Resumes and Cover Letters

RESUMES – PART 1

WRITTEN BY DAVID MARWICK FOR KEMPMILLJOBASSIST ON 14 DECEMBER 2017 In this issue, we begin our discussion of resumes by addressing two issues: What is a resume? How long should your resume be? At the outset, it is important to note that a great resume is not an end in and of itself. It is a means to land an interview, the next stage in the process of landing a job. What Is a Resume? A resume is brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience. A related document is called a curriculum vitae (CV), Latin for “course of one’s life.” A CV is a brief written account of one’s career and training. It may sound like resumes and CVs are quite similar and, in fact, their basic purpose is the same: to convince a reviewer that you are well qualified for a specific position. CVs are generally appropriate only if you are applying for an academic or scientific position, however, so we will not discuss them further and will focus on resumes only. Keep It Short or Go Long? There are two schools of thought. Some say that a resume should never be more than one page. Others say that a resume can be two, or even three, pages. Celebrated career coach Lisa Rangel (www.ChameleonResumes.com) advises that your resume generally should not exceed one page unless you have 10-plus years’ work experience. At that point, a two-page resume is okay. On the other hand, Karla Miller, who writes The Washington Post Magazine’s Work Advice column, advises keeping it to one page whenever possible and spotlight “only your best and most relevant accomplishments.” She quotes Lauren Milligan, a Chicago-based resume writer, as follows: “No one has ever gotten an interview off the second page of a resume.” In my opinion, the length of your resume should depend largely on whether it will be evaluated by a person or by a computer program (typically called an Applicant Tracking System or ATS). Your resume is more likely to be reviewed by a human for a vacancy posted by a small organization or one that is expected to attract few applicants. It is more likely to be evaluated by an ATS for a vacancy posted by a large organization, one that is expected to attract many applicants, or one posted on a job board like Indeed.com or Monster.com. If a person will be reviewing your resume, you should work to boil it down to one page. Because people are busy, or like to think they are, providing a solid one-page resume shows respect for their time. A reviewer who wants to know more about you can consult your LinkedIn profile for more details. (These profiles will be covered in a future issue.) On the other hand, if a machine will be reviewing your resume, you should focus on making sure to include all the key words important to the position, and worry less about length (key words are usually explicit in the vacancy announcement). Applicant Tracking Systems Between email and job boards, computers have dramatically reduced the cost of submitting a resume. However, because submitting a resume is so easy, people submit many more resumes. Reviewing a large number of resumes can cost an employer a lot of staff time. Not surprisingly, computers can also be the solution to this problem. As Karla Miller notes, “An increasing number of employers are using applicant-tracking software to winnow hundreds or thousands of applications down to a qualified handful.”

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WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT

WRITTEN BY DAVID MARWICK FOR KEMPMILLJOBASSIST ON 07 APRIL 2017 Let’s say you saw a job opening last week that appealed to you and you submitted your resume. It’s safe to assume that you’re not the only person who applied. Perhaps 10 — or 500 — other people also applied. Therefore, it is critical that your resume stands out. To do so, it’s important to demonstrate the contributions that made you stand out in your previous and current jobs. What you accomplished in the past can help the employer assess what you can contribute in the future. Here are two ways to think about defining your those contributions. First, in every job, there is a way to distinguish the top performers from the rest. How can you demonstrate that you were a top performer? Second, if an employer is interviewing you and other people with similar resumes, how would you convince that employer to hire you over the other candidates? In some cases, your contributions are easy to define and quantify; for example, increasing sales or reduced costs. In other cases, your contributions may be harder to define, much less quantify; for example, strengthening a company’s brand or improving relations with a key client. Defining Your Accomplishments Ira Ziff and Robyn Barsky’s web site (see below for the URL) recommends putting the accomplishments in your resume through two filters: a results filter (What did you accomplish?) and an importance filter (Who cares?). For the results filter, ask yourself whether you accomplished any of the following or similar results. Did you: Contribute to decreasing costs? Contribute to increasing sales or profits? Contribute to an increase in market share? Contribute to an improvement in customer/client satisfaction? Enhance a company’s brand’s image or reputation? Strengthen the operational capacity of a team or an organization? Help transform a system/process, team, or project? Support management and/or better decision making? Change expectations and/or perceptions about something? Mitigate any risks for a department, employer, or client? Uncover or reveal vulnerabilities in a process, product, or service? Help resolve a problem? Then, ask yourself why this result was important and who benefited from it (for example, your team, division, or company). This is the importance filter. CAR Statements An excellent way to explain your contributions is through “CAR statements.” CAR stands for Challenge (what challenge were you facing?), Action (what action did you take?), and Result (what result did you achieve?). (Such statements may also be called CCAR statements — Context, Challenge, Action, and Result — or STAR statements — Situation, Task, Action, and Result). Here are examples from three fields: Nursing: Improved HCAPS scores from 6 percent to 14 percent over six months by piloting hourly nursing protocols and establishing new patient pain management standards. In this example, the Challenge was low HCAPS scores (6 percent). The Actions were (a) piloting hourly nursing protocols and (b) establishing new patient pain- management standards. The Result was a notable improvement (to 14 percent) in HCAPS scores over a short period of time. Marketing: Developed reading program and marketing partnership with Fortune 50 retailer, enabling the firm to gain significant goodwill and resulting in sales of 16,000 tickets. In this example, the implicit Challenge was developing ways to (a) generate goodwill for the firm and (b) sell tickets. The Action was developing a reading program and marketing partnership. The Results were (a) goodwill for the firm and (b) the sale of 16,000 tickets. Finance: Reduced proportion of overdue balances from 20 percent to 12 percent over nine months by using Excel to analyze characteristics of late payers and develop new approaches for such firms. In this example, the Challenge was a high proportion (20 percent) of overdue balances. The Actions were (a) analyzing the characteristics of late payers and (b) developing new approaches for them. The Result was a significant reduction (to 12 percent) in the proportion of overdue balances. CAR statements are not only the backbone of a strong resume. They can also be powerful selling points in an interview. For further reading: Material on defining your “so what?” may be found at Ira Ziff and Robyn Barsky’s web site. Go to www.GetWhatYouSet.com, then click on “resume + pitch.” Sample resumes for various professions may be found at http://chameleonresumes.com/executive-resume-samples/ Dan Butcher, “8 Tricks for Showcasing Accomplishments on Your Resume,” June 1, 2016, www.news.efinancialcareers.com David Marwick is KempMillJobAssist’s workshop coordinator. He studied economics at George Washington University and worked as an economist for George Washington University and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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