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The killer resume – key questions to address

February 10, 2009 8:12 pm admin Resumes

The one overriding question any employer has when screening a resume is: Should I call this person for an interview? Keep in mind – Getting a call for an interview is the main goal of a resume. It is not to tell your life story or mention every great accomplishment you have ever achieved. The resume is a sales tool, you being the product, with a purpose of effectively representing your qualifications for the position you desire. Plus, it must be concise, as employers look at 120 resumes on average for each position filled in the US. The average resume is looked at for seven seconds.

In order to quickly answer the “big question”, employers usually look for a few answers to other important questions. Here are a few of the main questions a killer resume should address to help ensure a “Yes” response to the key question:

What have you done lately?

One of the main formatting issues with resumes is whether to use a chronological or functional style. The functional style emphasizes impacting positions and experiences while a chronological format lays out positions held, beginning with the most recent. Generally speaking, employers want to know what you have done lately as it is a good indication of your present capabilities. Thus, assuming you have been consistently employed, it is most often best to highlight selling points that maximize your most recent selling benefits.

Do you clearly meet the basic expectations of the position?

It is sad but true, because of the high number of resumes received for many positions, resume screeners are often looking for red flags or reasons to weed people out of the prospect pile. This means for you that one key of a good resume is avoid red flags and clearly demonstrate your basic qualifications for the position. Offering a summary of qualifications as the introduction section to a resume is often a great way to state in 2-3 sentences how your qualifications line up with the expectations of the position. This summary can then stand alone or give reason to the screener to keep reading. The killer cover letter should essentially carry forward with this summary of qualification.

What make you a leading candidate?

Getting a resume screener to consider this question usually relies on successful responses to the other questions mentioned. If you can intrigue the resume screener enough from the other features addressed that they skim through your experiences, you have already accomplished much. Now, you want to clearly show them, through accomplishment-driven selling points (measured if possible), who you are capable of performing the required tasks at a high level. If you do this, you are likely assured a phone call.