Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water – we reviewed a sample resume from a major resume-writing firm and found 22 errors in the resume.
What is most interesting: those 22 errors are not subjective – they are undeniable and relate to four areas: grammar, punctuation, typos, and non-parallel sentence structure. Does anyone but that forever single and starchy English teacher of yours really care? Well, yes. In this day and age you must be pretty much flawless with your resume; you are competing against 300+ other applicants in many cases, so the difference between “good” and “great” is the difference between landing an interview and not landing an interview.
So, how do we find a great resume writer? I won’t bore you with the usual dribble (find a specialist, check references, etc.); here’s the “new stuff”:
1.) Make sure the resume writer has either an ACRW certification (Academy Certified Resume Writer; this is considered the hardest certification to get) or a NCRW (Nationally Certified Resume Writer; also very hard to get this certification).
The person who wrote the above-noted resume? She had no ACRW or NCRW. There are “other” professional resume associations and I think they are worth, well, warm spit. They need to be sterilized – you get the picture. I can’t imagine why they don’t send me Christmas cards. . .
2.) If we don’t get the reader to whisper “wow” in the first 15 seconds or so, we ain’t gonna get an interview. I am using the word “ain’t” here to see if any non- ACRW/NCRW’s call me. How do we get the “wow”? Here are some thoughts:
Challenges – show a challenge you overcame that is something similar to what the reader (an employer) is facing. Use terms like “Faced with. . .” or “Challenged by. . .” and DRAW UP THE MONSTER. This will resonate with a reader facing a similar monster today. They figure if you overcame this beast once you can do it again.
Take the test: want to scare yourself? Take a look at your current resume; I bet you’ll find your current resume is 90% action statements, 10% results, and 0% challenges – this means we’re missing 1/3 of a story!
Another wow-inducing concept: numbers/stats. You should have at least 3-4 sales achievements that are so awesome the reader whispers wow. Don’t bury those stats in the resume; put them near the top – put them where the reader will spot them in the first 15 seconds.
Referrals/Endorsements. We no longer buy things the way we used to: we don’t buy a car because we saw a car commercial (that interrupted our evening) on T.V. We buy a car because we talked to someone who owns that car. Referrals are everything. As is trust. Just ask marketing guru, Seth Godin.
One of the best ways to get a “wow” is to put a very brief endorsement of yourself by either a Dr. (preferably a specialty Dr.) or a sales rep (who works within the industry niche you are targeting, e.g. Ortho) on your resume – probably up in that 15-second “window” at the top of the first page of your resume. Something like, “As a medical professional, I know what it takes to be an elite sales rep – Jane Doe has the traits of those elite performers and I know she’d be a great asset to your sales team.” – (Dr. XYZ).
Go kick some butt.