21st century resume format
Is it because jobseekers are lazy as some politicians claim? Is it because there are no jobs in their communities? Or is it simply due to the automation of the hiring practice by the employers? My goal is not to place blame but rather prevent this from destroying families. In my opinion, our government should have gone out of their way to ensure hardworking Americans had the job training programs necessary to ensure a successful career transition. What can be done to protect you and your family from this in the future?
7 Quick Fixes to Give your Resume a 21st Century Refresh
By Lawrence Peterson. Resume writing strategies and examples for increasing employer response written by Psychologist. Examples include how to eliminate reader bias. Instruction is also given as to how to generate an effective summary of qualifications and cover letter from work experience.
Traditional resumes are starboard lights on a ship; they only illuminate the past. An effective document is forward looking. It includes not merely what you have done, but what you can do. Effective resumes illuminate the future. Once a career designation is chosen this new format can be built and trimmed like a well-directed ship to achieve its destination.
The more closely your background and qualifications compare to the needs of the organization, the greater the frequency of offers. No matter how worthy your preferences, companies are motivated to fulfill their own needs. I call this process self-interest psychology. Dale Carnegie build an institution on this approach when he said we can make more friends by being interested in others companies than by being interested in ourselves.
Effective resumes are the indispensable ingredient to offers and career success for the following reasons:. Today's sophisticated wage earner has a low tolerance for being underutilized, particularly when peers are regularly changing jobs and receiving more money.
Corporate mergers, acquisitions, divestures, staff reorganizations, downsizings, and corporate bankruptcies have decreased job security. There are now 7 billion people on the planet competing for attention. The need to stand out mandates the adoption of a specialized marketing device to obtain interviews. Positions traditionally requiring applications are now insisting on resumes to prescreen applicants and minimize wasted interview time.
We do judge a book by its cover. An organized, professionally written resume produces a greater number of interviews. This means more job opportunities in less time and at less expense. A psychiatrist once asked a patient how many telephone poles it took to reach the moon.
The savvy patient responded it took only one pole if it were long enough. It takes only one good resume to land a rewarding position if properly written, directed and backed by an effective interview. Personnel Departments encourage resumes formatted like applications because fill-in-the-box formats are easy to screen and file. Traditional resumes follow the Procrustes Syndrome named after the legendary robber who captured travelers and confined them to his bed of iron.
Tall travelers longer than the bed had their limbs lopped off; short travelers were stretched to fit. Just as the bed served as the standard for Procrustes, resumes have remained the standard for millions of job seekers who volunteer to be underutilized because they have not adopted a better approach. Inside this handbook the reader will find the raw materials to create resumes for virtually every imaginable occupational area, from entry level to six figure incomes.
We live in an information society and the mail is still considered the least expensive means for communicating to companies we are looking for work. The single greatest shortcoming of resumes today is their conservative, autobiographical portrayal of prior work experience. Autobiographical formats resembling applications are simple to create and read, but are also the easiest to reject because they fail to motivate employers to grant interviews.
The average job seeker mails out hundreds of old-style resumes in attempting to persuade a few decision makers to respond. Since resumes are the first step to securing an interview and rewarding offer, creating an effective resume is the most important project you will ever undertake.
Resumes are intended to accomplish two goals. First, resumes create an initial impression. Second, resumes serve to open doors to increased opportunity. Once an impression is created, it is difficult to change.
This can be a tremendous service or disservice to the job candidate. A small group of psychologists once decided to investigate the significance of initial impressions in the mental health field by acting out a series of mental disturbances to gain admittance to mental hospitals. After being diagnosed by attending psychiatrists, the psychologists stopped pretending and began acting normally.
As predicted, no matter how normal their subsequent behavior, their actions were always perceived within the context of the original diagnosis. In short, they were still perceived as mentally disturbed. This experiment clearly demonstrates the power of first impressions and why many resumes fall flat. Fortunately, positive impressions are also difficult to change in what is called the halo effect. This handbook is written to help job candidates create resumes encouraging employers to exaggerate your strengths and thereby grant you interviews.
The first step in facilitating favorable employer response is to change the way you look at resumes. Perhaps because resumes are not perceived as strategic marketing documents! Since the average employee changes jobs every 2. Forget thinking of a resume as an application for work. Resumes are brochures that represent potential services for companies.
You are initiating a direct marketing campaign whenever you mail your resume to companies and successful marketing companies have invested millions of dollars in determining the most efficient means for ensuring consumer response.
Why not apply their hard earned wisdom to your job search? Consumers are influenced by benefits because benefits represent the opportunity to gratify basic consumer needs. Traditional resumes make the mistake of listing features instead of benefits. In essence, traditional resumes document what you have done in hopes the employer will associate similar benefits for their firm. What if opportunities exist that are dissimilar to your existing background?
In contrast to traditional resumes, strategic marketing documents offer organizational benefits representing opportunities for gratifying employer needs. Want more response from your resume?
Design it around basic employer needs. One method marketing companies use for identifying consumer needs is through the science of demographics compiling statistics on marriages, births and salary ranges, because purchasing preferences can be derived from mining data. Whenever you purchase a product from the local supermarket statistics are being compiled from electronic cash registers and subsequently sold to marketing companies.
What you purchase is useful in determining what new products to introduce as well as what kinds of marketing campaigns work best in your area. When job candidates use this approach, hiring decisions can be inferred from data concerning the size of companies, level of sales, number of employees, product or service, location, whether in a growth cycle or a downsizing trend, potentially new technology and more.
For example, if you are mailing your resume to a small company, you would want to show your diverse ability to multi-task and wear several hats in your summary of qualifications.
An important question all marketing organizations ask is, Who is the target audience? Similarly, job candidates need to ask, Who can best advantage from my services? It is critical to understand companies are motivated to fulfill organizational needs, not applicant preferences. Selling benefits to companies involves the principle of self-interest. Avoid placing emphasis on your past when writing your resume. Include provisions for what you intend to do for a company and watch how quickly they respond with interest.
Every detail of your resume represents an opportunity to unconsciously influence your reader. The popular adage, You never get a second chance to make a first impression, is particularly applicable to your name, address and phone number which communicate more information than you realize. Research has shown first names can influence school grades, corporate promotions and salaries regardless of personal effort or intelligence.
Use formal names instead of nicknames or juniors, which promote stereotypical responses. For example, Micki is too familiar. Consider using Michele on your resume. If you dislike your first name, use an initial and your middle name i. Robert Williams instead of Fred Robert Williams. Using junior i. Bigelow, Jr. You can leave junior off of your resume while still including it on legal documents. Remember, resumes are brochures, not applications. The use of credentials differs with the kind of position you are going for.
Credentials are generally placed under education instead of after your name unless the job calls for them. For example, Jack R. Hennin C. Jack R. Hennin M. The M. If seeking a job, consider placing the M. Your address can also bias readers. A house number has more prestige than an apartment number suggesting you do not possess adequate finances to purchase your own home.
The unconscious belief you lack investment power can unconsciously convince employers you will work for less. If you must use an apartment number try, D which could imply you might own a condominium instead of Apt. D, which shows you rent. Avoid Post Office Boxes. Although email addresses are becoming commonplace, they can also appear informal.
Federal resumes typically run two to five pages! Not applying to work in the federal government? Then one page should be just right. Many people think it's. As retained executive recruiters, we see thousands of high-level resumes each year in our search for exceptional people. These resumes vary in length, format.
By Lawrence Peterson. Resume writing strategies and examples for increasing employer response written by Psychologist. Examples include how to eliminate reader bias. Instruction is also given as to how to generate an effective summary of qualifications and cover letter from work experience. Traditional resumes are starboard lights on a ship; they only illuminate the past.
Resumes will never go away. They serve multiple purposes.
Yet, making yours stand out in a stack of others is essential if you want to gain the attention of a potential employer. Great resumes tell a story without giving away all the information an organization needs to make their final decision. Resumes like this pique the curiosity of interviewers demanding that they give you a call to come into their office to tell them more about who you are.
Resume Factory: Writing Resumes for the 21st Century
One Page: Reserved for workforce newbies and those in the same role for most of their career. This revised version will be considerably shorter in length. The human eye can easily digest text chunked together in print. On a screen not so much. A skim reader who comes across a heavy block of text is apt to skip it altogether.
Resume Tips for the 21st Century
Pick a resume template below that represents your skills and work experience the best. Our ATS-friendly resume templates are developed together with recruiters and employers, so you are sure you are putting your best foot forward when applying for a job position. Functional resume template for all industries that will emphasize your strengths and work experience. It can be hard to stand out from the crowd, but this modern resume sample will take care of this. Simple resume layout for conservative industries, which is a minimalistic upgrade from the traditional resumes. Land your dream job in the creative industries by using this creative resume template which will make your application stand out. Easily personalize this basic resume layout that can be completed in under ten minutes through our intuitive process. A professional resume sample that has been approved by various recruiters and helped numerous people get their dream job. An updated and contemporary version of the 21st-century college resume template, being an alternative to the old styles. An executive resume sample with a contemporary approach and eye-catching design that will make sure your application will be spotted first.
So what does that mean to a person open to new opportunities?
What points are necessary for a resume? You definitely need to make sure your content stand out! Pro tip: convert your resume into a PDF before sending.
Recruitment and Selection
Such a document may have run anywhere from two to five pages and was sent in the physical mail or perhaps as an attachment to an email for an agency or recruiter to read and shortlist the best candidates for a face-to-face interview. So what has changed in the modern day? This is why the sections provide greater depth in sections on a progressive basis and only provide minor details like name, qualifications and job roles held when a recruiter has probably already decided that this may be a person worth talking to. Jon Warner is a prolific author, management consultant and executive coach with over 25 years experience. Jon can be reached at OptimalJon gmail. View all posts by Dr. Jon Warner is an executive coach and management consultant and in the past has been a CEO in three very different companies. Read more. ReadyToManage is your one-stop shop for world class employee and personal development resources. Our mission is to assist individuals and companies in developing management, leadership, and business skills in themselves and their employees through effective and affordable development materials and courses. Recruitment and Selection.
