Once you've brainstormed all your content, it's time to get down to brass tax. There are 3 things I'm always mindful of when it's time to write.

1. Never start from scratch

In most cases, no matter what job you want there's always a reference you can look to. At the very least, there are people who work at that company in that role you can look to as an example. So instead of trying to come up with your resume yourself, take time to understand

The Job description and everything they're looking for (Read it until you know it by heart)

The general standard for resumes in that industry. You can find this through a quick Job Hero search. And how REAL HIRES are talking about their role.

You can easily find all of this info by searching on Google and spying on people's Linkedin pages. I love using the 3rd tactic bc it shows you what a successful example looks like. Once you have that, you know how to talk about your role and what to emphasize. You'll also start identifying key themes across all those different sources in terms of vocabulary, key responsibilities, and required skills.

2. The bullet formula is your foundation

From there, you can move on to actually crafting the Bullet. Start with a very strong action verb that captures the essence of your role. Then describe the core of what you did/how you did, then quantify.

Simple.

If you're stumped on what words to actually use, check out this list of 180 powerful action verbs broken down by project type. I've been using this as a resource for years and I still love it.

3. Quantify EVERYTHING

Then when it comes down to Quantification, this is where most people check out. They always forget to quantify. The two biggest reasons are:

They don't remember the exact impact they achieved
They don't know how to actually get to a number

If you don't remember the impact you achieved. ITS OK TO ESTIMATE. Don't kill yourself about it lol. What's important is that the ESTIMATE is REASONABLE. It should fall within some standard deviation where you don't feel like you're BSing when you're giving it out. As long as it's reasonable, you're good. Feel free to round up or down on a case by case basis.

To get to the number, you really just have to go through a funnel. Start at the most macro level and continually refine until you get to the number you need.

Anytime you say you did something, you should ask yourself:

How much?
How many?
What was the before and after?

Start with what you know, and then make logical assumptions for what you don't know. It will feel like a brain teaser exercise, but that's normal.

It's all a part of the process.

But this is pretty much it when it comes to the actual writing of the resume.

Keep those 3 secrets in your back pocket and you'll rise above the rest.

In the next post, we'll go through a couple REAL examples that got REAL results. We have a Creative Professional, a Chocolate Salesman, and a Construction Manager.

It'll be fun! Lol get ready

The Latest Updates On The Changes At The U.S. Postal Service

NPR

For the best of Hark in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.