Career Talk #7 – June 18th, 2020: Creating A Resume that Really Works

“Career Talk” Quote of the Week:
“Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep you”
– Benjamin Franklin

Thanks to: Gigi Horvath from Literacy Volunteers for a great interview!

We all have skills and abilities, that differ from each other, but are all equally important! I encourage anyone who wants to build their career to start thinking like a shop owner from the old days. The shop owner has some goods and products that they want to sell into the marketplace but in order to do that effectively, the shop owner must organize their shop so that it is inviting to prospective customers! That is what a resume is; it takes you as a person and displays your skills and abilities in a way that generates interest!

Gigi has done between 500 and 600 resumes but every resume is unique and different just like every person is unique and different. Take the time to think about what you have done in the past and especially think about what you are doing in the present! Keep track of interesting things that you have done to improve the place that you are working at now. If you aren’t working then start volunteering!

Three keys to a resume that really works:

* Terse – Short, sweet and to the point (go for 1 page of targeted information)
* Tailored – Employers today are looking for specific skills and abilities. Find out what they want and then tailor your resume to the position at hand.
* Transferable skills – too many people remain stuck in a certain career and/or industry because they don’t understand the power of transferable skills. (Gigi’s Sanmina example)

Biggest Resume Mistakes:

– Misspellings and punctuation errors.
– Resume too long
– Inappropriate e-mails
– Not enough keywords

It is fun and exciting to create a resume that works, but don’t do it alone. Two heads are better than one! Someone else can see things that we ourselves do not.

If you or anyone you know needs help getting their career on track, send me a quick e-mail and we will give you a hand!

Thanks to all the “Career Talk” crew for your great comments and questions!