A lot has changed since we established our change consultancy and started sharing expert advice on almost every aspect of professional development. We’ve seen recruiting go from tech-enabled to almost completely automated. We’ve watched as LinkedIn went from a “nice to have” to being integrated into many organizations’ talent sourcing and management tools. And we’ve looked on in amazement as AI upends, well, everything.

Despite all the advancements, automation, and transformation, searching for a job is still a challenging – oh, who are we kidding… traumatizing – experience for most people.

So, this is not “how-to-use-AI-to-deepfake-your-Zoom-interview” advice. Instead, we’re serving actionable, reality-based advice regarding resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles.

Rialto Beach, WA. Photo Credit: No Vacation Required

RESUMES

Highlight Accomplishments

You've probably heard it said before that quantified achievements are an important component of a solid resume. This is true. Quantified achievements (read: accomplishments with metrics) lend credibility to claims that otherwise might fall flat and – at the very least – fail to separate you from the competition.

So, don’t make the mistake of turning your job descriptions into your resume entries. "But I want them to know that I XXX!” Don’t worry, you can tell them with a powerful, achievement-centric bullet and allow the associated responsibility to be inferred.

If you find yourself thinking in terms of responsibilities and not achievements, try this. As yourself, "To what end did I do XXX? What was the impact of me doing XXX?”

Start Powerfully

You may recoil at the notion of the “personal brand.” We get it. Even though you are 100% actively working on your personal brand – this is Substack, after all – it’s kind of a gross term. It’s also essential to creating an effective resume.

When it comes to a job search, you are the product. So, on your resume, state up front what value you represent and what “problem” you solve. And do it in no more than 3 sentences; no one has time for more than that.

Keep it Concise

Speaking of nobody having any time…

Many people – when sitting down to tackle a resume - believe it's important to detail everything about every position they've had, often getting into minor things that can undoubtedly be assumed by the reader. Even worse, most of the content is task-related – far from the accomplishment-centric information that makes a resume shine. This does you no good.

Consider your resume to be your first deliverable to a company. If HR and the hiring team see that you can portray yourself in a succinct, compelling fashion, you're off to a great start. If you go on and on about the positions you've held, no matter how impressive your title, you’ve demonstrated that you can't edit yourself.

In most cases, a resume is meant to be a hook. Persuade the reader to want to learn more via an interview. Trust us, there will be plenty of time during the painstaking interview process most companies subject candidates to for minor details.

COVER LETTERS

Don’t sleep on cover letters

First off, always submit a cover letter with your resume unless an organization specifically asks for only a resume. An ideal cover letter can take many forms, but its main goal is to motivate the reader to take a close look at your resume. Moreover, cover letters can give the reader a bit more information – some context that will help them make better sense of the resume.

To that point, a lot of people wish hiring managers knew more about them than what is just on the resume. Hiring managers want to know more, too, and the cover letter is designed to provide that additional perspective. Take advantage of the opportunity to share more about yourself – your skills, your passion, your interest in the specific role – and help decision-makers understand what differentiates you from other candidates.

Hoh Rainforest, WA. Photo Credit: No Vacation Required

This brings us to another thing most people don’t consider about cover letters.

A cover letter becomes most important once the list of job candidates has been whittled down. That's when the "extras" that a cover letter provides – again, your skills, your passion, your interest in the specific role – can make all the difference. Selecting job candidates is typically a multi-stage process of winnowing qualified applicants. Throughout those conversations, your cover letter can be your proxy and set you apart from all the similarly qualified candidates who believe that cover letters are *sigh* tired.

LINKEDIN

Your Resume and LinkedIn serve different purposes.

Because resumes and LinkedIn contain much of the same information, people often conflate the two. And LinkedIn drives this idea by allowing you to apply with LinkedIn (don’t) or save your LinkedIn as a PDF to use as your resume (also, don’t).

Here’s the difference.

Your resume is an agile marketing document, which means it can (and should) be tailored toward each specific position you apply to. When targeting the resume, you can choose to exclude unrelated experience/skills or reframe your experience so that you are highlighting specific attributes.

A LinkedIn Profile, on the other hand, is more static than a resume; you don’t target it toward specific opportunities. Instead, it serves as a more comprehensive outline of your career; it tells more of your story than would ever be strategic for your resume.

And one last thing about resumes and LinkedIn. Inconsistencies between the two, such as mismatched job titles or dates, can lead potential employers to question your reliability and attention to detail. To avoid this, update both your resume and LinkedIn profile simultaneously. This simple step ensures alignment and accuracy.

Onward & Upward,