Resume should employ these personal branding strategies to get interviews
Dear Sam: I have been applying for positions and getting nowhere. I have
35 years of teaching experience, 13 years of administrative experience, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate in educational leadership and a current state teaching license. Several years ago, a professional advised me to remove dates from my resume, and I revised my resume according to her suggestions. There is now a job for which I have the exact experience and background. I have applied for so many jobs; I want to get it right this time. What can I do differently? — Kimberly
Dear Kimberly: I was shocked when I opened your resume and saw that it was only one page. I expected a multipage document that fully explained all of your experience and credentials.
I can see several reasons why your resume isn’t opening doors. Let’s review a few of the key points and address some common questions I hear from job seekers. I believe the answers will help guide you in redeveloping your resume.
➤ Should I or should I not remove dates?
The answer is a resounding “No.” The only time you should remove dates from your resume is when noting your earliest experience, in order to avoid unnecessarily aging yourself. You should never do this for your entire career; otherwise, hiring managers will be left with too many unanswered questions. Consider dating your most recent experience and bylining your earliest experience (present your earliest experience at the end of your Professional Experience section in a brief one- or two-sentence statement). Doing this will allow you to incorporate some of this valuable experience into your resume without adding years to your candidacy.
➤ Do hiring managers really want more than a one-page resume?
The answer is a resounding “Yes.” When you are an entry-level candidate with very limited experience, one would expect that your experience would fit on one page. But when you have more than 30 years of experience, it should not fit on one page. By presenting your entire career in less than 150 words, you have sacrificed value for brevity. You have written your resume as if it is simply a list of the functions you have performed. You have not expounded on anything in your career. There is no presentation of your key contributions, and there is no opportunity to translate your experiences to a new environment.
➤ Can I create a “general” resume to use for multiple opportunities?
No. An untargeted resume will not get the results you want. It will also affect your self-esteem — you may feel you are qualified for a job, apply for the job and get no response from the company. In this vicious cycle, you put yourself out there knowing you are qualified; then when you hear nothing or receive a rejection letter, you start to question yourself and your qualifications. You must target, you must translate your experience to your desired audience, and you must paint a picture of your candidacy that is easily understood and that doesn’t require a hiring manager to figure out who you are and how you fit.
➤ Can I omit certain things from my resume if they do not support my candidacy?
Yes. Your resume is not an application for employment; it is a strategic image of what you have done that positions you for what you now want to do. Similar to a brochure for a product, a resume should tout your features and benefits, along with telling employers why they should “buy” you. You can certainly omit select aspects of your experience or education if you feel that doing so will present a more right-sized image of your candidacy. I am not telling you to change facts; I am simply saying that if it benefits you to omit something that is not relevant, it is OK. Many candidates do not present doctoral degrees for fear of being seen as overqualified. Likewise, it is rare to present 30 years of experience on a resume.
I hope this information provides you with some clarity and some actionable ideas to use in creating the winning resume I know you can have.