Recession-Proof Resumes: Get Hired Before Everyone Else
Posted August 23rd, 2010
When searching for a job in an economy of high unemployment, it’s critical that you craft a resume that stands out. It’s not that hard to do, especially when you keep in mind that your resume is a sales tool — you want an employer to be interested enough in your skills, background and education to call you in for an interview.
Here are some tips to help you write a resume that will help your application stand out from others.
1) Think like an employer. Remember that businesses don’t hire people just because they have some extra money lying around in their payroll account that they decide to spend. No. Employers hire employees for one reason only: to solve problems.
Some people are hired to solve the problem of how to make money (these usually are salespeople). Others are hired to resolve the challenge of keeping the office running smoothly (office managers, administrative assistants). Still others are hired to solve the problem of keeping the computers and networks running. And so on.
Show an employer how you can solve her problems. For example, an IT director will want to highlight accomplishments in his work history that show how he solved former employers’ IT challenges (providing leadership for the development and implementation of IT initiatives, etc.).
2) Forget a writing general resume that you send out to every job to which you apply. Tweak each resume to fit each job. Make it as easy as possible for an employer to see how you fit; don’t make a hiring manager have to dig down into your resume to find that you do have the skills and background to do the job.
3) Do away with the “objective.” You know what we mean: that sentence at the top of a resume that usually says something such as “Seeking a project management position with leadership responsibilities including problem solving, planning, organizing and managing budgets.”
Instead, write an overview statement that highlights what makes you different. For example: “Construction executive with extensive experience in green and sustainable construction, project management, estimations, materials coordination, and profit and loss administration.”
Bring your resume to Bayside Solutions. We can help you craft a great resume while we help place you in some of the Bay area’s best construction, engineering, IT, green, manufacturing and engineering companies. We look forward to hearing from you.
