By Guest Blogger: Annabelle Reitman, Ed,D, Career Management Consultant and Author of Talent Retention,” (ASTD Press, 2007),
anreitman@verizon.net
It is imperative in today’s competitive job market to know YOU – that is your professional savvy. By knowing what you have to offer and then marketing and branding yourself as the person with that information, allows you to stand out from your competition. How well you promote yourself depends on your ability to write your powerful story via your résumé.
A résumé’s overall purpose is to serve as your marketing tool. It is your advertising piece (think “company fact sheet”), designed to attract a pre-determined targeted audience. You need to remember, you are the product being sold and this is your marketing and advertising material! What is the buyer looking for? How can I showcase myself to match and fulfill the organization’s needs? A résumé’s primary marketing objectives are to present you in a powerful, targeted, and concise manner in order to:
- Grab a reviewer’s attention quickly and to sustain the interest in you.
- Demonstrate that you have the experience and background they need.
- Show in an easy to read manner how and why you can be an asset to an employer.
- Create a professional image that evokes a “wow” reaction from the recruiter.
- Enable you to make the first cut and be contacted for a first level interview.
- Guide an interview, keeping it focused, on your expertise, successes, strengths, and the data supporting your case for being hired.
In the job search process, a résumé is your initial contact. Be consistent with your professional branding; recruiters are look for the most proactive and powerful results-producers. You want to be noticed and have that interest sustained through several reviews of the pile of résumés. Develop a unique professional niche – everyone’s experience and background is different – this is your individualized combination of assets and savvy – that is distinctive and coherent. Create a demand for your professional brand.
A targeted résumé positions you in a specific way so that your information, your image will be relevant and grab the reader’s attention. Ask yourself the following questions posed by Arruda and Dixson (Career Distinction, Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007).
Is my résumé –
- Up-to-date?
- Compelling?
- Written in my unique voice?
- Does it communicate my brand message?
- Would others in my field be unable to use it?
If you can “yes” to these questions, your resume is branded and ready to promote and market you for your next career opportunity. .Annabelle also co-authored, Career Moves: Take Charge of Your Training Career Now! (ASTD Press 2006, 2nd edition), and High-Level Resumes: High-Powered Tactics for High-Earning Professionals .