24 Mar 36 hours after submitting her Resume, my client was asked to Interview. Here’s why I think that happened.
It’s true! After doing 3 Career Counseling sessions with me this past week, to get her Resume and Cover Letter to where they needed to be, my client electronically submitted her Resume. Less than 36 hours later, she received an email asking her to Interview.
I’m sharing the steps I took to help her get to this point, so that it may improve your chances of getting the job Interview you want.
UPDATE: In the 5 business days that followed sending out her Resume, my client received 2 immediate invitations to Interview, followed by 2 top-tier job offers. One of the offers was presented to her 1-hour after the Interview. She was told that she was one of the best applicants they had ever interviewed. ****HIRED!**** Don’t let anyone ever tell you that it can’t be done!
First things First: You’ve got to Shift your Perspective
It would be easy to think that applying for a job is about You. While part of this is true, it’s not the whole story. Yes of course, your Resume is about clearly defining who you are, what your experience and skills are, and introducing yourself to the company for consideration. However, the biggest mistake I see people making is in thinking that that’s all there is to it. There’s more.
One of the most important things you need to keep in mind, is that there are 2 entities in this process: You and the Employer. You are asking them to see such outstanding value in you, that they agree to enter into a relationship with you over above everyone else who has applied for the job.
Keep in mind that it’s incredibly costly to hire someone. From posting job ads, interviewing candidates for every single job and wading through a sea of Resumes, to hopefully finding the person who has the right mindset, skills, work ethic, experience, emotional intelligence etc. for your business, it’s a huge investment on the part of the Employer. Therefore, when writing your Resume, it would benefit you greatly to consider things from their perspective.
To that end, here are some things to keep in mind:
Make yourself worthy of their Investment in you
1.Close the Gap: Present yourself clearly and in a way that is meaningful to the company and relevant to the job requirements. This means, know the details of the skills and experience you bring to the table. Don’t speak of them in generalizations. Identify each skill. Next, do your Research! Dedicate the time to thoroughly research and understand the industry, the company and the job itself. Use this information, as well as the vocabulary of the job/industry, when writing your Resume and Cover Letter. Essentially, get into their mindset and speak *their* language when writing your Resume.
Note: This one step will separate you out from the majority of people applying for the job and take you significantly closer to getting the Interview.
2.Don’t make them work to find out who you are: When you write your Resume, don’t make the reader have to dig around your Resume and connect the dots to figure out who you are. That’s your job! Make your Resume visually easy to read and understand:
- In most cases, a 12-font size and a sans serif font style will work well.
- Lay the information out on the page so that it’s not visually congested.
- Don’t have a lot of lines, separators or design graphics, and don’t overly use italics and capitalisation. It’s visually distracting. Keep your Resume visually ‘quiet’ so that the reader can more easily focus on the content. It will also make your Resume look much more professional.
- Pay attention to spelling, punctuation and clean up the margins.
- If it’s a 2-page Resume, fill up the entire 2 pages with relevant information.
- If you are using a Resume template, choose one that is aesthetically aligned with the industry/job you’re applying for and allows you to do the things I’ve just mentioned.
- Know why you’re putting information on the page! Everything you put on the page has to have relevance to the job you’re applying for.
3.Continous Learning: A desire to continue growing your knowledge and skills is something Employers now look for. They want to invest in employees who continually bring the most up-to-date knowledge and skills to their company. Speak to this when writing your Resume and demonstrate it by showing that you are currently engaged in taking courses that benefit the position you’re applying for. The Covid pandemic thoroughly legitimized online learning, so this should make it easier to fit into your life. Show the Employer that you believe in investing in yourself through Continous Learning. This increases your value and will put you in a stronger position to negotiate future promotions and salary raises.
Your Resume and Cover Letter have to clearly convey your value *before* you speak with the interviewer directly. Using the points I’ve mentioned here will communicate to the Employer that if you have this much respect for yourself, you’ll treat their company the same way. Take this point to heart. It’s an important one.
This was definitely the approach I took while developing the Resume and Cover Letter for this particular client. For more important aspects to consider, please read the links at the end of this page.
The Click and Send Epidemic
There’s a Click and Send epidemic taking place. People are mindlessly clicking on as many job postings as they can find and sending out Resumes without even knowing what the job entails or whether or not they qualify for the job. I have heard of some people sending out 50+ Resumes a day this way, just to say that they’ve been looking for a job.
At the other end of the spectrum, Employers have told me that they often receive 100+ Resumes per job posting and most of the applicants haven’t even read the job posting. When the Employer calls to set up an Interview, the applicant has no idea who they are, why they’re calling or even remember that they sent the company a Resume.
Looking at this from the perspective of the Employer/ Hiring Manager, what would your thoughts be? Is this someone your company would want to invest in?
If this is the approach you’re taking when applying for jobs, you need to know that it shows. If you want an Employer to take you seriously enough to choose you over hundreds of others applicants, you need begin by taking the process seriously.
This means: Know your worth, do all your due diligence, bring your best self to the process, show them that you are a person of value that they would do well to invest in, and be the winning candidate!
Are you thinking of using AI to write your Resume?
AI can be a big help….or it can sabotage your efforts to get hired.
Again, looking at the things from the perspective of the Employer/Hiring Manager, what do you think your experience of it would be if you sent out a job posting and received 100+ Resumes sounding like they were written by the same person?
I understand that writing about yourself can be very challenging, and using AI to write your Resume makes the process so much easier. However, if you want to stand out from the tsunami wave of Resumes that all sound the same, you need to take a different approach.
That’s what I did with my Career Coaching client who received the request to Interview 36 hours after she sent the company her Resume. Throughout the process of working on it with her, I repeatedly said: “We are not going to talk about you in general terms, I want them to get a sense of who you are as a person so that you stand out from all the AI written Resumes.”
I’m happy to say this approach worked. Her Resume got noticed!
So yes, if needed use AI to get you started or to break through blocks, but then reword it so that it’s in your voice. Ingrain yourself into the text so that the Employer feels you’re speaking directly to them. Make a Human connection with the reader!
Last but definitely not least…..
I want to acknowledge the incredibly positive, 100% both feet in, ‘Ready to Go’ attitude of the client herself. By the end of our first session, when she had a clear sense of what we were going to be able to accomplish, her excitement was palpable! She arrived at each Resume Development session and Interview Training session focused, motivated, fully engaged in the process, she worked in complete tandem with me and contributed excellent suggestions. She truly was an outstanding client. If you are thinking of working with a Career Coach, I recommend you take the same approach, so that you get the most out of the process.
I hope this information will be of help to you in securing that prize Interview you want!
Please feel free to contact me, if you require support in this area. My contact information is listed below. Wishing you the best of Career success! -Kristina Jansz, Professional Career Coaching
You may be interested in these Posts and Services I offer!
Professional Career Counseling Services
If you’re using AI to write your Resume, this is a MUST read!
Don’t just have ‘A Resume’ You’ve got to stand out from the crowd
4 Key Steps to Delivering a Winning Interview
It’s time to raise the Bar on Work
Self-care, Mindfulness, Stress-management, Daily Practice
A Key condition for Growth: Your Hunger must be Greater than your Fears
Life Skills and Empowerment Strategies
Thank you for taking time to read this post! The right information at the right time is a most powerful catalyst for change. For Coaching, Workshops or an Inspiring Talk on this valuable topic, contact me!
Kristina Jansz, Life Skills and Empowerment Strategies 705 794-9900 | [email protected]
(c) Titans International Inc. Kristina Jansz 2019, 2020-2050
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