•It’s a piece of advertising

•It’s a script for the interview

•After the interview, it’s a reminder of you

Why have a Resume?

•It’s a piece of advertising•Credit card applications•Let your resume do the talking to capture interest•Understand how employers shop•Headline – the job title•Summary – with accomplishments•Key Words – dissect the job posting

Why have a Resume?

•You have a “good” resume & yet it’s not getting responses. Why?•First some statistics:•For each posting 200 say “that’s interesting”•100 people actually submit a resume•75 resumes end up in the “B” pile (often screened out by an applicant tracking system)•25 may get reviewed by a “real” person• 5 to 10 get a phone interview•3-5 get a face-to-face interview• 1 gets an offer (80-85% accept the offer)

Resume statistics

Résumé Black hole

Competing with the Purple Squirrel

Résumé Basics• What’s the big deal about Real estate - generally 2 pages -

A résumé is not your comprehensive career history• Type font: Ariel 10-12, Times Roman 11-12; no fancy fonts• Margins – generally 1 inch left right, top bottom• Don’t include - References or Pictures• Scan ability – ATS, Job Boards, email

– Text boxes and Headers – Bullets, underline, italics, shadows, graphics

• Contact info – make it easy for the recruiter to reach you - phone numbers & email, LinkedIn URL and zip code

• Headlines – why are they so important? – laser focus• Summary – experience counts – concrete examples• Skills table & what you’ve done to keep them current

Résumé Basics continued Format for Experience

• Company name, location dates• Company tag line – 1 line summary• Job title and duties & responsibilities (1-5 lines) recent relevant experience• Duties/responsibilities vs. Accomplishments• Achievements & accomplishments – where do they fit in? Bullet, then an active verb - 1 to 2 lines description• Key words – more than once, spell out acronyms• Education & certifications & awards• Spell checker & grammar • Numbers & dates – double and triple check them• Does everybody lie on their resume? HONESTY!!!

•Read the posting; if you don’t match 80-85% of the requirements, DON’T apply•Have a scannable resume – NO fancy fonts, borders, italics, graphics; limit your use of bold, underline•Don’t put your contact info in a header•Proof read your resume – typos •Have a Headline – generally the title of the job you’re applying for•Have a Summary of your experience. It gives an overview of your career, your areas of expertise & examples that demo your expertise. Examples may change for each position.

Tips for Avoiding the resume “black hole”

• Dissect the job posting • Identify the job requirements • Prepare a table with the job requirements in

the left column and your experience job right column; your experience does not have to be a perfect match.

• Use the table as the middle paragraph in your cover letter, a table or T-letter.

• Use the table when you have a phone interview for talking points to cover during the interview.

More tips for Avoiding the resume “black hole”

Sample TableYOUR REQUIREMENTS MY QUALIFICATIONS

Industry experienceSoftware, Telecommunications, Defense Electronics, Semiconductors, Travel & Hospitality and Consumer Electronics.

RelationshipsBuilt & maintained partner relationships with hiring managers, directors and vice presidents, and with candidates.

SourcingUtilized a variety of sourcing methods including cold calling, college recruiting, job fairs, using the Internet (job boards, Linked-In and social media) Internal resume databases and employee referrals.

ManagementManaged a staff of 4 direct recruiters and 2 contract recruiters covering the central & western United states for software Systems Integration and an off-shore sourcing team.

Salary negotiationsNegotiated salaries in conjunction with the hiring manager, extended offer of employment and successfully closed candidates.

Degree

MBA in Industrial Relations/Personnel, U of California at BerkeleyBA in History, Texas A&M University.

•Include key words that appear in the job posting - #1 reason ATS’s reject resumes•Include your accomplishments – these are the results of performing your duties•Focus on getting your resume into the hands of the recruiter & hiring manager; use Linked-In to find the hiring manager•Have someone in your network pass on your resume – become employee referral•Use different delivery channels

More tips for Avoiding the resume “black hole”

What’s the big deal about Achievements?

• ACCOMPLISHMENTS - Situation, Action taken, Results• Start with an active verb – 1 to 2 lines describing the results• Performance reviews. Linked-In Recommendations; In the last 6 months what

activity are you proud of? Readers’ Digest article “The Greatest Accomplishment in My Career”, What would you write about?

• Uses $s, and %s where possible, to convey impact. • Use before & after comparisons - with competitors, the industry, your

predecessor, others in your work group or the company• What were the results in terms of making or saving money? Of saving time,

making work easier, or solving a problem?• How did the activity make the company more competitive or increase business?

Or build relationships with internal or external customers?• How did the accomplishment expand the business, attract new customers or

retain existing customers?• Ask yourself about the achievement: SO WHAT? WHAT’S the SIGNIFICANCE?

WHAT’s the REST of the STORY? WHAT RESULTED FROM the ACTIVITY?

•It’s a piece of advertising•It’s a script for the interview•It has your work history•It contains the results of performing of performing your duties•It reflects how your experience aligns with the job requirements

Why have a Resume?

•It’s a piece of advertising

•It’s a script for the interview

•After the interview, it’s a reminder of you

Why have a Resume?

LOCKE ALDERSONRecruiter Resource & Career Consultant

41 years in Recruiting & 15 years in Career ConsultingAlderson & Associates

Now with Mullin International

formerly withOracle, Siebel, Raytheon Systems, E-Systems,Rockwell Microelectronics, Litton Data Systems,

Continental AirlinesLockeAlderson@gmail.com

Sales Focus GroupJanuary 17th, 2017