Resume
Important things to know about your resume:
- Your resume gets you the interview. It’s the interview that gets you the job.
- A recruiter looks at your resume for 5 seconds the first time.
- Most large companies use software to screen your resume. You want your resume format to be simple so the software can read it.
- You can bring a more aesthetically pleasing version of your resume to the interview.
- You may want to customize your resume depending on the job.
The Resume Process
- We work on your resume together to fine tune it.
- I ask you questions to make sure we aren’t missing anything. Trying to fit everything into a bullet point tends to stifle most people’s creativity.
- I will ask you questions about each bullet point on your resume and you will tell me a lot of interesting information about what you did. I capture and summarize that information into a bullet point. You type it into your document.
- We work together to create your document. We use words that you are comfortable with so that, in the interview, you can easily explain what you mean by bullet point number 3, for example.
- We focus on:
- Strong verbs
- Industry buzzwords
- Quantifying
- Showing results
- As we are going through the details of your tasks, we are also examining whether or not you enjoyed doing this particular task. If you didn’t, we don’t emphasize it.
- My process is holistic so during our discussion I will point out areas that are good starting points for your interview answers.
- The process is a confidence booster because we discuss your past accomplishments, and it is a learning process because I am teaching you how to write a resume.
- You want to keep adding to your resume throughout your career. I recommend keeping a master copy with everything you’ve done even though you will rarely share your whole work history unless you are applying for government jobs or for certain roles within in higher education.
Cover Letters
- A cover letter is a great way to:
- Showcase your interest in a particular role.
- Demonstrate your writing skills.
- Connect your background to the role.
- The problem I see time and time again is that applicants are too generic in their approach.
- I work with you to write a customized cover letter for your dream job.
- Once you understand the skill you can apply this future cover letters.
- This is a great way to gain a competitive advantage and stand out from other applicants.
Interviewing and Interviewing Skills
- Congratulations!! You got the interview!!
- Let me help you prepare so that you can put your best foot forward and give your examples in a way that will never sound like you are bragging. Instead, you will sound knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and motivated. Being prepared will help you feel more relaxed and confident about what you have to offer as an applicant too.
- Hint: Whatever you talk about in the interview, they assume you will want to do in the job so let’s center your examples around tasks you truly enjoy. Interview prep can help you gain clarity around what you enjoy if you’re not really sure.
- Pro tip: If you are actively looking for a job, make an appointment with me before you land an interview so I can teach you the skill in advance. I am guessing if you were planning on swimming the English Channel you wouldn’t contact me the day before the race and ask me to teach you how to swim. Interviewing skills are very much like this. It is a skill.
- Sometimes clients push back on the idea of preparation and say but, “I want to be natural. I want to be honest.” I agree completely. I want you to be yourself and I definitely want you to be honest. I am curious. Have you ever done and presentation and prepared in advance? Have you ever taken a test and studied? Have you ever played sports and practiced? Preparing for your interview is exactly the same thing. You will be the best version of you when you are prepared. Not preparing is doing yourself a disservice because if you are like most people, you will probably be at least a little bit nervous during the interview and to be blunt, your future is on the line. No pressure. Not preparing and being nervous isn’t a great combination.
- We will work on the STAR behavioral interview method and fine-tune your examples centering around your transferable skills that are relevant to the job and, of course, the skills that you enjoy the most.
I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about my process. Please request your complimentary consultation here or book directly on my calendar here.
