One of the major reasons resume writers—or any writer for that matter—are in business is because it’s simply so hard to be objective in writing about ourselves or our businesses.
For this very reason, if you are writing your own resume, it may be tricky for you to try and customize your resume for the position you are going after. To make it easier, here are three tips that you can use to “tweak” your resume properly—I call this “The Mirroring Technique.”
Tip #1: Get a Focus. This is an obvious one but there is a trick to it. So often, professions only think their resume is “focused” when, in reality, they are generalizing. I believe this is because many professionals believe (incorrectly) that they should not focus their job search goals too narrowly for fear of losing out on possible open positions. You can exacerbate this misguided belief by limiting your job search to job boards for executive jobs and positio ns. Job boards represent about 1 percent of actual jobs that are available and are awash with competition.
The first thing I do when working with my clients is have them complete my Career Success Blueprint™. This gets them hyper-focused on exactly what they want—really understanding where the low-hanging fruit is for them. This information, now on paper, also gets them out of “job board” headspace and helps direct their energies to thoughts of “what exactly is it that I really want and what are some of my primary job search motivators—such as money, geographic, and industry parameters?” When they get crystal clear on these important components, then and only then can they take the next step—which is to write their resume and formulate the right job search plan. The same is true for you.
Tip #2: Shift Your Perspective. You must approach the information contained in your resume through the eyes of potentia l employers. In other words, you are going to want to write some things about your career history that will probably not be applicable to your ideal position. Shift your perspective; look at things from your potential employer’s point of view—taking into consideration the position requirements that you know of and, most importantly, the results you can bring to the table . . . your quantifiable achievements. For example, if you have a background of experience in operations AND marketing—and you are focusing on a marketing director position, you will most likely want to minimize your operations experience and draw forth only the experience relevant to your goals.
Tip #3: Use “The Mirroring Technique.” This is an extension of shifting your perspective. Take an example of your ideal job off of any relevant job description using a job aggregator like indeed.com. Next, highlight ALL the keywords and phrases used in the job descriptio n to communicate the ideal candidate that also match your skills and strengths. Now weave those keywords into the first page of your resume . . . essentially “mirroring” what they are asking for.
So often we say to ourselves mentally, “Oh, this position fits me perfectly!” and yet we fail to take that next step—which is actually rather simple—and make sure we are communicating this in our resume. Now, using this technique “making sure that you are mirroring what a company is looking for” becomes quite easy!
Let me elaborate on the technique of using a sample position from indeed.com—and how powerful this little exercise truly is. Let’s say, for instance, that you are interested in a VP of Sales position for a mid-size technology company. You can go to indeed.com, use those search keywords, and in about 10 or 15 minutes you will have found three or four position descriptions that sound like a great match for you. It doesn’t matt er where these positions are located or even what companies they are with. You are looking for descriptions that excite and energize you—you will know you have found a great match by the emotions they evoke in you. You want to cut and paste each of these descriptions into a Word document and highlight all the keywords and phrases that match you. Most likely you will begin to see a pattern of keywords in each position. You simply take and use these keywords in your resume. You can use them in your showcase keywords at the top of your resume, in your opening statement, and in your bulleted list of core competencies.
Bonus tip: I like to use a lot of keywords at the very beginning of my resumes so that the reader can (at a glance) get a pretty good idea of what my client is all about in just a few seconds. By using very clear communication at the very top of your resume—which also can be called “good branding”—not only will your re sume clearly and powerfully communicate your career objectives and expertise, but you can subtly tweak your keywords to “mirror” a particular industry or position. For example, let’s say you have both start-up and turnaround experience. “Technology Start-Ups” might be one of your key word phrases at the top of your resume. If you are reaching out to a mid size technology firm that you know needs a turnaround expert, you can switch out your keyword phrases, replacing “Technology Start-Ups” with “Turnaround Expert.”
Using these simple techniques should increase your interviews and interest from potential employers.
***I always approach any tips I provide you from the perspective of going direct to employers (the hidden job market) versus waiting for the perfect job you found on a job board. Remember, almost ALL jobs (more than 85 percent) are not publically advertised—so no matter what your industry is or what stage you are at in your career, it makes total sense for you to get your information to the key decision-makers, companies, and industries that YOU are most interested in. You might be surprised at their show of interest in YOU and your initiative! If you are ready to learn more about how easy it is to tap into the hidden job market, you can check out my home study program at www.job-searchsystem.com.
