Advanced Resume Writing Strategies from Career Directors International

Twelve years ago Career Directors International (CDI) launched Update Your Resume Month. While there are always great resume writing tips to be had, sometimes the master techniques that are employed by the most elite of resume writers tend to get missed.

Why? Not because they are trade secrets but because they require flexing a lot of creative, technical, and strategic muscle.

Here are some advanced strategies to make the resume jump from the stack:

1. Quote Your Last Boss. A resume is all about saying why an individual is the perfect one for the job. However, it is easy for employers to be jaded about what they read due to the amount of puffery that jobseekers sometimes employ.

Take a look at letters of recommendation, accolades, awards, and letters of thanks from employers and clients to find a quote that represents the value offered for the target job(s).

Consider the difference between a jobseeker writing in the resume:

“Recognized for consistently driving triple digit revenue growth in new territories for five consecutive years.”

or quoting his recommendation letter:

“Tom is a simply amazing sales manager; under his leadership we’ve seen his division’s sales demonstrate triple digit growth for each year he has been in charge. No matter what failing division we give him, he makes it one of the top three nationwide.” – Steve Mills, XYZ Company
The quote lends credibility and can be verified, which makes an employer more trust its validity.

To make a quote stand out, try centering, bolding, and italicizing it near the top of the resume; or perhaps use a text box or other lightly shaded background.

2. Chart the Way to Success. Charts are a lot like the use of color in the resume – don’t add it in unless it makes sense. Using a chart or graph on a resume in relation to a particular job makes sense if the job seeker can show progress in fiscal responsibility, beating colleagues in goals, meeting/exceeding quotas, or simply showing the amount of sales achieved each year.

Why use a chart? Because many people are visual and begin to go cross-eyed after reading line after line of text, no matter how good a job the writer did in making it bite-sized and easy-to-read. A chart will draw the reviewer’s eye and provide a quick summary of top accomplishments.

To create a chart in MS Word, just consult the help menu for ‘insert chart’ or ‘insert graph.’

3. Link to Your Profile or Webpage. It is quite common for employers and recruiters to look for information on job seekers beyond the supplied resume. Make it easy for them by including a link to a LinkedIn Profile or other major web page, such as a web resume or about.me page.

Take steps to ensure such online content is robust and complete. Include information such as further project details, in-depth skills lists, and letters of recommendation or testimonials (with approval from the author).

As always, no matter how visual a resume, there is no excuse for slacking on grammar, punctuation, and content. Every resume should work to present the job seeker’s individual unique selling propositions or brand, key areas of expertise, and the challenges faced, actions taken, and results attained in employment positions.

For more tips, CDI’s Job Seeker Center also provides a variety of free resources along with search tips, more resources from Update Your Resume Month, and information for locating and selecting a professional.

CDI also encourages resume writers and career professionals to spread the word about Update Your Resume Month. This event offers a crucial reminder to job seekers about the value of keeping their resumes up-to-date or simply taking advantage of recording their new experiences as they happen in order to prepare for their next professional update.

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About Career Directors International – http://www.careerdirectors.com
CDI is a global professional association committed to ensuring that career and resume professionals can grow and thrive in a rich, vibrant, exciting, and nurturing environment. CDI is focused on championing the industry’s cause for credibility and visibility; fostering exceptional success in every generation of career and resume professionals; and cultivating the career superhero that exists within each one of us.

Introducing LinkedIn Endorsements

If you work with your clients on creating or enhancing their LinkedIn profiles, you may have seen something new from LinkedIn in the past week or so. Called "LinkedIn Endorsements," the enhancement builds on the LinkedIn "Skills" categories by giving your LinkedIn connections the opportunity to "validate" your capabilities.

I first came across the "Endorsements" option when accepting a new connection request. Up popped this box:

LinkedIn displays the Skills your contact may exhibit, and allows you to either endorse all of them (simply click the yellow "Endorse" button), remove Skills (click on the "x" next to the skill), or add additional Skills (type in a Skill).

You may also encounter a pop-up box when interacting with a connection's profile. It will pull up the individual's name and a single Skill. If you click the blue "Endorse" link, it will add your Endorsement to the individual's profile.

Click on your own profile, and you can see which of your Skills have been endorsed.

Your Skills are listed, along with the number of people who have Endorsed you for each Skill, and their photos (if displayed with their profile).

You can also conduct blanket Endorsements:

You can choose the yellow button to "Endorse all 4" or you can click the individual blue "Endorse" buttons in each square to Endorse a specific skills. Or, you can remove an individual Skill Endorsement by clicking the "x" in the upper right-hand corner of the box.

At the NRWA Conference in Charleston last week, LinkedIn expert Joshua Waldman mentioned the increasing emphasis LinkedIn is adding for Skills. The use of Endorsements to validate Skills is the next step in this evolution. Skills (and validated Skills especially) are useful for recruiters, who are one of the largest audiences funding LinkedIn.

Using Trade Shows to Build Your Resume Writing Business

Because I'm preparing for this week's NRWA Conference in Charleston, I wanted to share with you a couple of tips for using trade shows to build your resume writing business. For most resume writers, you can work one of two kinds of "trade shows" -- job fairs and association meetings.

If you've written a book that other resume writers might purchase (or encourage their clients to buy), association meetings (especially those within the resume writing industry) can be a good way to gain visibility and sell books.

If you're looking to sell your career services (resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, membership programs, etc.) then you can participate in job fairs OR target association meetings or conferences where your "ideal client" hangs out (i.e., a technology conference if you work with IT professionals).

Whether working a job fair or a trade association meeting, attendees are looking for new ideas and connections. It's one of the few times when people are receptive to actually being sold to in person. If you can leverage this opportunity to put your brand out there and communicate what you have to offer, it can boost your resume writing business in unimaginable ways. You can walk away with powerful connections, immense goodwill, more credibility, more brand recognition and, often, actual orders.

Here are a few different ways you can leverage trade shows.

Networking
The most basic way to leverage trade shows is through networking. This is especially useful at job fairs. Build in some time to get around -- wander from booth to booth and introduce yourself. Let others know how you can help them and look for new strategic partnerships. I've made some great connections with recruiters during job fairs.

And, of course, if you are offering resume critique services at a job fair or association event, you want to connect with as many jobseekers as possible. Limit your time with each individual to five minutes (ideally, two minutes or less) -- be prepared with handouts to give them some additional information and your contact details.

Host a Side Event
A much more powerful way to leverage a job fair or association conference is to host a side event. Book a conference room in the same hotel or in an adjacent restaurant or large bar. Then market the event through the trade show's Twitter hashtag, through flyering, through Meetup and through your own email list.

You might offer a short workshop on "Getting the Job" or "LinkedIn for Jobseekers." If you're an author, do an event where you speak for 20-30 minutes on your topic and have books available for purchase.

By taking this kind of leadership position, you'll drastically increase your own brand and credibility. You'll also make important connections. Instead of seeking connections, people will come and connect with you.

Be a Speaker

Related to tip number two -- you can build a lot of credibility and brand awareness by getting on stage. Talk to the event organizer early on about the possibility of speaking at the event as early as possible. Make sure you have a good amount of credibility and speaking experience built up before approaching large conference organizers. I recommend the "Resume Writer's Guide to Profiting From Speaking: How to Use Teleseminars, Webinars, Workshops, and Seminars to Attract New Clients and Generate Revenue." Make sure your talk isn't too self-promotional though -- focus on delivering great value to your session attendees.

Should You Get Your Own Booth?
If you're serious about building your brand, you should absolutely get a booth. If you are critiquing resumes at a job fair, you may be offered a discounted or free booth. (You may be able to negotiate this if you are approaching an association event planner -- because a booth at a trade show can run anywhere from $250 to several thousand dollars.) The investment might be worthwhile because having a booth means literally two days of having business come up to you and listen to your sales pitch.

If you're attending the NRWA conference in Charleston, I hope to talk to you! Come and see me speak or check out my booth!

Job Search Help on Your Mobile Phone? There's an App For That!

Browsing through my Facebook news feed this morning, a post from Career Solvers caught my attention. Hmm...what is Barbara Safani up to now?

It seems she's created an app for job searchers -- available for Android, iPhone, and iPad users.

Here's the app description:
Career Solvers for iPhone. Our Career Solvers app is designed for those who are serious about growing their professional careers. Our app will be a guide book providing proven strategies that every professional should know. Career Solvers specializes in managing job search campaigns for six-figure professionals and executives who know where they want to go, but need assistance uncovering the most efficient path. Our career management programs help clients gain clarity around their professional identity and personal brand. We create targeted, compelling resumes, cover letters, and bios and supplement these marketing collateral with coaching programs that accelerate your job search, get your resume in front of the right people, improve your interviewing and salary negotiation skills, and promote your professional image online and offline. It is our mission to empower you with solutions that enable you to successfully navigate your career course.

I'm working on preparing for my "Write Great Resumes Faster" teleseminar today, so I haven't had a chance to check out the app yet. But I'll be interested in downloading it and giving it a try. Maybe I can get Barbara to answer a few questions about her new app for a future blog post.

Have you thought about creating an app for your resume business?