Blog Post: Putting the "You" in Resume

A resume is about YOU. A human being. Who is capable of great things. Who has done great things. Your resume is the story of you, what you have done and what you can do.

Instead of “good communication skills,” think of a situation when you actually had to employ good communication skills – a team project, training new employees, supervising a crew. Your “proven record of success” has a much bigger impact when you describe how you implemented a new software system, exceeded quarterly goals or was promoted within six months of hire.

And “Responsible for…” Was there ever a more passive phrase? “Responsible for scheduling meetings.” Snore. “Scheduled meetings.” Better. “Managed daily calendar and appointments for senior manager using Microsoft Outlook.” Even better. 

Your resume should paint a picture of you as a real, live human being who holds the solution to a hiring manager’s problem, namely a vacant position. (But don’t take this as an invitation to include personal info about marital status, kids, hobbies.)

So take out your resume. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Read it as though it’s the first time you’ve laid eyes on it. Any tired, hack words in there? Take a big red pen and circle them. Think about specific examples to illustrate those phrases. Attach some numbers to those examples, if you can. Your goal is to make yourself stand out from the hundreds of other resumes. And you can stand out by telling your simple, yet extraordinary, story.