When processing dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes, decision makers at the corporate level look for a personal brand that sets the candidate above all the competition.
This goes beyond any checklist of credentials or skills. Others may have exactly the same list. Instead, we’re talking about the personal characteristics you will bring to the future employer. This is what captivates the reader, who may be your future boss or boss’s boss, an HR professional, or an executive recruiter.
The resumes that get to the top of the pile are from people who strive for success in all their career activities, have been actively managing their career, have an up-to-date resume, and are able to clearly, confidently and succinctly articulate their competitive edge.
Would your resume be at the top of that pile? If not, why not?
Living your personal brand
The resume doesn’t get you the job. The personal brand doesn’t get you the job. They get you the interview. At the interview, and in all other networking opportunities, never miss out on eloquently talking about your value-add and differentiator.
Be consistent at living your personal brand in your day-to-day activities in both personal and professional settings and in your social media profiles and daily postings. If you were to step out of the room and ask people to describe you, you’d want them all saying the same things, to validate consistency in your brand message.
Your personal brand must be able to seduce me and all other career influencers to pick up the phone and give you a call. A captivating personal brand, combined with multiple success stories, clearly outlined in a 1-, 2- or 3-page resume, can drastically enhance your call rate for interviews.
Happy job hunting!
Thank you for this guest post goes to Martin Buckland, Principal of Elite Resumes, one of Canada’s leading authorities on highly effective resume writing, high impact cover letters, successful job-search strategies, executive coaching, personal branding, interview tutoring and social media career strategies. Visit his blog at Downsizing with Dignity.