Content and Visual Appeal keys to Résumé Success

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Background
Anna enjoyed a 25+-year career in the workers’ compensation (WC) field and came to me hoping to position herself for more exciting opportunities in a generalist human resources role or the workers’ compensation field. She spent the past two years with an auction house performing a variety of roles spanning WC and human resources administration. Prior to her current engagement, she spent 23 years as a claims examiner and office manager for a private WC consulting firm.

Original Résumé Pitfalls
Anna’s original résumé was a carbon copy of so many résumés out there today, both in content and aesthetics. Anna used a common template that lacked visual appeal, included redundant content beginning most sentences with “Responsible for…” and did not effectively present the value she provided to her past employers. In addition, her content was not strategically placed, and as a result, employment in the 1980’s appeared on page one of her résumé. Also, unrelated educational pursuits including her high school diploma and cosmetology studies were listed before professional development in her field.

Makeover Strategies
To position Anna for the types of engagements she wanted, I needed to explore her roles much more fully, including where she had really contributed value to her past employers. I opened her résumé by replacing an outdated objective statement with an extensive qualifications summary positioning her as a human resources and workers’ compensation specialist. By doing so, I was able to diffuse the sole focus on a career in WC, and instead pull out core HR skills that would market her effectively for a generalist role in human resources. The summary was also made quite extensive to ensure her earlier employment spanning 1982-2005 fell to page two of her résumé.

Anna’s current position needed to be expanded significantly and explore not only what she was paid to do, but what she did above and beyond her job description. From what was described in five bullet points on her original résumé, is now explored through an introductory paragraph, a key initiatives and results statement, and seven bullet points marketing the accomplishments she achieved. In addition, the bulleted notes are separated into core skill areas to better facilitate the desired focus on her experience in both HR and WC. The thorough exploration of her current role ensured the appropriate value was placed on this experience, and would play a key role in positioning her for entry into a more general HR role.

One of the keys to success for Anna’s résumé makeover was positioning her early experience on page two. A résumé should typically include about 10-15 years of experience, but when you begin a position in 1982 and hold the same title until 2005, it makes it difficult to include less than 20+ years of experience. In order to not unnecessarily age the candidate, it was imperative to place this position on page two, leaving the dates of that assignment to play a much smaller role in the screening process. Additionally, on her original résumé, Anna had described this 23 years of experience in 4 very short bullet points. This presented a major disconnect as to what value she really contributed and what experience was gained through the majority of her career. Upon reviewing this position with Anna during our phone consultation, I was able to explore the role with the weight it deserved, presenting in the same manner as her most recent experience.

Anna’s education section on her original résumé included outdated and unrelated information. There was no need to include a high school diploma as it is assumed a candidate possesses that level of education. In addition, studies in an unrelated field such as cosmetology only showed an additional area of interest and could potentially distract the reader, making them lose focus on Anna being a HR / WC specialist. Instead of an education section, I presented a professional development section including only her related training in the field. Lastly, her technical skills were presented as it was very important to show she possessed knowledge of current applications in the field.

Keys to Success
Anna’s original résumé lacked visual appeal and would easily lose the reader’s interest due to the redundancy in content and presentation of unrelated information. Although Anna’s original résumé did little to showcase her abilities, she did have an extensive skill set in her fields of interest, and with further exploration of her background during our consultation, I was able to pull out additional details and accomplishments, which when coupled with an engaging design, would secure the attention of a hiring manager.

Reach Dear Sam at dearsam@dispatch.com. If you would like Dear Sam's résumé writing firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or toll-free 1-888-9-LADYBUG.

Employ these résumé strategies when moving down – not up – the ladder

Dear Sam: I am 43 years old and I am looking to take a lesser position of responsibility so that I can complete my Master's of Education. My eventual goal is to become a teacher or a high school guidance counselor. Given my age, I want to "fast track" my education. This means that I will need a less demanding position than I currently hold. I have toned down my résumé, but I am still having difficulties with potential employers thinking that something must be wrong with a candidate looking for a position with less responsibility. After all, most people are looking to move up, not down, the ladder. Do you have any suggestions to help me explain this to potential employers? Thanks so much for providing this valuable service. I would be grateful for any advice that you may have. – Alesia

Dear Alesia: First, I’d suggest you look for opportunities in the education field, a logical transition and an environment that would best understand your desire to accept lesser responsibilities while you complete your graduate degree. Pursuing opportunities in most other fields would not only beg the question as to why you are looking to accept lesser responsibility, but also whether you were going to leave upon receiving your degree. Even if you can’t find a position in the exact environment in which you eventually want to transition into, think about pursuing opportunities in a trade school, college, or university setting. Review the opportunities you are thinking of pursuing carefully, and make sure your résumé is speaking the same language and not turning off the reader by presenting an overqualified candidate. I’d suggest using the qualifications summary, in addition to your cover letter, to promote your passion, desire to shape young minds, and upcoming M.Ed. Think about opening your résumé with a statement such as, “M.Ed. candidate with sincere desire to shape young minds, provide solid guidance to students, and leverage business background to promote achievement of administrative goals.” Throughout your résumé, be sure you are positioning your responsibilities and achievements so your transferable skills are evident. As you are transitioning fields, it is important for your experience to make sense for the hiring manger, and not make the reader try to figure out how your experience relates to the position they are offering. All the best.

Dear Sam: I’m not exactly sure what I want to do in my career and I’m having a difficult time figuring out what to include on my résumé. I have a background in sales, customer service, and management, but I’m now open to many opportunities. How do I handle this on my résumé? ­– Jo

Dear Jo: A common mistake many job seekers make is trying to create a one-size-fits-all résumé. While in today’s highly competitive market job seekers have to keep their options open, it is imperative to present a targeted résumé to each hiring manager. This doesn’t mean that you have to write a completely different résumé for each job you apply to, but it does mean that you need to tailor your résumé to be sure it presents your most related skills for each type of opportunity you are pursuing. Trying to develop a résumé that suits every opportunity when you have diverse goals is a very ineffective strategy. Doing so will only present diluted content to any given hiring manager, and when competing with other skilled candidates will likely not secure interviews. Instead, assess your goals, identify your related skills, and tailor your résumé to suit the requirements of each type of position. Only then will your résumé produce the results you want.

Dear Sam: I currently have a two-page résumé. I recently applied for a position which had a lot of details listed to provide information regarding the duties and responsibilities. In order to respond to them, I found my cover letter filled an entire page. Many of my friends have told me a cover letter should never be more than three short paragraphs at most, and a résumé should be one page. Their reasoning is that a hiring manager wouldn't have the time to look at a lot of information, and may in fact toss a lengthy résumé and cover letter. Is it best to be short with both a cover letter and résumé, and if so, what is a good option to show all the skills and abilities a company is looking for? Thanks – Dan

Dear Dan: The old school of thought was that a résumé had to be only one page or it wouldn't get the time of day. This is not the case today and at times a two or even three page résumé suits a candidate more appropriately. Your friends are right about part of this however, and that is that a hiring manager is unlikely to scan more than one page of your résumé during their initial review. For that reason, you have to prioritize the information contained within your résumé. Therefore anything that really enhances your candidacy for a position does need to be listed on page one. Hence the reason qualifications summaries are an essential component of effective résumés. Qualifications summaries allow candidates to provide a snapshot of their career in order to convey their most notable skills and experiences on page one of their résumé. Once the hiring manager has established interest in you as a candidate, they will take the time to review the supporting information on your résumé albeit on page two or page three.

As to the cover letter, I find a very effective way to write a cover letter is to incorporate bullet points. This breaks up the "heaviness" of a lengthy letter and highlights the most important pieces of information for the hiring manager. If you have a lot of experiences and skills that you feel are essential to communicate in your cover letter try this strategy. Open your cover letter with the position of interest and your most notable and unique qualifiers for the position. Then transition into presenting a bulleted list (I like to use three) of the experiences that you feel position you for the opportunity. Incorporate a second bulleted list exploring the softer skills you possess such as multi-tasking skills, organizational capabilities, leadership talents, etc. Then use the last paragraph to close the letter and present your action-oriented follow-up statement.

Using this strategy will allow you to communicate a lot of information while maintaining a very readable format. Use of bullet points in a cover letter also pushes the reader to the "heart" of the letter, which is what you actually want the reader to know. All the best!

Reach Dear Sam at dearsam@ladybug-design.com. If you would like Dear Sam's résumé writing firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or toll-free 1-888-9-LADYBUG.

Presenting an almost completed college degree

Dear Sam: I have almost completed my college degree, but the last 5-week class I need is not offered until spring. I want to put on my resume that graduation will be April 2008 (pending completion of the class I still need to take). Is this acceptable? Is there anything else I can put that basically says I am not in classes now, but can't take the last class until spring? – Jason

Dear Jason: Yes, it is absolutely appropriate to include an upcoming degree, I would note as follows:

College Name, City, State
Bachelor of Arts, anticipated April 2008
~ Enrolled in last 5-week class spring 2008

You may also want to put a very brief explanation in your cover letter to make sure the hiring manager understands your situation. This could read, “While I have completed the majority of my degree program, the last class in the [major/minor] sequence is not offered until spring, therefore I will receive my undergraduate degree this coming April.” Congratulations.

Sending Thank You Cards

Dear Sam: Do you suggest sending a thank you card after a job interview? If so, what should be included in the note? – Selma

Dear Selma: Sending a thank you letter is a great way to not only thank the interviewer, but also reiterate your interest and reinforce your professionalism. A thank you letter should be sent on the day of or the day after an interview, and review elements of your background you feel were of particular interest to the interviewer. Far too few candidates take the time to reinforce their interest and candidacy after an interview, so by doing so you will definitely separate yourself from the crowd. Additionally, following this protocol does reinforce your professionalism, follow-through, and general business communication skills.

Salary requirement responses play critical role in employers’ decisions to grant interviews

Dear Sam: Why do employers insist on asking for salary requirements? I’ve thought about not answering the question as I have no idea what to say without knowing the particulars of an organization, but I don’t want to be overlooked because I don’t respond to their request. Also, where do I list a salary requirement? Should it go on my resume or cover letter? – Chloe

Dear Chloe: Very few job seekers like to field this question before they get the interview. The question is used as a screening tool for employers who do not want to waste their or your time if they can’t afford you and you can’t afford to work for them. When you are asked for a salary requirement, you would place this information on your cover letter, usually toward the end so to minimize any negative impact it may have. Of course, never offer this information unless specifically requested. When incorporating your response into a cover letter, consider this example: Per your request, my salary requirement is $45,000-$50,000, but is negotiable based on the complete benefits package and advancement opportunities.

Of course you can also attempt to not answer the question with a statement such as: I would welcome the opportunity to review salary requirements once a mutual interest has been established.

You could also state your intentions as: While salary is an important factor, it is more important for me to work for an organization that values diversity, thrives on integrity, and empowers its employees, therefore my requirements are very flexible and negotiable.

Now on to how to tackle this dreaded question. First, it is imperative you perform some research to find out what you are worth. Review reports on salary ranges for the types of positions you are seeking, not only based on the title of the position but the industry to which you are applying. Take into consideration the location of each employer and the cost of living in different cities. Also, make sure you review the total compensation package. While one organization may offer a higher salary they may not offer health insurance, which would increase your personal expenses and offset a higher salary. Some resources you may want to reference when researching salary trends include www.salary.com, www.salaryexpert.com, and www.payscale.com. If relocating, you may also want to research the cost of living at such sites as www.bankrate.com or get general information on cities of interest at www.findyourspot.com.

There are several ways to respond (or not respond) to this question each with their own levels of risk. Let me review the top 5 most common responses and the risks associated with each.

Response One: Tell the hiring manager what you want to earn. If you have a base salary requirement state it as such so to tell the hiring manager that you probably expect a little more. The risk in using this approach is that you will be immediately disqualified because your amount is too low or too high.

Response Two: Give the hiring manager a range. Most employers have a range for each position, and the hope when using this strategy is that your ranges overlap at some point. You can either state that you want compensation in the "Mid 40s" or are seeking compensation from "$40-50K." The challenge here is not presenting a range where your lowest amount is their highest available compensation or vice versa. You could secure a job earning $50K instead of $56K, just because you put your range as $50-60K. Hence the reason the second strategy of "Mid 50s" might work more to your favor.

Response Three: Avoid the question by stating that you are seeking competitive compensation for someone in your field, or are flexible as to your total compensation package. By doing this you avoid answering the question and disqualifying yourself because of a number, yet you answer the question to a certain degree. You also tell the hiring manager, by using the second approach, that you realize that there is more to a compensation package than just your salary. Attractive benefit programs, great working environments, flexible work arrangements, etc., also contribute to your total compensation package. The risk here is that you will be eliminated anyway because you didn't give the hiring manager a hard number.

Response Four: Communicate that you would love to discuss your salary requirement once a mutual interest has been established. This gives you the opportunity to assess the functions of the position to which you are applying, and fairly evaluate what you should be compensated for such an engagement. Again, the risk is that you will be eliminated for avoiding the question.

Response Five: Don't respond. A lot of candidates take this approach and hope their experiences, accomplishments, and skills pull them through despite avoiding the question entirely. After all, if you sing on paper shouldn't that be enough regardless of what you want to be paid? Well, sometimes not. Unfortunately, if you disregard their request, you resume might also be disregarded.

The moral of the story is, you have to make an educated decision on which strategy you want to employ, and whether the risk involved it worth taking.