Many people view resume writing as a chore - as a means to an end, and don’t see the overall effect that this simple document can have on a persons’ life. Job seekers spend hours, weeks and even months looking for work and often get frustrated when applying for jobs and never hearing back from HR. The reality is that we spend much of our life working yet many people are reluctant to invest time and money into developing their resumes and cover letters to suit job roles. Instead, they submit documents with minimal information and expect HR to see that they are qualified for the role.
I often hear clients say “Well, won’t HR assume that I have _______ skill given that I have worked at a similar role”. The problem with this is that it should never be up to HR to fill in the blanks on your resume and make assumptions about your skill set. Your resume and cover letter should clearly articulate how you meet the requirements of the job.
Here are some tips on how to show that you meet the requirements of the job:
a) In Your Highlight Section:
If you are applying for a specific role, and the job posting lists the qualifications for the job, it is your responsibility to MATCH their requirements on your resume. This can be done by creating a ‘Highlight of Qualifications’ section (also can be done in a 'Summary' section) on the top of your resume. Your highlight section should include 5 to 8 bullets and each bullet should include keywords that match the requirements for the posting.
Note: Most job postings include educational qualification for the job as well as years of experience required. Be sure that one of the bullets in this section lists your educational qualifications and another one of the bullets list the years of experience you have. The remainder bullets can be used to highlight how you meet all the other requirements. Here is an example of what this would look like:
Example:
An operational leader with 20+ years experience working as a COO, Social Worker and Faculty member to promote knowledge, skills, and values expected of a professional Social Worker
Possess a Master of Social Work and a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care
b) Listing Accomplishments and Tasks on Your Resume:
Be sure to flush out your key accomplishments under each job role on your resume. Additionally, you should identify the tasks you were responsible for in the position. A good formula to follow when listing your accomplishments/tasks is to start with a PAST TENSE VERB, provide DETAIL ON THE TASK and end the sentence with the RESULT that this brought. Here are some examples:
Example of an accomplishment statement:
Achieved historical record of profit, volume and market share by expanding business lines within the food sector resulting in $1.5B USD of revenue per year
Example of a task statement:
Oversaw quality control initiatives and was responsible for maintaining equipment/tools in order to ensure workplace safety for staff and the department