Does Your Resume Create Results?

Published:02/20/2024 | Posted by

In any job market, it’s important to present a comprehensive resume, but when it’s a competitive market you need to give your resume the game to get any interview. So, what do I mean by “game”? You need to present a document with the right amount of swagger and specifics for leaders to want to call you in and hear more about you.

3 Critical Resume Attributes to Get Noticed:

1. BE BRIEF – Get to the point and keep it concise. Your resume can be multiple pages, but you need to ensure every sentence shows your experience and impact. Don’t add unnecessary information just to make it longer.
2. BE BRIGHT – Highlight your skills with facts and data, and refrain from general rhetoric or “fluff”. Always maintain a positive approach and outlook in terms of your background solving problems and executing projects.
3. BE SPECIFIC – Don’t be afraid to offer specific scenarios you’ve dealt with or detailed results you’ve created when explaining your impact in the various roles you’ve held. Be mindful to display success metrics and accomplishments that are related to the role you’re applying for.People often think that being detailed or specific means that the result should be lengthy. In a resume you need to take the opposite approach.  In this instance you need to focus on being detailed while maintaining a concise and eye-catching recap of why the hiring managers need to learn more about you. You likely only have 30-45 seconds in an initial review of your CV/Resume, so make sure your Executive Summary section is prominent and speaks volumes in real value – #s, %s & $s – about your track record of success. It’s all about displaying your results, accomplishments and achievements in a brief, impactful manner. Leadership is defined as “the ability to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team”. Your resume needs to show how you’ve displayed leadership throughout your career and what the specific result was from your efforts.

   Intentionally Specific Examples of Resume Highlight Statements:

• Do get granular in how you are impacting/helping others.
• What are your top results/accomplishments/achievements in service of others?
• By what % and by what $ has the business grown since your arrival?
• Have you grown the team?
• How many individuals on your watch have been promoted?
• Have you expanded your leadership scope/responsibility and how many additional lines of business (geography/portfolio) are you now overseeing?
• Pinpoint how the business has evolved under your leadership?
• What did you do first? For the company? In the domain?
• What asset increases or improvements did you create?
• Outline any money saved, headcount increases, outside investment increases due to your efforts.

“Top shelf no dust” employers want all-around winners who can be true team players and are great givers of their time and expertise. In today’s mega-competitive world, you must make the time to be serious about the resume you use to represent yourself to possible employers as well as how you position your experience and skills. If you have questions on how to improve your resume or highlight your accomplishments in a way that attracts the best employers, reach out to Butch anytime at 954-385-8595 or [email protected].

About the Author: Butch Hawking is the Vice President Executive Search, leading the Life Sciences (Pharma/Biotech/Medical Device) team at StevenDouglas. Butch brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience in Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Search. He is an expert at building leadership, management, and executive teams in this niche and has a strong track record of success helping both candidates and clients in the Life Sciences niche across the USA and in double digit countries via offshore outsourcing/labor arbitrage (Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Barbados, India, & Philippines).