It is said that the first resume was created by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1482. He wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan enumerating some of his inventions that could be of immense use to him. Of course, Da Vinci had two things going for him – Firstly, he was a genius and secondly he knew exactly the challenges the Duke faced. So his “resume” was more of a marketing pitch about his product offerings rather than a summary of his past work.
That apart, it is really since the 1940s that some form of resumes, as we know them today, began to be created and expected by employers- and ever since, people have been looking for ways to create a killer resume. While many of us have made our feeble attempts, they have been doomed from the start because we have mostly relied on a template created by someone else and just tweaked or made some incremental changes to it.
Here’s what I think about it- the first iPhone wasn’t created by tweaking a Nokia. If you think you want to stand out like the first iPhone did, reimagine what a resume really is!
The Basics: What is a resume?
You’re probably thinking, “This is stupid, I know what a resume is. Does this guy even have a real point?”. ‘Friends, Indians, Countrymen’- bear with me for a shake of a lamb’s tail. While the dictionary calls a resume simply ‘a summary’, in the context of a job application, it is logical to assume a resume to be a ‘job summary’. But this definitely only partly right. Beyond the definition, people brand the resume a self-advertisement- and unless you are as inanimate as a rock on the sea floor, those people are absolutely wrong. Don’t let anyone dehumanize and commoditize you. A resume is an introduction to you, the human, in all its animated glory. Recruiters prefer imperfect workers to perfect pricks by an overwhelming majority. I get my data from almost a decade of hiring people. Companies are usually looking for a person – hilarious, gregarious, friendly, affable- who can do the job.
The Objective: Why have a resume?
The objective of the resume is not to give a summarized account of your entire work life. It is not even to show you as innovator, team player, intelligent, self-motivated, or passionate worker. The objective is quite simply to help the recruiter decide whether you are a worthy candidate who should be interviewed for the job or not.
Writing 101: How to write a resume?
Master Jedi Says: “If one thing you learn to write in your life do, let it a resume be.”
Let’s get cracking then? We understand that a resume is an introduction to you that can help the employer decide whether they should speak to you about the job position (or not). Now the temptation is to follow the path most taken and hunt for templates online. But here is some food for thought – if your introduction looks like everyone else’s, your profile must truly be incredible to evince interest from the recruiter. Are your qualifications/ experience so unique that it will be enough to land an interview? Well, would you be reading all this if it was?
The reality is that most people are at par (or even below par) with their competition, so your resume must create a significant impression and help you stand out.
Ingredients of a resume
Master Jedi Says: “Analogy of food this is. Yum-yum.”
Ingredient 1 – Keywords
There are two separate lists of keywords that you need to create.
- I-Keywords – First is the list of keywords that are significant in defining your career, learning or experience. For example, let’s say you are someone who takes initiative, then “Initiate” is one keyword. Or let’s say you are great at taking a problem and designing a process to solve it, then something like “Conceptualize” may be a keyword. Or maybe you are a great motivating people towards accomplishing a goal, then “Leading” may be a keyword for you.
- J-Keywords – List of keywords that are important for the job that you are seeking. Is the job likely to require leadership or team work, learning or organization, planning or execution? Watch out for those words that seem to matter the most.
Once you have these 2 lists, identify keywords that are common in both lists and assign them the first priority. Assign the second priority to I-Keywords (keywords that describe you) and then finally third priority to J-Keywords (keywords required by the job). Now review the list and prune it by removing any closely related keywords and one that you have nothing worthwhile to talk about. You should end up with a small priority list of keywords.
Master Jedi says: “Thought easy it would be? Hmm?”
Ingredient 2 – Highlights
List the set of your professional and personal highlights. Any awards, recognitions, high points in your career or personal life? Don’t fret too much- use personal milestones that made you feel good about what you accomplished. Learnings are highlights too!
Ingredient 3 – Progression
While a great career progression is ideal to demonstrate, progression does not necessarily have to be a series of quick changes in designations. Your journey of maturity as a worker, learner, from failure to success, from knowledge to wisdom are all demonstrable markers. Think about yourself at different points in the past and make a note of how you have evolved over time.
Ingredient 4 – Qualifications
- Gate qualifications – Gate qualifications are minimum qualifications required by recruiters such as including details of degree, subjects, grades, etc. Most organizations need the candidates to meet minimum qualifications so it’s best to state them in a simple – Year – Qualification – School – Grade format.
- Flag Qualifications – Flag qualifications are additional qualifications that you would like to flag and highlight. These can either be listed along highlights or shown in a separate section of their own. The decision of where to use them is dependent on how much of an edge these give you as a candidate and how much significance an employer is likely to lay upon them.
Cracking the design
Now that we have the ingredients, we need to decide on the design. The design is most critical because even before the first word is read, an impression is formed based on the design and layout of the resume itself.
How Recruiters evaluate a resume?
In order to decide on the design, it’s important to understand how recruiters evaluate resumes. The typical order in which a resume is read is as follows:
- Experience
- Qualification
- X-Factor
Experience and qualification invariably come with some with guidelines. Maybe the company wants a minimum number of years of experience or certain grader or certifications, etc. However, most recruiters know that if experience is deep and relevant, qualifications matter little. So spend some time considering where your strengths lie. As it often happens, most of the resumes have comparable experience or qualifications, so often the decision making is down to the X factor.
X-factor is the search for the “Why”. Different recruiters will use different approaches – some will look for specific keywords, some will try to unearth insights from the experience, some will look at highlights, and some at qualifications. But essentially, they are looking for the answer to the question – “Why you?” X-factor is that something special about you that could significantly influence the recruiter and tip the balance in your favour. [Like leaving in this very British spelling in the otherwise American-ised post?] You cannot change your qualifications or grades and you must always avoid lying about your experience. So X-factor is where your greatest opportunity lies. Instead of making a recruiter hunt for an X-factor (and possibly give up without discovering it), present it voluntarily.
What does X-factor look like?
X-factor should be an unmistakable statement about you. It should ideally be evidence for your most important quality or ability. Let me take an example – Let’s say you have superb language skills, then your resume should demonstrate them, if you are innovative then your resume should be designed in a unique way that compels the recruiter to believe your claim, if you are efficient and organized then your resume should be written efficiently and organized meticulously.
X-factor should be all pervading – The style of writing, the design, the selection of keywords, the highlights, should all be driven by the X-factor. When done right, the X-factor will force the recruiters to take note and change their order of evaluating the resume, forcing them to note the X-factor first.
Approach to resume writing
- Start with a single blank page – Modifying a template often suppresses creativity so start with a blank page. Resumes must be concise and crisp and if you give yourself the option, invariably you will spill over into a second page. So don’t even give yourself that option.
- Contact information first! – At the very top of your page you must have your name and contact details. They should be clearly visible and segregated. The last thing you want is for the recruiter to find it difficult to locate your contact information
- Design based on X-factor – Identify the X-factor that you want to embed in your resume. Use that to decide the sections you need, the structure you should follow and the design elements of your resume.
- Use highlights and keyword list to describe work experience – Write a short description of your experience using the priority list of keywords and highlights – Ensure that you mention your latest experience first because that is what recruiters will be most interested in. 30-40% of your entire experience should be dedicated to your most relevant experience. For your experience in the distant past, just mention one point which demonstrates progression/ consistency. Avoid anything that contradicts with your current experience- the only objective of your past experience is to strengthen your present and lend it greater credibility.
- Add qualifications – Add the qualifications at the bottom, unless they are the main highlight of your resume in which case state them upfront. Flag-qualifications such as certifications should ideally be stated along with experience to show correlation. You may emphasize them using color coding, text formatting or icons.
- Highlight progression – Ensure that your design allows the recruiter to see your progression easily. You may even consider representing it separately as a small sub-section, graph or through color coding, symbols, icons etc. Whatever route you chose, the idea is that it should be clearly visible.
Final Recommendations
As you embark on this project, let me offer you a set of recommendations that should help you along the way:
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. You can’t lose a job you haven’t secured yet. It is a zero risk scenario so make the most of it!
- Pick any editor you like – Do not limit yourself to using Microsoft word or Powerpoint. Feel free to choose any tool you are most comfortable with – even pencil and paper. The idea is for the tool to aid your thinking, not to constrain it. Once you are done recreating the résumé on your favourite tool, you can find ways of converting it to other formats (if required).
- Ensure it is easy on the eye – Graphics, images, diagrams and icons can make your résumé more visually appealing. On the other hand, complex images can reduce readability, so make sure you pick something that is intuitive and easy to interpret.
- Stick to the facts – It is tempting to overstate your contribution or inflate your achievement to improve your chances of scoring an interview, but now that you have a concise résumé, every word matters. Succumbing to temptation will only postpone the disappointment, not prevent it. The résumé is only the first step to a selection process. It will be followed by a series of interviews and employers will test you on every word you have in your résumé. So save yourself the embarrassment and stick to the facts.
- Make it human – You are not a machine that has a standard specification and a set of features (education, certifications, tools and skills). If you present yourself as a machine, be prepared to be treated like one. Instead give a glimpse of your life’s philosophy, work ethic and individuality. Employers don’t just want to fill the position with anyone who matches a specification, they are also looking for an individual who is a good cultural fit, brings more diversity and a fresh perspective to the team. Remember the employer is not a robot either, he/she is also a human. If you are able to connect with him/her at a humane level, it can make up for some missing features in your profile.
- Mind the context – Every job requirement is different so you may want to highlight some part of your experience and skills for one job position and another part for another position. One size doesn’t fit all, so tweak your résumé according to the position you are applying for.
- Seek feedback – Show your resume to friends, colleagues, family members, ex-bosses. Try to get as many different points of view as possible. Watch out for their reactions and then try to assess which one of those folks your desired employer is most likely to be like.
- Trust your instinct – Invariably a new approach will get mixed reactions. Some people will love it others will be wary about it. In such cases trust your instinct and put it to real world test.
- Create a simplified copy – Maybe you have gone wild with your experiment and it’s something completely fresh. That is great but sometimes people will need a traditional word template to upload into their system which hasn’t yet caught up with your futuristic approach. [I am the devil’s advocate par excellence!]
- Career objective – Maybe you’re wondering how I have gone on about this whole piece without once talking about the career objective. That is because my recommendation is to give it a miss. It rarely tells the recruiter anything useful about you and if anything it limits the scope of opportunities you will be considered for. You can instead have a one line descriptor about yourself that highlights your skills, experience or qualification.
If you need further help with your resume, write to devashish@marketersincubicles.com or ashish@marketersincubicles.com