Six-Step Resume Writing
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Step Three: Resume Skill Set and Qualifications Summary
Picture yourself at the market after a long day at the office.
You're in a rush, of course, and want only to purchase those items
on your list, if they're on sale.
Hurrying into the store, you glance around for the weekly advertising
piece that indicates which items will be offered at a discount.
Trouble is, there's no advertising piece this week, and no one
to answer your questions.
If you want to purchase the items you most need at a discount,
you're forced to walk up and down each and every aisle until
you find what's available.
Doesn't sound like much fun or an effective use of time, does
it? And yet this is the same type of frustration hiring managers
are exposed to every time an applicant sends in a resume that fails
to open with a well-written Qualifications Summary and/or Skill
Set.
What is a Resume Qualifications Summary?
It's a brief paragraph near the top of your resume that showcases
your most effective skills and experience as they pertain to your
job search. More importantly, it's your chance to convince a hiring
manager of the skills you can bring to the position. This is essential,
given that hiring managers generally afford no more than 10
seconds to an applicant's resume, unless they're compelled
to read further.
So, how do you compel them to keep reading?
Let's use this example: You're an accountant who has worked at
XYZ Company for nine years and been promoted every time you've
come up for review. Because of your organizational efforts, the
company is saving $2500 monthly. You've passed the CPA exam. You're
skilled in Profit & Loss (P&L), audits, taxation matters,
and internal controls. Now, you want a Controller position.
Rather than including all of the aforementioned data in the body
of the resume, where the hiring manager would be forced to look
for it, but won't (remember, you'll be given 10 seconds before
the hiring manager moves on), a wise candidate would write something
like this:
| Results-oriented, detailed professional with comprehensive
accounting experience. Background includes consistent promotions
to positions of increased responsibility. Skilled in P&L,
audits, taxation, internal controls, and streamlining procedures,
effecting a monthly savings of $2500 at XYZ Company. Recently
passed the CPA exam; currently seeking a Controller position. |
In five lines and a mere 45 words, you've given specific examples
of what you can do, quantified an accomplishment, indicated past
performance, provided data on certification, and provided your
career path. You've done all of that in a well-written paragraph
that's interesting and easy to read. Note that personal pronouns
are not used. In resumes, personal pronouns such as I, me or my are
inappropriate.
Below are three examples of outstanding qualifications summaries.
Note that the heading for your "Qualifications Summary" doesn't
necessarily have to be titled as such. In each example resume below,
the individual's specialty or target job title serves as the heading
for his or her qualifications summary.
Example Resume Qualifications Summary
1
Example Resume Qualifications Summary
2
Example Resume Qualifications Summary
3
Fine, you say. But what about an Objective? Where does that go?
In modern resumes, objective statements are infrequently used.
The reason for this follows.
Resume Qualifications Summary vs. Objective
In the Objective, a job candidate essentially told the hiring
manager what he wanted. But a Qualifications Summary proactively
declares what the job candidate can do for the company, which places
the hiring manager's needs first.
That's why an Objective is now infrequently used. A wise applicant
will skip including an Objective and always include a Qualifications
Summary, by itself or combined with a Skill Set.
What is a Resume Skill Set?
Generally speaking, it's a list of your core competencies as they
relate to your career goal. As above, let's take the example of
the accountant who has just passed the CPA exam and now wants to
be a controller. Rather than presenting all of that data in the
Qualifications Summary, a portion of it could be showcased as a
skill set, something like this:
This time, the first two lines, which contain just 11 words, present
core strengths quickly and effortlessly for a hiring manager.
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