Resume writing course - Part 2
Yesterday I talked about the importance of putting
yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Understanding
what they need gives you the information you need
to turn your resume from a dull recitation of facts
into a recruiter
magnet.
But to do that, you also need to
understand your own true value and how it relates to their needs.
This is CRUCIAL! You cannot convince someone to interview
you, if you don't know why they should.
To go back to my marketing analogy - once a good
marketer understand the needs of his or her target
audience, the next step is to create a compelling message
that will
appeal to them.
To do this, the marketer determines the "value proposition" of
the new product. Value proposition is simply the essence of
what makes the product uniquely able to satisfy the customer's
needs.
So to create a resume that immediately resonates
with hiring managers, you need to develop your own
value proposition.
If you have ever hired anyone, you will know that
most resumes all look the same.
Deciding who to interview is often a "hit and miss" exercise
because there's no way to distinguish between most of the
candidates.
And if you haven’t ever hired anyone, just look at your
own resume. Ask yourself ‘does this resume convey who
I am?’ (By that I mean does it convey more than your
career history – does it also show your personality,
your special attributes, the things that make you different
from everyone else?)
NOTE: When there are no clear differentiators,
managers choose who to interview based on their own preferences
and prejudices and this means you have lost control
of the process. Here are just some of the preferences a manager may
bring to the screening process:
- She may not like the schools
you attended.
- She may have a bias against your last employer.
- She may think that the industries you worked
in are not applicable to her industry.
- She may have decided she wants 10 years of
experience when you only have 8.
- She may want a certain
qualification you don’t have – even
though you have the same knowledge.
- She may not like your
name (it reminds her of a girl in high school who
bullied her).
- She may think you’re too young (or too old).
Since you can neither anticipate or change these
in-built biases, you have lost control of the process.
This is why developing your own value proposition
makes such a huge difference to your results. It
allows you to sidestep those ‘screens’. The
manager can see that you will offer value and
therefore doesn’t
need to resort to screening you out based on
his or her set preferences and prejudices.
If your resume centers around your
value proposition (which you have developed with the knowledge
of what employers
are looking for), it will grab the reader's attention
and generate interviews. Guaranteed.
This one change in your thinking will transform
your resume! Instead of being a dry recitation
of prior history, your resume will immediately
speak to employers about the
value you can add to their organization.
And more than that, it also prepares you to excel
in interviews, because you walk in truly confident
about what you have to offer.
As an example, here's my value proposition:
"I use my prior experience as a Human Resources executive
and recruiter, my knowledge of marketing and
my writing skills to help people get the job of their dreams."
Do you see how this makes me different from other
resume writers? They may have writing skills,
but not necessarily understand marketing, and most certainly
haven’t worked in
HR.
That’s not to say they wouldn’t have their own
value proposition – of course they would - but it would
be different and that’s the beauty of this
approach. Only you can have your value proposition.
No one else has
the exact same skills, personality traits and
experiences as you do.
Notice too that my value proposition is focused
needs of my clients ('I help people find their
dream jobs’)
rather than on myself.
Once you have identified your
value proposition, you can write an introduction
to your resume that encapsulates
that message.
Please invest the time in this aspect of your resume.When
your resume communicates your value proposition quickly
and clearly, you will see a dramatic increase in
the response to your resume.
=======================================================
NOT SURE HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION?
If you're like me and like to follow step-by-step instructions,
you might want to look at my book The
Complete Guide to Resume Writing. I called it 'complete'
for a reason!
In the book, I walk you through the easy steps anyone can
take to identify their value proposition. It doesn't matter
whether you are a senior executive or a recent graduate just
starting out - the instructions work for everyone.
For now, I'm offering a discount to subscribers, so grab
your copy for instant download.
=========================================================
Tomorrow I will teach you:
Writing the Proof, or: "How to boost the response rate
to your resume by 50% or more with a simple shift in
focus "
Thanks for reading!
Get
a sneak preview of "The Complete
Guide to Resume Writing" and a special discount if
you buy now
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Here are quick links to the entire course:
Part
1:"The #1 problem with 95% of resumes and how you can
avoid it."
Part
2: "How to Show Employers Exactly Why They Should
Hire You!"
Part
3: "Boost the response rate to your resume by 50% or more
with a simple shift in focus."
Part
4: "The secret ingredient that the best professional resume
writers use to spice up their clients' resumes."
Part
5: "The simple changes that will ensure your resume gets
a great response every time."
Part
6: "How to evaluate your resume to ensure it's the absolute
best it can be."
Part 7: "How
to use these resume writing techniques to ace your interviews."
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