Does Your Resume Describe You?


I see this mistake all too often. Generic resumes that could be just as much about anyone else as they are about you.

Try this experiment out: Take your name and contact info off your resume and objectively ask yourself how well it describes you.

If all you have are generic descriptions of baseline roles and duties, projects that could just as well have been done by the next person, an education and/or certifications that hundreds of others would have, the next question to ask yourself is: what about your resume is going to stand out to a hiring manager?

If your resume is generic, you're treating the job hunt like it's a raffle drawing.

Instead of statements like:

  • Provided quarterly reports to stakeholders.
Try the following:
  1. Focus on your unique contributions.
    Good: Standardized quarterly updates using advanced Excel skills.

  2. Focus your contributions around the accomplishment.
    Better: Improved the accuracy and speed of delivery of quarterly updates by standardizing them using advanced Excel skills.

  3. Measure and quantify your contributions and accomplishments.
    Best: Improved accuracy of our quarterly updates by 99% and speed of delivery by 25% by standardizing them using advanced Excel skills.
You won't end up looking like everyone else and hiring managers will have a clearer sense of what you offer.

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