“Me, Inc.” Marketing Your Resume
By Minoo Bhutani
You’re starting your summer job search and confused about where to begin. Well, you can start by stopping to think! The summer job that you accept could have a huge impact on your future career direction. Take your time and consider the bigger picture. A little planning can help you make the most [...]
By Minoo Bhutani
You’re starting your summer job search and confused about where to begin. Well, you can start by stopping to think! The summer job that you accept could have a huge impact on your future career direction. Take your time and consider the bigger picture. A little planning can help you make the most of this important opportunity.
First things first: know who you are. Evaluate yourself. Determine what your learning objectives are, and what type of organization you would like to contribute to and learn from. Know everything about prospective employers. If you have not completed a SWOT analysis—Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats—both of yourself and of potential opportunities, do one before building your resume. (You can learn more about SWOT by searching online.)
By evaluating yourself, you identify the strengths and skills you bring to the table that an employer can use. Now you may begin the process of marketing “Me, Inc.” with your resume. A resume is a factual picture of your major work accomplishments, not merely a list of places you have worked to date. Anyone can say that they held a certain job for a certain time period. Your resume must detail what you accomplished, what you learned and the abilities you gained in each position.
New car buyers don’t base decisions exclusively on the glossy pictures, but also on the technical data on the last page, and how this compares to the technical data from other cars. Your resume should offer the technical data that distinguishes you from other candidates. How you present your strengths and skills to a prospective employer will determine how well you do on your interview, and eventually on the job. In order to make “Me, Inc.” appear a wise investment, you must provide the facts while also painting vivid, memorable images that will sell you as the “product of choice.”
So, how do you market yourself on paper?
Here are some rules to keep in mind:
1. You must fully understand who you are.
What are your strengths and skills, and what type of position would you excel in? This information will help you to focus on your best qualities and experience to present to a potential employer. An honest SWOT analysis will help you know yourself much better.
2. Build your resume on your own, at least to start.
You know yourself best, and you can act on your ideas about how best to market yourself. Don’t have someone else type the resume for you; if you are concerned about formatting, ask for help with that step only. The idea behind creating your resume independently is that when you evaluate yourself, you will be better able to present your skills and strengths in the interview. The flow of information from start to finish will be natural to you.
3. Know whom the resume is for: it isn’t for you!
Your resume is for the prospective employers that you have targeted in your SWOT analysis. The resume should be geared toward the position you’re seeking as well as at least one level above that. This will give the employer some insight into your ambitions and abilities. What I recommend to all students is to take a piece of paper and make two columns. In the left column, write down the skills and qualifications required for the advertised position and the key words that you feel define the company. Place your resume on the right column, and then go down the left column and make sure all those key words are reflected on your resume. The employer should feel that you are a perfect match for the job requirements and the company culture.
4. Use complete sentences and thoughts on your resume.
Most recruiters spend an average of 30 seconds on your resume. If they have to guess at what you did in previous positions, or scan for more details in different parts of your resume, it will likely be discarded. Do not put comments like “Assisted in product promotion”; rather, say “Assisted Marketing Director in promoting the baby products by hosting display booths at trade shows.” A comment like that will immediately give the reader an idea of your skills. Remember to substantiate everything you have on your resume with facts, dates, etc.
5. Keep your resume simple.
Do not use fancy jargon or overly complex terms. Use buzzwords sensibly: don’t overdo it, and make sure that they relate to what you are getting across. If you’re using terminology that does not relate to what you have actually done, this will be obvious to most recruiters.
6. If you include an “Objective” section in your resume, make it as specific as possible.
Never have the reader guessing what your distinctive competitive advantages, product positioning or career objectives are. The Objective statement should be like a movie trailer or an introduction to a novel: you need to set the scene, engage the reader and prepare them for what they are about to see. Do not use generic statements or key words that could indicate multiple career paths, such as finance and marketing. Try to emphasize how your skills would be further enhanced by a position like the one you are applying for. Your application should seem like a natural progression on your career path.
7. Go easy on the Bolds and Italics.
Only use bold or italics for company names or job titles. Do not use them to highlight words or accomplishments, as it makes the resume look messy and unprofessional.
8. Keep your resume to one or two pages.
Believe it or not, every resume—no matter how many years of experience and accomplishments must be covered—can be contained within one page. You may use two pages, but not more than two. Anyone contemplating work in the U.S. or in finance must always use one page only.
9. Resumes are like real estate: you should invest in location – location – location.
The top half of the resume captures the greatest attention—make sure that your greatest attributes are presented first. If your experience is your strongest feature, put it on the top half of the page, where it has the most impact and relevance. Remember, you have only 15 to 30 seconds to market “Me, Inc.”
Your resume is your personal brochure. Are you proving to your target audience that you have the skills, qualifications, experience, interest and passion to excel in their position and in their firm? If you can say yes to this question, you’ll enjoy a valuable, worthwhile summer job experience. CO
Minoo Bhutani is Director of the Career Development Centre, Schulich School of Business at York University.
