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.