Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: This Is What People Really Think Of Your Resumé

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The video below from Fast Company takes a humorous look at resumes and what employers (and job seekers) really think of them.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: The Most Important Career Decision You'll Make

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

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• The Most Important Career Decision You'll Make: "If you're at a career crossroads and considering whether to leave your job this year, your fulfillment rests on one decision."


• 4 Ways to Break Free from Being "Too Busy": "Make sure to not only carve out time for yourself, but to actually acknowledge that you’re on the “leisure clock.” Don’t multitask—enjoy the downtime."


• Career Advice for My Younger Self: "Recruiters get hundreds of applications from candidates with similar qualifications and experience. It's important to produce something a bit different to get noticed."


• 7 Resume Strategies for the Long-Term Unemployed: "Either in your resume or on your cover letter, address the fact that you've had a large employment gap and give it some context."


• 8 Ways to Stand Out on LinkedIn: "If you have good recommendations and other candidates they’ve found do not have any recommendations, who do you think they’ll call for an interview?"

Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Write a Resume

When I ask people whether or not they enjoy writing their own resume, I most always hear a resounding NO! Some of the most common complaints I hear is that they don't know what to say, they don't know what employers want to hear, or they don't know where to start.

Many people who have attempted to write their own resume describe a painful experience that includes sitting at a computer, staring at a document that is blank except their name and contact information. Although I am not sure I am able to make the process painless, asking yourself these three questions may help ease you into the writing process.

What do you want to do?
It is quite difficult to write an effective resume without the answer to this question. Without a target, how will you know what skills to highlight? Answer this question before you begin the resume in order to focus in on your most marketable skills and accomplishments.

What value can you bring to an employer?
If you write your resume by focusing on the answer to this question, you will set yourself apart from the crowd. An employer is always seeking the most cost-effective employee that will bring them the highest return on investment. Define how you can bring value to an employer, how you will earn the salary they pay you, and how you can solve their problem or fulfill their specific needs.

How did you make a difference in each previous position?
The answers to this question go hand-in-hand with the previous question. For each job on your resume, brainstorm what you did to make things better - increased sales, improved efficiency, and enhanced organization are just a few examples. Insert these accomplishments into your resume and be prepared to tell the stories in detail during your interview for a more successful job search.

The Dangers of Using a Resume Template

For someone sitting down to write their resume it is natural to want to use a template in order to give themselves a starting place. You can find templates online, in sample books, in resume building software, and even in applications such as Microsoft Word. Although resume templates can help you launch the resume writing process, there are several negative aspects of using these templates that can actually hinder your job search success.

They Make it Harder to Stand Out From the Crowd
If you were competing with three other candidates that used the same resume template, how would you make yourself stand apart? Now expand this scenario to being in a pile with hundreds of candidates. The ones that seem similar to the others are going to be assumed to be "carbon copies" of the others, making them less likely to be read.

Studies show that when the resume is looked at by human eyes (as opposed to an online parsing program) they make a decision about whether or not to read your resume further within the first 10 to 15 seconds. When you use a template program, your resume tends to blend into the crowd and will not captivate the reader's interest.

They Eliminate the Strategic Marketing Aspect
There is no exact science to resume writing. There are no rules that say "write your resume exactly like this." A good resume is approached very strategically.

Where you locate sections (or whether you include them) on the resume depends on their strategic importance in your job search. For example, a template will always put the education section toward the bottom of the resume. If you are in a career transition and your education is one of your key selling factors, it needs to be moved toward the beginning of your resume. This is a change that many templates will not allow.

They Depersonalize the Resume
There is no one else that offers your unique blend of experience, skills, accomplishments, knowledge, and training. Therefore, your resume must be the way you distinguish yourself from other candidates.

Your personality, personal traits, and personal style should be reflected in your resume in a creative, yet professional, manner. What sets you apart from the crowd does not always fit into the confines of a template that is someone else's idea of what a resume should look like.

Test Your Resume IQ

I often tell people that resumes are like beauty. They are very subjective and everyone has a different opinion of what it right and wrong or good and bad. I think one of the reasons that I enjoy writing resumes is that there are no rules. Me being the "rebel" that I am, I enjoy creating a document that works for the individual and does not have to comply with a set of rules.

Although there are no hard and fast resume rules, there are guidelines that you can follow to ensure your resume is as effective as possible. Take this "test" to see how much you know about optimizing your marketability with your resume.

True or False: When writing a resume, more is always better.
False. There is such a thing as too much information. Your resume should seldom be longer than two pages and must only contain the information that is relevant to the job and the employer for which you are applying. Providing too much information will hide the important info and may scare away your potential employer.

True or False: Your resume must contain every job you have held since you graduated high school.
False. A resume is a generally accepted ten year picture of your work history. If you have only been in a professional career field for six years, you don't have to go back ten years. However, no matter if you have 25 years of experience, you should not go back further than ten years to avoid age discrimination.

True or False: Your resume should be generic enough to cover a variety of career fields.
False. There is no such thing as an effective generic resume. If you try to appeal to everyone with your resume, you will end up targeting no one. Pick a target, define your marketable skills in that career field, and highlight your most relevant accomplishments to effectively target a specific career field. This may mean that you need multiple resumes.

True or False: Employers like to know about your interests outside of work.
It depends. I know that is cheating, but whether or not you add your outside interests or volunteerism depends on how relevant they are to the job. If you have been a mechanic volunteering as as forestry worker for the last ten years and you want to work as a forest ranger, then you better include this info on your resume. However, most employers don't care that you like macrame and long walks on the beach.

True or False: A great resume will get you the job.
False. A resume is not designed to get you the job. Its purpose is plain and simply to land an interview. Few employers see a resume and make the decision to hire you without first conducting and interview. However, keep in mind that a poorly written resume can cost you the job opportunity.

The Top 3 Categories You Must Include on Your Resume

Fall is the season for resume writer conferences. I attended one session and listened to a recap of another session with recruiters and hiring managers from Fortune 500 companies that are currently hiring globally. In these sessions, they shared with our group of career services experts these 3 key points they are looking for on your resume.

Your Value Proposition
An employer is searching for the best, most cost-effective candidate. When reading a resume they are looking for your core competencies, your strengths, your areas of expertise, and a clear statement of the benefits you can deliver their company. Think of yourself as a product, what would your brand statement be? What can you deliver that others can not? How do you differentiate yourself from your peers? The answer to these questions must be found in the resume and cover letter.

Your Chronological Work History
Most recruiters admit to skipping right over the summary (although they say you should still include this section) and going straight to work history first. They want to know what you did, where you did it, and how long you did it. Include details about each company such as number of employees, annual revenue, its core customer base and competitors, and whether it was a start-up or an established public company.

When discussing your experience, detail the big picture - not the minutiae of everyday details - of your position's functions and challenges. Use statistics that measure your value such as number of personnel supervised, dollar amount of budgets managed, and promotions through the company.

Education and Professional Development
Employers want to know that you are dedicated to keeping your knowledge current and your skills updated. Seek out opportunities to further advance your skills by attending free workshops, webinars, seminars, or courses in your area of specialty. In addition, affiliations with industry-relevant organizations is another way to demonstrate your focus on honing your craft.

Always be Prepared. Keep a Current Resume at all Times!

I am a big believer in the Girl Scout and Boy Scout motto "Always be prepared." When I teach a resume writing class, I always tell my workshop attendees that once you get your resume done, you must always keep it current. Let’s look at some of the main reasons.

You Never Know What May Happen.

Many years ago, my husband and I were both laid off from our jobs within 6 weeks of each other. Now, this was before I started my resume writing business, but I can tell you that neither one of us had a current resume in hand. When you are laid off, let go, or feel the need to resign a position, you want to be able to jump right into the job market again.

When I am faced with change, action is often the best method for me to feel better about what is happening. Don’t force yourself to wait on getting your resume updated. Have your resume current with your most recent job and all your fabulous accomplishments waiting in the wings (or your computer).

You Never Know What May Come Your Way.

When opportunity knocks, you want to be ready to take full advantage. Often the window of these opportunities is short. Whether this new opportunity comes in the form of a networking contact, someone who finds you on LinkedIn, or you find a job posting on the internet, you want to be armed and ready with a current resume that you can send out on a moment’s notice.

Do You Remember What You Did a Year Ago?

My memory has been likened to Dory the fish from Finding Nemo. However, I know I am not alone. When I meet with clients, I often have to help them dig deep and mine out their accomplishments that they have forgotten or overlooked. Keep current and updated records of your accomplishments as they happen so that you are not scrambling for details when it is time to update your resume. What better place to store these than in your own resume?

High Five Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!


1. Why I Like People with Unconventional Resumes
"Disruptive moves can also tell you a lot about potential because they show a candidate's curiosity, insight, inspiration and determination, which in turn indicate a search for learning and challenge."


2. How Hard Are You Willing to Push Yourself?
"The unavoidable truth is that the willingness to endure discomfort and sacrifice instant gratification is the only way to get better at anything, and to achieve true excellence."


3. 8 Reasons You're Not Earning the Salary You Want
"Ultimately, if you don't like your salary, talk to your boss about what you would need to accomplish to earn a raise."

4. Why Women's Networking Groups Fail
"Where too many focus on the strength of numbers, the real sign of a healthy—and helpful—professional networking group is who’s there and how they communicate."


5. 3 Reasons Your Resume Brands You As A Commodity
"So, how did we end up branding ourselves as sheep…describing ourselves just like everyone else?We’ve been taught to describe ourselves this way…and it’s been reinforced so often that it just seems
'right'."