Writing a Great Resume

Resume writing can be terrifying and paralyzing. If you weren't born with awesome connections (ahem, Paris Hilton) you must have a resume. 


To stand out from the crowd your resume must be great.


Forget perfecting the interview for now. A poorly constructed resume will close doors before you ever had the chance to show off that dazzling personality. 


We all have our own style but there are some basic rules to writing a resume people will read. 

1. Write the resume for someone who hates to read.
• Bullets draw the reader's eye to certain points you're making - you only have about 5 seconds to catch the reader’s interest.
• Recruiters don't have the time to read beautifully written poetry on your resume.
2. Don’t just list your duties.
• You do want to paint a picture of your experience and you do want to be brief but you don't want to have a "duties" only resume. It won't impress.
3. Brag about your accomplishments.
• Saved a company some money or added to their profits? Mention it! 
4. If you have metrics - Use them!
• Managers love metrics. This rule goes triple for anyone interested in sales and marketing. Numbers = attention.
5. Focus your resume.
• Looking for sales -> Focus your resume on sales. 
• Looking for management -> Focus your resume on management
• You get the drift
6. Create multiple resumes so you can adhere to #6
7. This is a you advertisement.
• Stand out but don’t be gimmicky
• Feel you're an asset to an employer? How so?
• When did you shine?
8. Proofread times three!
• Spell check will cover spelling errors but it will not correct silly mistakes, like forgetting the ‘f’ in ‘for’ -  ‘Or’ is still a word.
9. Always put the phone number that you want to be contacted on your resume
• This might seem like common sense but if you use your cell phone, put that on your resume. Home phone numbers aren’t the standard anymore.
10. Key words
• The job you're looking for requires 'Marshmallow Eating' experience and you have it? Make sure it's on your resume. 

There are a ton of great resources out there on how to write a perfect resume. Do your research and put a lot of care into yours. However, these ten simple rules will definitely increase your chances of being noticed. Once you're noticed it’s a cake. Mmmm cake.

Top Talent Talk

The past year or so I attended numerous meetings about how to find top talent. It's the "new" initiative.

New? What?

Isn't that always the goal? Any recruiter or hiring manager with half a brain already does this. In fact, we sometimes take a little longer to hire someone because of this very objective. Contrary to the "I don't care how, I want it now" crew our slower than desired 'time to fill' is not laziness or incompetency but due diligence. We are fully aware that hiring a great employee makes our lives easier.Yet, the great and powerful Corporate Ozes do not think this is common practice. Why?

I scratched my head to ponder. Scratching one's head for thinking purposes can be pure magic because I have already thought of two reasons why companies don't have 'top talent'. Well, to be honest, I have more but only two are objective enough for me to write.

Reason One: We DO have top talent.

They just lost motivation.

It happens.

It happens a lot.

I just spoke with someone who was almost in tears about a potential hires background check failing.  The depression in this poor girls voice was heartbreaking. She wanted me to tell her it was OK to hire. Alas, I could not. No, we can not hire people who lie to us. I am not the most sympathetic chappy on the block; yet, I felt really bad for her. She said, " I have been doing 3 jobs for 6 months and am just tired".

Sing it sista.

The way companies are slashing departments and expecting more and better results is amazing. The way the Oz creatures blame the lack of talent for dipping numbers is just cruel.  I don't understand how they (the big guns in the corner offices) don't get it. Are they really that removed? I understand these Oz creatures tend to be work-a-holics and actually enjoy never seeing sunlight, their family or the daytime drunkscapades of Snookie. They don't even notice they stopped living with the rest of us. However, they shouldn't expect this from top talent because work-a-holism is a trait of a CEO and most of us won't ever be a CEO. To be perfectly honest, I would rather own my own Kangaroo Scrotum Key Ring making company than be a corporate CEO.

My advice on finding the ever elusive Top Talent? Staff and train your departments properly. Watch the magic reappear.  These over-worked, over-tired and under-napped superstars are just stuck in mudd. Mudd that the Oz creatures slung at them. It's time to take a rag, clean up the mess and watch your munchkins shine!

Reason two: Sometimes we F up and hire a lemon. Mistakes are made and lessons are learned.
Whadda ya want!