Guerrilla Marking for Job Hunters 2.0 - Jay Conrad Levinson [55]
So let’s make the most of this all-important real estate at the top of your Guerrilla Resume—the part they’ll see in those first 3 seconds—by leading with an eye-catching opening.
If you don’t know the title of the job you’re applying for, you should at least know what skills you can use. So, start your resume with 1 of 2 headings: Objective or Summary.
An Objective including a job title is a great way to start your resume. It shows that you know exactly what job the employer is trying to fill. Examples:
OBJECTIVE
Restaurant Management where more than 10 years of food service and management experience will contribute to efficient operations.
OBJECTIVE
Network Administrator where 3 years of successful experience and training will add value.
OBJECTIVE
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep where 8 years of training and experience in health care and sales will add to profitability.
Notice the language and format here. By starting off with the title of the job you know the employer is trying to fill, it’s like calling them by their first name. It shows you know something about their company and their situation. It creates immediate rapport with your reader and gives you an immediate advantage. It’s so simple, yet so powerful!
Plus, not only does the wording of this Objective tell the hiring manager exactly what job you want to fill, it also tells him that you want to “add” or “contribute” something that will make his life easier. Again, this is simple, subtle, and ... effective!
But what if you don’t know the exact job title the employer wants to fill? (Well, you should, from your research of the company and its job postings. So don’t give up that easily.)
But let’s say you don’t have one specific job in mind. Then what?
Start your Guerrilla Resume with a Summary. This will focus the reader on the skills you’ve used while giving you a bit more flexibility to apply for different jobs. Bonus: you can include a second “killer” sentence that compels the reader to keep going. Examples:
SUMMARY
Seeking a position where network engineering/administration and software development skills and experience will add value. Accustomed to long hours in pursuit of company goals.
SUMMARY
Experienced quality management professional with 10+ years of proven results. Turned around quality and operations for 2 business units, increasing efficiency 100 percent (2005- 2006).
SUMMARY
Accomplished customer relations management professional with 5 years of award-winning experience. Quadrupled client satisfaction ratings, from 1.0 to 4.0 average (2003-present).
Again, note the language here, especially those killer second sentences.
The way I see it, why wait to fire off your big guns? You already have the reader’s attention, so why not include a compelling fact about you in this first section? Doing so will force her to read the next section of your Guerrilla Resume. And the next section. Line by line you build and stoke the fires of her desire to meet you. Then, she calls you!
Whether to use an Objective or Summary can be a sticking point for some people. Some folks even leave them off the resume, because they want to be considered for all jobs.
No, no, no—Never Do This!
A focused resume is a powerful resume. A resume that tries to be all things to all people ends up being nothing at all. You can always write a second or third resume to give you more options.
Spend as much time on this section as necessary to create a powerful opening for your Guerrilla Resume. Your Objective or Summary should be 2 or 3 lines long at most.
Your goal is to start your resume with a focus on the employer and his or her needs. Tell readers what you can do for them. Then, force them to read further.
Select Accomplishments and/or Special Skills
Think of this second