In 26 years of writing resumes, two words help me when I’m collecting information for client resumes:THEN WHAT.It’s a great strategy when you’re working with a client who is having a hard time articulating their accomplishments.
Here’s how it works:
Let’s say you’re writing a résumé for a preschool photographer. I chose that one by going to Indeed.com and looking for the first non-sales job I found in Omaha, Nebraska, where I live. It’s much easier to get accomplishments from sales people than from folks in the “helping professions.” I’m not sure if “preschool photographer” is a helping profession or not, but it’s one where you might have a hard time getting accomplishments out of the person, but one where asking the right questions can yield some good stuff. So I’m asking my preschool photographer about their work, and they say that they take photos of all the kids in a preschool class. I’ll ask about how many kids are in the average class, and how long it usually takes to shoot a class. Then I might ask directly about an accomplishment — for example, “Tell me about what makes you good at your job.” My future famous photographer client might say something like, “Well, sometimes the kids don’t want their picture taken. They might be shy, or just not like photographers. I’m good at getting them to smile.” I’d say, “Okay, so let’s say little Timmy is clinging to his teacher and doesn’t want his picture taken. Then what?” He might respond, “Well, first I’d put him at ease. I keep a little box of puppets in my photography bag for that very reason. He might not want to hear from me, but he’ll listen to Mr. Monkey.” “Okay, so you bring out Mr. Monkey. Then what?” He says, “Well, I put the camera down and put on Mr. Monkey — he’s a hand puppet — and I have Mr. Monkey explain — in a funny voice, of course (my client is now doing the voice) — that he wants to be able to remember what Timmy looks like, and could he get a picture of him? Sometimes that works directly, but sometimes I have to give Mr. Monkey to the child and have Mr. Monkey agree to get his picture taken with Timmy first.” “Great,” I say. “So then what?” “Well,” my client says, “At that point, they’re usually smiling … or sometimes laughing … because I’m still using my Mr. Monkey voice, and I can get a couple of shots off. And because we shoot all digital, I can see right away if I’ve got the picture. In three years of doing this, Mr. Monkey has never failed in getting me the shot I need. Sometimes it takes a couple extra minutes, but I always get the photo.”
From there, I’m able to write strong, employer-oriented accomplishment bullets.
This is just ONE of the strategies I share for writing better resumes by asking better questions.
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