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What Do You Do at Your Job?

At the root of any resume are two questions: What do you do? What do you want to do? The answers to those questions will tell the company and interviewer what you have to offer and will guide you in targeting your resume toward what a company needs.

Move Beyond Skills

When you are trying to convey what you do under individual job descriptions, you must move beyond your everyday responsibilities, those things that anyone would do in your position. For example, you are a sales manager so naturally you would network, management relationships, perhaps build a team, and sell. If you are technology executive, you would select and implement technologies, develop applications, help direct long-term technology strategies, and show expertise in a number of programs.

All of that information consists of skills and experience that any applicant would be expected to show. What your resume must show is how you applied your skill and experience to benefit the company. Did you improve productivity 25%? Did you deliver 110% of your sales quota? Did you expand territories or equip users with more efficient systems that saved $1M annually? What do you do to improve your company, team, stakeholders, or results?

Create a One-Minute Pitch

You might also be helped by trying to condense what you do into a one-minute pitch that could become the basis for your resume’s summary. A short pitch should not consist solely of numbers, although you might want to include a key achievement or mention your years of experience. It should convey the areas of expertise that most align with the job you want. A summary should entice potential employers to read further. What do you bring to the table and how will that help the company?

Consider the Where & When

Finally, when you think about what you do, consider the where and when also. Have you worked for large companies, important divisions, or small companies? Were you promoted particularly rapidly? Is there a clear trajectory as you moved from one company to another in either job title or responsibility? Did your receive recognition from bosses, customers, or industry peers along the way? Were you asked to stay on after a merger or recruited by a former boss? All of these events indicate ways in which others recognize and appreciate what you do.

Robin’s Resumes® takes the information you provide about your career and makes sure that the resulting resume matches both what you do and what you want to do, so that potential employers understand what a valuable addition you would be to their company.

Resume Q&A: Why Do Hiring Managers Love My Resume But Hate Me?

Q. I have a great resume. It has given me lots of job interviews, but it never persuades anyone to hire me. Once I am in the interview, the interviewer starts grilling me about my resume and goals, and what am I supposed to say? I want to say, “Read the resume, dummy,” and “My goals are to get this job,” but clearly, that isn’t what they want to hear. So what can I do to fix my resume and seal the deal?

A. Unfortunately, a resume by itself cannot guarantee you a job. Your current resume is impressing hiring managers and recruiters enough to ask you in for an interview. However, companies interview candidates because they are also interested in qualities that your resume is unable to convey or that they would like to confirm, such as:

  • How honest have you been in your resume?
  • How well do you communicate and present yourself during a meeting?
  • How do you handle stressful situations (like an interview)?
  • Will you personally fit in with the company’s culture as well as its mission?

It would be best if you were perfectly honest in your resume, but you and the interviewer may still have different ideas on what it means to “contribute” to a project, for example. Moreover, space on a resume is limited. The hiring manager or recruiter may want to know more about a particular accomplishment or your abilities in an area that the resume mentioned only briefly.

Your hostility to interview questions is probably evident. Online research about how to answer common interview questions will help you develop polite, informative responses. Then practice. You want to convey your excitement and interest in the position while communicating clearly and professionally.

If you find that you cannot generate excitement or interest, perhaps your resume targets the wrong positions and the wrong companies. Maybe it is time to rethink your career and goals and reframe your resume – or, more likely, to get interview coaching. Your resume may be working, but getting a job is much more than just securing an interview.

A career and transition coach can show you how to sharpen your interview skills and create a resume for the career you truly want. Reach out to Robin’s Resumes® today for the help you need

My Interview: Is This Job Worth Pursuing?

Interviews can go wrong for many reasons, including inconsistency between what you say during the interview and what your resume says. But what about bad interviews that have nothing to do with you but everything to do with the interviewer?

Here are four interview situations when you may decide that the job is not worth pursuing:

Lack of Communication

Alison showed up fully prepared for the interview. The first interviewer demanded to know, “why should we hire you?” Alison explained that she presumed they needed someone with her skills and background, but to answer that question, she would like more information about what the job entailed and her role in the company. The interviewer dismissed her concerns and refused to go on with the interview. Was this job worth pursuing? Not for Alison. She felt trapped by a lack of information and communication during the interview; she considered how she would feel when working for a company that continually blind-sided her.

Different Work Styles

John went for a marketing interview in a small company. The first was with the head of the company, who kept pressing John to argue. The company head said, “I can be stubborn. I like people who fight me. Why don’t you fight me?” John decided he would rather work for a boss who preferred collaboration to a fight. Was this job worth pursuing? Not for John; you might feel differently and like the challenge.

Different Values

Fern brought her before-and-after portfolio with her for a job interview. She intended the examples to show her skills. However, the interviewer walked off with one of her portfolio items and clearly copied it without Fern’s permission for his own company’s use. Fern received a job offer but turned it down. Was this job worth pursuing? Not for Fern. She wanted to work for an ethical company, not one that started the interview by stealing her work.

Inflexibility

Ralph was selected for an interview as a data analyst, but the company wanted him to perform a major data analysis first and write up a comprehensive report. This work would take Ralph at least a week, and the company did not offer compensation. The company would benefit from his free work, whether or not they hired him. Ralph felt that the request was unreasonable and meant that the company would keep being unreasonable after they hired him. Was this job worth pursuing? Not for Ralph. Remember, you do not have to give an interviewer information or free work just because they demand it.

Disorganization

Bonny showed up for the interview on time. No one else did. Her first interview was delayed a half-hour; the second interviewer could not be found, causing another half-hour delay; the third interviewer, brought in to replace the second, had never seen her resume and did not know anything about the job she was applying for. Worse yet, no one apologized. Was this job worth pursuing? Not for Bonnie. She feared that such a disorganized company was doomed to failure; she also believed a company could only improve if they recognized and admitted their mistakes.

Conclusion

The most basic requirement for a good interview is that both parties treat each other with respect. As the interviewee, you want to dress appropriately, put down the phone, pay attention, answer questions clearly, and be polite throughout. But companies also have an obligation to communicate as reasonable human beings (not adversaries), treat you and the products of your work professionally, negotiate in good faith, treat you well, and apologize when they treat you poorly.

For support in preparing yourself for an interview and for a professional resume, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

How Your Resume Gives High Value during an Interview

During most interviews, hiring managers or recruiters are holding your resume and know full well what it says. Yet they still ask you questions about your career. So how should you respond when you know the answers are right there on your resume?

  1. An interviewer’s question about your career is your opportunity to tell a story that directly relates to the company where you are interviewing and to the job position. You can flesh out an accomplishment on your resume or chose a story with a closer fit.
  2. You can explain any problems that the interviewer sees on your resume. “I moved from company XYZ after a year because company ABC offered me the opportunity to lead a team.” “I took a five-month break to help settle my parents into an assisted living unit near me.”
  3. Your factual responses to the interviewer’s questions show that your resume is an accurate reflection of your career to date. Make sure you read the resume thoroughly before each interview so that you are clear about its overall message and any details that you might want to emphasize.

An interviewer’s questions can also help you decide whether the job opportunity is a good fit for you.  It may not be a good fit if:

  1. The interviewer does not understand the basic terms you are using. For example, the interviewer is unclear exactly what it is you do even after reading your resume and hearing you explain yourself as clearly and concisely as possible. There may be an insurmountable communication gap.
  2. The interviewer has a negative reaction to what you consider positive parts of your resume; for example, volunteering in a specific organization or taking time off to raise a child. There may be an insurmountable values gap.
  3. The interviewer has not read your resume and cannot find it. The company may only be interested in hiring any warm body and may be too disorganized for you.

Your resume is a valuable resource. It helps you prepare a coherent, clear, factual description of your career; and it helps you to decide if the company where you are applying appreciates your accomplishments and value. Let Robin’s Resumes® make sure it is the finest resource you can bring to an interview.

How Resumes Prepare You for Interviews

The ultimate purpose of your resume and cover letter are to prompt hiring managers and recruiters to ask you to an interview. But the resume can also help you during the interview.

Many potential employers will look at your resume when framing questions during the interview and will expect you to know the dates and responsibilities of previous positions you have held. So make sure you read your resume once again before you go to the interview and have a comprehensive understanding of your previous work experience.

Interviewing with a potential employer gives you an opportunity to add information that did not fit on the resume and that shows how your career prepared you to work there. Listen closely to what the hiring manager or recruiter asks to find out if you left something off your resume that you should add or if there is information on it that you should clarify.

During an interview, answer the “what is your greatest weakness?” question with a story about how you overcame a weakness. Your resume should focus on achievements; now is the time to explain what you had to overcome on the way, whether it was a misunderstanding with the customer, a poorly designed schedule, or some other roadblock you should have anticipated. What are you doing now to make sure your weakness has been addressed?

When you work with a resume company such as Robin’s Resumes®, they will help you uncover many examples of your accomplishments. Robin’s Resumes® has a comprehensive questionnaire that helps you uncover these accomplishments in a “context-challenge-action-result-why your accomplishment was important?” format that can help you during interviews. When you prepare for the interview, also review your questionnaire. You can use these stories to answer specific questions from the interviewer about your experience.

In addition to knowing your stories, you need a comprehensive understanding of the company you are applying to. In this sense, it is impossible to be over-prepared. Knowing the ins and outs of your potential employer can benefit your responses, as well as fuel potential questions for your interviewer (which you should always ask—this shows interest).

Follow up with your interviewer. When you send a thank-you email post-interview, you show both courtesy and respect. This is also a great opportunity to ask any remaining questions, emphasize your strong interest, and touch back to a specific point of conversation that stood out to you from the interview.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we understand that a job hunt requires many moving parts. Get in touch with us today to start your application off the right way with a great resume.