One of the most central characters in your job search and in how people view you professionally is your résumé or your LinkedIn Profile. Yet, despite all the advances in how job-search technology has evolved over the past decade or more, most have not changed their view of how they present themselves where it matters the most. People still write their résumé in an affected, stale way that does not create any differentiation. Laden with facts and details, most résumés read like a phone book: dry, uninteresting, and repetitive. I call this version a Jurassic résumé.
So, what are some of the other ways that you can present your verbal message that will get attention and that will create the intrigue for that phone call?
A résumé designed around story-telling has a very different energy to it. Everyone loves to read a story—or watch it—and understand who the hero and the villain are. So, why not use your résumé as a platform for telling your story in a way that invites reading, curiosity, and action? The action is that phone call you have been waiting for to get going on the interview cycle. I call this version an Inductive résumé. Why? Because it induces its reader to think beyond the obvious and to make a leap in thinking of possibilities.
So, how do you tell your story?
Good question! Most people wince when I remind them that their résumé is NOT about them, but it is about the job they are after. So, how does that influence the way you write your résumé when it comes to telling your story? Simply put, a résumé written in story-telling format aligned with the job you are targeting will have a very different energy to it, which will allow its reader to engage their interest in reading it and in calling you to discuss the opportunity further.
Let me explain with an illustration:
Let us assume that someone in account management job is writing their résumé to pursue a job as a Regional Account Manager (the next level up in the ladder). The Jurassic résumé entry may read:
- As Account Manager increased Y-Y account revenues in double digits and won the award for Best Managed Account three years running.
This entry merely states the facts about the role you played as Account Manager and does that well because of your awards. However, if you presented your story in a different way as written below:
- As Account Manager collaborated with Product Managers and Architects to develop a roadmap for the clients’ ongoing product and solution plans pivoted to their customers’ needs, which resulted in clients’ long-term commitment to product roadmap and revenue growth (20%) well beyond what would have been possible with a transactional approach (typically 5%), winning Best Managed- Account Award, three years running.
If you were the hiring manager reading this person’s résumé which message is likely to result in a call?
So, what is the difference between the two different ways this person is telling their “story”? The former is merely a statement of facts: Dry, factual, and uninteresting. The latter is juicy, interesting, and full of leadership initiative. Whom would you rather have on your team?
So, even though writing your résumé in a story-telling way takes more space, effort, and time it can make a big difference in the way you come across as you present your résumé to someone who has a limited time to screen myriad résumés and to call those who are worthy of their time!
Good luck!