Resumes...

I last blogged about the lack of follow-up activity from my youth clientele, and my frantic attempts to delineate the boundary between “persistence” and “insistence”.  Sound familiar?  Well, you’d never believe the massive turnaround I’ve experienced over the past three weeks.  In comparison to November, the number of youth walking through my door (more like cubicle opening) has more than septupled! (No, that doesn’t mean a total of seven people).  In fact, my schedule is so packed I haven’t had time to think about my previous conundrum. 

Now, the majority of my time is spent convincing clients the importance of an effective, well-written resume.  Actually, I don’t have to say it more than once.  The real challenge surfaces when the client realizes how time consuming and arduous the whole process is (and that no, I won’t write it for them).  When scheduling appointments, I usually request the client bring a first draft in so I can revise it during our initial encounter.  This allows me to gauge how effective she/he is at communicating past responsibilities and accomplishments in the most efficient manner (and see how detail oriented they really are). 

On average, employers will take anywhere from 10-20 seconds to sift through a resume, so effectively and efficiently (and spelling error free) communicating one’s awesomeness is crucial to saving it from the trash bin.  Excuse me, recycling bin.  Considering an individual may spend days, weeks, or years (it’s true!) perfecting a resume, this fleeting glance may feel like an injustice.  But like I tell my clients, it’s not easy or fun to be in charge of reading hundreds of resumes—so expecting employers to weed out the weakest is your best chance for success.  Why, you ask?  If you know the weakest won’t make the cut, you’ll write a stronger resume.  Or at least, that’s the ideal outcome.  Resume riddled with spelling errors and run-on sentences?  As Liz Lemmon says, “that’s a deal breaker” (for those 30 Rock fans).  Format misaligned, dates out of order, job details lackluster, not accomplishment oriented?  That’s a deal breaker, too.

I understand the last thing youth want to do is spend more than an hour (if that) working on their resumes.  So I provide multiple resume assistance tools to make the job a little easier.  However, by constantly stressing the importance of a well-written resume and linking it to an increased likelihood of interview, I’m getting the message through.  And the message does get through, I’ve got the evidence to prove it!

Seeing the smile on their face when they have the finished product in hand is one of the most satisfying parts of my job.  A completed resume may seem like a small feat for some, but it’s a huge step for my clients.  Isn't that what it’s all about? Taking one step at a time?  And yeah, helping them earn money for that sweet car they want.