Participants: Eric Kelly (Host)
Series Code: WTD
Program Code: WTD000002A
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00:30 Hi there and welcome to "Working the Dream"
00:33 I'm your host Eric Kelly, 00:36 and today we're going to be examining the best way 00:40 to write an effective resume. 00:43 Now most of you are going to do this at least a 00:47 couple of times in your lifetime; in fact, there are 00:50 stats out that say we change jobs every 4 to 7 years. 00:54 Well, let's take a look at some hiring managers 00:59 and their ideas about resumes... 01:03 Yeah, I would say proper contact 01:05 information. Do you see mistakes on that? 01:07 I do, I see emails only with no phone number 01:10 and I would really like to pick up the phone and call the 01:15 applicant and have a discussion, so that would 01:19 also delay the process of an applicant 01:23 possibly getting hired. 01:24 I think that one of the things that we see are 01:27 the formatting problems in resumes and you want to make 01:30 sure that you have a really well-formatted, clean resume 01:34 for employers to look at because they're only going to 01:35 look at it for a few minutes, maybe even 30 seconds 01:38 they'll give each resume. 01:40 I think that that's probably the biggest issue we see. 01:42 One of my biggest pet peeves on a resume is 01:44 when they put it in comic sans. 01:46 So, it's something you see a lot, so avoid putting your 01:50 text into comic sans and that could help you out a lot. 01:54 Now think about it... Millions of resumes 01:57 going from one company to the next, from one resume 02:03 aggregator to the next... to the company 02:05 that you want to be hired in. 02:06 There is so much energy around resumes, 02:10 we want to make sure that you get it right. 02:13 Now let's check on our friend, Ron... 02:16 Ron is building his resume and he is educated, 02:20 he is gifted, he is enthusiastic... 02:22 He's looking forward to building a strong career, 02:26 but he is struggling on how he can get his prospective 02:30 employers to see how good he is actually going to be. 02:33 Why he is going to be an incredible asset 02:36 to their organization. 02:37 So, let's watch and see how he handles it. 02:44 Looking for someone who understands how to use the 02:47 Microsoft Office Suite - check. 02:49 I can do that. 02:51 They want someone who understands 02:53 business analytics - check. 02:56 I definitely got that. 02:58 They want someone that has a basic business 03:01 accounting skills, I'm great with numbers - check. 03:06 I definitely got that covered! 03:10 They're looking for someone who could do forecasting. 03:13 I've had two courses in business forecasting - check. 03:17 Wow, this is a pretty good job fit. 03:21 Most of the stuff they're looking for 03:23 I can do pretty well. 03:24 Now let me make sure that my resume shows them the 03:28 same thing. 03:29 I'm about to get paid. 03:32 I am about to get paid and pay some of these bills 03:36 that have been piling up. 03:37 Let me call The Prophet and make sure I'm on the right path. 03:43 Dialing and the phone is ringing... 03:52 Okay, now some of you out there may be contemplating 03:56 the best way to write a resume. 03:59 Now, you want to be sure that your prospective employer 04:03 knows about all the good things that you know and can do. 04:08 All the good things you've done! 04:10 Now while this is partially true, the true secret 04:14 to resume success is to match your resume to the specific 04:18 things that the employer is looking for. 04:22 Now today, we're going to show you how to write a resume 04:25 that gets the attention of the recruiter or the 04:27 prospective hiring manager in the companies 04:30 that you want to work for. 04:31 We're going to make sure that you can do it right. 04:36 Now, let me give you some insight into recruiting 04:38 and hiring managers. 04:40 They have an incredible task, it's daunting. 04:44 They've got to review hundreds, if not thousands of resumes 04:48 sometimes for one particular job. 04:51 Now here's the process, follow this... 04:55 resume, phone screen, interview. 04:58 Once again... Resume, to the phone screen, 05:03 to the interview. 05:06 So, these companies have thousands and thousands 05:09 of resumes coming in. 05:10 There's no way they can spend time interviewing 05:13 all those people. 05:14 So they look through the resumes to see if they're up to snuff 05:18 and then they have a phone screen, 05:20 then they talk to those hundreds of people on the phone screens, 05:24 and they narrow those down to actual job interviews, 05:29 fact-to-face interviews. 05:31 Now your job is to get a phone screen call and impress the 05:36 recruiter to give you a chance at an actual 05:40 face-to-face interview. 05:41 So here's how it's done... 05:43 Re-read the job posting, make sure there's an example 05:48 of each job requirement on your resume. 05:52 For instance... let's say on the job posting, they say, 05:56 "Must have 5 years accounting experience," 06:00 you need to be able to say, on your resume, 06:02 "I've had 5 years accounting experience." 06:07 If their job posting says, "Must be certified in Microsoft 06:11 Office," you need to be able to show, on your resume, 06:16 that you are certified in Microsoft Office. 06:20 Now Ron is going to work through building is resume. 06:23 He is also going to touch base with a mentor, a smart guy, 06:28 to give him a few tips. 06:30 Let's see what happens. 06:33 Phone is ringing... 06:36 Hello... The Prophet, is this you? 06:41 Brilliant deductive reasoning... 06:43 Sir, you called me, what can I help you with? 06:45 Well, I found this job that I think I would enjoy doing, 06:51 but I need help creating a resume for it. 06:54 How do I do that? 06:56 Ah sure, sure - first of all, you need to look at the 06:59 job description and look at what they say are the job 07:03 requirements and duties. 07:04 Ahhh, are these things you really want to do 07:07 and would enjoy doing every day? I think so. 07:11 Okay, well if we've got that, now you need to show that 07:14 you are everything they are looking for. 07:17 I want you to look at the job requirements again... 07:20 Can you give an example of you doing each one of these 07:24 in your resume? 07:26 I think I can. Okay. 07:29 Now it's time to write it. 07:31 When you write it, next to each accomplishment 07:34 write a business impact statement or 07:37 a "so-what statement." 07:39 It kind of goes like this... 07:40 Instead of saying, "Designed a software program 07:44 for accounting." That has no weight to it. 07:47 Say, "Designed a software program for accounting 07:50 that saved the company $400,000 annually." 07:55 So make sure that you write one of those types of 07:58 statements next to every one of your accomplishments 08:01 on your resume. 08:03 Got it Mr. Prophet, what else can I do? 08:05 You have spell check? Yes 08:07 Use it... there's nothing that will get your resume 08:12 moved to the "no pile" faster than bad spelling 08:16 and bad grammar. 08:18 Sadly resumes have been giving HR departments 08:23 and recruiters joy and entertainment 08:26 for a long time now. 08:28 Let's see... do you have anybody that can 08:31 proofread your resume? 08:33 I think so, yes. 08:36 Well if you do, make sure you choose someone who is a 08:38 professional, someone that might be able to even 08:41 act as coach or mentor later on. 08:43 Bribe them, give them lunch, event tickets, whatever. 08:46 But you want to make sure that a professional 08:49 in that area would think that your resume 08:52 projects a candidate that's worth interviewing, got that? 08:56 Got it Mr. Prophet, any other advice? 08:59 All right, I don't think so right now, my friend, 09:02 I believe that you can be well on your way after this. 09:05 Call me back when you get called in for the interview. 09:08 I have a feeling that you're going to be very successful. 09:11 This is "Prophet Motivational Hotline," thank you for calling. 09:19 Okay, are you ready for a couple of secrets? 09:22 I'm going to share with you how recruiters 09:25 sort resumes - here it goes... 09:28 They make three piles; the first pile is "Yes," 09:33 they read it, they like it, they want a little bit more 09:37 about this person that's applying. 09:39 The second pile is "Maybe." 09:42 Hmm, not quite sure, there are a couple of good 09:44 things - hmm, a couple of things not too sure about. 09:48 The third pile is "No." 09:50 Whatever they saw, uh uh, we don't want to talk to them. 09:53 Now, shorter is better, "War and Peace" is not 10:00 appreciated by recruiters. 10:02 If it's too long, they're going to put it down 10:05 and go to the next resume. 10:07 I'd submit one page or as close to one page as possible. 10:13 Now remember, they're sorting all the time and all the things 10:17 that they find that don't work, all the things that they think 10:21 tell them about you in the resume that they don't like, 10:25 they call them "knockout points," 10:27 and as they're sorting through,, it becomes a funnel 10:29 and they'll look at one and move on. 10:31 They don't spend time looking at a resume once they see 10:36 something that they hmm don't like. 10:38 Here's a couple of situations that recruiters 10:42 kind of.. they grimace at... 10:45 Email address: Partyman@gmail.com 10:51 I mean, what does that tell you about the person? 10:54 It doesn't mean they wouldn't be a good worker, 10:56 but if they didn't even take the time to change their 10:59 email address to something a bit more business-like, 11:03 I don't know - do I really want to hire Party Man 11:08 to come work in my accounting department, 11:10 How about this one... Divadiva@at&t.net 11:15 I'm sure she is a complete joy to work with. 11:19 Here's one... thequeen@att.net 11:24 Yeah, and on the resume it says "I work well with others," 11:27 "The Queen," really? 11:29 Bigdaddy@gmail - is this size or is this ego - no idea. 11:38 And recruiters are reading this and they're going... 11:40 "Uhh, maybe I'll put this on the "maybe pile" 11:43 or even the "no pile." 11:45 How about: Prettygirl@hotmail 11:48 I mean I'm looking for somebody to work in strategic planning. 11:52 I couldn't care less if she was pretty or not. 11:54 Prettygirl@hotmail - what is that actually saying about me? 11:57 Mr. Smooth - yeah, that's a good one. 12:02 I'm going to hire a Mr. Smooth at a job here. 12:05 Now even though those things may seem minute, 12:09 they may seem not really that important, 12:13 as recruiters and hiring managers read their resumes, 12:17 they basically are knockout points through things 12:20 that make them put them in the "no pile." 12:23 Do you really want your resume put into the "no pile?" 12:28 Here's one for you... "grammar" 12:32 I was working for one client, I came down the hall... 12:35 I think I was in a meeting and I heard in the boardroom 12:39 on that floor - I heard peals of laughter - they were howling, 12:44 and a good time at work is great 12:46 in any company that you work for... 12:49 So one of the folks that I did work for - she came out 12:53 and I said, "What are you guys doing in there? 12:55 You're having WAY too much fun at work!" 12:58 She said, "We were reviewing some resumes." 13:01 Well I knew they weren't the recruiting department... 13:04 I said, "Why are you reviewing the resumes?" 13:07 Well a couple of the recruiters had brought some resumes 13:11 to the meeting and were reading them. 13:13 Sadly, the resume that really sent them over edge 13:19 began with: "I looking for a company..." 13:24 Now I don't know if you know this, but people that 13:27 write resumes poorly have been providing humor for 13:31 human resources departments for many, many years. 13:36 "I looking for a company..." 13:39 What pile do you think the recruiter put that on? 13:43 Yeah, it probably wasn't the "Hey, we can't wait to 13:47 interview this person on the phone." 13:50 Another of the knockout points that keep resumes 13:54 from being accepted is job-hopping. 13:57 Now, you look and see this person - they worked here 14:02 8 months, they worked here 6 months, 14:06 they worked over here for a year and you start to look at 14:10 a 5-year employment history and notice that they've had 14:16 four jobs. 14:18 Now, does that mean absolutely that this person is 14:21 not a good worker? No, it does not. 14:24 However, the recruiter is looking at the job-hopping 14:29 and saying, "Hmm, if this person got here, 14:32 how long would they stay?" 14:34 Because remember - if they don't stay long in that job, 14:37 the recruiter has to do the same thing over again 14:40 in a few months. 14:41 So job-hopping does not suit well. 14:44 Now someone asked, "What is too much job-hopping?" 14:47 It varies by industry, but if you've been around 14:51 and you've seen, hmm, 3, 4, 5 years of experience, 14:55 and you're moving up - not too bad. 14:58 However, if I look down and see months or maybe only 15:01 1-1/2 years - that may go to the "maybe pile" despite 15:06 the rest of the qualifications being stellar. 15:10 The next issue that can be a knockout point are gaps 15:14 in employment. 15:15 It doesn't necessarily mean that this person isn't a good 15:19 employee - it simply means that, "Where were you 15:23 during this time?" 15:24 And, yes, many times we make up the worse case scenarios 15:28 in our mind, so be ready to explain that to a recruiter. 15:33 Where were you for the last 1-1/2 years? 15:36 Some of them are easily explainable... 15:37 "I went to make sure my kids were okay in elementary 15:40 school before I came back to work or I moved 15:43 to another country or there was military service. 15:45 There are so many reasons to explain that... 15:47 But be prepared to explain because recruiters 15:51 are definitely looking at the gaps in service. 15:55 Another factor that influences recruiters is "layout." 15:59 Now, bad layout versus good layout... 16:02 Bad layout is if I read your resume and I've got to 16:05 read through it to hop over to this to that - to kind of 16:08 figure out what it is you're good at. 16:10 First there's a good layout, now, a good layout 16:13 may be chronological. 16:15 You may say, "In 1995, I did this, in 2000, this happened, 16:21 in 2005, I worked here and you may show me 16:24 kind of on a timeline what you've done. 16:26 A lot of people that have been in the workplace 16:28 for many years use an achievement layout. 16:31 which pretty much says, "I have this skill and it was 16:34 manifested on this job and here's 16:36 where I was when that happened." 16:38 "I have this ability and it was manifested on this job 16:42 and here's what I did," because the list would be 16:44 rather long sometimes if they laid theirs out chronologically; 16:48 however, whatever layout you choose to use, 16:51 please make sure that it has a flow to it and it's easy 16:55 for the reader to follow you. 16:57 Now, the next area is where recruiters sometimes get 17:02 some humor, sadly at the expense of someone 17:06 applying for a job and that is dealing with past issues. 17:11 Sometimes on an application, they'll be an area that says, 17:14 "Why did you leave your last job?" 17:16 An interview will definitely ask you that. 17:19 "Why did you leave your last job?" 17:21 Okay, here's some that I've actually seen... 17:25 "I left my last job because my boss was an idiot, 17:29 just like the two bosses I had before him." 17:32 Now think about that a little bit. 17:34 "I left my last job because my boss was an idiot 17:39 like the two bosses before him." 17:41 Now, the recruiter is reading that and so far, 17:45 you've got a pretty good track record of thinking 17:47 your boss was an idiot. 17:49 I saw one the other day that was absolutely hilarious. 17:53 It said, "I left my last job to make room for the 17:56 vice president's girlfriend." 17:58 Now at that point, that person had gone over the edge 18:02 and no recruiter is going to touch that. 18:04 So when they're asking you why you left your last job, 18:07 it's better to say... "For more money." 18:10 It's better to say, "Because I wanted to grow and develop." 18:14 Any reason that's not negative. 18:17 Any negative phrase or words used to describe 18:22 why you left is going to cause the recruiter some pause. 18:26 Now, here's a tip... If your name is hard to 18:30 pronounce, use initials. 18:32 Someone said, "Eric, that's not fair," and I hope 18:35 that we took care of that in the first episode. 18:39 "Fair" is the word we're going to get rid of 18:41 because if your name is hard to pronounce, 18:43 or if it's one that the recruiter may not feel 18:46 familiar with, they could possibly take that 18:49 and put it on the "maybe pile" or even the "no pile." 18:52 So at any point that you think - maybe this could 18:56 cause a recruiter problem, simply use your initials. 18:59 Is it fair? Who cares. 19:01 We want to make sure that you get to the phone interview 19:04 and that's where it all pays off. 19:07 Whatever you write, painstakingly proofread it. 19:13 I mean, they've got spell-check, they've got all sorts of 19:18 apps and all sorts of software that will help you 19:22 make sure it follows the form, use it and also be totally 19:27 honest on your resume. 19:29 Now there's a reason for that... 19:32 You're going to get up in the morning, have your devotion, 19:34 ask God to bless you with the job that you're looking for, 19:38 and submit a resume... 19:40 Does God require you to be totally honest? Absolutely! 19:45 God is not going to bless a lie, and you don't have to lie 19:48 to get God's blessings. 19:50 So be 100% honest on your resume, never lie. 19:56 A couple of things happen here... 19:58 If you do lie on a resume and you're not honest, 20:02 once you get that job, if they can determine that 20:07 you were not truthful, they have the right to fire you 20:12 because you got the job under false pretenses. 20:15 Never ever say something on a resume that's not true. 20:19 You don't need to impress another human being 20:22 for God to bless you. 20:24 Now, if you know anyone that's a professional in the field 20:29 that you want to be in, get him to review it for you. 20:32 I mean, there's no way that you're going to know 20:35 absolutely everything that's needed to get into a 20:38 particular company without having some advice. 20:41 So, do your absolute best and once that's done, 20:45 then leave it up to God. 20:48 Let's listen to another hiring manager about what 20:52 is important on a resume to them... 20:55 I see a lot of resumes with people explaining what their 21:00 duties were at jobs. 21:02 I could care less - I don't care what you did 21:05 at your other jobs, but what I care about are 21:06 transferrable skills. 21:08 What did you learn? What are you bringing 21:11 to my company from your past experience. 21:15 I don't care where the experience came from. 21:16 It could have been paid, unpaid, volunteer, babysitting, 21:20 dog walking - I don't care. 21:22 What is the skill that you're bringing to me 21:24 rather than, "I made copies on a copier, I filled out this 21:28 report" - and doesn't really care. 21:30 Now we must always remember that while these are the 21:35 technical things we need to do for our resumes to be accepted 21:40 and looked at favorably, there's still one recruiter 21:44 that's above all recruiters. 21:46 There was a young lady that came up to me one time 21:49 in church and she said, Mr. Kelly, I'm having some 21:52 problems getting into the field" that she was getting into. 21:58 I read her resume - it was awesome! 22:01 She was bright, she was talented, she was gifted, 22:05 she had a graduate degree. 22:08 There was no reason, based on who she was as a 22:11 person, that she wouldn't be accepted in that industry. 22:15 Somebody, somewhere there should hire her. 22:18 However, as I read her resume, it was just kind of 22:23 hmm bland - I did this, I did that. 22:27 So the tip that I was impressed to share with her 22:30 is something I'll share with you... 22:32 It's called, "the so-what." 22:36 So on the resume she said, "I managed whatever, whatever 22:42 for this period of time," that is so bland to a recruiter. 22:49 The recruiter is thinking, "So what." 22:52 Now what we did was change her statements into 22:55 power statements. 22:57 The "so what" is the impact statement "I managed 23:00 this and this fund for so many dollars and here's the 23:04 "so what" - "that allowed our company to move from 23:08 third to second place in the industry." 23:10 WOW - does that get a recruiter's attention. 23:14 So every entry on her resume, I believe she had coordinated 23:19 something in one department and the impact, 23:22 when she shared it with me, was she had saved over 23:25 $11,000 in a year. 23:28 So we wrote it this way, "Coordinated the activities 23:31 in this department and saved the organization $11,000 annually." 23:37 Now think about a recruiter, think about a hiring manager... 23:42 and at the list of everything that you've done, 23:45 there is a "so what" statement and it's a business impact. 23:50 It almost doesn't matter what you've done, 23:52 the impact statement says, "I made the company money, 23:56 I saved money, I made the organization 23:59 work more efficiently." 24:00 So when we're writing a resume, don't just write 24:03 what you did - write the "so what" statement... 24:07 Because of this, here's what the company was able to achieve. 24:12 It was interesting, at the end of it, we chatted about it, 24:15 we prayed over it - she took the resume and left, 24:18 and I didn't see her for a few more weeks. 24:20 When she came back, she was smiling, 24:22 obviously I could figure from across the room, 24:24 she had gotten the job and she said, "They hired me, 24:27 they put me in a good position, I'm happy, I'm blessed!" 24:30 Well a couple of things had happened... 24:31 First of all, she had prepared herself for advancement. 24:37 She had prepared herself for success. 24:40 Her resume was there, she just needed a little 24:42 tweaking to get it where it needed to be. 24:45 I want to share a personal story with you... 24:48 I remember writing a resume and actually reading it 24:54 and saying, "There's no way they're going to hire me." 24:58 I mean, I had the basics down but I think I saw 25:01 some gaps - I saw some things that umm - this will be a 25:05 miracle if it gets through, but I really, really 25:09 wanted this job and, over time, I got a little discouraged... 25:14 But I remember opening up my Promise Book and reading, 25:19 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 25:22 Now I don't have the power to do all things by myself, 25:25 but the God that strengthens me does, 25:29 and interestingly enough, I sent the resume 25:32 in and I was as surprised as anybody that I got a call back. 25:36 But a manager called me and said, "Hey Eric, 25:39 we were reading your resume and we want you to 25:42 come in and talk," I'm like "really? 25:44 based on what I sent in?" "Absolutely" 25:47 But I didn't discount the power of my Higher Power 25:53 to get me to where I needed to be. 25:56 It was interesting, we sat down, we talked and got past the 26:00 resume process into the phone call process and into the 26:05 interview and then I realized something... 26:08 God wanted me to be where He was putting me. 26:12 So even if it's not perfect, give God the responsibility 26:17 and the weight of taking that resume and putting you 26:21 where you need to be... the power is His. 26:24 You do your absolute very best 26:27 and He will definitely cover the rest. 26:30 None of us can do this on our own. 26:32 So, let's recap... 26:34 You're going to follow the resume process so that 26:38 you can get the phone call, so that you can get the 26:41 interview and all of this is going to be blessed 26:43 and protected by your God. 26:45 Now that's a powerful position to be in. 26:48 So in the coming weeks, no matter what you have in 26:50 front of you, no matter what jobs you're applying for, 26:54 don't give up, do not be discouraged, 26:56 write your resume out, follow the tips that 26:59 we've given you and I'll tell ya, you're going to love 27:02 the results and don't get disappointed if the resume 27:05 you sent in wasn't accepted... 27:06 That might not be where God wants you to be. 27:09 He's got a special place for you. 27:11 But if it is accepted, don't think just that you 27:14 did it by yourself. 27:15 Remember, there's a Higher Power - there's somebody 27:17 above you who is protecting you - who is going to make sure 27:20 that you fit in where you need to be. 27:23 So I want you to be encouraged and kind of go-for-it! 27:25 Don't slack up, don't tell yourself you're 27:29 not going to do well, give it to God. 27:31 Remember, always remember, you are powerless over 27:37 what THEY can do to you, but they are powerless 27:41 over what God WILL do for you. 27:45 Until next time, keep "Working the Dream." 27:47 This is Eric Kelly. |
Revised 2017-08-16