. I therefore transitioned the education section into a training section to highlight recent completion of a job readiness program. I maintained the volunteer section, as it was important to show additional involvement in structured programs possibly requiring some of the same skills that would be sought in the types of roles she was pursuing.

With Ann’s new résumé, a hiring manager does not have to attempt to identify skills she may possess that relate to the role in question. Instead, by using a skill-based format, elaborating on her experiences, showcasing related highlights, and strategically omitting aged experience and education, Ann is positioned as a strong candidate with the qualifications to secure an entry-level customer service role.

Samantha Nolan is a certified professional résumé writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service résumé writing firm. Reach her at dearsam@ladybug-design.com, www.ladybug-design.com, or 1-888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).