Two BGFs are browsing through Nordstrom when they spot a pair of Ferragamo shoes marked down 60%, in size 8W in the season's hottest new style and color. The catch is they've been best friends since high school, are both size 8W, and there is only one pair in the entire store and none available at another Nordstrom store or with any online retailer.
So what do best friends do, flip a coin of course. One calls heads; the other flips the coin and gets tails. Now the coin is spinning in the air and when it lands lo and behold it comes up……. tails. The moral of this story is because there was no clear cut way to choose which of the two women was more deserving of the shoes one walked away with the coveted prize and one walked away empty handed based solely on a coin toss.
Is this how you want to conduct a job search, competing for a job with your candidacy determined by the flip of a coin? I hope not; because whether you accept it or not the job hunting experience in 2011 is much like the story above. From recent grad to CEO, Accountant to Zoologist, many job seekers take unnecessary risks in their job search. The biggest being how they make their First Impression – their resume.
We all agree that a resume is the first step in getting a job search off on the right track, or for many getting a job search back on track after a lengthy detour, so why not try and get it right from Day #1.
For most positions nowadays companies are deluged with countless resumes, a preponderance of them from truly qualified candidates, and decision makers are tasked with selecting the lucky few who are called in for an interview. And believe it or not sometimes they actually use a coin toss to decide.
I've heard horror stories from people who sent out hundreds of self written resumes for up to six months with nary a nibble, and when they did get a call they said it was as if they just won the Powerball lottery. Conversely people with professionally written resumes told me that within a week they started to get 3 or more responses to every dozen resumes they sent out to people they network with, recruiters, hiring authorities, and even blindly to company websites. These responses did not all materialize into interviews; however they helped expand the individual's network, boosted the person's confidence, and brought a job seeker one step closer to finding a job in a time frame lower than the national average.
In gambling every coin has two sides, and when tossed one determines a winner and the other the loser; so too with resumes. A Killer Resume slays the competition while a Ninja Resume assassinates any chance you have of making a positive impression.
Today's job market is just like those Ferragamo shoes. Highly desirable and even just plain old good jobs are few and far between, and the competition is as stiff as it's ever been. A Killer Resume opens doors for you, the Ninja Resume slams them shut in your face. A Killer Resume resonates and elicits an immediate reply from the reader whereas Ninja Resumes are subjected to a random coin toss to choose a winner from among dozens of equally qualified applicants.
How do you know if you have a Killer or a Ninja resume?
A best in class Killer Resume is first and foremost a marketing document, and marketing documents have a distinct sense of style and flair that defines and befits your profession or vocation, your level in the hierarchy, and your personality. They are appealing to the eye; easy to read and even easier to find all of the key points recruiters and decision makers look for in under 40 seconds.
A best in class Killer Resume speaks directly to what a company is looking for in a new hire and highlights how you are the perfect short and long term solution to their talent acquisition and human capital resources need.
A best in class Killer Resume articulates who YOU are as opposed to offering a generic portrait of every Tom, Diekola and Harriet who shares the same job title as you. After all at least 75% of the candidates for every job you're applying for have similar backgrounds and experience as you and the purpose of a resume is to set you apart from the competition, not make you appear as their exact likeness.
Next point: To get noticed you should know that Killer Resumes are written most often by resume writers with extensive business experience and not by job seekers doing it for themselves.
According to a recent survey of hiring managers and recruiters over 70% of the resumes they receive are at best mediocre or far worse and 75% of the resumes that make a positive impression on these same decision makers are professionally written. I also recently read where CareerBuilder estimated the average job seeker today will be unemployed 4-6 months until they find a new position. I think that without the right tools this figure can go higher if you live in certain geographic areas, are seeking an executive position, or making a career transition. However it is within your power to do something to reverse these trends.
The bottom line is this, in most instances a professionally written resume increases the sender's apply to reply rates by at least 25% thus improving the odds of earning a paycheck sooner rather than later. This is not a shameless plug for me or my profession, it is a time tested proven fact.
On the flip side Ninja Resumes are character assassinations. They contain way too much useless information and they lack focus by trying to showcase how you can wear many different hats that are not called for in the job you're applying for. Consequently they often make candidates appear overqualified and/or too expensive for the position being advertised or recruited for.
Another common sign of a Ninja Resume is it looks and reads like an outdated fact sheet and focuses attention on the type of employee you were in the past by endlessly dwelling on mundane, repetitive responsibilities, tasks and duties. This is the opposite of a Killer Resume that skillfully highlights your recent accomplishments and how they translate into who you are destined to be once you get hired.
Finally, most Ninja Resumes are written by job seekers who firmly believe anyone with good English language skills who can do some basic research can craft a Killer Resume. From what I see, hear and read most self written resumes are at best average and over 50% are Ninja Resumes. From my vantage point Ninja Resumes are usually written by job seekers who are looking to save a few bucks in the short term by justifying that a professionally written document is not an investment in their future. They view it as an unnecessary expense I can't afford because I'm unemployed. The truth is they are unknowingly subjecting their success to a series of trial by error versions that in the long run cost countless weeks of extra unemployment and non-recoupable dollars in lost wages.
Another fatal flaw of a Ninja Resume writer is each time they finish their latest and greatest version they seek out a critique from people they trust who are not in the know; even if they are a high level decision maker in a company. They'll ask for feedback from 3 people and in turn get back 6 conflicting responses about what is right and wrong with this new version. Then they go back to the drawing board based on what they just heard and make more changes and they continue to repeat this vicious cycle over and over again without knowing what works in a resume and what does not. Sound familiar about someone you know?
So if you're a new or a chronic card carrying member of Generation U, the newest class of Americans – the unemployed, and you're not getting the results you should be getting I suggest you look at your resume and see if it's a 'Killer' or a 'Ninja'.
Happy July 4th and I hope those of you in Gen U regain your freedom this summer and have rejoined the ranks of the employed by Labor Day. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.
Author:
Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at
http://www.perrynewman.com, and email him your resume at
perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.
CAREEREALISM TV
Show Day
Show Time
Twitter
Email
