Before you sit down to organize your material into a resume that will make you look good, let’s briefly consider the employer’s point of view. (In a future diary, The Two-Page Marketing Letter, we’ll consider your point of view, at length.)
When an employer offers you a position with his company, he knows that he’ll be paying half your Social Security tax as well as your salary. He also has to pay you for days when you aren’t there, such as holidays, vacation, sick days, and “excused absence” (military or jury duty, doctor visits, and so forth). He has to pay unemployment insurance and workmen’s compensation also, and for benefits such as health insurance, life and disability insurance, and the company match to a 401(k) plan. (Pensions have gone by the wayside in most cases, so we’ll discount those.)
So you see, an employer looks for a person who will add value to his organization, a person who will more than reward all the money he has to pay out on the person’s behalf.
That’s the foremost point you should keep in mind as you prepare your resume. What problems—or rather, “challenges,” we don’t use the word “problem” any more—does the employer face? How can you help? How can you add value to the organization?
The Interview Form that follows will help you think through these questions.
Keep “value” in mind all the time, even when you formulate your objective. Here’s an example of a faulty objective and a better one, for an applicant seeking a position in multimedia:
Objective: To seek a challenging position using my design, animation, and multimedia skills to further my artistic ability and allow for creative growth
This objective has been put in terms of “me, me, me.”
Here’s a better objective:
Objective: To contribute to the success of an organization’s multimedia department using my design, animation, and multimedia skills
See the difference? The second objective puts the employer’s needs first. Which objective will a prospective employer find more appealing?
Interview Form
1. What is your objective? (Entry level, mid-level, senior staff level, management level)
2. What type of company do you want to work for? (High tech, low tech, no tech—large, small, mid-size—old and established, new and small, dotcom)
3. What is your field or function? (Accounting, nursing, office administration, programming, etc.)
4. Employment chronology for the last 10 years:
Name of Company A Dates of Employment Job Title
Name of Company B Dates of Employment Job Title
Name of Company C Dates of Employment Job Title
Name of Company D Dates of Employment Job Title
Name of Company E Dates of Employment Job Title
5. Education (name of college or university, degree attained, field, date)
6. Continuing Education (name of course, where taken, name of institution, dates)
7. Licenses or Certificates?
8. Computer Skills? (Hardware first, software second)
9. Professional and Community Affiliations?
10. Additional qualifications (security clearance, U.S. citizenship, more than one language)
Interview Sheet—Page 2
11. Who and where is your market? (Names and locations of companies)
12. What is your biggest asset? (Particular area of expertise, doubled or tripled annual salary in a 5-year period, length of service with one company, kind of degree, grade point average, frequent promotions, out-of-season raises, etc.)
13. What do you consider to be your biggest liability? (No college or no degree, many job changes, salary too low compared to others in same job, time out of the job market, etc.)
14. What honors and awards have you received? (Outstanding performance reviews, promotions, performance bonuses, “employee of the month (or year),” higher percentage raises than your peers, president of civic association or professional society)
15. What are your most significant achievements? (You reduced staff turnover or absenteeism, reduced waiting time for customers or reports, reduced operating costs. Or speeded up processes, streamlined procedures, brought in business worth $_ in a given period, brought in projects on time and under budget)
16. What kind of résumé do you visualize for yourself? (Narrative format, bullet format, other; Roman font or Helvetica font; emphasizes accomplishments, technical skills, education, employment stability, job duties).
Conclusion
Now you’re ready to create the first draft of your resume. Don’t worry if you don’t get it perfect the first time. In writing, there are two roles involved, the creator and the critic. Don’t try to fill both roles at the same time. If you let the critic take over before the creator has even had a chance to do the first draft, you’ll be stymied. So give the creator a chance, then let the critic step in.
After you’ve done your first draft, your subconscious will busily rewrite it without your even being aware of it. Sometimes you’ll wake up in the middle of the night with the thought, “Oh, no, I shouldn’t have used passive voice! I should have said ‘managed,’ not ‘was responsible for.’”
This is fine. Writing a really good resume takes time. That’s why, once you’ve created a satisfactory resume for yourself, you should update it once or twice a year, keeping one copy on the computer at the office, and one at home. Then you won't have to create a resume in panic mode if layoffs loom.
The satisfactory resume and cover letter can be used to create two other tools, the one-page qualifications brief and the two-page marketing letter, both of which will be the subject of future diaries.