Guest Blog Written By: Holly of It’s Personal Branding
Mammas, I get it.
We’re often head of the household (either formally or informally) and we have TONNES on the go at any given time. Not only do we have to take care of ourselves, but we are responsible for EVERYTHING to do with our littles.
It feels like there’s just no time.
But, part of being so responsible means looking out for our own opportunities to grow professionally – for intellectual stimulation, added challenges and to provide even better for our families.
So, when was the last time you updated your resume?
In case it’s been a while for you, I’ve put together some ways you can revamp your resume to get noticed, in between all of the caring and coping and craziness of motherhood.
Ready?
# 1: Make sure your professional summary actually summarizes your key qualifications for the position.
I often see resumes with vague and generic professional summaries. Things like:
Key Qualifications:
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Detail oriented with the ability work under pressure
- Report writing
This summary does a poor job of differentiating the applicant from the others. And worse yet, it usually appears at the top of the resume so that it’s the first thing the reader sees.
Now consider this professional summary:
Key Qualifications:
- Greeted customers and managed the return and exchange process for a busy retail store.
- Wrote summary reports on board meetings including capturing the findings and developing insights.
You have only a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention, so instead of listing generic skills, describe your qualifications that the hiring manager is actually looking for.
The aim of your resume is to stand out from the other applicants and communicate your unique value.
But how do you communicate your uniqueness?
# 2: Use quantitative accomplishment statements in your resume.
Quantitative statements incorporate numerical values to convey your accomplishments in a way tangible way. It helps the reader get a clearer understanding of what you did AND what you can contribute to the new organization.
Consider the following two statements. The first one is a duty-focused statement and the second one is a quantitative statement.
- Organized several external conferences.
- Planned and coordinated three conferences for over 400 guests including staff, stakeholders and global management.
Which one sounds more impressive to you?
By adding numbers like “three conferences” and “400 guests” it helps bring the accomplishment to life so that the reader can feel the benefit.
Which brings us to the last step.
# 3: State the benefit of your accomplishments
Businesses usually have at least one of three main reasons for wanting to hire:
- To make money
- To save money
- To solve a problem
So, if you can tie back your accomplishments to how they created a benefit for the company (or client or patient), then you end up showing a direct link to how your work provides benefit – without relying on the reader to make assumptions about the results.
Here are some examples of tying in the benefit with your qualitative achievement:
- Assisted with planning and execution of seven national and international trade shows
in a one-month period, adding 150 prospective clients to the list. - Greeted and consulted with up to 100 customers per shift, sharing product knowledge
and assisting in purchase decisions. - Followed up with trade show prospects to provide product details and arrange on-site product trials, leading to 50+ purchase orders.
Bonus points for making the benefit quantitative too.
These are three important ways you can distinguish yourself from other applicants. Focus on writing statements that are unique to you, that no other applicant could write and have them be true.
Holly Hagan is a professional resume writer and LinkedIn profile writer for her business It’s Personal Branding. She is passionate about helping people shine to receive opportunities they deserve.
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