Title: Transform a "good" résumé into a "great" résumé

Content:

Candidate Background: Andrea, an accomplished sales manager, sought opportunities where she could manage sales teams or serve as an individual contributor. With her current company undergoing some restructuring, she felt it best to prepare herself for new challenges. This was a very proactive move on Andrea's part, especially considering most of her previous positions had been secured as a result of her extensive professional network. She was concerned, as a recent survey showed the average job search lasts a little more than 5.5 months, so she wanted to get a head start on hitting the market to source the opportunities that were right for her.

Résumé Strategies: Andrea had no shortage of quantifiable achievements, and she had spent a considerable amount of time developing her résumé, including a qualifications summary. Her résumé, however, appeared very content heavy with little to no use of selective formatting to push the reader's eyes to the most important details of her background. While she had a good start, her résumé needed some prioritization, expansion of the qualifications summary, selective presentation of key accomplishments, and a major formatting boost to generate interest and better engage hiring managers.

To begin, I revamped the entire format of her résumé. As an accomplished sales driver, this commanding format was appropriate and served to reinforce the strength of her background and contributions. As we were conveying a considerable amount of data in the qualifications summary, I used three bulleted statements, with selective bolding, to break up the information and facilitate ease of readability. To the left of the summary, a shaded box was used to present key strengths and provide for an additional outlet for keyword inclusion.

In the Professional Experience section, companies were presented with brief descriptions in order to better frame the scope of her responsibilities. White space was added throughout this section, and the entire résumé, to facilitate ease of readability and ensure an aesthetically pleasing document. Responsibilities were presented, in a paragraph format, followed by the key challenges she faced in each role. Presenting the challenges of each role allows a hiring manager to better understand the key focus of each position, which also places achievements in the appropriate light. Accomplishments were expanded upon, prioritized, and formatted to pique the reader's interest.

Andrea's early career experiences were presented in a Prior Positions section, without dates, avoiding unnecessarily aging her candidacy.

Lastly, Andrea's four-year degree was presented, which she had accidentally omitted from her original résumé.

Success Factors: Andrea had built a solid foundation from which to continue her career in sales, proving herself as a competent sales manager and a successful individual contributor. She was also sure of her current objective, despite keeping her options open as to the industries she was interested in. She was able to articulate how she had contributed value to her former employers, and she was able to explore these areas fully during our consultation. By presenting Andrea's accomplished background in a thorough, high-impact, and aesthetically pleasing manner, she will be sure to garner the interest of hiring mangers.

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Do you have a question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@semissourian.com. Samantha Nolan owns Ladybug Design, a résumé writing and interview coaching firm. For more information, call (888) 9-LADYBUG (888-952-3928) or visit www.ladybug-design.com.

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