The easiest way to fix your resume

Do you have a good resume?

Do you even know if you have a good resume?

Does anyone know?

Why is it that you can ask 20 people for advice on your resume and get 20 different pieces of advice?

How is that possible?!

I’m going to simplify it for you.

The #1 issue I see with most resumes is that the bullet points within the content are task-oriented instead of impact-oriented.

Think about it.

How is a company supposed to ever select “better” candidates for their job opening if all of the applicants say they have the same skills?

When you’re in an applicant pool for a role, many of the other applicants are going to have similar experiences and skills to you because the role requires it. Many will have similar backgrounds and come from similar roles to you.

If your resume does nothing but highlight your common duties or your “day-to-day,” how is the company going to know that you are better at what you do than those other people? How are they going to know that you are more valuable and would achieve better results?

They won’t.

And that’s the problem with a resume that merely highlights your job tasks. There is no impact or value being shown. You will look the exact same as anyone else you are competing with.

So, how do you generate more impactful bullets?

An obvious answer, and one you may have heard before, is to quantify as much as you can.

But I’m going to make it even easier for you.

When you write bullet points for your resume, make sure each bullet point answers two questions:

HOW & WHY

How: The “how” question relates to how you accomplished something (i.e. what was the process?).

We want to address some of these areas:

• What was the process you developed or followed?

• What tools did you use?

• Who did you lead or collaborate with?

• What strategies did you come up with?

• What problems did you resolve?

The how part of your bullet will allow you to showcase your skills that are relevant to the role(s) you want.

Why: The “why” questions relates to why the work you did was significant or important.

We want to address some of these areas:

• Why was this project/work/outcome significant?

• Why did the company/team/customer benefit from this?

• Why was it important?

• Why did it contribute to business objectives?

If you can quantify your “why” (i.e. saved the company X dollars), even better.

As long as you’re answering both of these questions with your bullet points, your resume will automatically demonstrate your skills and impact in a much better way.

This will help you convert a dry, task-driven resume into one that actually helps you stand out.

If you need more guidance on optimizing your resume, I offer two support options:

1. A “done for you” option where I will handle the editing and writing of your new resume.

2. A “do it yourself” option where I lay out a step-by-step guide for improving your resume’s content.

If you feel utterly stuck and your job search requires much more than just a new resume, let’s talk.