The Power of Testimonials
Marketers know that one of the most powerful ways to sell a product or service is to offer first person testimonials. ("I'd just like to tell you that my bathroom has never looked cleaner than it does now that I use new Zap!")
This power comes from the fact that we know the marketers will tell us his product is great. He wants us to buy it! But when an outside authority steps up and says they love it, we pay more attention. We see the strategy used everywhere - quotes from famous authors appear on book sleeves, political candidates line up endorsements from influential people, and Geico uses real customer stories in its TV advertising.
So why aren't you doing the same on your resume?
You can tell people how great you are, but how much more powerful will the message be if someone else says it?
I use this strategy all the time on resumes. A recent client sent me a reference letter from her former manager that said "If you are lucky enough to have Sally walk into your office looking for a job, hire her on the spot! Trust me, you will not regret it."
Wow! Who wouldn't want to interview Sally after reading that? I put that quote front and center on the first page of her resume followed by the manager's name and 'former manager' (to make the relationship clear).
My favorite new strategy is to use LinkedIn testimonials on resumes. LinkedIn allows you to collect references from any of your contacts and the beauty is that these references can't be faked. Each referee is named and linked to their own LinkedIn page, so recruiter are more likely to trust the source. Plus it's easy to collect the references - just send an email through the LinkedIn system asking each of your contacts if they'd be willing to endorse you.
Here is one of the references from my own profile.
"As a recruiter I need to have someone I trust to help some of my candidates present their skills in the best way possible. Louise and her group are the best resume writers I have ever been associated with. She has the writing skill needed and her experience as an HR VP make her knowledge of what the hiring managers look for and how to arrange the information is priceless!" Jill Zinner, President, Premier Search.
Doesn't that immediately sound more convincing than if I told you myself that I am fabulous and you should hire me?!
Now LinkedIn doesn't allow non-members to look at references like this, so just placing your LinkedIn URL on your resume won't really help you.
You need to select 1 to 3 of the best quotes and highlight them front and center just as I did for Sally.
You'll be amazed at the the improved response rate just from this one tactic.
By Louise Fletcher and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.
A great way of getting your LinkedIn connections to post recommendations for you is to first post one about them. When you do, they receive an email from LinkedIn telling them that you just posted a recommendation. They're given the opportunity to review it and then post it to their profile if they like it. They're then asked to post a recommendation for you. Given that you just praised them, it is hard for them not to reciprocate. My LinkedIn page is at http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenrothberg. Hint, hint.