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Aggressively Written Resumes

When writing resumes, it is important to remember whom it is

you're trying to please - (is it you, or the hiring authority?)

In this article I will present my ideas of what makes up really

aggressive documents, based on my many years in the industry,

and my career in owning and managing a successful resume writing

and career marketing firm.

Who Is Reading Your Resume?

Make no mistake about it, aggressive documents are necessary to

be successful in today's competitive job search. But first, some

history. Let's examine some of the "hiring authorities." Before

my career in the resume writing industry, I spent several years

as an executive recruiter, placing mid- and senior-level

executives in top corporations. Eventually, I managed that firm,

which employed 24 recruiters working 10 "desks." A "desk" is a

specialty: finance, banking, engineering, information systems,

legal, are all known as "desks" and each recruiter (or team of

recruiters) specialized in placing upper managers and executives

in a chosen field.

I no longer place candidates, and devote all my energies to

resumes and the career marketing industry as a whole, and my own

firm in particular. However, I still have many connections with

recruiters, and have respect for the really great ones, and

distaste for the all-too-often bad ones!

I think it's important to remember that these days, people in

career transition are driven to explore many methods in their

job search. In the past, it was much easier to look for a job -

individuals simply read the classified ads, called the telephone

number listed and chatted with the person over the phone,

setting up an in-person interview for the next day. What a snap!

These days, however, the job search is much more complex.

Competition for employment has never been greater. The entire

process is often drawn-out, depersonalized and hard, hard, hard!

Resumes are no longer just asked for, they are DEMANDED. In

reality, they are a prerequisite for a job search.

My point is, you have to remember what the resume's purpose

actually is and write accordingly. The dynamics in this field

are very exciting but also very volatile. The buzz words are

forever changing. Companies, for example, were at one time

laying-off, then downsizing... rightsizing... reorganizing, and

now reengineering. Whew!

Recruiters, company hiring managers and human resources

professionals are all components in your job search, and it is

the resume's job to land interviews.

I routinely speak with professional recruiters, H.R.

professionals and hiring managers to get their reactions and

opinions to resume styles, formats, contents and verbiage.

Remembering that resumes are actually marketing pieces designed

to sell you to potential employers, aggressive resumes are NOT

simply a listing of your work experience or your biography (life

on paper).

What Makes A "Winning" Resume?

Here are some of my methods and suggestions for writing

aggressive resumes, based on my own experience as a recruiter,

my interaction with hiring professionals and employment

specialists and my clients' success rate in obtaining interviews

within 30 days.

Successful resumes need to SELL you over and above your peers

and they create a sense of urgency for the reader to pick up the

phone and call (or email) you to arrange an interview.

Otherwise, the alternative is the reader scans the resume,

thinks, "Yeah, this person has a good background," and then

moves on to scan the next resume, pitching your resume in the

old "circular file."

So let's examine some ways to write aggressive, up-to-the-minute

resumes that really SELL you.

OBJECTIVES

There are lots of opinions about whether or not to use an

objective, or just how to do so, if one IS used. The only

"given" about the use of an objective, is definitely NOT to use

one on senior level resumes. A CEO, CFO, COO or other

executive's resume actually looks/reads silly when an objective

is used. But for the mid-level or entry-level candidate, an

objective can be useful. Here are a few ways to incorporate the

concept into a resume...for a very targeted client who knows

exactly what she/he wants:

BUYER...PURCHASING MANAGER...PROCUREMENT AGENT

or, for someone seeking to remain in their career pattern:

EXPERIENCED COST ACCOUNTANT seeks a position with a progressive

organization that will utilize a successful career to

meet/exceed company goals.

or, for a client who has several fields she/he want to pursue:

Results-oriented manager seeks a position with advancement

opportunities; areas of interest include retail, electronics and

communications technology.

or, if someone wants to change careers: AGGRESSIVE individual

seeks a career in sales utilizing strong interpersonal skills to

penetrate untapped markets and build a loyal client base.

What you'll notice in the above cases, is what's stressed in the

objective: the BENEFIT the COMPANY will receive if they hire the

candidate. What is not stated is what YOU want. Companies don't

care what you want - they want to know what you can do for THEM.

A flaw in writing objectives, is that they sometimes just say

the same thing that 78+ other resumes sitting on the hiring

authority's desk state: Seeking a challenging position that will

utilize my skills in editing, proofreading and copy writing.

Oh, that's exciting...makes you just want to jump to the phone

and give that person a call, doesn't it? Stating that the person

is seeking a challenging position is ridiculous. Would you ever

state that you were seeking a boring position? Of course not -

so don't state the obvious - it's a cliché.

REFERENCES PROVIDED UPON REQUEST

Using this phrase at the end of the resume is archaic. It's a

given (talk about a cliché!), and contemporary resumes omit

this. The better approach is to generate a prepared Professional

Reference sheet which you can bring with you on interviews and

leave with the interviewer when references are requested.

RESPONSIBLE

This word is often so over-used in a resume, that at

GetInterviews.com, we never use it. Recruiters employed at

retainer-only search firms have told me that the word

"responsible" signifies mid-management and below, not

executive-level candidates. Personally, I believe the word

"responsible" is actually useless in a resume. Instead of

writing, "Responsible for all departmental functions including

accounts payable/receivable, payroll and invoicing..." I would

suggest to use an action word that best depicts what that person

actually does - for example, "Perform all departmental

functions, including..." or "Oversee all departmental functions,

including..." or "Review all departmental functions,

including..." See what I mean? "Responsible" doesn't really SAY

anything, it doesn't give a clear indication of what you

actually do. Do you perform the functions or direct them?

"Responsible" is too vague to say which.

MY, MINE, THIS, I

Using words like this in the resume indicates you are writing in

a narrative voice, as if you are having an actual conversation,

a dialogue with the reader. This is not the case: you are

presenting your achievements, skills and credentials to a

potential employer. My suggestion would be to keep the resume

more business-like, more professional. In descriptions, the word

"a" could be substituted for the word "this," as in: "Promoted

to a $30 million division of an international widget

manufacturer to expand sales into untapped markets" as opposed

to "Promoted to this $30 million division...."

ALSO

I have seen this word used when describing daily functions:

"Control and administer annual budgets totaling $12 million.

Also, interface with vendors to negotiate more favorable terms

and gain higher profits." Again, the "also" is a dialogue word,

and quite unnecessary. In writing resumes, it is best to do what

my Creative Writing professor called "tight writing." That is,

to eliminate as many "an's, the's, also's, a's," etc., as

possible. They typically aren't necessary and can be cut from

the resume without loss of meaning.

NUMBERS

Contrary to the rules of grammar, EXCEPT for academic resumes,

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it is best to use numerals in a resume rather than spell out the

number, even when that number is 10 or under. I know that

grammatically, we are taught to spell out numbers like three,

five, seven, etc., and write 12, 14, 16, etc. The numerical

version, however, jumps off a page, whereas the spelled out

version often gets lost. Because resumes are often only scanned

by the reader 15-20 seconds, the actual use of numbers helps to

capture the readers' attention - they are drawn to the numbers,

which means they are spending more time looking at and reading

your resume - and that's a GOOD thing! I made the reference

above to academic resumes, because teachers, principals and

superintendents are very sensitive to grammatical rules, even in

resumes. It's best to spell out any number under 10 for these

types of resumes. I would never recommend, however, that the

words "percentage" or "dollar" be used ("30 percent" or "12

million dollars") - instead, use the symbol, as in 30% or $12

million.

EDUCATION VS. EXPERIENCE

Knowing when to highlight someone's education vs. experience is

important. With certain fields (teaching, for example), the

general preference is to lead off the resume with the client's

credentials and educational background, even if they have

considerable experience. Recent college grads should also have

their education first, as it is typically their greatest

achievement. However, someone who returned to college (part time

nights, for example), while concurrently employed full time for

the past 9 years as a travel agent, should have their resume

lead off with their experience, and NOT emphasize they just

obtained their Bachelors degree. They are not entry-level

candidates - their experience is more vital to a company than

their education. Remember that all resumes do NOT have to lead

off with the client's education.

PAST / PRESENT TENSE

Writing in the present tense is always more aggressive than

writing in the past tense. Verbs in past tense are in a passive

voice, so whenever feasible, write in the present tense.

Obviously, if you are still employed, your current job listing

is written in the present tense (manage, direct, supervise,

control, etc).

PICTURES

Unless you are an actor or model, do not include a picture of

yourself under any circumstances. Companies these days are so

concerned about EEO lawsuits, discriminatory cases and the like,

that at best, they will immediately throw out the picture, or at

worst, possibly throw away the entire resume, especially if the

picture is printed into the resume. I can guarantee you

recruiting firms are highly sensitive to this, as well.

GRAPHICS

Be careful not to make your resumes "too cute." Remember,

companies see you as an INVESTMENT - they are spending x amount

of dollars to obtain you (salary), and want to see a return on

their investment. It is a business negotiation. If the resume

appears too "decorative" or distracting because of cute clip art

images or overly decorative paper, you may be dismissed and the

resume tossed.

PERSONAL INFO

Marital status, date of birth, health, hobbies, etc., are not

relevant on a resume these days.

Remember, you aren't writing your biography, you are marketing

yourself on paper: why does the employer want to hire YOU above

all others, especially when there are 91+ resumes from equally

qualified candidates sitting on that decision-maker's desk?

Answer that question in the resume, and you will have written a

tight, solid, results-oriented resume...in short, a winning,

aggressive resume, and the sort of resume that is vital for

today's job search - and that of the next millennium.

About the author:

Published in 25 career books, Alesia has been cited by Jist

Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North

America" and quoted as a Career Expert in the Wall Street

Journal. Serving as the Resume Expert for over 50+

organizations, she has numerous media appearances to her credit

and is a frequent keynote speaker. http://getinterviews.com