Everyone wants to be ready when that next great opportunity comes along. But to be honest, no one likes spending time designing their resume Why? Without delving into the psychological challenges of touting one’s strengths while at the same time contemplating big changes on the horizon, it’ll suffice to say that it can be very boring to work on a resume. Many people liken designing a resume to homework that they tend to put off.
While all three of these reasons and more are excuses to drag your feet, procrastination doesn’t yield the best results. So how do you get excited about designing your killer resume? Start by changing your perspective. Through the exercise of designing (and maintaining) this document you are able to better understand and articulate your brand, craft excellent responses to interview questions and excel in networking and negotiation. Most importantly, when you know how to design a killer resume, your confidence will soar.
To help you get started designing your killer resume, here are 10 mindset hacks for harnessing your resume writing motivation:
Be Confident. Perhaps you’re fretting over that fine line between selling yourself and sounding arrogant. Well, there is a big difference between confidence and bragging. This is the time to confidently share with the world the strengths, skills and accomplishments that you are most proud of. Think of it this way, if YOU don’t, nobody will. It’s up to you to convey to the reader why you are qualified.
Be Strategic. The order in which you display your resume content can separate you from the masses. It’s important to understand that you should layout your big hits at the top of your resume, back up your claims throughout while capturing them with a hook at the end. Your resume should read like a best seller, drawing them in and leaving the reader wanting more.
Be Aware. Killer resumes target what recruiters are looking for. Understanding the needs of an organization and directly highlighting your quantifiable results in response to those needs, is imperative. But this doesn’t mean simply listing your skills and experience. Rather, through the use of a profile, summary of qualifications or key accomplishments block you can demonstrate your awareness of their needs and you as the solution.
Be Professional. Your resume needs to be designed to look like it belongs in the C-Suite. Whether that’s your goal or not, a resume needs to have the air of professionalism. Consider the layout, design, font, styling and color. Trends like bookmark styles, virtually interactive or graphic embedding are common 6 Figure styles.
Be Special. What is going to make your resume grab the reader’s attention? How do you stand apart from your competition? To answer these questions, once again you need to think differently. This is where infusing your personal brand can help you educate the reader as to why no one else can do what you do and why you should be paid big bucks to do it!
Be Patient. Your resume won’t be built overnight, nor will it ever be perfect (we’re human after all). Rather, a killer resume is ever-evolving and changes with time, trends and the needs of an organization. An eye-catching resume is a like a fine bottle of wine (bear with me here). It takes time to cultivate and needs to breathe a while before making any final flourishes and serving it to the reader. Believe me, the next day after you design your killer resume, you’ll have a few new inspirations to incorporate.
Be Open. Don’t send it off without asking someone to review your work. Be open to feedback and consider their suggestions. You don’t have to take every piece of advice, but look for common denominators. If everyone thinks your formatting is questionable, take it under serious advisement.
Be Flexible. It’s important to have a resume in all formats –Word, PDF and electronic. You need to get your resume to make it through the applicant tracking system and on to the decision makers.
Be Ready. You never know when the right opportunity will come along and you want to be ready. Let’s get started today designing a killer resume (and a personally brand career portfolio) that will be ready at a moment’s notice to help you stand apart from the competition.
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How to Be Career Happy? Design Your Killer Resume
I hope this article provided you with a few applicable ideas for success. I would be honored if you shared this on social media. And speaking of sharing, please share your own ideas and experiences below. Together, we can build a happier career community.
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