Accelerate Your Search™ Now

“How do I make my résumé stand out?” or “If everyone has a brand, how can I stand out?” Are you asking these questions too?

Everyone is unique.  The exciting thing in my business is that unlike products were there may not be anything different between two products except the color of the label.  Many products with different labels are produced to specs on the same line and at the end just get a different label. 

That is not the case with people.  Each executive, each person is different.  People are not mass produced.  Each person lives, grows, changes and evolves one day at a time.

There may be many people who work for competitors, run profitable businesses and have the same number of years in the industry that you do, but no one is just like you.  No one works like you do, nor has anyone done everything you have done. 

Your biggest difference is YOU.  You bring your own talent, gifts, education, experience and abilities to what you do.

Most of us spend so much time fitting in, doing what we think we should do that it is hard to stop and be honest about what makes us different, what makes us unique.  Be honest what are your unique talents, what do you do different. 

Why is it hard to “Stand Out”?  The answer is we are often afraid to say what makes us different.  We are afraid of the response or reaction from others.

There may be 10,000 people with your degree, who went to the same school, worked for the same companies, yet they aren’t you.  To stand out you first list all the things you have in common with professionals in your field. 

Then step back and list all the things that are unique to you.  List your unique talents, experiences, education, how you serve, how you lead, how you learn and the favorite part of your job.

I am a Texan who lives and works in New England.  I do things different.  It is not always easy to be different.  Why, because people don’t always like different. 

My unique gifts include: I am direct, and I ask direct questions.  I focus on results and on goals. Using those and my other gifts allow me to serve others and to live on purpose and help others identify their gifts and land the job they want.

It is not the custom to be direct in New England therefore if I feared what others thought or said about me it would be difficult for me to market.  One of my nieghbors says I am too out there, too much out in front and she does not like that.  I get it, her style is different those differences add value.  My gifts are what make me unique and of value to those who work with me.

Here is how to make your résumé stand out:  Start your list of your unique talents, put them all down. Make a decision to get very honest with yourself and about what are your unique gifts and what makes you different, not shy away form the things that others don’t like about you.  Write them down.  Your list will give you the key ingredients to make your résumé stand out.  Then incorporate the best items into your résumé.

Take a quick look.  Does your format need an update? Does it communicate value and the salary you deserve?

With the tendency of firms to hire those who have been unemployed for shorter periods of time first, if you have been looking for work for more than 27 weeks, you are considered to be among the “long-term” unemployed. 

The dates are the dates, but if the other information on your résumé is also dated this could be impacting your search.  Have you updated (yes, updated not targeted) your résumé in the last 90 days?

Take a look at the Header – that is “prime real estate”.  What does your email address and phone number say about you?  Does it say you invest in yourself and keep up with what’s current?  Is the style competitive for your professional and industry?  Did you include your LinkedIn Vanity URL as a Hyper-Link?

Does the design grab attention?  Does your content sell your brand, skills, value, achievements and paint a vivid picture of what you can do to address the employer’s needs?  Does that image match the salary you want?

Does your résumé need a facelift?   What are you doing about it?

According to industry experts, who provide pre-employment screening services and résumé fact checking services, as many as 30% of résumés contain false or incorrect information.  Your résumé is a very important marketing tool.  Employers understand a résumé is a marketing tool, but they also view a résumé as a factual document.

Employers are looking to hire both someone who can do the job and who fits with the team.  Here are six quick tips to ensure your résumé is saying what is important to employers and helping you get interviews.

Be factual and to the point, make your résumé easy to read and interesting.

1. Include specifics on your past performance.  Employers know past performance is the best indicator of future performance.  Don’t make an employer guess or read between the lines to understand your past performance record.
2. Explain what you did to maintain your skills during any employment gaps.
3. Offer job related, credible evidence of your skills, knowledge and experience.
4. Customize and target your résumé for each position.
5. Be sure your résumé communicates who you are and the unique value you offer to the position and the organization.

Do you have questions about your résumé? 

Sign up to the right, join the Q & A calls and ask your questions.

Volcanic eruptions are not everyday career bumps.  Would you be ready if you woke up one day to learn that a long dormant volcano in Iceland has erupted and you job was gone?  Would it feel like the end of the world?  There was a time in my life and career, that I thought so.  Today, I know better. 

An unexpected career bump can cause as much of an economic crisis to you, your family, your plans, goals, and retirement, as the grounding of flights has to the British and European economy.  The experts estimated the grounding of flights would be £520 million ($800 million) impact to the airline industry alone by April 18.   In our global economy, this event has impacted air travel, the Boston Marathon, the price of flowers and vegetables and much more.   Was this a totally unexpected event?    

It is my view the signs were there that something was up with the volcano.  Day to day most of the world does not have what is up with a volcano in Iceland on the radar screen.  However, both recent events and the fact that Iceland is known for its glaciers and volcanic landscape provide information that this was not a totally unexpected event.  

Could this volcano continue sending ash into the air for 14 or more months or longer?  It happened before.  Like geophysicists who monitor what’s up with the Earth; top talent monitors what’s up in their business, operation and career, and they understand what the impact could be if an event caused a 14-month change to their revenue stream, aka their paycheck.

Knowing what is going on, requires an awareness and willingness to see the signs that tell you things are up in business that can impact you and your job.   For most, focus on career comes after all the other stuff is done.  What would happen to your career if it was derailed for 14 months? 

As with the volcano eruption, if you ignore or unaware of the signs around you; you get surprised!  Being aware and having a plan can help you avoid or lessen the impact of a sudden event that could derail or destroy your career. 

You can leverage your talent and be ready.  What if you walk in one day and receive a pink slip due to a 5% reduction of the workforce?  What if your job is changed to a new title or function that required you to do something that you don’t want to do for the next five, or more years even for the same money and the same earnings potential you have now?

Your career need not die, or change in a direction you will be unhappy with.  Nor should your bank account be destroyed by a business change, new boss, or some other event on the scale of volcanic eruption.     

Nature and business can be unpredictable.  Predicting volcanic eruption is not my area of expertise, career management is, and working with top talent to manage the career they want is not hard.  The tools are not complex nor are you dealing with factors as unpredictable as figuring out if a volcano will ground planes and changes lives forever. 

Top talent does not overlook, fail to monitor and study trends, or “see” what changes are in the environment.  Top talent does possible scenario planning. 

Scientists strive to understand what does and could happen when the Earth’s plates move.  Do you do this for your career?

For so many people, what’s up in the business, industry and the impact on their job is out of sight and out of mind.  They are clueless as to the signs of what is going on around them.  Even for top talent, it is easy to put your head down, go to work, focus on the day to day operation and never look up. 

The impact of “head down, tail up” working and never looking at the “radar screen” all too often results in being surprised by an unexpected event.  It also results in the misdirected view that your career path and your earnings are unpredictable and out of your ability to influence. 

What can you do to avoid this?  Understand your business, industry, and your job. Have an ongoing plan to accelerate your career and continually move it forward. 

Do these  five basics 1) stay aware of changing trends, 2) maintain contact with your network, 3) make your goals known, 4) have a plan to achieve your goals, and 5) update your résumé every 90 days. 

Simply executing on these basics will blunt the impact of an unseen or unpredictable event that might happen.   Top talent does not get caught “flat footed” time and time again.

What’s going on around you?  Have you allowed your busy life to take the place of staying focused on your career goals? 

Top talent does not stay on top by becoming overly focused on the day to day operations, and short term goals at the expense of long term goals, and the bigger view.  You know it is easy to waste time on meaningless stuff and stop doing the basics. 

Fix it now, before the eruption. Have a plan, execution the basics of the plan, review your progress, and as needed update to the plan.

What are you doing to accelerate your search or your career?  What will you do this week to lessen the impact to your career when a volcano does erupt?

“Go to work harder on yourself than your job. If you work hard on your job you can make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.” Jim Rohn

What action will you take today to propel you toward the things you want, the goals you have and why is that important?

If you have been attending the LinkedIn sessions this week you are already focused on your LinkedIn Profile so here is your action step for today.

Read your LinkedIn Profile and ask yourself the following questions.

Does it show my personality?

Does it highlight my top three skills? These are the things you not only do well but also the things you love to do and would rather do than anything else in the world.

Now, look at your resume. Ask yourself the same questions. If these things are missing from either your LinkedIn Profile or your resume add them.

That is your quick action tip for the day. I agree with Jim Rohn “…if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”

To your accelerated your search and success,
Cindy