3 Ways to Automatically Increase Interviews from your Resume
You found your Dream Job, and without thinking you attach your resume and…Zing! it’s off. You feel productive, you feel proud. “I got this.”
A short while later (sometimes an eternity) you get an inbox message, “Blah blah your talents are impressive, however we’ve decided to pursue other candidates.” Just like that, you lost it…You stare at the e-mail imaging it’s in your hands and you’re mimicking tearing it to shreds.
You rip your shirt in half all Hulk-like yelling:
Why doesn’t my Resume Generate Interviews?
First things first, get a new shirt and let’s tackle this together. Your Resume is not the only ticket to increase Interviews.
Brand yourself, Market Yourself (you will hear me say that many many many times). But that’s because it’s important!
Alright, I digress, yes the Resume is important, and sometimes may be your only Marketing tool at the moment, so I’ll pull back from marketing yourself for now and work on making your Resume much more attractive.
An attractive Resume does not mean add pictures, cool fonts or any of that. It may work, but for most people it’s not a good idea.
Furthermore, the last thing you need to think about when building your resume is “What font should I use?” Yes, have a readable font, but that’s the least important thing.
So what meat do you need to add to your soon-to-be juicy Resume?
Be Exciting to Your Targeted Reader, not Boring
One of the worst problems that resume-writers have is that their resume is about as interesting as reading the Dictionary.
Nothing really flows, there’s no central theme to the whole process.
Have you ever picked up a book and after reading 10 pages you realize that you don’t remember anything that you read. Why? well, a couple reasons:
- Your mind was off wandering (and that can happen with a hiring manager).
- What you read was so boring that you zone out and end up skimming with no regard to comprehension.
- You remembered you can’t read.
This process manifests itself when HR reads your Resume and it puts them to sleep, which means it’s probably going to lunch with the Shredder!
Craft a Snore-less Resume
Build a Narrative: Show how you have progressed through each position by pinpointing your increasing success.
Penelope Trunk is one of the best experts out there, and she hits on that point.
Theory of Relativity: Put only the things that are relevant to the industry/job whatever. Even if a past position isn’t, figure out what skills you used in that position which can transfer and benefit you’re new company.
Example: “Receptionist/Administrative Assistant.” Skills that transfer: Working 1-on-1 with customers to solve a problem, liaison between different levels of management to save time (time=money).
Dump the Descriptions: Use Keywords, but don’t just list what you did at your position, but how did you excel?!?
Example: “Retail Clerk.”
NO: Answered phones, worked Cash Register, Sold Products.
Yes: Gained Employee of the Month status for Customer Service excellence. Demonstrated problem-solving initiative with leadership in team environment. 3 Months being Top 5 in region for Sales.
Strategies to make You different?
Alright, you know branding is key to distinguishing yourself.
What they are looking for in a candidate is “How is this guy/gal different than the next person applying?”
There’s certain branding strategies you want to market to the Reader, and thus you must craft every single word to formulate around this cause.
In every industry there is a certain “stereotype.” I’m in accounting so I’ll use that example (as personal as it gets!).
You think of an accountant, you think of: ‘bean-counters’, ‘dull’, ‘introverted’, ‘the guy at the party sitting in the corner wondering the cost of said party.’
So if you are going for an accounting position, the person who wins is the one who defies the stereotype and projects a fresh look!
Maybe the candidate is out-spoken, has a blog, likes to talk about how he’s out-spoken and has a blog, whatever! It’s giving something different, a fresh perspective.
Be the Fresh Prince!
The game-changers in the business are those who are willing to do the work other’s won’t, to take the leaps for the company many won’t dare.
This will take time! Think about how you can specifically define on your Resume “What makes me different?”
Then you formulate your Resume with this idea, this theme, in mind.
You don’t Give the Hiring Managers what they WANT
This can be coupled with #2 to an extent. You need to be different, but that difference needs to be applied to the position.
If you READ the actual posting of a position, you need to gauge a few things:
- What words are they repeating? Clue: Include these words on your resume
- Gauge what type of personality/person they would need?
- Out of the specific tasks, which seem the most important? How can YOU fulfill those tasks better than others?
Every job-opening has a specific need that requires completion, and only a certain person would be successful in the job.
The hardest part of a Hiring Manager’s job is matching that NEED with the PERSON as close to 100% as possible (or they could be out of a job…).
Finding a candidate can cost 1000’s upon 1000’s of dollars, so it’s your job to show them YOU are what they want.
Think about the pressure HR is under when they’re hiring for a new position?
Your job is to relieve that pressure and give them a clear choice! Uncover how to excel in that position, and then transmit that through your Resume.
How? You look through the posting (see above), talk to the hiring person yourself. Simple inquiries go far!
These are just 3 ways to start out to increase interviews coming your way. There’s so much more to talk about, but we’re going to be breaking it down one piece at a time!
Action Plan:
1) Develop a narrative for yourself. How do you want to be perceived? Use keywords, use experiences from every job.
2) Find a posting for a job you’re interested in (even if you don’t plan to apply). What type of person would fit? What would the manager want the most from this candidate?
3) Be prepared to test! Some ways you present yourselves will work better than others.
What does Your Resume say about you? Share in the comments below!
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