Resume 101 | Focus on "clean", Optimize for attention

Switching it up with this edition! Below is how a few resume tweaks generated 6 interviews, 6 opportunities over $100k, and 3 offers for a job seeker.

I break down their new resume and provide questions you can ask yourself as you work through the tweaks. These tweaks helped a job seeker leave behind the 400 applications submitted.

Ready to get to work?

TL;DR

• Focus on “clean”, and optimize for attention.

• Get feedback fast and from the right group.

• Test out the small tweaks before a large overhaul.

• Don’t spend more than 1.5 hours fixing your resume.

New Format to New Offers

Where did this resume story start?

The person was open to feedback. They wanted the truth and received it from an objective 3rd party that genuinely wanted to see them win.

To filter your feedback, the person giving it should be:

1. In or sit close to your target role

2. Career Professional (with proven success)

Bye Mom and Dad ✌🏼, the above groups will give it to you straight.

Here’s a few questions to get real feedback:

• What do you wish you knew more about when you read this resume?

• When did you want to know more and how can I double down on that?

• What skills are needed to thrive in this role? How can I better display that?

What do the results say about your document?

Have you applied to enough roles? 5,10 or 15 may not be enough. If you’re in the 100 range with no results to show, then you know that something needs to change. Be quick to audit yourself here!

How do you feel when you look at the resume?

What makes a viewer stop and say, “I need to hear more about this person’s story?”

That’s the goal. How fast can you get there as a candidate? For this person, this being in the top ⅓ of their resume wasn’t doing them justice. 

“Ownership” doesn’t make me want to continue the conversation, the 10 and 15+ years grab my attention but there are also 100 other applications that have a solid amount of experience. We switched to this…

• “Built out 12 offices…”

• “50% under budget…”

• “~90% employee attrition..”

• Keywords specific to the role

I don’t love the same verbiage being at the top. But with this resume, we were testing out what quick tweaks could change the outcome. The old resume had been through 400 applications with little to nothing to show.

Where do the role and your resume intertwine?

A common mistake here is taking pieces of the job description and making it your experience. When you do this, the viewer begins to skim right over. The chances of grabbing attention dwindle. The opportunity to have another conversation disappears.

Questions to find the “heart” of your resume…

• What was I known for by my colleagues?

• Where did I receive the most praise and have the most fun?

• In which internal or external customer experiences did I stand out in?

• What can I quantify? Team members trained, sales, experiences delivered, etc.

• What do I wish more people knew about the work this role entailed day-to-day?

Below is the switch from distracted to “clean”…

The verbiage doesn’t change, it’s just “cleaner”

As you go through the above exercise with your resume, keep the “clean” frame in mind. As soon as a hiring team opens up the document, they shouldn’t be hard-pressed to track your career.

We want to invite them in and grab their attention with the impressive work that you’ve done. Do not lose them in the fluff!

I hope this advice helps you solve the challenge of breaking into your target role. If you’re starting your search or have been applying to jobs for a while and struggling, consider sitting down and asking the questions above.

Already have a solid resume? Want to use that document to build a business case for your next role? Consider booking time with me.