When I ask my clients to give me success stories of their various career achievements I often hear the following comments:

I can’t really quantify my successes

It’s just my job

I don’t think of myself in that way

I can’t recall accomplishments “like that”

It’s really hard for me to give you that information

Can you relate? Its Okay first of all – you see, you are not alone! But I will let you in on a secret: there is a simple trick to recalling and creating your accomplishments and once you master this little technique you too can create “jaw-dropping” accomplishments that will have potential employers really excited to talk with you!

So here are several tips to get you started:

Tip #1: Key Word Your Strengths

Start with a blank sheet of paper. Now begin to brainstorm on all the things you love to do the best. Just have fun with it. If you are feeling stuck take a break for a day (which gives your subconscious mind a chance to bring these thoughts to the surface). These are the things you love to do and they are usually connected to those skills and functions you are doing when you are really doing your best work.

Tip #2 How to Turn Your Strengths into Stories

Now look at your list and for each keyword ask yourself “why do I feel this way?” For example maybe you wrote “Motivating” as one of your strengths. Asking yourself “why do I feel I am motivating?” will trigger your memory of an event you are connecting that determined strength to. Maybe it was the time you motivated your boss to let you take on a project that generated a certain amount of revenue for your company or perhaps you motivated a national sales team with incentives that increased the companies client base.

Tip #3: Write a Simple Template for Each Story

Your template is really easy and it goes like this:

Problem:

What I Did:

The Result:

A key here is not to make this complicated at all! Keep your answers short (think of how products are marketed…less definitely increases your impact!)

Bonus Tip: Don’t be tempted to fall into the trap of thinking your successes aren’t important enough to write down or share! This is a common trap you definitely want to avoid. If it shows off your strengths is generally worthy of sharing.

It’s hard to be objective about our successes because of our internal rationale that “oh, that’s just what I do” or “anybody could do it really”. If you catch yourself thinking this way then know you are devaluing the unique, amazing and honorable skills and strengths you bring to the table. Give your skills and aptitudes their due and you will find as you grow confident in communicating them – it can and will result in more interest and bigger offers from potential employers!

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Did you know that your cover letter (in the hands of a key decision maker) determines whether or not your resume gets read at all?

Cover letters are so critically important to making the right first impression; you just can’t afford to go wrong here.

It can be tempting to want to skimp on really making sure your cover letter shines if you are applying for multiple jobs each week. But the good news is there are some really powerful tips I am going to share with you that will make this task efficient and highly effective!

These are the same tips I apply to my clients’ cover letters – letters that secure them multiple interviews!

Here are several ways to easily get started crafting highly compelling cover letters that get great results:

Tip #1 Shorter is better

I know a career consultant who writes cover letters for 500k+ executives who never uses more than 100 power-hitting words. I fell in love with this technique the moment I heard of it. It makes total sense!

Here’s how to do it:

Write your letter, then come back in a couple hours and take out all of the superfluous words and phrases you find. Next, highlight all of your BEST words and phrases (you will probably have a couple to add or reword at this point). Finally, revisit your letter in an hour and edit any erroneous words just one more time. Now you are left with a tight, crystal clear letter, brimming with power hitting terminology!

You won’t have to do this with every cover letter you write. After you practice this technique a couple times you will quickly learn to get it right the first time!

Tip #2 Simplify your language

Want to know the mark of a really good cover letter? Give it to someone to read who is in another industry. If they are impressed by your accomplishments and can understand what you are communicating, this is a really good sign you have an effective letter! 

Specifically, your letter should be understandable by someone not directly linked to your position of interest. It should be simple and clearly outline your accomplishments.

A big mistake I often see in executive level cover letters is a string of hundred dollar words in a sentence. Check your letter and remove any strings of “eye-glazers” as I like to call them. You will be amazed how this will lighten and brighten up your letter instantly.

Tip #3 Be focused – be clear

You must know why you are writing what you are writing. Either you are writing a general value proposition about your strengths and achievements in a particular role (CEO/COO/VP of Operations etc.) or you are responding to a job opening.

In either case, you want to be completely focused on communicating your maximum value. If you shine in two key areas, write about them and remember to finish your statements with examples of results you have obtained. If you can add a % or $ to those results, that is preferable.

If you are responding to an actual job description, the most important thing you can do is highlight all the key words and phrases in that job description that you match and parrot those key words and phrases back in your cover letter. If you have ever written a job description, you know just how maddening it is to read through a stack of cover letters that mention little, if anything that matches what you are looking for! A resume attached to a cover letter such as this rarely gets read.

Using these three simple, yet powerful, tips will help increase companies’ interest in you as you confidently set the tone and pace for leadership and control, so you can secure more interviews!

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I see it too many times. Brilliant, forward thinking executives who miss out on fabulous job opportunities just because their resume wasn’t working for them like it should!

A resume is no place to cut corners on your job search…that’s like going on a first date with someone you really like without getting all cleaned up. Yikes!

Here are five common resume mistakes to avoid:

Mistake number one: Too generalized

If you are an executive you must be able to communicate precisely what it is you bring to the table.

Here is a quick tip on getting specific: what is the ONE key area where you really shine? Is it your industry (that you plan to say in) or is it a function or a process? Once you have that written down, next write down your next two greatest strengths.

Are these keywords right at the top of your resume? They should be.

Mistake number two: Too long

Is your resume more than two pages? Under certain circumstances a three page resume is acceptable (and of course a CV can be as long as you like), but generally you are better served to keep your resume no longer than two pages.

Mistake number three: Too garbled

Word economy is extremely important when it comes to writing your resume. Do you have a long list of bullet points under your job from the 1990’s? Was the position you held at that time about four levels below where you are at now? If the answer is yes, that is a big red flag.

Perception is everything and you really want your potential employer to see you as the leader you are now, not the manager you once were.

Mistake number four: Too plain

Have you looked at a few samples of executive-level resumes? How does your measure up to them? Boxes, arrows and even small charts and graphs which demonstrate your accomplishments are quick, compelling and effective strategies that garner positive attention.

Have you ever looked at a credentialed, experienced resume writers website and seen the testimonials about how Mr. Executive couldn’t get an interview until Mrs. Super-Resume Writer redesigned his resume? It works and it’s a wise (and often tax deductible) investment!

Mistake number five: Too boring

One of the most important things your resume should convey is your accomplishments. They need to be quantified, short and highly compelling!

This is a tough one for most executives. Even resume writers admit they would be hard pressed to write their own resume! 

But you can begin by using a simple template that includes the following: problem, what you did and what happened when you did it?

These stories should detail what you are doing when you are at your very best and LOVING your job! This way you will be honoring your strengths and aptitudes authentically and attracting the right attention!

By avoiding these five mistakes you stand to secure more high quality interviews and reach your career goals more quickly and easily!

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There is a pattern I see with my clients. It goes somthing like this:

Once I have helped my clients map out their career focus and goals,  I send them a resume draft.

I can almost feel the shockwaves coming back when they say things like:

I can’t believe this is me!

Can I really do this?

I didn’t realize how much I had accomplished.

Are you sure I should go after such a large title/big company/big salary?

And of course, the majority of my clients DO go on to accomplish their career goals! But my point is this:

It takes more than just a fantastic resume to land your dream job.

It takes you actually believing you can do it!

We all like to dream. And dreaming is “safe” isn’t it? Committing to moving forward and making your dream a reality also means stepping out of the safe zone.

And when stepping out of the safety zone, it’s very easy to start playing small.

I have seen a few highly accomplished and highly talented professionals play small with their careers and wind up right where that road takes them…. which is not very far from where they are.

You have heard “change can be scary.” I would add that “committing to be successful can be scary.” Just knowing that the road to the success you wish to achieve can be scary can help to gain a foothold on emotional responses you may have to actually seeing yourself in a different light.

And by understanding these reactions are normal – you can allow yourself to feel those feelings without letting them stonewall your plans.  By accepting that “wow – this really is me”, you give yourself permission to take the next step in moving forward with your career!

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Are you wondering if your resume best positions you to land the job of your dreams in a parallel market, new industry or higher level position? One area you want to make sure to check is your key-words.

Resume key-words are simply the words used to describe your hard and soft skills. Many companies today use key-word scanning software to organize and qualify applicant matches with available positions. Even if a company doesn’t use key-word scanning software, it’s still extremely important to mirror the key-words listed in a position as much as possible.

You can quickly and easily make certain that your resume attracts the right attention using the following simple steps:

Step One: Identify Your Favorite Jobs

First, through you favorite job aggregator or niche job board, identify at least two positions that you would qualify as your dream job.

Next, print them out and highlight all of the key-words and phrases that best describe both what you love to do the most and any other strengths and attributes that match your skills. Highlight even those strengths that match functionally, even if the position is in another industry.

Now make sure these key-words are woven throughout your resume, putting special emphasis on the top part of your first page.

Step Two: Use Your Two To Three Best Key-words

You don’t necessarily have to redesign your resume for each job you wish to submit your resume to. In fact, if you are finding this to be necessary for you, you may wish to check your focus.

Many professionally-designed resumes will have approximately three key-words in a bigger, bold font right up at the top of their resume. I call these headline key-words. This is a powerful way to immediately target your resume for each particular job you submit your resume to.

Let’s say you are submitting for a job that stresses operations, global expansions and teambuilding. If these are all matching skills for you then you want to mirror these in your headline key-words. With this method you can very simply shift a few main key-words and get maximum attention from your target audience!

Step Three: Consider a Key-word Only Section

In my resumes I always like to include a keyword-only section. I call it core competencies or skills and abilities. A good list should include three rows of 4 to 5 bullet points per row. In the first row include your strongest competencies, in the middle perhaps soft skills that would include leadership and management abilities and your third row can include technical aptitudes, language skills and/or secondary skills such as leading training programs or creating marketing collateral.

Using these valuable tips gives you a simple easy way to make sure your resume is targeted for the positions you really want!

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Most professionals would love to land their dream job but when it comes to writing a resume that would qualify them to make the jump; they end up stuck with what to say and how to say it.

Not knowing how to create an interest-generating opening statement is a common problem and can quickly lead to job seeker discouragement before the job search even begins!

Here are 3 tips to creating a powerful opening statement that will quickly get you positive attention:

Tip #1 Do Create a Qualifications Summary

A qualifications summary should go at the very top of your resume. It does not explain what your professional objective or goal is, but it does give a clear and powerful overview of who you are and what you can do. Why don’t you want to use a professional objective? Because your resume needs to be focused on what you can do for a company versus opening with a statement that leans towards what YOU are looking for.

Tip #2 Create an Authentic Opening Statement

To maximize your focus and clarity try a simple writing trick:

Begin to write about what you are doing when you are at your very best, followed by your other key strengths and attributes. Do not edit yourself as you freely write up to a page of information. After a quick break, return to what you wrote and begin to highlight the key words and phrases you feel are the most powerful. Your document should be reduced to about half at this point. After another break return to your document a second time and repeat this exercise. Now you have a powerful, authentic and compelling draft statement describing where you really shine!

Tip #3 Use Universal Language

Another common mistake professionals will make is to load their opening statement with industry jargon. Yes if you are a CIO, corporate counsel or a VP of Finance you have very specific language that you use. However your resume has to be written for multiple people in multiple departments. In many cases your resume is being viewed (and thus must be equally compelling) to directors of human resources, division presidents and various managers.

Scan your opening statement for red flags including acronyms that are not spelled out, information on specific companies, too much detailed technical information and sentences that are only decipherable to people intimately associated with what you do.

These key tips will help you to easily create an authentic statement about who you are when you are at your career best, and command the attention of the companies that are looking for someone….just like you!

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Have you heard all the buzz about branding yourself? Are you wondering how to make sure your resume is reflecting your brand? Here are three quick tips to brand your resume so it really reflects you at your very best.

Tip Number One: Understand Your Brand

What is your brand? I believe your brand is simply the promise of an experience that a company will have by hiring you. That promise shows itself through the tone and content of your resume – which your reader garners their impressions of you from.

Tip Number Two: Define Your Brand

A couple ways to define your unique brand is first to think about what you are doing when you are at your best. Brainstorm on keywords and phrases. You are going to want these in your resume!

Another powerful technique is to ask three different people (let’s say your spouse, your co-worker and a friend) to describe you using only three words. As them to be boldly honest and say the first three words that come into their mind!

Tip Number Three: Sell Your Brand

Your brand should weave throughout your resume in words and phrases that best reflect you “doing what you love.” Are you struggling with what information to include in your resume? If you are having trouble with a particular area, just compare it to your branding statements. Does it illustrate you in action using your branding keywords? Is it an important component to the position you are seeking? If the answer is no, delete it!

As you build your brand here’s one additional tip: always track your accomplishments. It’s really hard to go back and remember the goals you’ve reached and the challenges you have overcome, especially if it’s been over a twelve month span of time. Make an effort to track your accomplishments as they occur.

Follow these three tips and you will be on your way to a crystal clear, compelling and unique brand.

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Making sure your résumé is a powerful marketing document is a wise investment in your career. It can set you apart from your competition, maximize the amount of interviews you land and ultimately play into how much a company offers you.

 After all, you are negotiating with potential employers from the moment you connect with them to the time the offer is made. So everything that happens in that window of time plays into your offer…including how well targeted, well designed and compelling your resume is.

Here are five elements you will want to make sure your resume has:

Number one: Targeted format

Your resume must be compelling for the type of position you are focusing on. If you are a sales executive of course you are going to want to quantify your sales skills in terms of territory development, revenue generation, and types of skills associated with sales and secondary support skills such as client management customer service, public relations and marketing.

Number two: Value proposition statement

Under the heading of your resume you should have a value proposition statement. An example of a value proposition statement is a 3 to 4 sentence overview of your focus and your strengths. Here’s an example of a VP Statement for a technology executive:

Innovative & highly competent business and technology leader with 15+ years experience developing creative technology solutions that enhance performance, effect change, drive profits and growth. Proven reputation to:

     Note: A value proposition statement is different from a personal objective statement. A personal objective statement is not the best to start out with on a resume simply because it’s a statement about what YOU want. Rather, share with your potential employer what skills and strengths you have to offer THEM.

Number three: Quantifiable achievements 

This is one of the most important components to your resume. You need to communicate in your resume not just what you do, but what HAPPENDS when you do what you do! This technique also helps employers envision you working with them, helping them with similar challenges and issues.

Number four: Key-word rich content

Key words organized in a group called something like “core competencies” for instance, will do two things for you. It serves to potentially qualify you for more interviews, assuming those companies you are submitting your resume to use key word scanners. Second, key words. i.e., your strengths that stand alone allow the reader to view your competencies independent of any past company associated with it. This has a positive psychological affect as again, it enhances the reader’s ability to picture YOU in the position they are working to fill.

Number five: Two resume versions

You are going to want two versions of your resume. One in ASCII text format and one clean word version. Your ASCII text version is one you will use for all your electronic submissions. This plain text format will hold it formatting and thus look much cleaner on the receiving end. Once you save a copy of your resume in this format, you will want to go in and clean up all the symbols and spacing so it’s readable. Your word version is your clean word copy you can both print out as a hard copy or attach as a word document in an e mail.

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