Your Resume: A Work In Progress

Your resume. Your professional life summed up in one or two pages. I have lost track of how many times I have fine tuned, polished and picked apart my resume. Every time I think I have it perfectly done, I will submit it to a resume writer, or read another article that speaks of including or doing everything I'm NOT doing in mine. To put personal interest or not (it allegedly can either make you approachable or make you sound amateurish), to include years enrolled or not (some say it will tell your age), to open with an objective or not (many claim that this is "fluff" and that recruiters feel that this screams rookie) ... the arguments are endless to do this or that.

There are approaches that advocate countless directions so what to do? Polish it, fine tune it, read it over and over again, read your friends resumes, examine the job posting, research the company ... and then tailor your resume to what feel like YOU.

After years of getting the interviews I wanted (and some of which I wanted but didn't get) I can tell you this; get feedback. Often we are too close to our own resumes to really be objective. While I never used a resume writer, I did get their feedback. Often resume writers will provide you with critique if you ask for it, aiming to sell their services. A good resume writer sometimes cost up toward $500 (and more for execs) to rewrite your resume. Few can afford it, but if you can, I say do it. However, if you are a good writer and have good feedback, just keep tweaking your own. Invite feedback from your friends whose opinion you respect. People often don't want to critique someone's resume out of worry that it will offend the recipient. Let them know that you are looking for critique and welcome it. Trust me, suspend your defensiveness (even if you have slaved over that resume for months on end) and open yourself up to opinions. It will give you a whole new perspective.

FYI, I speak from experience: I recently landed an executive job with my dream company. It's another Fortune 500 company, but in an industry I'm fiercely passionate about. It took me months on end of tweaking my resume, but it paid off. It was a humbling experience at first. No matter how good you think your resume is, it will inevitably have to compete against several hundred others who also consider their excellent.

Remember that most recruiters and hiring managers get absolutely swamped with resumes for any good job. I recently received close to 200 resumes in one business week, for an entry level marketing position. Needless to say I was not able to read every resume I received, but I did scan through them and a few did catch my attention. The cookie cutter ones who read (and looked) like they had been taken out of a Word template did not make the cut. Beware of templates; they are widely recognized.

Imagine yourself a hiring manager ... what would get YOUR attention?

Don't Exit With a Bang

In 15 years of being in a corporate environment and management I have seen plenty of Corporate Rockstars come and go, some more talented and memorable than others. The one defining departure factor has usually been surrounding dissatisfaction with a particular manager and/or corporate culture issues. Having gone from a small company to medium size to now very large, I can easily say that this is a universal exit factor regardless of size or structure. There will always be that one manager that you either do not like nor get along with. Some folks manage to exit gracefully, others less so. There are plenty of urban myths out there about exiting a company, many of which play into people’s daydreams of what they really would like to say to their nemesis manager upon departure. One in particular, a disgruntled employee supposedly sent this resignation letter to his boss, sparking a shock wave across the web as it first was published. Many a cubicle warriors snickered as they got it, secretly wishing they too could write something similar. People wanted the letter to be real, hoping someone really had “stuck it to management” like this. Sorry; urban myth # 456334. Letter was made up.

Funny? Yes. Smart? Not so much. The resignation letter above may be just an urban myth, but the sentiment behind it is not. The disgruntled employee/boss relationship has existed for eons. That said, there is a lot to be said for not burning your bridges, hard as that may seem to do when you feel like you want to skip out of the department singing with your new job offer in hand. You never know what may come down the road; lay offs can happen in your new company, you don’t meet expectations during your probationary period or you may find yourself on the job market again several years down the road, in need of a career reference and history. Employers may not be in a legal position to comment on your character or performance, but make no mistake, they can send a strong message using tone of voice and enthusiasm when saying “Yes, she/he used to work here”. Regardless of how you feel about your boss or management, always exit gracefully and professionally. It will reward you down the line.

The Interview Mystery

As someone who has both conducted hundred of interviews over the years, and who have interviewed myself a few times, I can comfortably say that I know what works and what doesn't. People often ask me what the trick is and the truth is: THERE IS NO TRICK! The dating scene seems to weigh heavier when it says "Be Yourself" than any career counselors, bloggers or hiring managers. Heck, then again, some folks probably consider getting laid just a snap above getting hired so perhaps they do have their priorities right?

Go into interviews with these small factoids in mind:


1. The Interviewer is a human being who at some point in time sat in your chair doing exactly what you are doing

2. The Interviewer, or Hiring Manager, is convinced that you were a good enough fit to bring in for an interview. She has already decided that you're a step ahead of the others.

3. The Interviewer has heard it all before (probably several times that day). No matter how great of a spin you put on industry lingo or how many personal touches you apply to "I'm very detail oriented", she is still going to hear "Cliche # 243, check!".

Don't fret! You may be very detail oriented but in light of the job she has you interviewing for she is probably already assuming that you are. Don't waste valuable time with these people telling them something they already assume to know. Tell them something they don't know about you. Peak their interest. Go beyond the resume and into your heart and mind. An example could be:

Interviewer: "So what do you feel that you could contribute to our company in this role?"

Answer: "Sir/Matt/Mr.XYZ, I was hoping you would ask that question! My initial impulse is to share with you the numerous metrics and KPIs I had researched about your company, but I want to make sure that that is what you are interested in? If possible, I'd love to have an actual dialogue as to your vision and how I can assist in realizing that vision!"

The conversation can take a hundred different directions there based on the type of dialogue you establish. Being yourself is the only way to establish set dialogue. Prior to going in for an interview though there are some basic premises you have to ask yourself:

1. Do you LOVE what you do? (not just good at it but love it)


2. Are you GOOD at what do you do?


3. What exactly DO you want to do (you have no idea how many times I have had candidates come in and say "Oh uhhh, I want a job in marketing", "Me: Ok, what would you like to to", Him: "I don't know, marketing is a broad field, to learn everything basically!". Yeah, that guy did not have much of a chance I'm semi-sorry to say. Know what you want.

For some other great interview tips, be sure to check out InterviewChatter.com!