by: Fred Coon
Chairman, CEO
Stewart, Cooper & Coon
Thankfully for the American economy, the stock market seems to be on an up-swing. Unfortunately for the American worker, that does not translate to peace of mind as far as job security goes. Whether you are out of work or satisfied with your current job, below are a few surefire ways to recession proof your resume.
#1 Communicate Your Value
Effectively communicating your value on paper is one of the best ways to improve your resume. This will help to separate you from the thousands of other job seekers currently in the market.
If you are simply listing your specific job duties in your current and past roles, you are not helping yourself at all. Think about it for a moment. If everyone who has the same job as you listed their duties on a resume, where would that put you? Most likely right in the middle of the pack. The key is to show how you have exceeded your duties, and then translating that into quantifiable results.
For example, if your job was to answer the phone all day, how many calls did you field? Is that more than someone else? Where does that rank you in the department for that specific duty?
Effectively communicating your value is just a matter of taking a different perspective while looking at your job. If you can effectively show your strengths and how they separate you from the next resume in the pile, you automatically put yourself at an advantage.
#2 Don’t Generalize
One of the most common mistakes that people make while writing their resume is to generalize certain functions, skills or achievements because they believe it makes them a person who can do everything. However, that is not what employers want.
All generalizing does is water down your resume and make you a Jack/Jill of all trades; which is not what you want to be considered during a job search.
Gayle Howard, founder of Top Margin Career Networking group and renowned resume writer, says she encounters this quite frequently and always ends up telling her clients the same thing.
“As an employer, do I want a Marketing Manager expert with 20 years of experience in the right industry with the right skills, or do I want an individual who says he can do a little bit of anything? The answer is clear and compelling. A job seeker should not dilute his or her value to try and be everything to all people.”
#3 Give Your Resume a Check-Up
Just like you go to your doctor for regular check-ups, give your resume a check-up. While you are employed, keep track of each achievement that you encounter. That doesn’t mean that every one has to make it onto the resume, but if you lose your job, the chances of remembering every achievement in the five years since you updated your resume are slim to none.
Also, it is highly beneficial to enlist the services of a professional resume writer. There are numerous companies, and even freelance resume writers, that make this service their living. If you can, take advantage of their services. A professional resume writer is certified and carries the credentials (in some way, shape or form) of a Certified Resume Writer.
Think of it this way; you could probably change the oil on your car, but there are people that do that for you.