What are the most important things to remember about writing an effective resume? They can be encapsulated in a six-letter acronym, FAKTSA, in which the letters stand for:
- Focus
- Appearance
- Keywords
- Transferrable Skills
- Accomplishments
Focus: A sharp focus is an extremely important resume element. Given that employers screen resumes for between 2.5 and 20 seconds, a resume should show the employer at a glance what you want to do and what you’re good at. In a study by the former Career Masters Institute (now Career Management Alliance), employers wanted resumes to show a clear match between the applicant and a particular job’s requirements. A “general” resume that is not focused on a specific job’s requirements was seen as not competitive. In a more recent study by CareerBuilder.com, 71 percent of hiring managers preferred a resume customized for the open position.
One way to sharpen focus is through verbiage at the top of your resume that instantly catches the reader’s eye and identifies the area(s) in which you can make a contribution.
This verbiage can take one of several — or a combination — of forms:
- Objective statement: Described in more detail below.
- A “headline,” usually simply the title of the position you’re applying for, which can be adjusted for every job you apply for.
- A branding statement, a punchy “ad-like” statement that tells immediately what you can bring to an employer.
The headline and branding statement are often used in combination. Example:
managing risk, and improving the quality and caliber of operations.
If you go with an Objective statement, it should be labelled as such and use language telling how you’ll benefit the employer. Something like:
Objective: To contribute strong _ skills and experience to your firm in a __ capacity.
You can read more about resume objectives in our article Should You Use a Career Objective on Your Resume?
Watch for additional information on resume enhancers in upcoming blog entries.
