by Samantha Nolan

Background

Alex’s objective was to secure a highly coveted pharmaceutical sales rep position. His main concern, and one brought up in previous interviews, was that he lacked the business-to-business (B2B) sales experience required. Alex had however been engaged in B2B transactions throughout his career, but they were not highlighted prominently, instead there was a clear B2C focus to his original résumé. Alex also wanted to showcase the transferability of his career in the fitness industry to support his strong medical and health knowledge.

Résumé Strategies

Alex’s original résumé was not strong enough in content or presentation, so both areas were addressed in the development of hisnew résumé. Instead of an objective statement, I opened the résumé with an extensive qualifications summary highlighting his related experiences and education. Beginning the qualifications summary is a brief highlighted list of key qualifiers, a highly effective approach when a candidate needs to focus the hiring manager’s attention on the aspects of their background that qualify them for a particular engagement.

Next, Alex’s professional experience section was expanded significantly based on information we reviewed during his consultation. His primary B2B experience was expanded from only 4 bullet points on his original résumé, to a full paragraph and 7 bulleted achievements on his new version. The formatting of this section pulls the hiring manager’s eye to the most important information. Page two of Alex’s résumé continued to explore his experiences, highlighting B2B interactions whenever possible. I also highlighted his preceptorship prominently along with a personal training certification. Lastly, Alex’s education was presented with a complete list of all science and medical coursework he completed.

Cover Letter Strategies

I opened Alex’s cover letter noting his key qualifications for his position of interest. The first paragraph was used to capture the recipient’s attention and make them want to read more. To do this well, I first had to clearly understand Alex’s key qualifications, his position of interest, and the intended audience. The center section of Alex’s cover letter explores his experiences, successes, and the skills that fueled his performance. I used bullet points to focus the hiring manager’s attention on the most important pieces of information, which also helps break up a “heavy” looking one-page letter. To close, I used an action-oriented statement, rather than taking a passive approach and waiting for a hiring manager to call Alex. Of course, if the advertisement says no calls, then you need to follow that advice, but most of the time a follow-up call is the appropriate strategy to reiterate your interest.

Makeover Results

Alex received a phone interview in week 1 of his search, followed by a face-to-face in week 2, followed by the job offer in week 3 of his search. He now enjoys his new position as a pharmaceutical sales rep. with a leading drug manufacturer.

Keys to Success

Alex had the experience to highlight; he just wasn’t sure how he could do that, what rules to follow, and how to speak the language of his target market. Through due diligence, exploration of past accomplishments, and a clear understanding of effective keywords and strategies, his résumé was revamped into a tool that brought attention to the related aspects of his candidacy.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/

by Samantha Nolan

Candidate’s Background:

Logan was a soon-to-be MBA graduate who had worked in his family-owned construction business for five years. While attending college—and acquiring two undergraduate degrees—he had been gaining hands-on experience in business management, project coordination, and customer service in the design/build firm his family had been operating on a part-time basis. Logan’s goal was to utilize his undergraduate degrees, experience, and upcoming graduate degree to secure a position in the accounting or finance field.

Original Résumé:

Logan’s original résumé did not position him for any particular field. Opening with an objective statement—which stated nothing about what he could do for potential employers—his résumé did little to secure and hold the interest of the target audience. Moving then to an education section, Logan attempted to differentiate himself solely on education, a strategy which is rarely successful. In the employment section, Logan positioned himself as an owner of the family-owned construction company and did not go into great detail about the projects he had worked on, the contributions he had made, or the transferable skills the experience provided to him. Logan’s original résumé was two pages long with the second page including an additional skills section which presented some of his technical skills and ownership of some private rental properties.

New Résumé:

As a candidate with only five years of experience with one organization, I felt it was important to create a one-page résumé for Logan. Instead of opening with an objective statement—which would do nothing to tell a prospective employer what Logan could do for them—I used a qualifications summary to bring forward all of Logan’s finance- and accounting-related training, education, and experience. To do this, I asked Logan to send me all of his coursework during undergraduate and graduate school so I could add important keywords in his field of interest. We also focused our consultation on discussing the related aspects of his work experience. The qualifications summary spans the first third of the page and will be vital in differentiating his candidacy.

In the summary, I highlighted Logan’s education as I wanted to place his education section at the end of the résumé. I did this as rarely is education alone a candidate’s key qualification—as many other candidates are likely to have similar degrees—so his education had to be combined with his experience to differentiate him from his competitors. The summary therefore mentions his educational credentials but focuses on the experience he has gained in the business world and as a property owner, and the applicability to his current career objective.

In the professional experience section, I removed the focus on Logan’s ownership status—which may have presented him as being too entrepreneurial to become an employee—and instead positioned him as a business manager with functions in budgeting, accounting, project management, and client service. By doing this, the focus is paid to the areas in which he impacted, not simply the leadership role he held. I greatly expanded Logan’s description of his experience with the family business, being sure to convey the level of contributions he had made throughout his tenure and the transferability of his experiences into a finance or an accounting role.

Last, Logan’s education was presented to complete his new full one-page résumé.

The look of Logan’s résumé was important also. I transformed his résumé from an overused Word template to a clean, professional depiction of a junior-level candidate, ensuring the format was appealing to what would likely be a fairly conservative audience.

Candidate’s Reaction:

Logan emailed my firm and stated, “The new résumé and cover letter are great! They both exceeded my expectations. Thanks!” Logan is well on his way to securing a position in his target field.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.

To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/

by Samantha Nolan

Candidate’s background:

Jeremy came to me with a very average résumé not unlike many others I see on a daily basis. While his résumé presented an overview of his jobs with accomplishments scattered throughout, it lacked the appeal to make the most of the 7 seconds his résumé would get in front of the hiring manager.

Jeremy wanted to leverage his banking experience to secure a hybrid sales and operations management role. His old résumé wasn’t getting his foot in the door, and not surprisingly as it simply served as a narrative of what he had done in past engagements. In today’s economy and job market, a résumé has to be much more, and instead of simply presenting what you have done, a résumé instead needs to present a strategic image of what you have done that positions you for what you want to do. Long gone are the days when hiring managers had the time to determine what a candidate’s transferable skills were, and instead we now live in a time where you have to be explicitly clear on a résumé as to the value you can offer a prospective employer.

Résumé strategy:

The first step in revamping Jeremy’s résumé was to remove his outdated objective statement. A résumé should never open with an objective statement as it wastes the most valuable real estate on page one with what is most likely a self-serving statement that tells the employer nothing about what you can do for them. Instead a qualifications summary, based on a clear understanding of the keywords (skills, experiences, qualifications, etc.) that will attract the target market, should be developed. Take a look at the before and after examples (full-size images available at www.ladybug-design.com/blog) and gauge the value the objective statement holds versus the fully developed qualifications summary.

Moving on to the professional experience section, Jeremy’s original résumé was a list of bullets that did little to draw the reader’s attention to the most important pieces of information. When a reader looks at a résumé his/her eyes should be immediately drawn to the accomplishments presented. To do this most effectively, a paragraph and bullet point combination is best. Using the paragraph to convey the highlights of what you did on a daily basis, the attention is placed on the bullets that communicate how you went above and beyond and contributed to an employer. Take a look at the before and after versions, do the endless bullets on the before version allow for prioritization of content? Do they draw your attention to what the candidate did best? In the after version you will notice your attention is immediately drawn to the bold part of each bullet point which communicates the results of the candidate’s actions. Use this strategy to make sure the screener maximizes their 7-seconds in front of your résumé!

Lastly, the other main item that was tackled in Jeremy’s résumé was the formatting. The most effective résumés have a balance of great content and great design, so do not spend hours working on the content and only minutes working on the formatting. Through some added color, consistent formatting selections, incorporation of unique “challenge” statements, and utilization of the paragraph and bullet format, Jeremy’s résumé emerges as a document that will likely receive more than the average 7 seconds during the screening process.

Candidate’s Comments:

“I have already received several compliments on your work from peers, recruiters, and employees at FedEx Kinko’s that helped print copies of my new résumé. Thanks for the great job.”

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.

To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/

by Samantha Nolan

The Problem:

Steven’s original résumé did little to present him for his career of choice—historian or history teacher—and instead simply presented descriptions of tasks performed. Without a strategic presentation of the value he had contributed in his career thus far, he wasn’t getting his foot in the door. While he thoroughly enjoyed his current role, his goal was to find a position as a government historian but had found it difficult to relate the transferability of his teaching roles to that field.

The Content:

Steven’s new résumé was attacked on both the content and design fronts. For content, we thoroughly explored not only the tasks he had performed but the value he had contributed. From a fragmented list of seven or so bullet points on his original résumé, I was able to discuss his positions with him at length and create a much more “valuable” picture on his new résumé—comprised of solid overview paragraphs presenting responsibilities, followed by several fully developed accomplishment statements.

The Design:

For design, it was imperative, and appropriate, for Steven to have a creative look and feel to his résumé. To do this I developed a design that emulated that of a historical document, using brown hues and a symbolic image serving as the background to a list of core skills. Using a design that positions a candidate as how they want to be seen can be very effective in overcoming a lack of related experience. In Steven’s case, the historical look and feel would make the reader see him as a historian before even reading a word—a critical strategy to reinforce his candidacy for what he wanted to do, not what he had done in the past.

Differentiating:

Steven’s education section was also relocated to the end of his résumé, something that proved very important in making sure the hiring manager knew that his education was not his key qualifier. Given that he was competing against many other candidates with similar educational backgrounds, education could not be used as a differentiating factor. Instead, his master’s degree was highlighted in the qualifications summary—and after his name opening the résumé—and the transferability of his experiences were used to distinguish him from his competitors in this niche industry with limited opportunities and far more candidates than positions.

The Results:

Steven was kind enough to share his success story with me: “I submitted my completed résumé the day after I received it and was immediately called for an interview. I am completely certain that my new résumé will open many doors and career opportunities. I know that it makes me more visible and definitely stands out. I am very grateful, excited, and confident about my future prospects.” Steven now enjoys his new position in his targeted field.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.

To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/

by Samantha Nolan

Candidate’s Background:

Sally, a licensed social worker who was recently downsized, sought to return to a direct care environment. After spending the past five years working with patients over the phone, she was eager to return to her roots in direct care. Sally wanted to focus her search on county and state positions, specifically working with seniors through the Agency on Aging.

Sally’s Original Résumé:

Sally had an existing résumé which was designed and written in an antiquated manner. Not only did the content solely focus on day-to-day responsibilities, but also the format was less than appealing. Sally opened her résumé with an objective statement, followed with fewer than 200 words describing seven years of experience, and ending with her education and volunteerism. In brief, her résumé was out of date and not effective.

Sally’s New Résumé:

Knowing that Sally wanted to return to her roots in direct care, and specifically target her job search to environments where she could work with an elder population, I gathered the related and transferable facts about her background during our phone consultation. As a modest person, Sally never thought of her positions in terms of the “value” she contributed; instead, she “was just doing her job.” I explained to Sally, as I do with many of my clients, that a résumé has to speak to what you did that will differentiate you from other candidates. If we simply conveyed day-to-day functions and did not speak to the “value” she contributed, then she would look equal to her competitors and not get the interviews she wanted. Fortunately, Sally did have functions she performed that were helpful in differentiating her candidacy, and even though some of them were not your traditional accomplishments, they were still very effective in positioning her ahead of the competition.

Vitally important in the success of Sally’s new résumé was creating a great format, presenting Sally as a social worker dedicated to the aging population, and overcoming the fact that her last position was not in a direct care setting. Through design of a soft and feminine résumé combined with strong content and a focus on the transferability of her last position, her résumé emerged as an effective tool in her search to secure a social work position in a direct care and eldercare environment.

Sally’s Results:

Sally was kind enough to email me to tell me of her job search success. She stated, “I just wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful job you did creating my résumé. It helped me land the job I have been looking for. I start  [next month] and will be a case manager for the Area Agency on Aging. I will be working in their program which helps seniors age 60 and up, who are on Medicaid, stay independent in their own homes. Anyway, thank you so much for your help.”

Keys to Sally’s Success:

The best results always come from a combination of a great résumé marketing a great candidate. Sally had the experience; she just wasn’t able to “package” it to get her foot in the door. Often I find my clients are so stuck on the fact their recent experience isn’t as related as they would like, they lose sight of the fact that they are still aptly qualified for what they want to do; and it often takes just a little objectivity to figure out how to market the transferability of recent less-related experiences. I’m thrilled Sally will enjoy her new position with her target employer.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.

To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/