Project Manager Wins Contest, Receives New Resume

Project Manager Wins Contest, Receives New ResumeProject Manager Wins Contest, Receives New ResumeSenior project manager wins Does My Resume Stink? contest and receives a new resume that matches his legendary work history.Would you like resume advice from the experts? TheLadders.com Resume Service is here to help. Contact our experts directly, or if youre feeling lucky, send us your resume for entry in our Does My Resume Stink contest. Each month one winner will receive a full resume rewrite for free. Now onto this months transformationUntil now, Ive never had a dicke bretter bohren mssen finding jobs, said Mike Smith, a senior project manager who specializes in software and telecom projects. Ive got an excellent reputation in my field.During his 25-year career, Mike acquired much kudos for his near-legendary PM skills - but youd never know that from reading his original resume.Mike had what I call a Teflon resume. Although I had read it three times, nothing about him stuck in my mi nd. His work and career were fuzzy and out of focus. His resume left me with no clear idea about his work and accomplishments.Mike had buried all his good stuff underneath a data dump five pages and 1,730 densely packed words.Later we connected by phone, and Mike talked me through his resume, line-by-line. During that call, his resume came to life suddenly, he looked very marketable. Mikes new resume captures all of his top highlights in two easy-to-read pages. Here are the steps we took to go from mediocre to standout1. Determine his wins, and then cut that in half. Dont try to explain every task you do on the job - thats mission impossible. Instead, for each job listed on your resume, quickly describe the position, and then add a few accomplishment bullets that showcase your top highlights. Thats the basic idea behind Mikes accomplishments-based resume, which focuses on how well he performed each job.Resume tip For each position, ask yourself this question, which often shakes loo se some good material for accomplishment bullets Why did XYZ Corp. hire you in the first distribution policy - what did they expect you to accomplish?2. Maximize his 10 seconds of fame.Do you think you need more than two pages to tell your story? Probably notRare exceptions do exist but, as a rule, do not exceed two pages. In Mikes case, we focused on his recent work and summarized any experience older than about 12 years.Todays job market is obviously more competitive than ever, so make your best points very fast. When a human reviewer actually reads your resume for the first time, you have roughly 10 seconds to make your case.Resume tip To condense a 25-year career into two pages, just focus on your top, top highlights. Ruthlessly condense the older jobs, and lavish more attention on your more recent experience. If you cannot stand to cut your three- or four-page resume into two pages, just call in a professional resume writer.3. Use simple language and specific details.I knew th at Mike had a problem with Teflon language The meaning of his words kept slipping away. Mikes case welches especially bad a long time ago, I had worked as an electrical engineer for one of his same employers, and even that didnt help me figure out what his resume was saying.Resume tip Write simply. Use simple words, short sentence fragments and active voice to showcase your jobs. Add specific details and hard results wherever possible.4. Write to the future.If youve been reading the many resume articles here on Ladders, you already know that an objective statement at the top of your resume is almost always a bad idea (although some rare exceptions do exist).On the other hand, its important to indicate what you want and where youre headed. I call this an implied objective.So make sure that all the elements of your resume support the type of work you want to do in your next job. For example, in Mikes old resume, his summary paragraph is a rehash of old experience and some vague person al attributes. His new resume - especially the headline and summary paragraph - clearly indicate hes headed towards a PM training and coaching role.5. Apply the mouse in a maze principle. Mikes original resume overwhelmed the reader with five pages of text and inadequate directional signposts. Dont let your readers get lost As you write your resume, imagine that your readers are entering a maze, and its your job to lay out a path that gets them out within 10 seconds. Point the way forward by using bold headings and adequate white space.You can solve the Teflon resume issue by following the principles outlined above. Youll definitely stand out from your competitors in the resume pile - and youll make a positive and memorable impression hat sticks in the readers mind.