I was recently speaking to a management level professional with a very impressive career history. During our conversation, he shared his struggle to land a job interview. 

After reviewing his resume, it was clear to me why his candidacy was getting lost in the “black hole”.  This resume didn’t address what the employer was looking for.  The content resembled what you would find in a simple google search – a generic template with common wording, anyone in his industry could copy/paste into their documents. His resume didn’t showcase anything special although he had so much to offer.

 When writing your resume think about what your audience (the employer) is looking for. Focus on offering solutions to the employer’s problem. If there’s a job opening, then there’s a NEED.

The resume’s purpose is to convey that you’re the best candidate because you are part of the SOLUTION for this organizational need. Customizing your resume for your target job is a simple strategy that sets you apart from the pack.

First, read the job description carefully and identify the needs: what problems need to be solved? Once you identify the main responsibilities of the job showcase your past relevant contributions and how you generated profitability into past organizations.  This will give your future employer a good idea of what you could do for them. 

 Why do companies hire? Employees are added on the company payroll to help the company make more money. 

Indicating your job description tasks isn’t enough. Include the day-to-day activities of your job – the real meat or your work and what you proudly accomplished!

For instance, have you helped a previous employer: 

•  Generate revenue through sales?

•  Save time?

• Increase productivity?

• Reduce unnecessary costs?

•  Optimize resources?

 Below are specific examples of accomplishments of a finance and accounting professional applying to a company looking to improve processes and complete projects within timeline and budget:

• Designed and implemented a new forecasting system boosting forecasting efficiency by 35%.

•  Reduced the month-end close time from 12 to 9 days.

•  Saved company $250,000 by improving reporting processes.

When preparing your resume always showcase your competence and suitability for the job and back it up with examples of past relevant contributions. After revamping this client’s resume, he contacted me a few days later – he already had 2 job interviews lined up! 

Try it and see- this strategy will surely land you more job opportunities.

Wishing you much success!

Karine

About the author

Karine Shogher Touloumjian is a bilingual Canadian Certified Resume Strategist with a background in Recruitment and Human Resources.

For more information about our services, visit us at www.distinctresume.com or contact us at info@distinctresume.com.