Professional Resume Writing – Not Your Life Story
As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, I have critiqued thousands of resumes and I am amazed at how many contain irrelevant information and focus on responsibilities rather than achievements.
A resume is not your life story. No one cares. If your life story were so interesting, you’d have a book deal! The most critical content on your resume should be your achievements! Anyone can do their job, but only a small percentage of the population can do their job well, wherever they go.
The best way to show that you did your job well is to relay your achievements and the best achievement is a promotion. It is an objective way to show that you impressed the people you worked for. The next best way to validate your achievements is to quantify your experience wherever possible.
Most people do not think in terms of quantified achievements when they are in the job, but on the resume, that’s the only part of the job that matters. No one can see that you were a “good team player” on your resume unless you can say, “established a team to solve problem x and increased sales x%” or “joined under-performing team and helped the team beat production delivery dates by three weeks.” So quantify your experience wherever possible. Cite numerical figures, such as monetary budgets/funds saved, time periods/efficiency improved, numbers of machines administered/fixed, etc. which will demonstrate progress or accomplishments due directly to your work.
Do not waste space on your resume with needless items. You do not know what a hiring manager will look at first and if you have listed ten good achievements and three mediocre lines about your life story the reader may only read those three lines. Since the information is of no interest to the reader you have missed out on the “wow” factor and risk having your resume rejected.
Remember, you should never send your resume out without first asking for critiques from friends or a Certified Professional Resume Writer. Need a free resume critique?