Resumes. They are one of the most frustrating things to write – and one of the most confounding things to get right. Did I use the correct words? Did I capture my skills well? Do I even sound interesting enough for someone to hire me?

For as long as resumes continue to be requested by employers (and just who is that phantom behind the curtain looking at those resumes? A robot? A human? A combination of the two?), we will continue to send ours along, trying to beat out hundreds of others to win that job.

If you are considering making changes to your resume this year – or even going for a complete resume makeover – a resume review is a great way to begin. Here are three things you will take away from a resume review with a career coach:

1. Objective feedback from an expert. Ever ask a friend or colleague to review your resume and give you their thoughts? And then ask someone else for more feedback, only to find all those comments are beginning to differ? Confusion sets in, and now you really don’t know what to change. Getting feedback on your resume from an expert career coach allows you to gain insights not just on formatting , the number of pages it should be, and how to rearrange your employment information so it best markets your unique skill set and career history. It also allows you to get special insights into your personal brand and how to better tell your unique story.
2. Freedom to lose meaningless words, and replace them with impactful language that better describes you and your brand. Take a look at your resume. If you see words like “dedicated,” “hard worker,” “loyal,” “great work ethic,” “dependable,” or “quick learner,” then you are using words that are clichéd, and could describe anyone. A resume review can help you identify and delete those words that are too generic, and use that space to actually describe you . A professional review also helps you identify more powerful language and descriptors that are befitting of your unique skill set, and that make an impact. For example, if you are a manager who is using words like “responsible for,” “coordinates,” or “prepares,” a resume review will help you move away from positioning yourself in a more junior role and replace this language with words that describe your role as a leader, plus your talent management skills if you oversee employees.
3. Seeing your resume through the eyes of an employer. Almost all resumes are read within seconds. Not minutes, seconds. Count on your resume being scanned by either a machine or a recruiter instead of thoroughly read. With precious little time spent on your resume, it’s even more important that the first half-page captures the interest of your reader, and provides enough of an impression to make them want to continue reading. A career summary or profile capturing a snapshot of your background and skills is a great way to make your resume stand out . Another strategy? Demonstrating results. Employers want to know about the outcomes of what you did in your previous jobs, and they want you to be able to communicate them in order to be considered. If you can do this in writing within the body of your resume, you will have an immediate advantage when it comes to interviewing, since you will be able to share your results verbally with a recruiter or hiring manager – which is what they want to hear. A resume review can point out where you need more results and help you brainstorm examples that you can use to create a powerful summary of your experience.

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©2018 Traverse Career Solutions | Ellen Dunagan