Resume Workshop

Coach Paul has facilitated successful resume workshops for over 20 years.

Part of the success is the effectiveness of targeted resumes; resumes that get attention in 2 seconds and speak quickly to the employer. This resume workshop will improve the effectiveness of your resume, IF you follow the recommendations.

1. Understand why most resumes look like you were fired from every job.

Most resumes only give contact information and a list of past jobs with job duties. If someone is fired from a job they have the SAME job duties as those still ON THE JOB.

Most job duties don't need to be listed: the job title is well enough known that we all know what the job duties were. Don't waste space on anything unnecessary.

2. Use EFFECTIVE accomplishment statements.

Common "action words" say nothing. "Initiated" means you were asked to start something - says nothing of how well it went. "Collaborated" means you couldn't do it yourself. "Developed" - ok but was it a boil? a Stinkapoo? or a success? If you're going to say it, say it strong and specific!

The first step to developing effective accomplishment statements is to answer this question as many times as possible about every job you've had (at least in the last 10 years):

What GOOD THING would ANYBODY remember about you there?

Think about supervisors, co-workers, people working under you, other agency personnel you worked with, and even government entities with whom you interacted.

Add enough detail to make it believable.

How do you know you were dependable? Did someone say so? Who? How often? In what format? ompare the following statements. Which are more believable? Impressive?

"I'm dependable."

My supervisor, Sam, often said I was very dependable. I show up on time every day and complete all assignments on time. He put something about my dependability in every annual review. Would like a copy of my last one?"

NEVER late; NEVER absent.

All three statements say you're dependable. Which would you believe about someone else?

Work with the wording for every statement you have. Could it be said shorter? More powerfully? Could it spark curiosity?

3. Select the most powerful statements to add to your resume.

Put them right under the job title; you know, where the job description would have been if you had left it in.

4. Format your resume.

Select no more than four accomplishment statements and make them bold font. Except for your name and contact info, THESE SHOULD BE THE ONLY WORDS IN BOLD in your resume. Un-bold the titles of the sections of the resume - they say nothing about you and distract from your accomplishment statements. For more detail and example resumes, see my Smarter Job Search Site resume section.

Test your resume.

Send your resume to five companies that employ people in your profession. If you don't receive at least one response, you need to re-work your resume. (Resumes I develop average one response in three.)

Still not satisfied with your resume? Coach Paul can help!

Policies Privacy Policy Site Map