Resume Writing Guide

Resume

Unconventional Resume Writing: One Out of Ten People are "Exceptional"

Meet ten resume consultants, and you'll find that one out of ten is truly inspired. You'll probably agree that the same is true in other professions – physicians, teachers, musicians, managers, web developers... many have credentials, but only one out of ten has deep understanding of the concepts behind their work. The person who reads your resume knows this, too.

If you want to know how write a boring, typical resume you can pay for resume service and there is a 90% chance you'll get something very conventional. You'll get a "good" resume similar to those of the applicants with whom you're competing, and you will be quite forgettable. It will tell people you're exceptional. And unconventional resume shows them that you are among those special, one-out-of-ten truly exceptional people.

Do You Want to Get the Job or Not?

If you want the job, be daring enough to do something unexpected. Imagine being the person who reads your resume; what is that person really looking for when they make their decision? I'll tell you one thing they are not looking for: credentials and qualifications. The hiring manager will eliminate all applicants without the necessary qualifications first, and then decision-making process begins.

When they are left with resumes from several qualified applicants, what is the most important factor influencing their decision?

Likability

That's right, they have to like you. This is especially true if the hiring manager is going to be working directly with you, but it is also true in other circumstances. They are only human! They have feelings. If you make them feel good, you might be chosen over all the others. Make the reader feel good about you by customizing the resume to be about their company.

Include an “Objective” That Names Their Company

Other applicants will write resumes about themselves, but your resume will be about the company you are targeting. This is a secret so powerful, I hesitate to even share it.

Let's think carefully about the moment when a hiring manager reads the “Objective.” What is your real objective in that moment? It is to get hired at that specific company. So instead of using some empty, typical objective, like, “To secure a rewarding position and contribute to growth at an excellent company,” you can do something more meaningful:

Objective: To use transformational leadership and strategic innovations as the general manager of Food Yummy and increase profit by 30% within one year.

I don't know whether Food Yummy is a grocery store or a restaurant -- maybe it's a biker gang -- but it doesn't matter. It's an imaginary business I made up just a few seconds ago. All that matters is whether you get the reader's attention. Try saying something unexpected...

Say Something Unexpected in the Executive Summary

Include an executive summary, and use it to express enthusiasm about the specific company you are targeting. It makes the reader feel a sense of pride because you're validating them in their work and, perhaps more importantly, the fact that you customize the resume for them shows real enthusiasm and effort. They know real enthusiasm cannot be faked. People with real enthusiasm often do things that are surprising.

Give one detail that is unexpected, witty, or somehow unconventional. This is a subtle way to show the reader that you wrote your resume instead of hiring someone else to do it. People are always impressed when they know you wrote your own resume, even if resume writing has nothing to do with the job for which you're applying. If you write your own resume, it reflects something positive about your work ethic and enthusiasm.

Add Keywords from the Job Description

This is not an "unconventional" technique, but it's important enough to include here. If you look for keywords from the job description, you can modify your resume to “meet the hiring manager halfway.” For example, maybe your current resume says you are proficient with Excel. If you are trying to get a job that is advertised with “creating spreadsheets” as a requirement, you can gain an advantage by editing your resume to include the word “spreadsheets.” They will be more likely to find your resume if they search for keywords, and if they manager sees that your resume includes same term s/he had in mind when writing the job advertisement, it will make you seem more familiar and their intuition will tell them you are a good choice.

If you really want to win this job you have to "stand out" from the competition. Very few people are willing to do anything unconventional when writing their resumes. Maybe they are afraid hiring manager will reject applications that don't follow the conventional "rules". But the truth is that there are no rules -- just a strategy game. The object of the game is to make your resume seem exceptional in some way. It MUST do something more than show your qualifications. Write a resume that proves to the reader that you are a proactive, enthusiastic, intelligent, interesting professional.