Writing a Resume

I'm writing a few resumes today. They are all requests from people who attended my resume writing classes. Just as I do in the class, these folks complete a worksheet listing preferred skills and competencies, strengths and weaknesses. The form also asks for specific examples of measurable results within the skill and competency areas. This is where people get lost.

One thing that people almost always have trouble with is identifying their measurable results. They do have them because everyone has them. They just don't mention them unless I ask them this question, "Looking at this particular area, what impact did what you did have on the organization?" Then we move to the next area and I ask the same question. We do this until we get to the end of the worksheet and when we are done we have a list of measurable accomplishments.

Of all the resumes that I have reviewed, approximately 90% of them read like a job description and that's not a good thing. People as a whole don't like to brag but when you're competing with hundreds of people for one coveted position, you need to shake off the modesty. If you find yourself with a resume that looks like a job description, go through it line by line and ask yourself how this “task”, “project”, “activity”, etc. impacted the business. I am pretty certain that you are going to sharpen your resume writing skills.