So there are some things that work better than others but it kinda depends on who’s looking at the resume so.
So What is The Right Way to Do A Resume?
Some of you are out there right now doing your job search and you’re looking at your resume going, is this the right resume you’ve probably asked for one bazillion opinions and gotten one bazillion different answers. So what’s the right way to do a resume? I’m gonna tell you that in this video but first, my name is Christopher Lawrence and I am a life and career coach. I don’t even know what I am anymore. I’m a life and career coach and I love what I do and I want you to love what you do too. So this resume thing is really important. So what is the right way to do a resume? Suspenseful silence. Suspenseful silence. Are you ready? There is no right way to do a resume. What? Okay, okay, so there are some things that work better than others but it kinda depends on who’s looking at the resume so here’s a really big tip for you. Pick a fairly standard format that you believe will work for you and your experience. I do have a blog that actually talks about three different kinds of resumes (here). There’s chronological, there are skills-based and then there’s a hybrid type resume and any and all of those I have seen work for my clients but not all of them at the same time.
Test Out Your Resume
So what is the right way? Well, actually it doesn’t really matter. Pick a format, stick with it, put it out into the world and test it out. Here’s why. You are gonna get hundreds and hundreds of different opinions on resumes. I have never ever put a resume out there where somebody didn’t have something to say. I’ve never had it come back and say, yep, your resume’s good. Never had that. There are always tweaks and changes that somebody will wanna make to your resume. So yeah, consult with somebody. Get in front of somebody and say, here’s my resume, what do you think, get some feedback ’cause it’s really good to have that second check on it and check your spelling and then get your resume out the door. Get as many out the door as you possibly can within the context that you are doing it correctly. So you’re tailoring a couple of points based on the job that you’re applying for.
Your Resume Is Your Brand
Remember, resumes are your brand so don’t think of it as a listing of here’s what I’ve done. Think about it as here’s who I am and here’s who I’m trying to sell to. So if I want a job being a barista then I need to sell the core competencies of being a barista. Tailor your resume to core competencies of what it means to be a barista so customer service and maybe you’ve worked in food, the service industry before or maybe you haven’t but you have other skills that are similar to that. That’s your brand for that resume. So make sure that your resume is speaking to them. Think about this really carefully ’cause lots of clients get it wrong. Who is looking at it and what is it they’re trying to look to fulfill? Change your resume based off that, not just the points listed on the job description. That’s a leading thing that you can do that can help lead you down the right path but think about this as your brand.
Start Thinking of Yourself as A Career Person
I recently worked with a server and she says I’ve never really wanted a serious career and so I think I’m probably gonna serve most of my life and I’m like, serving can be a serious career. There are some people who work at certain restaurants in this city who are taking home two to $4000 in tips a month, nevermind their base wage. So I think that’s pretty impressive. So start thinking of yourself as that career person and establish your brand that way and make sure that that gets reflected. If you need help with that, you should reach out to me, Christopher Lawrence at changemylifecoaching.ca. You can email me directly from that website (here). Whatever goes through there will come to me and my staff and they’ll make sure that I get it.
Track Your Results
So then what do you do? You get your resume out there and then you track the results. Okay, I’ve put out 10 resumes and I didn’t get any callbacks. Okay, first, look at the jobs you’re applying for. So if you are somebody who isn’t an engineer and you’re applying for engineering jobs, you’re not gonna get callbacks, right? So first look at that and say, does my resume really reflect the kind of work that I’m looking for? The second thing that you should do is you should say okay, yes, if it reflects the kinda work I’m looking for, my skills match but I’m not getting callbacks then we need to change your resume. Some people come to me. I had a client who came to me recently and she says I’d like you to review my resume and I said, okay, how many people have reviewed it before me? She’s like, 10. I’m like, great. I said, your resume looks really good to me and I could make changes based off my opinion and that’s all it is, it’s an opinion but what I’m curious about is how many resumes do you put out and how many calls do you get and she actually got like five calls for every 10 resumes she put out and I’m like, that is a phenomenal number especially in this market where I am here in Calgary. So if you’re getting callbacks, if your resume’s producing results then you don’t really need to change a whole lot on it except for making it specific to the job that you’re applying for so, but if you’re not getting callbacks, now we need to make some changes. So that’s my tips on resume. That’s how you make a right resume or you make the resume right maybe. You can check me out at changemylifecoaching.ca. My name’s Christopher Lawrence and I am a career and life coach. Remember, come for your job but stay for your life. This is about your whole life, not just about your career. Thanks very much. We’ll talk to you soon.
