2 Tips for Resumes That Get You Hired
Transcript:
Hey, guys! Welcome to this week’s training. I want to shift focus a little bit to the other side of business and that’s applying for a job. One of my favorite areas in working with my clients is helping them hire the right people. Here’s a little bit of what I do and look for in hiring the right people:
I glance at the application for any job hopping or huge gaps in employment that might be a problem. I rarely consider experience because you can have all of the experience in the world and not be a good employee or good fit for the position.
I then read the resume mainly to determine what type of personality the applicant might be. It’s amazing what all you can learn from the resume. Detailed or low on details. Straightforward with little fluff or hearts or circles over the “i’s.” All of these things alert me to the applicant’s personality and whether they are right for the job right off the bat.
I then go to the applicant’s Facebook page. Guys! You have to realize employers do look there. I can’t tell you how many applicants I’ve eliminated just from the Facebook page. Here I’m looking for character and more personality clues.
If the applicant seems like a good fit, we move to the next stage of getting a paid personality assessment and go from there.
Two Tips for Creating your resume
Out of the dozens of resumes I’ve read, there are two things I look for right off the bat. I’m going to give these two you as two tips that you must include in your resume.
Emphasize how will you benefit the company. It never ceases to amaze me when I read things like, “I want to work here so I can improve my skills, gain experience, and move up in the company.” Let me let you in on a secret—employers don’t care what you are wanting to improve by working for them. They want to know what you will bring to the company that will improve the company and the company’s bottom line. It might sound harsh. And you might think by listing how you want the job to improve your life shows that you’re a go-getter, but it doesn’t. It shows that you’re more concerned with yourself and your success not the company’s. I tell my clients that people don’t buy products or services. They buy benefits. If you want to “sell yourself” for the position you’re seeking, you must list how you will benefit the company, which leads me to the next tip.
Research the company you’re applying to. It’s hard to sell benefits to a company and if you don’t take the time to research the company—core values, how it was started, goals, personality, etc. I was most impressed in a recent interview process when the applicant had questions based on his research of my client’s company to make sure it was a good fit for him. He also used some of the things he learned to “sell himself.” It was also a bit scary because he knew his business and the company had better live up to its website!
“Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent.”
one more tip
Let me give you a bonus tip—don’t apply for a position that doesn’t fit your personality. If you’re a people person that loves to socialize and help others plus be out front with the public, don’t apply for an accounting position where you’ll stare at numbers on a computer screen for hours. If you are not a detailed person, that is all the more reason NOT to apply for an accounting position. If you’re an introvert who loves being in an office and hates dealing with the public (actually humans altogether), don’t apply for a position where you’ll have to be talking to people all day every day.
As a disclaimer, I have met introverts that prefer not to deal with the public all day but chose that job to improve their emotional intelligence skills and sales skills. They just went into it knowing that it would be taxing on them. That’s ok. Applying for jobs just to get hired isn’t a good idea. I know that sometimes you might have to so you can pay your bills. But if you’ve got some wiggle room, take your time and find a job that works for your personality.
summary
In today’s world, you’re not longer just your resume. And, by the way, most employers know that your resume is a commercial of who you want them to see. Smart employers now take in who you are both in person and online. If you want to make a good impression, don’t put posts on your Facebook page about how you’re always late, hundreds of posts with duck lips, and lots of cussing and gangsta signs. If you’re looking for a serious job, you should no longer look like a troubled teenager!
