Writing a Resume – The “Art” of the “Soft Sell”

Lets be honest here … a resume is all about selling YOU! Research indicates 1 out of every 200 resumes submitted to an employer are asked to interview. This decision is based on 10 – 20 second “scan” of your resume! (Research: RockPortInstitute)

So … with only 10 – 20 seconds YOU need to know HOW to SELL yourself! Obviously you cant use a “hard” sell technique as these generally dont translate well to paper and are generally used as a last resort by sales people with nothing to lose.

A SOFT SELL will be the BEST option for you moving forward. The bad news is … most people HATE selling! In fact, odds are, the job you want is as far from selling as you could possible want! And to top that off even if you ARE into selling … the hardest item for people to sell is … THEMSELVES!

The GOOD news … although it may be a little outside your comfort zone selling yourself is NOT hard … especially when most employers give you a “cheat sheet” telling you exactly what they are looking for.

In most cases people do a “decent” job trying to ensure their resume meets the objectives of a prospective employer but as with most types of written soft selling its not about WHAT you say … its about HOW you say it!

Here is a short list of critical elements to focus on in your sales copy. Remember … its not about WHAT you say its about HOW you say it. The BEST question you can ask yourself is “How will this read in 10 – 20 seconds to the person determining if I am worth interviewing?”

1. Focus on ACCOMPLISHMENTS not “responsiblities or duties”. SHOW the future employers why your the best candidate for the job … dont assume that by putting your “responsibilities” down they understand how you excelled at your job!
2. Understand WHAT you want to write/communicate BEFORE working on the HOW it will be worded! I am sure almost everyone has heard the phrase “failing to plan is a plan to fail”. Same thing applies to your resume!
3. Focus on the EMPLOYERS requirements … not your “wish list”

Remember this above all … its not WHAT you say its all about HOW you say it!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 9:11 am and is filed under Writing a Resume. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.