Black In Business

In our last post we discussed “executive profile statement vs. objective statement.” I prefer the profile statement because it provides the reader a sense of you the canidate, and your skills. Think of it this way, the reader can determine what is in it for them, the hiring company. The objective statement is all about you, the job seeker and what you are seeking.
As you publish the rest of your resume, you will discuss your job history and education. For recent graduates with out a lot of professional work experience, it is suggested you start with your education. You want the reviewer of your resume to see the thing you are trying to sell in a resume position of prominence; in most cases it is experience or education.
Most resume experts suggest keeping your resume short. Years ago it was thought 1 page was the most appropriate. That became difficult for most to adhere to. It is suggested here to use 2 pages if needed.
When you are selling your experience first, list out your most recent or current position first. There are 2 effective approaches; 1.name the company and offer a description of their market segment. “Company ABC is a world wide manufacturer of health care products in business for 120 years, and enjoys world wide sales of 23billion US Dollars. The other option is to just list the company, ABC Company; and your position. You offer a description of your position responsibilities. An example of this approach is; “Molecular Sales Specialist- 2003 to present.”
“Responsible for the sale of DNA sequencing, real time PCR, genetic analyzers and reagents to targeted markets within a geographic territory.”
Your choice has a lot to do what is more impressive to the reader, a description of your company or your position. Keep your descriptions short because you can go into more detail in the interview.
The meat of your resume has to be what you accomplished. Think how you can quantify your accomplishments into dollar growth or cost savings. An example is, By segmenting my marketplace into a call frequency pattern based on opportunity resulting in better time mangement my sales grew 25% and 600,000 dollars. My company asked me to train the other sales people on my business growth strategy.”
You will need to list out 2 or 3 solid accomplishments for each position. These are things you are most proud of and things that made your boss look good. Your goal is to have the person reading your resume want to place your name on the top of the pile.
You should never claim accomplishments you cannot prove, or never should you make stuff up.
My next post will offer a little more on resumes and then we will address the interview.