Your resume is more than a list of accomplishments – it grabs attention from the right employer and seeks engagement from the hiring manager. When reading your resume, you want a hiring manager to think, “I need this person working for my company.”
For this reason, you should approach resume building as storytelling, showcasing your unique experiences and outlining your profile. Instead of cliché bullet points and clipped phrases, answer direct hiring questions by telling stories that matter.
Here are some winning methods successful candidates have used in the past:
What story does your resume tell? Have you gone from rags to riches? Are you an ambitious graduate? Are you looking to make a significant change? Think about your past, present, and future career ambitions, and use this information in describing your career objective and past experiences.
By storytelling in your resume, you can develop a character that hiring managers will come to understand from beginning to end. Managers might even find out more about you that drives conversation during the interview.
Whether you organize your resume through bullet points or paragraphs, you need to clearly define your accomplishments. If an engaging story doesn’t portray an accomplishment, it doesn’t belong on your resume.
When listing your accomplishments, think about potential interview questions. Candidates are often asked to describe a time when they dealt with a difficult or angry customer, shared an idea that was implemented in the workplace, or went above and beyond at work.
Instead of waiting for the interview to start, answer these questions in your resume. These stories should be neat, concise, and straightforward. We suggest using less than 75 words.
Finally, consider sharing your accomplishment stories in reverse order, starting with your success and ending with the problem.
Your resume doesn’t have to speak for itself. Some professional resume writers suggest telling longer stories through added documentation, known as a “resume addendum” or “career biography.” This is entirely your choice. Remember, however, that a hiring manager may ignore additional documentation. The meat of your story should be located on the main page – your resume.
The beauty of storytelling is individuality. Your resume can be different from the competition in many, many ways.
At nTech Workforce, we understand the necessity of putting your resume in front of the right employer. Contact us today to learn how we can assist in your job search.