Prove It
I was working with a client the other day who included lots of subjective descriptive statements and quotes from various people he has worked for on his resume. I tried to stop him, I really did. I explained that subjective statements are usually ignored by recruiters and, therefore, have no place on a resume. Perhaps I didn't make a compelling enough case for him. So lets think this through.
How many people have you met who, for example, think they have "great communication skills"? I have met hundreds of people who would describe themselves as great communicators but few who, in my opinion, actually are. So, it follows that if I am trying to hire someone to fill a job that requires great communication skills I will need more than a sentence on a resume to convince me that you are, in fact, a great communicator and that it's worth my while to invite you in for an interview so I can see for myself. So how do you get that point across? Results-oriented accomplishments/examples are the best way to demonstrate what you can do.
Using the communication example: if you want to emphasize that you are a strong communicator on your resume don't just write "Talented professional with great communication skills". Instead think of a project that you worked on that required communication skills and how your skills contributed to the success of the project. Here are a couple of examples:
Example #1:
Created a pitch document for my client, Evergreen Technologies, to the Oprah Show and oversaw logistics of a site visit to Harpo Studios and an interview with producers for the Oprah Show
Why this sentence has impact: because the results of your communication skills landed your client a visit to meet with Oprah's producers. Why do I believe this? Because only a complete fool would make this up when, for all you know, the person reading the resume might know one of the producers at Oprah and could call and verify the story. So, it's true, it's measurable in the sense that its fairly common knowledge that it's not easy to get to talk to a producer at Oprah, and it demonstrates that you can communicate well enough to get noticed by one of the most reputable shows on TV. After reading the sentence above I would believe that you are probably a great communicator.
Example #2:
Selected to present and demonstrate upgrades to a new cellular phone to Motorola's CEO. Collaborated with vendors and internal stakeholders to troubleshoot and ensure that the product had been fine-tuned and was ready for presentation to executive management prior to presentation.
Why these sentences have impact: because if you weren't a strong communicator you wouldn't have been selected to present the product to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. You are making the point that you have strong presentation and communication skills without making subjective or unqualified statements. After reading those sentences I would believe that you are a strong communicator and that you can talk about technical issues in a sophisticated and understandable manner.
OK, now the second point. Quotes. Do not put quotes from former bosses, co-workers, clients, or anyone else on your resume. I have met a few people, including the client I referred to at the top of this post, who think that putting positive comments about skills, attributes, or results that they have received from former bosses/partners/team members is a positive addition to a resume. It's not. Chances are that anyone you send the resume to won't know the person whom you have quoted on your resume so the reader won't know if you just made the quote up entirely.
Put yourself in the position of someone who is reading through a huge stack of resumes. You come across a resume with a bunch of subjective claims of greatness and some quotes from people you have never heard of. I could just make up a bunch of quotes from my imaginary bosses and put them on my resume couldn't I? If you were reading my resume how would you know if it was complete b.s. or not? You wouldn't. And, more importantly, you wouldn't have the time or inclination to find out. If you can't prove that you are great at what you do by including specific, and hopefully measurable, examples in your resume then your claims of excellence seem a little sketchy. You have to prove that you can do what you claim to be able to do or recruiters may not bother to call you and find out if you are as good as you say you are.
Article by Liz Handlin and courtesy of Ultimate Resumes
Leave a comment