Take a quick glance at the top section of John's resume, below, and see how well it markets his best skills, achievements and experience for the VP of Marketing position:

Reading the resume section above, how quickly were you able to determine if John's skills match the top requirements listed in the ad above? Like many resumes created by executives, John's resume starts off with a broad overview of his vast experience. The temptation is to communicate all areas of experience, but in many ways this backfires because employers and recruiters either don't take the time to wade through such descriptions or they miss the mark because the descriptions don't hit upon specific experience being requested or required. By not customizing and targeting his resume, the description above doesn't hit upon required internet experience mentioned in item 3 of the ad.

Now take a glance at the top section of John's new resume shown below. Is it more powerful? Does the opening heading present John's top qualifications at a glance? Which resume does a better job of communicating the full range of John's experience--the broad, general statements listed above or the specific, achievement-oriented ones below? Which is more convincing?

Now that you've compared the before and after examples, which resume do you think will have a greater chance of grabbing the attention of both employers and recruiters? Which one will help John effectively position himself and pave the way to negotiating a top salary?

This example drives home the fact that your resume must command attention and match the needs of employers and recruiters. Headlines and subheadings like the ones used in John's after resume do this quite powerfully yet use limited space. Now that we've discussed how to effectively open your resume let's look a few short tips to improve the body.

In working with executives, I find they still follow traditional resume formats like the one below which focus attention first on the company and secondly on job titles.

Ted wanted to apply for a variety of positions, some in related industries but many in unrelated industries. One ad was for a VP of Marketing for a pre-launch, start-up company building a new Internet-based business service marketing ISP and telecommunications packages to business travelers and other laptop users.

Taking a quick glance at the names of the companies that Ted had worked for, it's easy to assume that Ted managed marketing for firms manufacturing electronics, engineered systems or chemical products. Recruiters and employers doing a quick screen of Ted's resume would be likely to eliminate him before they even read his job titles or the content beneath each of the company names. It's apparent that the industries he has worked in don't relate to the marketing of ISP and telecommunications packages. So to help ensure that Ted's resume does get read it's important that his resume market the transferable experience he has to offer. In a moment, you'll see a wide range of headings and subheadings that Ted can use in his resume that do just that!

Another problem that Ted faced was that the second job listed above was a bust. He didn't feel he could list any major accomplishments with this company as it had experienced tremendous problems fulfilling orders or providing quality products. At the end of two years it had been sold. Then the fourth position was so technically oriented that Ted felt it also shouldn't be included in the main body of his resume. To overcome these problems, the less important positions weren't described in the body of the resume and only a short chronological listing of all jobs was included at the end of the resume. This allowed Ted to devote the largest portion of his resume to those jobs that are most important to market and are a strong match to the jobs he wants.

Now take a look at the headings and subheadings for two positions Ted wanted to devote the bulk of his resume to. Text describing each of the italicized subheadings isn't included here but would appear in short paragraph form in the actual resume. Do they present a much stronger image of Ted's qualifications? Are they more likely to keep a recruiter or employer reading his resume?

The use of these headings and subheadings caused a dramatic change in the image presented by Ted's after resume. We also improved statements throughout the body of his resume which also elevated his image. Here's an example of a before and after statement from the first job described in Ted's resume:

Ted had found several positions requiring experience managing revenues of up to $100 million and this made his experience managing sales of $40 million seem light weight. Therefore, he was able to position himself as a hard-hitting achiever by sharing the fact that he can close individual contracts ranging up to $36 million and that he works for a multi-national corporation with global sales of $1.2 billion. Adding these details put Ted's experience in context for employers--and presents him in a whole new light--versus managing sales of $40 million. It's important that you provide such distinctions for employers and recruiters as they can only judge you by the limited amount of information you provide in your resume--you can't assume they'll know or realize such information about you.

$9,000 Salary Increase
The first resume workshop in this site shows how Fran's after resume resulted in a $9,000 salary increase.  Fran wanted a $33,000 Corporate Customer Representative job but her resume created an image of her being at a $20,000 to 24,000 salary level -- that's $9,000 to $13,000 beneath her goal.

What Level Does Your Resume Market You At?
If you are curious to see what level your resume is marketing you at … then be sure to read and use the graphing techniques in my first workshop.  By graphing the job titles used in Fran's resume it's easy to see why her resume failed … and once you understand this … you will understand why the majority of resumes fail.  You'll then understand how to analyze your job titles and see if you are better off using them or replacing them with skill headings that market you more effectively. 

Most People Have Job Titles that Weaken Their Image
I estimate that at least 85% of all job seekers have job titles unrelated to their current career goals … and that they are much better off using skill headings rather than job titles to land higher salaries and double and triple their interview rates.

For example, Fran had been a Directory Operator but in most people's minds that doesn't sound like she's at the level of a Corporate Customer Representative making $33,000 … that's because most people don't view directory operators as providing true customer service.  Most people say that Directory Operator sounds like someone making only $20,000.  However, by using the 12 Questions in my Proven Resumes Series, Fran wrote a new description of her duties as a Directory Operator that described her being selected out of 100 Directory Operators to provide specialized Customer Service to the Governor's Office and Political Dignitaries in the Washington State Capitol … now that information begins to change our image of Fran doesn't it?  That makes her sound much more like someone being able to command $33,000. 

Which sounds like a better match for the $33,000 Corporate Customer Service Representative goal… her old job title of Directory Operator  … or a skill heading like Customer Service Representative to State of Washington Account.  In Fran's actual resume we used the heading of Customer Service Representative but you can see how you can play with skill headings to control and elevate your image … this is one strategy I explain in detail with examples throughout my book, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries, and one of the strongest things I can offer you as a resume writer … just in case you don't have the time or patience to write your own.

Going from 0% to 100% Interview Rate
By using skill headings that matched her goal, Fran went from a 0% interview rate to a 100% interview rate -- meaning none of her prior resumes had landed an interview but her new resume landed an interview for each position she applied for.

Click here to learn other ways we improved Fran's resume and landed her a job paying $9,000 more click here to read my first set of resume workshops!  If you've entered my site via this page, be sure to go to my home page for an overview of more than 60 Free Resume & Job Search Workshops that include tons of Resume Tips for 45 Career Fields, Job Search, Electronic Resume, Cover Letter, Interviewing, Networking and Confidence Building strategies. 

The testimonials at the top of this page and throughout my site describe salary increases ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 and more.  Here's one of my most recent ones: 

I'd like to share another testimonial from Barb Shull, the professional resume writer I trained and who has owned her own resume writing service for the last five years. Barb is the only person I refer visitors to for resume writing.

As these short examples illustrate, executives need powerful resumes that project an image which meets the needs of the positions they seek to fill and be hired for. Crafting an effective, attention-getting resume requires careful analysis of many factors to determine which is the most effective way to present your top qualifications. My newest series of booklets, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries and Changed Lives!, does of all of this and more. It takes you step by step through the process of understanding how to control your image. Provides worksheets to help you analyze your titles, expand or strengthen them. Shows you how to analyze ads and create powerful keyword headings like those used in John's and Ted's examples. Provides an extensive list of questions to help you pull out and describe your experience. Gives tips on how to edit your statements for maximum impact. And, provides skill lists and keywords for 45 industries.