Sell Your Resume, Because It Won’t Sell Itself

How familiar are you with your resume? In my experience as a Corporate Recruiter for various large companies, I realized that lots of people weren’t as familiar with this all-important document as they should have been. Most Recruiters and hiring managers will base the interview off your resume, so you need to know it inside and out. You should ask yourself, “If I was asked detailed, pointed questions about my resume, on the spot, could I answer them?”

Here are a few methods you can use to ensure that you’re able to sell your resume effectively:

1. Practice!

Before you interview with  any companies, spend time role playing with a friend, mentor, or family member. Ask them to ask you a bunch of questions about your resume, referencing your experiences and skills listed. Make sure you take your role plays seriously, because it can make all the difference in how a real interview goes. The following interview points are simply ideas on types of questions/statements that you can use in your role play and that you can expect in an interview:

a. Tell me about your experience.

b. In your Summary of Qualifications, I see you claim to have good attention to detail. Tell me about two instances, while at work, when you demonstrated good attention to detail.

c. In your Professional Summary, you mention that you’re a Business Professional with experience in Client Relations. What about your experience qualifies that claim?

Bottom line, expect to be asked all sorts of questions. Also, be prepared to answer questions that the interviewer asks with the intention of seeing how skilled you are at thinking on your feet such as, “Have you ever negotiated the price of a product at Walmart?”

2. Speak to your resume.

What do I mean by speak to your resume? You should know and be able to easily and quickly talk about every word and bullet point on your resume, in any order the interviewer chooses to address them in. If there is any piece of your resume that you’re less familiar with, and the interviewer calls you out on it, it will make you look unprepared.

One example might be, if you include a certification on your resume or claim to have an understanding about certain subject material, be sure it’s current and applicable. If, for example, you mention on your resume that you have experience with Six Sigma, you need to be ready to validate your familiarity with that skill/experience. If you put a skill or qualification on your resume that you haven’t done anything with in the last two years, it’s probably not applicable and could hurt you more than help you. Imagine if you took a course on Six Sigma practices two years ago but haven’t done anything with it since, could you speak intelligibly about it? Probably not. However, if you’re formally certified, go ahead and include it. If you don’t have a certification, think carefully about whether it would help or hurt you during the interview.

3. Keep your resume accurate.

The purpose of your resume is to showcase your experience and qualifications, but you still must be accurate and truthful in how you craft your resume. It would surprise you how many people falsify education credentials and other professional experiences just to bolster their resume. Employers conduct background checks that will catch any false claims. Also, make sure all dates and responsibilities are accurately represented.

As always, should you have any questions, feel free to contact me on LinkedIn: Rob Briggs at, www.linkedin.com/in/robertrbriggs/

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