Hello my amazing friend, Alexandra here, welcome to a new video!! (see video below)
So far this month, I gave you tips on how to get over depression in the Personal Growth video, in Relationships & Sex, we talked about dating deal-breakers, and last week in Fashion & Beauty I shared with you some dating outfit ideas.
Today, we’re talking CAREER & MONEY and the topic is how to create the most kick-ass, memorable resume.
If you have any questions for me, I’m reading your comments here, on my Facebook page, or you can use #askalexandra on Instagram & Twitter. I also have a new fan shout out today, so stay tuned for that.
Now! Grab your journal, open it to the Career & Money section and get ready to take notes. If you don’t know what the journal is, here is the link to the video where I show you exactly how to create one.
Before moving forward, if you haven’t seen the video about how to find what you love, you are missing out. I created the most detailed exercise to help you discover what you would love to do job wise, that you’d be really good at AND that’ll pay you what you need and want. It’s the perfect balance that everyone is looking for. People pay thousands of dollars for something like this, but here you are, getting it for free. So don’t miss out, HERE IT IS. Watch it then come back for this.
So now that you found what you love, let’s talk resume. There are different ways to create it: There are Chronological resumes, which focus more on the employment history and they are used to show a steady growth in a particular career field.
Then you have Functional resumes, that are focused on skills and experience rather than the job history. And typically they are the best alternatives for someone who may have gaps in employment history or who may have gained experience from being self-employed.
And lastly, there are Combination resumes. Which are exactly that: a combination of chronological and functional.
I’ll go into more details in a little bit, but first, I have to warn you: I am not a fan of anything conventional, and my resumes have always shown that. I don’t believe in the clichéd, traditional resume language, I think that’s so outdated, overused, incredibly boring, and quite frankly, because there’s such an overflow of that out there, it’s not very interesting.
I believe in standing out of the crowd. And that comes especially handy in a highly coveted position where the competition is fierce. Either way though, even if you’re the only person applying for the job, you want to stick out. You want to shine. You want whom ever’s hiring to look at your resume and say “WOW. Who is this person?”
The reason I KNOW this approach works is because in the past, when I had my resume posted on sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, I was getting calls to come into interviews for companies in industries I had never been in, had absolutely no experience in, but they wanted me, because they were intrigued. They would say my resume was the most interesting one they’ve seen. So I want the same thing for you.
HOWEVER: Even though I am a loyal fan of nontraditional resumes, at the end of the day, you have to know what speaks to the employers. There are still many companies out there that prefer more traditional resumes, and some larger companies use a system called applicant tracking system or ATS for short, which screens resumes. Basically, what the system does, is it searches for keywords that indicate whether or not the candidate has the skills and the experience they are looking for. So ATS, requires text-based resumes, and because of that, some companies using ATS will not even bother with nontraditional ones. So basically what I’m trying to say, is do your research.
Always look at what the company you’re applying for. If a traditional resume is required, send a traditional resume, but have a creative cover letter. If you’re not sure what to send, you can always call the HR department and ask. Tell the person you’re speaking with that you’re interested in applying for a position there, and would like to know what type of resumes they’re interested in? If they don’t understand the question or ask ‘What do you mean?’ that’s OK, just say that you have a traditional and a non-traditional resume prepared for them, and would like to know which one they’d be interested in receiving. BOOYA!
The thing is, that too many folks simply post their resumes online, and email the same one everywhere, without doing the homework. The word is: Be prepared, or lose to somebody that is. Job hunting is a job. You have to be prepared, do homework, and ask questions.
Now, I own and run my own business. I do social media marketing, and I started this shindig back in 2010. But for the sake of this video, I took the time to create a resume as if I was applying for a job. Because of the background, skills and experience that I have, I opted to create my resume as if I was applying for a social media management position.
Your skills and interests might be different, of course, but what I want you to take out of this video are the ways in which you can sell yourself — and do so in a very creative manner. And I’ll show you mine after I walk you through the pillars of a good resume.
And here they are: the 4 things that I believe no resume should be without:
1. Your full name and contact information.
2. Your employment history.
3. Your relevant skills.
4. Your education and training history.
So for #1 – your full name and contact information.
Your name will need to come first in the title of the resume. The format should be ‘bold’ and in a larger font than the rest of the content. You need to add your phone number and email address. The best ones you can be reached at, and you can also write your address as well if you want, but make sure it’s the address where you receive mail. This portion needs to stand out.
For #2 – Your employment history. List your jobs in chronological order with your most recent employment first. Include the name of the company, your title there, and then you can highlight the duties and responsibilities you have or had, while working there. Also, include the dates that you were employed. You can check the Occupational Outlook Handbook on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website for an alphabetical listing of job titles if you feel you need to get some ideas on how to spruce up your titles more.
In this section: I want you to use action verbs to describe your responsibilities. Verbs like ‘created’, ‘provided’, ‘assisted’, etc.
Also, for each employment listing, include any “accomplishments”, “major achievements” or awards you may have received.
If you don’t have any, because let’s say you’re a student, list any internships you’ve done, and what your duties were.
It’s always best not to mention any experience that’s short or insignificant, and Try not to show long gaps of time in between jobs. If you have any, a brief reason as to why that is, can be made in your CREATIVE coversheet. If you do that, use facts and stay away from sounding too sad, needy or dramatic.
#3 is your relevant skills. Meaning, the skills that pertain to the job you’re applying for. I’ve seen resumes before, of people applying in marketing, but listing the fact that they have accounting experience. Really? Like… REALLY? What this tells me, is that the person is indecisive, you’re all over the map, and probably applying for different jobs in different industry verticals, with the same resume. BIG MISTAKE! At some point I was a recruiter, so trust me when I say, don’t do that! If you are applying for different jobs in different fields, create separate resumes, or you’re not going to be given the time of day.
Now — in this section, you need to share your relevant qualifications or skills. Create a section titled “Special Skills” or “Unique Qualifications” and list them. If the job you’re applying for requires applicants to have certain skills, and you have them, list them here. They can be: Computer programming, analytics or multilingual skills.
If your resume won’t go over 1 page, you can also list other general skills you may have, if you want them mentioned. They could be, positive personality traits like: being enthusiastic, diligent, timeliness or a team-player. Maybe you’ve done Voluntary work, etc.
#4 – is to provide your education and training history. Same as with your jobs, you should list your education in chronological order with your most recent schooling at the top. Include any college degrees you may have, trade schools, or internships. For each listing, include the university and program name, and their city and state. If you graduated with a degree, list the name of the degree as well as the year when you received it. If you had a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, make sure to list it along with your school and degree information. It’s something to be proud of.
If you’re still in school, simply state ‘ongoing’, and include the expected graduation date.
Also, If you participate or participated in any sort of training program that supports your work experience, you should mention that here as well. Name the training institution, the topic and duration of the training, and list it right after the education part.
So those are the 4 things NO RESUME should be without. It is VERY important that you give true and accurate information. NEVER give any information that is false.
If you choose to also have a “Career Objective section” at the top as many folks do, remember that this section is generally applicable for the candidates with little experience (about 1- 2 years).
If you’re seasoned and you have a career objective section at the top of your resume, it will look like you don’t really know how to put together an mature resume.
But – if you have little experience, in this section you can mention the immediate goal of your career. Also state how you and your experience are a potential good match with the position you’re applying for, and you can also emphasize on the ways you can make contributions to the company, and briefly highlight some of your positive skills that go in line with the criteria mentioned by the employer in the job ad. That’s why doing research on the company is so important. Because you can include some of the “keywords” they are using — into your resume. Remember what I said about ATS, right? Keywords!
Let’s move on to how you can format your resume:
First, Format your text. Because the text is the first thing that an employer will see, it is very important that you make the right first impression. Choose a professional font like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman, in a size 11 or 12.
The header where your name is, can be larger, say 14 or 16 in size, but aside from that, you should stay away from using large text.
You can use multiple fonts for different parts of your resume, but NEVER use more than 2. If you want certain areas to stand out, simply make those specific sections bold or italicized, as opposed to overwhelming the paper with different fonts. Looks kiddish.
The text on your resume should always be written in solid black ink. And please: make sure that you break any hyperlinks, like your email, otherwise they’ll print in blue or some other color that’s not black, which will make your resume look amateurish.
Now, your resume page should have about one inch margins all the way around. Also make sure that the space in between the lines of text is not too small or too big. Usually about 1.5 or 2 points of line spacing will work.
Then, it’s time to decide on a layout. There are three types of formats when creating a resume, and I mentioned them in the very beginning: chronological, functional, or combination. Your current situation will determine the layout style you should use.
You should ALWAYS highlight the strengths that speak to that employer. So if you job-hopped a lot, employment history is not your forte. Instead, you could place the relevant skills at the top, using keywords, and highlight the employment history underneath. Does that make sense? Don’t feel like you have to put the employment first, because that what you’ve seen other people do.
Now, here are some CRUCIAL tips that you should know before moving forward:
#1 is The 10 Second Rule. That is the average time an employer spends on your resume. That is it! In part, that’s because of the large number of resumes they need to look at, and in other part, because of laziness. There, I said it! :D
So! What you need to take out of this, is that you need to make SURE the top half of your resume pops and everything is precise and clear. Stay away from writing LONG sentences or including any unnecessary or irrelevant information. This is also why getting creative is an asset. Because you need to capture that person’s attention to the things that make YOU the best candidate in that small window of time.
#2 – Go One page or go home! If your resume is longer than one page, you just cut the chance of somebody reviewing it, in half. When it comes down to resumes, less is more. You need a one page resume that is concise, clear, and to straight the point. Anything more will be asked during the interview.
However! There are times when you might need to go over one page. For example: you’ve been in the workforce for over ten years, or maybe you’ve had really extensive experiences, in which case, two pages may be required. IF you need to have two pages, be SURE to copy/paste the top section with your full name and contact information at the top of the second page. Do not staple the pages together, and never fold them.
#3 – Customize Your Resume As Much As Possible. Don’t use a generic resume. It’s important to highlight specific skills, attributes, and experiences you have that would be an asset to your new employer. Again, I have to mention this, because it’s too often ignored. Research into your employer is king!
And that translates into:
#4 – Use keywords strategically. Look at what type of words the employer uses in the job advertisement and tailor your resume to speak to the job you’re applying for. Analyze in depth the job ad, because that’s how you will understand what they are looking for. If a job specifies that potential employees should have a certain skill and you have it, be sure to include the same exact skill as it’s listed in the ad — in your resume. Don’t overdo this though, or it will look suspicious. The idea however, is to make sure that the resume you’re sending to that employer clearly reflects the fact that you meet THEIR SPECIFIED qualifications.
#5 – Spell check and proofread your resume – I can’t stress this enough. Review, review, review for any spelling mistakes, typos or grammatical errors. Proofread your resume, then have someone else do it as well. Spelling and grammar errors in resumes are lethal! They will have a negative impact and your skills and experiences will be completely overlooked.
#6 – Sell yourself, but NEVER do the "I’m SO GOOD " type of bragging, it’s not sexy!
After you’re done, review the overall format and how the resume acts visually. The overall look will give the employer that lasting first impression that needs to be GREAT.
So now, in the beginning I mentioned that I created a resume for myself as if I was applying for a job. The type of job I would apply for – if I didn’t have my business, would be in a space that requires creativity. If the job you’re applying for has ANY creative part, I strongly encourage you to not go the traditional route, but get creative with it, so you stand out. I wish I had more time to get REALLY creative, but I needed something to show you, and with the time restrictions, this is the best I could do:
[WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO SEE RESUME AND GET THE DETAILS]
What I would also like to do now, is show you some examples, of how other folks have branded themselves, to speak precisely to the company they’re applying for.
[WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW FOR THE RESUME SAMPLES AND COMMENTS]
If you don’t have the graphic skills to create something like what you’ve seen here, but think that it is relevant to the place you want to get hired or the industry you’re in, sketch it out yourself on a piece of paper, point out what content needs to go where, and then pay $50 to a local guy to do it for you. Tell him or her what kind of job you’re applying for, and ask if they have any better ideas. Make sure they won’t charge you for the ideas though, or if they do, make sure that you know about it in advance, and you know how much it will cost.
My friend, in the next Career & Money video, I will show you HOW to market your resume. How and Where to creatively place it so you can attract buzz, With an emphasis on using Social Media to your advantage.
I hope that you got a lot of good things from this video, if you did, because it’s free, please give thanks by LIKING and SHARING it on your profiles.
Today’s fan shout out, goes to one of my newest YouTube subscribers. Her name is Roxana Vornicu, and she’s such a doll, she always leaves me the kindest comments. SHOUT OUT Roxana :D
Thank you for watching today, I love you for it, see you next Thursday!
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