|
In Step 2, we
labeled Randy's skills with skill headings. These headings can
be used for the main body of his resume. Read the lists below.
Which markets Randy the best for a $28,000+ position - his job
titles or skill headings?
Step 2
- Label
Skills with Skill Headings
Skill Headings
Key
Account Sales
High Closing Ratio
Contract Negotiation
Vendor Coordination
Assistant
Manager
Sales
/ Customer Service Administration
Branch Accounting / Reporting
Driver
/ Coordinator
Staff
Training
Workload Management |
Step 3
- Analyze Ads To Identify Skills
Employers Want
Now,
Randy needs to identify the top skills employers want in corporate
sales positions by analyzing wants ads or job descriptions. Below,
I've included a want ad for a Corporate Account Representative.
|
Corporate
Account Representative Must
have sales experience, ability to manage customer service to
accounts, call on high number of accounts each day, generate
and close sales, train new sales associates,
manage their workloads, and coordinate delivery of products with
manufacturers and warehouse. |
Step 4
- Select Best Job Titles or Skills Headings to Match Ads
In
the first column below are the skills requested in the ad above.
In the second column are the skill headings Randy listed in Step
2. We've put an asterisk * next to each of Randy's skill headings
that match the ad.
Skills Requested
In Ad
Corporate
Sales Experience
Manage Customer Service
Generate & Close Sales
Train New Sales Associates
Coordinate w/Manufacturers and
Warehouse |
Job Titles
or Skill Headings That Match Ad
*Key
Account Sales
*High Closing Ratio
*Contract Negotiation / Vendor Coordination
*Sales / Customer Service Administration
Branch Accounting / Reporting
*Staff Training
*Workload Management |
Which does a
better job of marketing Randy for a $28,000+ position? Skill
headings or job titles?
New Skill
Headings
*Sales
Representative - Corporate Accounts
*Key Account Sales / High Closing Ratio
*Customer Service Administration
*Contract / Vendor Coordination
*Workload Management / Staff Training |
Job Titles
*Sales
Representative
*Night Shift Manager
*Driver / Coordinator |
You can see the
dramatic change in Randy's image by using the New Skill Headings
versus his Job Titles. Yet this is entirely truthful. By following
the detailed 6 Steps worksheets in my Increase Salaries booklet,
anyone from entry level to executive level can craft a much more
powerful and effective resume!
Step 5
- Write Descriptions For Each Job or Skill Heading
Now, Randy is ready describe each of his skill headings. Working
with clients, I ask 12 questions which are imperative in helping
them describe their skills with maximum impact. All of the 12
Questions (and over 60 sub-questions) are provided in detail
in Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries.
The 12 questions are also provided in my Career-Specific Booklets.
Below, you'll
see the original statement from Randy's resume. Next, you'll
see one of the 12 Questions that Randy used to strengthen the
original statement. Take a moment and compare the difference
between the original statement and the new statement. Which is
stronger? Which markets Randy as having a broader range of skills
and will generate him higher salary offers? Remember this is
just one statement. You can imagine the difference in Randy's
entire resume after he answered all of the 12 Questions. Again,
this very simple example really explains why I've received the
wonderful testimonials sprinkled throughout these workshops!
Original
Statement
Assisted
customers with purchase of commercial lighting fixtures. |
Question:
"Will
using numbers to describe the company or department
you worked for expand your image?"
|
New Statement
Provided
direct sales for up to 50 customers per day, for this national
lighting manufacturer with branch sales of $2.5 million annually. |
Step 6
- Complete Your Objective Statement
Once
you've written the body of your resume, you're ready to complete
your objective statement. Employers want to know what you can
do for them - not what you want from them. A formula that works
well is to name the position that you want and then to list 2
to 3 of your top skills which match the employer's needs. Below
is a simple but effective objective statement.
Seek
a Sales Representative position utilizing my
Sales Representative, Customer Service and Management experience. |
In my Increase Salaries booklet
I provide detailed worksheets to create this type of worksheet
- but even better yet is the Objective Statement Formula and accompanying worksheets
that I've developed which
combines your objective with top, key points from the body of
your resume. My
Increase Salaries booklet contains 10 pages which take you step
by step through the analysis of Two Objective & Qualifications
sections from a resume that landed a $42,000 annual increase
and another that landed a $400 a month increase (it's really true!).
Why The 6
Steps Are Critical to Resume Success!
1st Completing
the 6 Steps is critical for most job seekers since many job seekers have
a wide variety of job titles that don't relate or match the image
of the jobs they want. Job seekers must first identify and then deal effectively
with these problems and the 6 Steps guides them through this
process.
2nd Most resume books don't provide a step by step system for
analyzing, understanding and then controlling the image we present
in our resumes or in our objective statements. Most resume books have
us list each job we've held with a short description of the duties
we've performed. We're given little, if any, instruction on how
to actually create an excellent resume.
We're merely shown how to plug information beneath typical headings
like Objective, Education and Employment history sections. Then
we're encouraged to write a few statements, usually very weak
ones, to slot under these headings. This is a very ineffective way to write
resumes! To
create a truly effective resume, every word, every job title
and every statement needs to be analyzed and slanted to market
the best of what we have to offer and that means shaping the
resume as we go--not just following someone else's resume. The
6 Steps chapter in my Increase Salaries booklet shows you just
how to do this!
3rd Many resume books provide
from 50 to 200 resume examples. However, you never know if they've
been successful and there's no rhyme or reason as to why a particular
resume was created the way it was. In contrast, my Strategies That Increase
Salaries Booklets
and my Career-Specific
Booklets
take you through a proven step-by-step process that focuses on
identifying and marketing your unique skills.
You are
then guided in using proven formats and systems that work! That's radically different
than flipping through a resume book and finding a resume---that
to your untrained eye looks ok---but doesn't end up landing you
the interviews and salary you want! Only by developing a coherent and easy
to follow resume writing system have I been able to receive testimonials
like the ones below from career professionals who have used my
materials to teach effective resume writing (to what I estimate
to be over well over 1 million job seekers).
Following a successful
formula creates a resume that works. I have used Regina's book to assist over 700 customers
to produce concise and informative resumes that result in employment...and
that's as good as it gets!
J. Rellis,
Program Specialist |
This is the most
outstanding career book I've used in 2 decades of work with thousands
of students. Job
seekers are hired after using these powerful strategies....A
must for all job seekers, career classes and counselors.
Kathleen
Bernhard, PhD, Director of Counseling and Student
Activities....University
of Washington, Bothell |
This book is
the "best" out there in the Career Development field. It has assisted literally thousands of
Shoreline Community College students yearly in launching careers
at top salaries!
Berta Lloyd, Director Professional/Technical Programs and Career/Employment
Services--Shoreline Community College |
Regina Pontow
has written a terrific book on creating successful resumes. This is a thorough and Innovative course
the presents the secrets of great resumes in a unique 'before
and after' format that clearly demonstrates solid techniques
and strategies for effectively marketing the job candidate to
employers by putting the sizzle into the resume. The book uses
actual case histories and analyses charts to demonstrate the
art of creating a professionally crafted resume that is designed
to get results.
Frank Fox, Executive Director, The Professional
Association of Resume Writers (PARW) |
Testimonials like
these speak of the well-documented success of my materials and
the value you'll receive if you purchase them. Also, please keep in mind that the 6 Steps chapter in
my Increase Salaries booklet is 32 pages long. So, the information I've
just presented is just a thumbnail sketch of these top strategies. I'm sure you've learned
a lot from this workshop but please don't think it's complete
compared to what's provided in the book on this topic! Now let's
move to the next workshop and briefly discuss 2 Popular Resume
Styles.
Click
here for NEXT
WORKSHOP or
ORDER
NOW! |