Creating a Modern~Electronic Resume

March 24, 2014 By

Is Your Resume a Dinosaur_How do you Create a Modern~Electronic Resume? It’s easier than you think.  It’s no longer necessary to ruminate over words to describe your experience and accomplishments.  An effective resume is one passes through the digital divide to be seen by the hiring or HR manager. What’s most important now is to make sure your resume is “readable” to a computer scanner.

“…When a position opens at a company that uses resume-scanning software, the computer system is programmed to search the 


resumes received for specific keywords pertaining to that position.  Job seekers who submit resumes with the greatest number of matching keywords will be considered for interviews.  A growing number of employers will only look at “extracted” resumes – a blunt, skeletal summary of the content of your resume.  Complete resumes are not reviewed until the majority of applicants have been eliminated.” Excerpted from NYS Department of Labor’s brochure entitled “Is Your Resume a Dinosaur?

Will your resume pass through the digital divide?  Here’s five steps to creating a resume that will:

  1. Plan your next career move by identifying a few jobs that appeal to you.
  2. Download each of the job descriptions and identify the key words that describe the position’s requirements.
  3. Next, “Inventory” your work experience, accomplishments, and education (E,A,E).
  4. Compare the two lists, select the job description key words that match your E,A,E and copy them into the experience section of your resume (when, where, and if it fits to write your resume).  Take care to only use the key words from the job description that are true for you.
  5. Now quantify and qualify every job blurb you include to personalize your resume.

For example, if you were a bank teller at Chase and you want to work at Citibank. Go online and google “Citibank bank teller job description”.

  • Cut and paste the Citibank job description bullets into your resume template and edit to personalize your experience taking care to keep the Citi job description key words.
  • Now customize the blurbs to include your accomplishments and responsibilities such as number of employees you trained, average number of customers served per shift, average dollar transactions per shift, and/or managerial responsibilities.
  • Note any awards or special recognition such as employee of the month or top seller awards

This is your chance to set yourself a part from the competition by showing the depth of your experience.  If you want step – by – step guidance on creating your resume then sign up for my Creating an Effective Resume class at The Center for Continuing Education in Westchester, NY (Larchmont/Mamaroneck) this Thursday, March 27 at 9:30.  Click here for details or contact me, career coach Roseanne, at roseanne@whatsnextclub.com.

 

 

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About Roseanne

Roseanne has been coaching since 2005, facilitating breakthroughs for clients from Hearst, Polo Ralph Lauren, Scholastic, Time, Inc., Google, Bristol Meyers, Pace, UBS, as well as business owners, entrepreneurs, and non profit executives.
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She has also shared her knowledge of work readiness and the job search process with hundreds of program participants as the job search coach for both Yonkers (Riverfront) public library and Mamaroneck’s Youth Employment Service office since 2010 and as a teacher and board member with Larchmont Mamaroneck Center for Continuing Education.