6 Seconds to Success: Tips to Get Your Resume Noticed
Slide 1: Welcome alumni to our webinar. Today’s presentation will provide information to help you
stand out from the competition, and create a winning resume that gets you interviews. Feel free to ask
questions as we go through the webinar, and there will be time at the end for questions as well. We
have a range of alumni on today’s webinar, with some new graduates as well as experienced alumni.
Before we get started, I’d like to make sure everyone can hear me; could you please click the raise your
hand button to indicate that you can? Good, let’s go ahead and begin.
Slide 2: It’s true – the Ladders conducted a comprehensive eye-tracking survey of recruiters while they
reviewed resumes. Eye tracking is a line of research that uses technology to record and analyze where
and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task. The results
indicated recruiters spend about 6 seconds before they make the initial “fit/no fit” decision. That means
it’s critical that your resume is the best representation of who you are and what you have to offer, and
why you’re the best candidate for this particular job.
There’s a lot of information out there about resumes, and a lot of opinions on what makes a good
resume. For this presentation I’ve compiled what we feel are the best foundational tips for a successful
resume, which we define as one that gets noticed by recruiters and moves you forward in the search
process to an interview.
Slide 3: So exactly what do the experts think is key for resume success? Here’s a snapshot compiled
from some of the top career and employer experts.
43% of experts highlighted the need to directly align specific achievements on your resume with the
specific challenges of the role, to make it easy to see why you would be a good candidate.
38% of experts stated tailoring your resume to the industry, company or job that you are applying for,
rather than simply submitting the same, generic resume for multiple roles.
19% of experts advise quantifying your achievements (include numbers, percentages, dollars) to help
articulate exactly how you added value.
10% of experts suggest writing your resume as a marketing document – put yourself in the mind of the
employer and highlight what they would get by hiring you.
10% of experts stated that the format and presentation of your resume is key, as this enables potential
employers to quickly and easily identify key information.
5% of experts advise making sure your resume is consistent with other publicly available information,
such as your LinkedIn profile and your social media accounts.
5% of experts suggested getting professional help writing your resume, to make use of expertise and
experience that you may not have individually.
Slide 4: So here’s what we’ll talk about today. We will define and elaborate on those keys to resume
success, talk about why it’s important to put the extra effort into your resume, detail each resume
section, and discuss how to use your completed resume for job search success.
You know, if you ask 100 people for their opinions on resumes, you’ll get 100 different answers.
Ultimately, it’s your resume, and it should be the best possible representation of your qualifications,
skills and experiences. So today I’m going to share our perspectives, and input from our recruiting
company partners.
Slide 5: When you first graduate, you usually have only one resume, that’s very general, and that you
use for every job for which you apply. Many people continue to use a form of this resume, just
continuing to add more experiences, when they search for all future jobs. Today, however, this is not an
effective strategy and does not often yield positive results. Successful resumes, by comparison, are very
targeted, to each industry, career field, type of position, and company in which you are interested. By
tailoring your resume, you are able to tell a compelling story, to demonstrate your passion, and
emphasize the value you will add to the company – differentiating yourself from the competition, and
demonstrating your expertise as it relates to the needs of each industry or field. Effective resumes also
focus on your accomplishments and achievements supported by metrics, not just your general duties
and responsibilities. Remember that when you’re looking for a job, you’re trying to sell yourself to
prospective employers, and that your resume is your primary initial selling or marketing tool. We’re
going to discuss these elements in detail now.
Slide 6: First though, why is all this necessary? It’s important to make this extra effort with your resume
for the simple reason that the job market is extremely tight, and competition is fierce for every available
position. As an example, you can see that Google received 75,000 applications in one week. With this
many potential candidates, you must demonstrate your fit with the company, so they can picture you in
this job, at their company. Recruiters spend an average of only 6-15 seconds looking at each resume, so
you need to grab their attention right away, and make them want to learn more about you through an
interview.
Slide 7: Before you sit down and actually write your resume, it’s a good idea to do some self-
assessment, to determine who you are, where you want to go, what you have to offer potential
employers, and what sets you apart from the competition. It’s helpful to reflect on your career story;
where you’ve been and what you’ve done throughout your career. You may be just starting out, but
have co-op experience, or you may have a lot of experience, perhaps in only one area or maybe in
various industries or experiences. When you look at your whole career to date, think about common
threads that speak to your values and goals. All of this then becomes your personal brand or value
proposition – what you’ll be using to sell yourself to perspective employers, as companies use brands to
sell their products (think of Nike and Coke). Once you’ve determined your personal brand, this should be
reflected in all your marketing materials, including your resume, cover letters, and LinkedIn profile, to
give people a consistent message about what you have to offer.
Slide 8: Here are some questions to help you start thinking of the elements of your personal brand.
These all speak to the message you want to send potential employers about yourself and what you have
to offer. Take some time to really focus on each element, so that you become clear about yourself, and
this will help you develop the confidence to successfully market yourself.
Slide 9: In preparing your resume, it’s important to keep your overall goal in mind. Yes, you want a job,
but your immediate goal with your resume is to generate interest among perspective employers, and
open the door for interviews. To this end, your resume needs to be all about what you can do for the
employer – i.e. what value you will add, not what they can do for you. You need to understand each
employer’s needs, and use your resume to address those needs, making yourself a perfect match for the
position. You want the employer to immediately see you filling the position. So you’ll want to target
your resume to the specific industry, position you want, and company, so that you can match your
qualifications to that company’s particular needs. Determining the needs of your targeted industry and
companies takes research. Use all resources available, including the company website with posted job
descriptions, industry reports, professional associations, research sites like Hoovers and Glass Door,
LinkedIn, and the RIT library – library.rit.edu. You’re trying to know the industry, company environment,
products, and services, to be able to determine how you’ll fit in based on your skills and strengths.
LinkedIn is great for research; check the jobs tab, search your targeted companies, and check people
who are doing your targeted jobs, by using keywords.
Slide 10: From your research, you will determine where you want to fit in – both industry and niche
area of expertise. Learn what decision makers in that field are looking for when they’re vetting
candidates. Find out where those decision makers look for candidates and what key words will attract
them, and then you can position yourself in front of them to capture their attention. We’ll talk more
about distributing your resume later.
Slide 11: When you start actively applying for jobs, as one career expert put it, consider the job posting
the RFP – request for proposal, and your resume is the proposal. It should address the critically
important requirements of the job, using as much of the job posting’s language as possible. This
requires a careful analysis of each job posting, and ensuring that the same skills, terms and special
requirements are used within your resume. Again, you want the reader to immediately see you in this
position.
Slide 12: Once you have a good sense of your personal brand, you can translate it to your resume.
These are the standard categories or areas that your resume should include to best highlight your
qualifications. We’ll go through each section in detail.
Slide 13: Contact information should be at the top of your resume, or where it can easily be found.
Make sure it’s kept current, with an email address and phone number where you can be reached. You
don’t need multiple numbers and emails; one of each will suffice. You may want to use your RIT email –
you can get an alumni email address through the Alumni Relations office, as companies will readily
recognize and accept educational emails. The phone number you list should have a professional voice
message associated with it. These days, it’s optional to list a street address, as companies correspond
primarily through email or phone. Though as we’ll see later on, you may want to consider adding at
least your zip code, for Applicant Tracking System purposes. If you post your resume online, you should
consider not including your address, for security reasons. If you have a website to highlight your
projects, add the link to your resume, and also add your LinkedIn URL, so prospective employers can see
more of you on your LinkedIn profile, as well as other social media links including Twitter, and GitHub
for the computing folks, and a link to your online portfolio. But include only the social media links that
you’ve made public and in which you’re an active user. Find out what is best for your field or industry
and be sure to use it.
Slide 14: Your profile, also called summary of qualifications, or professional highlights, is a great way to
start your resume, by providing a concise summary of what you have to offer right at the top. It allows
you to match your qualifications to the employer’s expectations, demonstrate your fit for the field,
company, and position, and make the employer want to read the rest of your resume. In constructing
your profile, be sure to include your personal brand message – your value proposition, strengths, and
assets – as well as the position you’re targeting, so that you don’t have to include an objective as well.
Use keywords – and put them into context - and powerful statements to demonstrate your skills and
qualifications relevant to the industry, company, and position. Avoid fluff, or overly common
statements that can apply to everyone and don’t show proof of your accomplishments. Remember, you
want to show what you can do for the company and what you bring to the company that makes you
stand out.
Slide 15: Key accomplishments or career highlights can be incorporated into your overall summary, or
some people prefer to list them separately after the summary. Be sure these are keyword rich, so that
they’re picked up by systems searching for those words, and use the top skills for each job, remember
you want to show your value. Add quantifiable facts where possible, to show your value in actual
figures. Don’t use generic phrases like team-player or results-oriented; you’re trying to differentiate
yourself, not go along with the crowd. Here are some examples.
Slide 16: In terms of actually developing your summary, you’re going to go back to all the self
assessment you did in putting together your brand. What is the core message, the overarching identifier
that you want to get across? Start with a strong opening line that describes who you are, what you do
and your level of expertise. This can actually include job titles that you’re targeting. Add your
competencies and strengths that are important to your success in the job or field, and include your
relevant transferable skills. Use high profile company or client names to get attention. You can also list
phrases that describe your demonstrated past success. Think of your summary as a table of contents
that puts the rest of your resume into context.
Slide 17: Here are some examples of summaries and profiles. You can see what a strong, confident
introduction they are for a resume. They would make prospective employers want to learn more about
these candidates.
Slide 18: Here are some more for different fields.
Slide 19: And some additional ones. This can be a difficult process, but if you take the time to develop a
concise, comprehensive summary, people will take notice.
Slide 20: Skills should be near the top of your resume, and easy to find and identify. Employers often
look first at your skills category, to see if you meet the basic requirements of the job, then move on to
see how you demonstrate these skills. Be sure to list all your core competencies and skills, separated
into sub categories to again make them easy to find. Include all technical skills related to your industry,
using relevant key words. If you have different resumes for different fields or industries, put the most
relevant skills first for each. These should be based on your research, and your self-assessment.
Slide 21: You also want to list non-technical skills, especially those that will transfer well into any
industry. Communication and teamwork are examples, but remember to dig deeper and be specific.
Definitely include skills that demonstrate leadership and management abilities. You may not match a
particular position 100%, but if you have supplemental, transferable skills that are attractive to a
company, you may still be considered for the job.
Side 22: In fact, according to Monster.com, these are the top 10 skills that will be in demand for 2020.
Put examples of how you’ve developed and used them on your resume.
Slide 23: The experience section is where you demonstrate how you’ve used your skills successfully in a
professional setting. A common mistake people make is to just list their every day responsibilities in
their experience section, which turns it into more of a job description, and takes the emphasis off you.
You want to use this section to highlight your accomplishments, and show what you’ve achieved at your
past experiences. Past success is a good predictor of future success, which is why you want to focus on
outcomes rather than daily duties. You’re putting your skills into perspective for perspective employers;
supporting what you’ve listed in your skills section with examples. Also use strong action verbs, instead
of passive words like “responsible for.” Be sure to keep a consistent theme, and tie in your experience
with your summary; everything should be focused on your targeted position. A good way to highlight
your accomplishments is to use the CAR method, or the SMART method, and we’ll now discuss these in
more detail.
Slide 24: Here’s some additional information on accomplishments. Accomplishments are the results
you got from your efforts; things you did that had a lasting impact for your company, and also for your
school, community organization, etc. When you develop the experience section of your resume, you
want to focus on those achievements and accomplishments that had a lasting impact, instead of what
you did on a day to day basis. You also want to emphasize strategic thinking, or how your
accomplishments tied in to the strategic plan of the company as a whole. Here’s an example that
demonstrates the difference.
Slide 25: Do some brainstorming using the ideas listed here, to make a list of your accomplishments.
Refocus your thinking from what you did, to what you achieved.
Slide 26: Once you’ve got your list of accomplishments, you’ll need to put them into context for your
reader. A good way to do this is to use the CAR (or SMART) method. For each accomplishment, you’ll
want to describe the challenge, problem or situation that you faced, detail the actions you took to solve
the problem or overcome the challenge, then finish with your results. When possible, quantify your
results using specific metrics, but even if you can’t, be specific about the outcome. If you were
successful, or had an accomplishment, you had to have results which you can describe. Always use
action verbs, and the more powerful, the better. Use active, not passive language – passive would be
responsible for.
Slide 27: Here are some examples that demonstrate the CAR process. In the development phase of
putting your resume together, create as many CAR statements as possible; you can then choose the
most applicable ones for your resume, or use different ones in resumes targeted to different industries
or companies. You may also be able to use expanded CAR statements during interviews. Remember
you’re telling compelling stories to market yourself.
Slide 28: The final step in putting together your accomplishment statements, or CARs, is to turn them
into bullet points for your resume. Essentially, you’re pulling together what you did, how or why you did
it, and what the results were. Once you do this, you can drop your accomplishment statements into the
experience section of your resume. For each position you’ve held, structure your description from the
greatest to the least impactful accomplishment. You want to frontload and highlight your best
achievements first, and be sure they’re supported by metrics. This establishes you as a results-driven
leader.
Slide 29: Some other suggestions for the experience section of your resume. Something relatively new
is to add testimonials to give weight to your accomplishments. You may want to consider adding 2 or 3
short quotes from an old boss, former professor, or other professionals in your field. This may make you
a more desirable candidate, especially if you’re changing careers. Remember that jargon and acronyms
vary widely by company and industry, so don’t assume that everyone will understand what you write.
It’s better to state your accomplishments very clearly so that an outsider will fully grasp your
qualifications.
Slide 30: It’s important to include all relevant education and professional training in your resume. List
all colleges from which you received degrees, listing the college name, location, type of degree and
major. Depending on how long you’ve been out of school, you can add details such as GPA, minors or
concentrations, and a few particularly relevant courses. The longer you’ve been out, the shorter your
descriptions should be, as experience becomes more important than education to emphasize. Also add
any professional training you’ve received since graduating from college, relevant to your field or
position, including certifications, professional development courses, and courses that show you’re
staying current in your field, as well as leadership training. Once you graduate from college, the
education section moves to the bottom of the resume, after your skills and experience.
Slide 31: These sections are your opportunity to differentiate you from the competition, show what
makes you uniquely qualified, and demonstrate your well-roundedness. Things you may want to include
are involvement in professional associations, which demonstrates your commitment to your field, and
any consistent volunteer work or community involvement, which allows you to further demonstrate
leadership and teamwork skills. If you have space, you can include hobbies and travel experiences,
always keeping in mind relevance to your industry, demonstration of your transferrable skills, and a
possible connection to your prospective employers. Other extras you may want to include are
presentations you’ve given, articles and papers you’ve had published, and links to samples of your work.
Slide 32: References are listed on a separate page, not directly on your resume. Sometimes you can use
the line “References available upon request,” but that’s not necessary; it’s understood that if you’re
asked for references, you’ll provide them. Usually you’ll be asked for references during the interview
process, though some companies may ask you to provide them with your application. A quick word on
references. You’ll want to secure at least 3-5 references; some people recommend up to 10, so that
you can choose the most appropriate for each job you apply to. They should be a mix of supervisors
(past or current), and co-workers, and maybe faculty, if you’re a recent graduate. Be sure you always
check first, to make sure people are willing to provide a positive reference for you – if you don’t ask, you
may find people have a different opinion of you than you thought, and may give negative information to
employers. In fact, it’s good to ask references what they would tell a prospective employer about you so
that you’ll know in advance. Manage your references by keeping them up to date on your skills and
accomplishments, letting them know what jobs you’re applying to and that they may get contacted by
employers, and grooming them to determine exactly what they’ll say about you to each employer.
People have lost jobs through negative references, so keep control of this important aspect to your
search.
Slide 33: In terms of formatting, you have a choice of doing a reverse chronological or functional
resume. Most experts recommend a reverse chronological format, which demonstrates recent
application of relevant skills; in other words, you can answer the question “What have you done for me
lately?”. If you are changing careers, and going in a totally new direction, you may opt to use a
functional resume, in which you focus more directly on your skills, especially in how they will transfer
into any field. The majority of recruiters only scan about the first third to half of the first page of your
resume – remember 6 seconds. So keep the most important information – that which specifically targets
the industry and position you’re seeking – on the top third to half of the first page, to grab an
employer’s attention, demonstrate that you have the basic qualities they’re looking for, and make them
want to read more. You’ll want to put your education category towards the end of your resume; the
longer you’re out of school, the less it’s emphasized, and the more emphasis is placed on your
experience. If you’ve been out of school for a long while, you can remove the dates, and just note the
fact that you have the degree. Again, make sure you have the appropriate and current contact
information, and a professional email. Lead with your profile, skills, and experience, and save the other
categories for further down the resume. Put your references on a separate page, not in the resume
itself. You may want to save your resume as a PDF, which saves the format as you’ve designed it, while
different people may have different forms of Word, and you may lose some formatting. Keep in mind,
though, that some Applicant Tracking Systems may not be able to read PDFs.
Slide 34: In general, one or two pages are acceptable for a resume; if you have the material to support
two pages, you should use two pages. It’s the quality of your experience that determines the length.
You want to include all important relevant information that will highlight your qualifications and set you
apart from the competition. You do not want to use more than two pages, however, as your resume is
meant to be a concise summary of your skills and qualifications. If you do use two pages, never print
them back to back, always use separate pages and staple together, with your name and page 2 at the
top of the second page. Again, with employers spending such a short amount of time reviewing a
resume, some don’t even look at a second page, so be sure you have your most important information
on the first page.
Slide 35: Here are some quick tips about layout and appearance of your resume. We recommend using
bullets in your categories, instead of paragraphs of information, as they make it easy to pick out the
keywords quickly, and skim the resume for relevant information. Use a standard font – Times New
Roman and Ariel are widely used – and don’t use a size smaller than 10 point, for easy reading. If you
use a less common font, some employers may not have access to that font and your resume may
become unreadable. Remember that your resume is a concise summary of your skills and
accomplishments, so keep your information to the point, focusing on your achievements, and save your
longer stories for the cover letter and interviews. Don’t ever lie or exaggerate on your resume – you will
get found out! It’s much better to honestly represent yourself, and connect with the companies that
genuinely want your experience and expertise, than to begin a relationship under false pretenses. Keep
your resume organized and attractive; make sure all your margins and tabs line up, and that it’s
generally easy to read and looks professional and well put together. You want it to be visually
stimulating, and easily scannable to the human eye. Some people are experimenting with adding visual
elements to their resume, including company and college logos, charts, or industry icons. These have
mixed reviews from employers, but check the standards for your particular field. The important thing to
remember is that you don’t want to distract from your information; it’s more important to emphasize
your accomplishments than the company for whom you worked.
Slide 36: Here are some recent trends we’ve seen. An infographic is a visual element that takes
information and turns it into interactive content that is visually compelling. People are using infographic
resumes to demonstrate your knowledge of current trends, and present your experience, interests and
achievements in a unique way. Because presentation is everything with an infographic resume, you may
want to use an online tool like Piktochart or Canva to help you create a resume that will attract the best
employers.
Slide 37: An infographic resume is a great way to highlight your skills and accomplishments in a new and
exciting way, but as with any resume, the information is the most important part. In fact, since you’re
minimizing the heavy informational text, it’s essential that what you include is relevant to your targeted
position, and clearly sells your qualifications. Start with a catchy headline to gain attention while also
spelling out important information on your expertise and skills. Prioritize to add your relevant
information, and include visual elements like company logos, and statistics to display your skills, through
charts and bar graphs. A timeline is a great way to showcase your employment history, including
important milestones and promotions. Testimonial quotes from former employers are a nice touch. Be
creative and add your personality to set yourself apart from the competition, but be sure to proofread
and get feedback before you use it, to ensure it’s the best representation of your qualifications.
Slide 38: Other trends may also depend on your targeted industry or field. For the computing industry,
employers like to see code samples, and GitHub is a good vehicle for this purpose. Other candidates are
taking advantage of multimedia options, including their own blogs and personal websites to highlight
their qualifications, and even doing video resumes. If you do this be sure you exude confidence. Of
course online portfolios with embedded samples of your work are a good option for many creative
fields. Two that are available through RIT are Portfolium and Behance. You can find more information
on these on our website.
Slide 39: Another type of resume being used today is a shorter version of a traditional resume, called a
networking resume. This is more of a sound bite, which focuses on your success stories and
accomplishments, while keeping your brand message. Your education, work history and leadership are
included, but minimized. This is a one-page resume meant for networking events and situations,
informational interviews, or other person to person contacts you may make, while saving your complete
resume for applying to positions, contacting hiring manager, and interviews.
Slide 40: Once you’ve put your resume together, make sure to get it reviewed and critiqued, by several
people. Our office can certainly review your resume; you can come in or email your career advisor and
they’ll give you feedback from their experiences with employers in your industry. You should also try to
have your resume reviewed by people within your industry, to make sure you have the relevant and
current key words and terminology. You can check targeted jobs to see what keywords are appropriate,
as well as people in your field. LinkedIn is a great tool for this purpose, as people load their profiles with
keywords and targeted information for their field. Many companies scan resumes and do key word
searches for candidates, so you’ll want to match as many key words as possible. There are now Internet
tools to help you do a key word match, including Wordle. This program allows you to put job
descriptions into the tool, and do the same with your resume, and compare the results. You’ll be able to
see how closely your resume matches with the job descriptions in terms of key words, and see how you
might be able to increase your chances of being contacted by recruiters seeking a good match!
Slide 41: When your resume is as strong as possible, make sure you distribute it through every means
possible. Add it to your LinkedIn profile, and to other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. If
you have your own website, add your resume there as well. There are headhunters, or recruiting
agencies, for every industry; you can find them through LinkedIn or by doing a Google search. Make
sure you give your resume to your recruiter, and be aware that they might ask you to make changes to
meet their specifications. It also doesn’t hurt to give your resume to your circle of networking contacts
– all your family, friends, professional and social contacts should be aware that you’re job hunting, and
have your resume in case they meet with someone in their own networking circles that can help you, or
for whom you’d be a good match. Bring your resume, in some format, to all networking programs and
events you go to; again, you never know when you’re going to meet someone who may have a potential
job or networking lead. Be creative in your means of distribution; a personal business card highlighting
your skills and accomplishments might be more appropriate than a paper resume in some situations.
You may also choose to experiment with alternate media formats; a resume on CD may appeal to
potential employers, or a video resume or multimedia resume on VisualCV.com may grab attention and
differentiate you from the competition. If you do choose to do a video resume, make sure it highlights
and promotes you, and doesn’t show you in a negative light.
Slide 42: It’s hard to deny that age and experience play a factor in the job search. Recruiters and hiring
managers may have personal biases which are certainly frustrating, but are hard to fight. The best thing
you can do is to focus on making your resume a perfect match for the jobs to which you apply, and by
using your resume to try and overcome any potential objections recruiters may initially have. For recent
graduates or young professionals, you want to emphasize all your accomplishments, using the formula
we outlined earlier. Use powerful achievement statements, supported by metrics, and this may be a
good area to add testimonials that support what you say. Indicate that you’ve continued to learn and
grow professionally since graduating, and also emphasize any opportunities you’ve had to demonstrate
leadership experience. Find a mentor in your field who can suggest options for professional growth and
development and guide you with career advice that will help you get jobs and advance in your field.
Slide 43: On the other end, experienced job seekers are often frustrated by real or perceived age bias as
well. Here are a few tips for experienced seekers. If you’re a seasoned professional with a record of
success, it’s up to you to help prospective employers focus less on your age and more on your talents
and capabilities. In all of your marketing materials and interviews, it’s essential to emphasize your
accomplishments and strengths, as they relate to each particular company. You may want to list only the
most recent 15-20 years’ experience, again keeping relevance in mind. Another way not to draw
attention to age is to substitute words like “extensive” and “significant” for numbers, i.e. Significant
experience instead of 15 years experience. You can remove your graduate dates from your education
section, keeping only the college name and degree received; do keep education on your resume,
however, as many jobs require a college degree. Show that you’re current by having appropriate key
words for your industry and updating your technical skills and certifications or courses, and by adding
your social media links like your LinkedIn account.
Slide 44: Again, always emphasize your relevant accomplishments and achievements; you have a
proven record of success, which sets you apart from recent college graduates – use this to really sell
yourself! Don’t be tempted to lie or omit key data, as this deception will always be found out in the end;
be honest and focus on your strengths and accomplishments. If you do use a functional format, be sure
that your accomplishments are highlighted throughout. If you have employment gaps, a good technique
may be to use a hybrid chronological/functional format, in which you include highlights and core values
from your experiences, as you would in a functional resume, but include your key accomplishments and
more details on your work history as you would in a chronological resume. Here is a website with good
samples of experienced level resumes for many industries and types of positions. There are also
samples of experienced alumni resumes on our website; the link is on the alumni career services page.
Slide 45: Where you can, provide examples that emphasize these valuable qualities found in
experienced workers. Again, you need to be clear on your career goals, and your value proposition or
brand – what you have to offer. When you research companies, do so with an eye to determining
where you can best use your qualifications to help them solve a problem or meet a need – where, how
and why you fit with and are the best candidate for the company.
Keep these things in mind when selling yourself to a recruiter. Emphasize your skills – not just the ones
that directly relate to the job, but also the transferable skills you’ve gotten from previous jobs and life
experiences; communication, leadership and teamwork skills are always valued. Emphasize all your
experiences; for example, a leadership role in a volunteer organization is valuable also. Be open to new
opportunities instead of narrowly focused on a specific job, company or industry; you may be able to
use your skills in a new setting that may be very satisfying to you. If you’re more experienced, keep a
positive attitude and emphasize the qualities you have that will be valued by an employer; you have a
history of dedication, commitment and maturity that a new graduate does not have. Combined with
flexibility and openness to new situations, this makes you a valuable candidate, and if you believe it, you
can convince prospective employers also!
Slide 46: I’d like to talk a little about preparing your resume to be compatible with applicant tracking
systems. Many companies use these automated systems now to screen candidates. Here are some tips
to help you successfully navigate these systems. First, don’t combine words or phrases with a slash,
unless you put a space between it. For example, don’t say financial ‘slash’ business analyst, as the
systems won’t recognize a slash within a word. Next, it’s recommended that you put a company name
with each job title, even if it’s multiple jobs within the same company. Some ATSs will also look at your
location to see if you’re in a commutable distance to the company, so including your zip code is
recommended. Recognize that ATSs look for a pattern to read information, so put the company name,
title and dates for a job in that order; don’t add information about the company in between, as it may
confuse the system. Use a current form of email, gmail instead of AOL, for example, to avoid dating
yourself. Put titles to all categories, including your Profile Summary, as these words tell the system what
section follows; otherwise the system may skip the entire section. Speaking of your summary,
algorithms favor the top of a resume, so be sure to put a targeted job title, which should match the title
from the job you want. Use the same keywords that are in the job description so the system shows you
as a match. Put your keywords in bold, and there should be about 25 throughout your resume. By
having keywords in the top third of your resume, you increase your chances of attracting employers’
interest. Your entries should describe hard skills that focus on measurable performance, for example
“innovated a successful profit strategy” instead of “motivated a team”. We mentioned this before, but
it’s better to put “extensive” or “20+ years” experience instead of a specific number if it’s significant.
And don’t hide experience with a well-known company, as this is an attraction for potential employers.
Slide 47: That’s the information I have. Are there any questions? If you have further questions, or
would like your resume reviewed by a member of our staff, please contact our office through our
website, or call 585.475.2301. My information is here as well, and I’m happy to connect you with your
advisor or answer any specific questions; feel free to email me.
