Make Your Resume Work as Plain as the Nose on Your Face
Being Wise as Solomon, having your MBA completed, and holding impressive work experience? Still, it doesn’t guarantee you a job of your dream and pots of money. Moreover, most probably you won’t get any job without attractive and well-organized resume. What? You’ve done it so far? But what’s next? How to make your resume work for you just like Bill Gates made it with his money? It’s a sore subject.
I. A Slave to the Social Networks
By supporting your resume with the efficient social network profile, you kill two birds with one stone. From one hand, you offer a resume to a wider range of your potential employers. From the other hand, you confirm your technical and PC skills starting from layout design and ending up with various additional tweaks.
Whatever you write in your profile, you should realize one thing: it looks like a drop in the ocean until you make it stand out from all the rest.
According to statistics, it is enough for HR staff to take a look at your profile or resume for 80-85 seconds in order to make a decision whether to stay or leave your page immediately.
For instance, one of the most original and fresh ideas is creating a video resume. It suits networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter just perfectly. Your live message will certainly catch the eye of any employer. It can be explained by the fact information is best remembered for fast moving subject. That’s why video ads are far more effective than written ones.
Video resume provides features that are difficult to implement using a standard resume. Situation: You’re applying for a movie operator vacancy. It’s quite difficult to demonstrate the whole range of your abilities in this area by a written CV/resume. At least, a short video message may be used instead of a cover letter in this case. It will certainly raise your chances to get the job.
Perfect video message should consist of the following parts:
- greetings and introduction, followed by regular resume steps like position you apply for and overall goals,
- higher education gained,
- related job experience in few words (leave the details in written format). Try to limit your information by five minutes.
Be the operator of your life!
Another issue is to keep your guest away from pressing “Stop” button or closing the window on the first few seconds. First of all, avoid verbal diarrhea. Try to keep to the point and make your statements as clear as possible. Of course, it’s easier to listen than to read, but still… Don’t mince your words.
TIP: Anyway, the previous advice is more suitable for more creative and artistic positions. As for the rest, still… Be creative! LinkedIn offers an excellent set of multimedia tools to make your attempts to be successful easier.
Don’t Let Them Fall Asleep! Enrich your plain text with several visuals, links to some other resources of interest, and available reports. Turn to Cat Knarr’s page for more examples.
Let’s get back to the traditional methods.
II. The Heart of LinkedIn Profile
Keywords are the heart of the matter while speaking about social networking activities. The combination of the keywords listed below might give you a hint:
- resume or CV (the second one is gathering pace even more);
- professional screen name (the one created particularly for professional operations;
- the exact name of a position desired as well as some closely linked areas (i.e., it’s okay to put journalist and freelancer in one raw, just like Carey Borth and John Thompson profiles suggest);
- stress the keywords like “certificate in…”, “honored for…”, “a member of…” to prove you are an expert in this field;
- name some social networks you’re matching for;
- include the titles of your previous companies, especially if they’re somehow related to the desired position;
- specify the location (at least, state’s name);
- a couple of basic technical/professional skills (an employer may search for certain qualifications to fit the job responsibilities.)
Except for those, there are so called and widely spread buzz words:
- creative
- purposeful
- enthusiastic
- strategic
- analytical
- original
- innovative
- expert
- inspiring
These buzz words seem so simple, but they really make your profile work. Don’t forget to input them while writing a killing summary. Paul H. Simon and Mark Lazen did so and now their pages rock.
Don’t be afraid to stand out!
III. Headlines To Pop Up
Headline, in fact, is the second most valuable thing after the keywords. A headline, like an article’s title, can hold a guest of your page as well as distract him from moving further. They should sound as a challenge and a proposal at the same time (i.e., “Make A Quick Buck”, “Left & Right Brain Thinker”, “A Hard Business Nut To Crack”).
IV. What About Consistent Value Added?
Another step to a successful and notable social network page is a so called consistent value. You should fill your page with various comments, news, proposals, images, videos and other possible content connected with your areas of expertise. If you do it in your own creative words, it only adds up to your profile. I.e., you’re aiming to become a recognizable fashion designer one day. Pay attention to such details as clothing seasonality, provide your page content with latest fashion industry blogs and make them seem shocking and unique.
HINT: Here are some samples: “Has Miley Cyrus completely gone mad about her outlooks?”, “Celebrities Public Appearances 2014: Allowed & Strictly Forbidden,” “A Call to Arms: Military Fashion Strikes Back!”. Such linguistic trick as antithesis may be used to present originality and lateral thinking.
Attend other users’ pages and give some recommendations. Show your true interest in others. Perform your broad knowledge in the area of your potential employment. Meanwhile, don’t be ashamed of requesting some advices yourself.
V. When Less Means More
Don’t act a fool by adding up JUST EVERYBODY. Manage your contact list: if you are aimed to get the job, approve only those people’s invitations who specialize in the same area, your work colleagues and potential employers.
Thou Shalt Not Make Unto Thee Any Graven Image
However, does it really work in the field of social networking? Vice versa, to attract more attention, name some famous people who inspire you. For instance, if you desire to become a biologist, recall such outstanding persons as Claude Bernard or Edward Jenner and post the reviews of their most known discoveries and works. Don’t be too banal to name only Darwin.
Remember: people love success stories. Feed your visitors with them pretending you are already one of those lucky beggars. If I don’t boast, nobody will praise thee.
Try to join as many groups and communities related to your potential positions as possible. Choose the most populated ones and take an active part in ongoing discussions, photo and video comments, different contests, constructions, content filling, etc. Take a look at one of the most successful judges profiles, Mike O’Neil, or at efficient dual language profile of Jeanet Bathoorn.
Today, according to “Forbes,” LinkedIn is the number one resource for job seeking. So, what’s the point in losing the chance to join the lucky beggars?
Resume
There is such a catch as the waste of time. YOUR TIME. Social networks demand a tremendous amount of time to promote your page. You can go on spending sleepless nights making your LinkedIn work, or … you can ask for help! OUR HELP! We’ll provide you with all possible solutions to make your social networks profile perfect.