Ok, so the title's a bit misleading. There are several parts that go into making a winning resume. That said, there's one specific part that is greater than all the others. Here's how Yahoo describes it:
Tantalize them with a bulleted list of specific achievements. By achievements, I mean an end result that reaped some benefit for either your employer or the client you've worked for.
This may require that you think outside your box or cubicle. Regardless of your role, you have a bottom-line impact on your employer. Your job is to communicate your true value clearly and specifically to your next employer. It may take a bit of effort to develop these bullets. And that's all they should be. No more than a one-sentence brief description of the benefit or result and how you accomplished it.
If you can put together a concise list of five to seven good achievements that are Return-on-Investment (ROI)-oriented, you'll score a lot quicker than relying on those unexciting cliches.
Exactly! Your resume needs to scream RESULTS!!!!! You need to have a large number of quantifiable accomplishments documented concisely on your resume (in bullet points so they are easy to read). They also need to be written correctly to deliver maximum impact. And even if you "only" have minor accomplishments, there are ways to make them sound impressive, so take the time and effort to do so.
A resume full of easy-to-read, substantial accomplishments is a winning resume. Without the accomplishments, what makes an employer want to hire you? Answer: not much.
FMF all your resume tips are for those who have already had professional experience (I'm sure that is the majority of job seekers). What about us college students who may not have as many quantifiable accomplishments? What do you recommend?
Posted by: Jeff M | June 09, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Jeff --
I have a post coming up tomorrow on how students should get whatever work experience they can during college. Be sure to check it out.If you have questions after reading that post, leave a comment there and I'll try to address it.
Posted by: FMF | June 09, 2009 at 09:36 PM
Jeff, I graduated from college in May '07. The summer after I graduated, I chose to continue a high-paying summer trucking job I had done in previous years. I then traveled Europe for three months on my trucking earnings.
When I came back from Europe in the winter, I got the first job I applied for, a good-paying position as a financial reporter. My degree is not at all related to journalism, but I had two years of journalism experience under my belt when I applied. How?
I built up my resume in college, which is when I decided to become a journalist. In my junior year, I started writing for the school paper. Using my experience with the school paper and as an editor for a research journal, the following summer I received two news internships, one at a local weekly paper and one at a local radio station. The internship at the paper turned into a paying job with the same paper, where I was employed all my senior year. It also led to freelance work.
Thus, when I came back from Europe I had experience as:
-columnist and reporter, school newspaper
-editor, research journal
-news intern, radio station
-news writing intern, weekly paper
-part-time editorial employee, weekly paper
-freelance reporter, weekly paper
Note that only the last two gigs actually paid any money, and not much of that either. Still, the most valuable thing I received from all of the jobs was experience and a host of contacts and people willing to recommend my work.
In short, FMF is correct: students should get whatever work experience they can. Think about what you enjoy doing, and think about what you want to be doing. If you show any aptitude for it and can present yourself well, you can probably get yourself an internship. Companies are all too happy to employ people willing to work for free.
Posted by: David R. | June 09, 2009 at 10:35 PM