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Krug Champers to Resume self sufficiency

Hello lovely readers. You know what? Having now helped over 10,000 transitioning candidates develop effective personal branding strategies and campaigns to drive career success, it’s a given that I’ve seen a few resumes along the way. As a result, friends often ask if I might review their resumes as well. Now to be honest, after a day coaching folk on how to take their resumes from bog standard to kick ass, attention-grabbing, strength marketing, scan-bot loving documents, it’s kind of the last thing I want to be doing in my leisure time! Unless your reward for my efforts involves a crate of Krug Private Cuvée Champers, an extended holiday in Bora Bora and a bevvy of gorgeous…oh sorry, where was I?

Let me offer you a five-step editing plan that will help you take your resume from okay to pretty damn impressive without that expense…you’re welcome!

Editing is more than just giving your resume a once-over to eliminate egregious typos and grammar mistakes. It’s about looking at it with a critical eye, then making changes to ensure it’s the best it can be. And that’s what you want for your resume, right? Sooo..first up:

1: Consider the Resume’s Aim

On that first read, ignore typos and formatting and think about the overall message your resume is sending. From the top down, ask yourself the following:

Contact details:

• Is my email address professional? (‘sexybeast@hotmail.com’ just won’t do ok?)
• Have I added my LinkedIn URL below my email address and mobile number?

Insider tip – Hotmail addresses have a propensity for landing in the junk mail folder – consider an alternative such as Gmail, outlook etc., just for your marketing purposes

Executive Summary:

• Does my summary start with my ‘functional title’ e.g. ‘Sales Executive’ with expertise in….’
• Does my title follow with skills as they relate to the expectations of the job for which I’m applying?
• Does it summarise the actual strengths and experience I’ve articulated in the body of the resume?
• Does my summary sell me well enough to entice the reader to read more?

Insider tip: Summary should ‘summarise’ strengths depicted in the body of the resume and vice versa.

Career History:

• What makes my experience stand out amongst similarly experienced candidates?
• Are there gaps between the experience on the pages and experience required for the job?
• If so, what can I add to supplement those gaps?
• Are my responsibilities nicely summarised in a tidy three line job scope sentence?
• Do my achievements demonstrate what I did with my responsibilities that made a difference in my past jobs?
• Do my accomplishments answer the critical questions – ‘Why? (Challenge) How? (Actions) and So What? (Results)
• Have I quantified results as proof of outcomes?
• Have I started each achievement with an action verb?
• Have I edited my accomplishments back to sharp three line sentences?
• No more than 10-12 years history included?

Education/Professional Development:

• Have I included the name of the institutes from which I gained my formal qualifications?
• And listed the most relevant professional development courses I’ve attended?

And…
• Is there anything in the document that doesn’t need to be, such as photos, fancy graphics, hobbies, date of birth, marital status?
• Does the overall text sell me as the perfect candidate for the role?

Insider tip: Quantify the results in achievements where possible. The critical difference between an average resume and a brilliant one.

2: Scrutinize

Now to editing. Walk through your resume again and look at every section, every sentence, and every word and determine if there’s a better way to get your point across:

• Is this the most robust possible language I can use?
• Can anything be said more clearly? Or in fewer words?
• Have I used technical language that someone outside my company or industry might not understand?
• Have my acronyms been spelt out? (Don’t assume the reader will understand them)
• Are there any words I’ve used repeatedly? Can they be replaced with more creative language?

Insider tip: Send your resume to your selected referees, ask them for feedback and adjust accordingly, after all, they’ll be the ones substantiating your claims when called for a reference.

3: Double Check Facts and Stats

Now review your resume again, this time asking yourself:

• Are the companies I’ve worked for named the same thing today?
• Are my position titles accurate?
• Are my employment dates correct?
• Are the stats I’ve used to describe increases, budgets, savings and achievements (reasonably) accurate?

Insider tip: Another reason to seek referee feedback. The facts need to weigh up with their recall.

4: Double Proofread

You can review your document for hours and still fail to notice that you’ve used ‘lead’ instead of ‘led’, ‘there’ instead of ‘their’, ‘manger’ instead of ‘manager’. Don’t rely on Spellcheck alone. Proofreading one last time is a step you can’t neglect. More questions to ask:

• Are there any typos? Wrong word usage?
• Do each of my bullet points end with a period (or not)? Either is fine, be consistent.
• Are my commas in the right place?
• Is my sentence structure grammatically consistent?
• Is everything written in past tense?
• Have I removed all personal pronouns, e.g. ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘our’?
• Are the pages numbered in the footer?
• Is my name on each page in the header?

Insider tip: When proofreading, it’s helpful to read your resume from the bottom up. Again, have someone you trust review for grammar and consistency.

5: Aesthetic Appeal

Now it’s time to give it a final once-over with a designer’s eye, considering:

• Does each page look visually appealing?
• Are the pages overly cluttered?• The font too small? Difficult to read?
• Bullet points used for easy readability?
• Do the headings stand out?
• Is the font size and formatting for each section consistent?
• Does the layout make sense?
• No more than three pages max?

Insider Tip: Avoid templates with fancy symbols, fonts and layouts – they are the bain of recruiter’s lives for they’re challenging to extrapolate info from and the scanbots can’t always parse the necessary info that will get you to the ‘read’ pile.

Editing your resume to ensure it’s sharp and focused, sells you effectively and is error free can be exciting, challenging and rewarding all in one. Why? It reminds you of just how much you’ve accomplished in your career. And that boosts your confidence. Which in turn better prepares you for typical behavioural interviews. And the opportunity to negotiate salary because you now know your worth. And ultimately it can land you that job!

Oh! And if you need someone to share your celebratory Champers with, you know where to find me!

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Lessons from a geriatric starlet…

“If you want to stay young, you have to think young. Having a sense of wonder, a sense of humour and a sense of curiosity,” says 96-year-old Iris Apfel, the fabulously forward-thinking businesswoman, interior designer, fashion icon and author. “I never want to be an old fuddy-duddy; I hold the self-proclaimed record for being the World’s Oldest Living Teenager, and I intend to keep it that way,” 

Positivity personified my lovely readers, and as the blog is all about living, laughing, loving, learning and leaving a legacy (with style), who better than Iris to reinforce the message?

My Great Grandmother graciously exited this mortal coil at 104 (but not before rousing her entire posse of aged care facility cohorts into performing a Christmas Eve play for Brighton’s (UK) Lord Mayer), and I’m aiming for 105! And why not when there are so many fabulous women from whom to draw inspiration? Think Helen Mirren – 72 – actress, agitator and influencer; Dr Lyn Slater – 64 – Professor, speaker, writer, model, social media influencer; Carmen Dell’Orefice – 86 – model and muse; Vivienne Westwood – 77 – edgy fashion designer – to name a few. Today, Iris.

(Image: Iris Apfel – photo credit cnbc.com)

Here Iris – of the huge glasses, chunky jewellery, vibrant colours, Ari Seth Kohen Muse, 923k Instagram follower fame – shares her top 10 suggestions for thinking ‘young.’

 

1) “Don’t obsess over your age.”

‘Gettin’ old ain’t for sissies’ but so what? It’s just a number. We may not like getting older but what’s the alternative? We’re here, embrace it and put your life experience to work to give something back to other people.’

2) “Pick a partner who celebrates your successes.”

Iris’s partner Carl died at the age of 100, but not before providing encouragement and unwavering support (post business partnership retirement) as he pushed Iris into the limelight and basked in her successes. He’s the drive behind her book ‘Accidental Icon.’

3) “When something excites you, go for it.”

Iris never expected people to know her name or recognise her face, or be labelled a fashion icon, or find museums exhibiting her clothing and accessories, or be selected to be a cover girl and the face of a cosmetics company – and all in her 90’s. She says she just feels things in her gut and does them. Yes, it takes energy and strength to make things happen, to learn how to master a skill, push fears aside and she agrees that many would feel comfortable merely going with the flow but in her words “that’s not very interesting.”

4) “To stay young, you have to think young.”

“You have two of anything and chances are one of them is going to hurt when you get up in the morning. But you have to get up and move beyond the pain. If you want to stay young, you have to think young. Having a sense of wonder, a sense of humour and a sense of curiosity — these are my tonics,” she says. “They keep you young, childlike, open to new people and things, ready for another adventure.” Damn, I love this woman!

Image: Iris Apfel – photo credit cnbc.com

5) “Care about your own opinion above anyone else’s.”

Despite having to learn how to play bridge when she was younger Iris firmly declares she never tried to fit in. She didn’t go out of her way to be a rebel or do things that were not socially acceptable, Iris naturally learnt early on that she had to be her own person to be content.

“If you have to be all things to all people, you end up being ‘nothin’ to nobody.” Some would feel the need to label Iris’s style as ‘different’ or ‘eccentric’, but that of no concern to her. “I don’t dress to be stared at; I dress for myself. When you don’t dress like everyone else, you don’t have to think like everyone else.”

6) “But don’t isolate yourself, either.”

Iris says “Here’s the critical part: I know I’m not an island, but rather part of the main, to paraphrase [the poet] Mr John Donne. I fit in but in my way.” Her advice is to fit in first and then step out. In her words – “there’s a difference between being perceived of as original and being accepted, even loved for it, and being perceived as different and resented for it”. It requires balance.

7) “Money doesn’t buy success”

Iris believes that if you’re happy, have found love and are surrounded by good folk, doing what gives you pleasure while giving back to others, that’s what constitutes success.

8) “Style is not about spending money”

Indeed, style is not about wearing expensive clothes, as we’ve seen in the media one can be dressed in the latest couture, sporting ten-thousand-dollar shoes and dripping with jewellery and still look like Myer’s Christmas windows. Nope. it’s not what you wear but how you wear it.

I love that Iris wears bangles that cost three bucks alongside valuable pieces, putting things together as her spirit moves her. In her words “When you try too hard to have style, you look uncomfortable, like you’re wearing a costume…and if you’re uptight, you won’t be able to carry off even a seemingly perfect outfit”. Her recommendation when this happens? “Abandon the whole thing, for it’s better to be happy than well dressed.”

9) “Start new endeavours with one small step.”

“You only fail if you do not try,” says Apfel.

Iris wanted to start a fabric business, so she figured out how to do it claiming that had she thought about opening Old World Weavers too much, she probably wouldn’t have pursued her dream. She believes that sometimes we just have to take action, even if it is a small step. In her 90+ years she has applied this philosophy to living — and dressing — and believes it has never steered her in the wrong direction.

10) “Don’t pretend you are younger than you are.”

I’m constantly amazed at folk who deliberately take a few years off their age. Like Iris, I believe there’s nothing wrong with wrinkles. “When you’re older, trying to look years younger is foolish, and you’re not fooling anyone. When you’re seventy-five, and you get a face-lift, nobody is going to think you are thirty,” she says. Hear hear! Fancy the full story? Grab her book now!

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