Making the Silent Salesman Sing...
Before you start typing:
- Think about everything you want in your next job. List your positions and your achievements in each position you've held and consider how they relate to your goal. Consider what you can bring to a business and how it would help with your career.
- Then select advertisements where you match the role, the requirements and what the business can offer you. This will help you avoid the frustration of applying for jobs where you stand little chance of being considered for the position.
- Tailor your resume for the position. Avoid making an easy to spot standard mass application that every employer gets. If you are serious about finding the right job you need to make the individual applications relevant to the advertisement. This means tailoring your CV or resume for each advertised job.
- Pick out the key requirements from the advertisement and clearly address them in your list of responsibilities and achievements.
- Explain the difference your skills, culture, experience, qualifications and training have made to the businesses where you have worked previously.
Sell yourself!
Compare the following examples of two different people saying the same thing, and ask yourself which one would get the interview:
Candidate #1
"Managed customers for the territory."
Candidate #2
"Maintained and strengthened critical relationships with high value customers (individual value over $100,000K) through regular appointments, programme sell ins and sales calls. Increased annual territory revenue by 23% and contributed to the business exceeding sales targets by 12%. Ensured that all clients operated within company credit terms."
The first candidate makes an uninspiring statement and does not let the employer see key achievements. The employer would need to ask a lot of questions to obtain information that should have already been included.
In an interview, the employer can immediately consider whether the candidate's sales skills are transferable to the new business and tailor the interview questions around the transition.
Use detail only where necessary.
Use more detail for more recent positions. Employers need to see the fit between your application and the job, and generally only consider recent experience.
Don’t overemphasise an older job at the expense of fresh experience, even if the job was very satisfying to you, as the employer may think that you are no longer as motivated after working in that position.
Use specific language and active words and keep it brief.
Engage the reader with clear meanings and action words. These are active words that generally end in "-ed" (managed, developed, organised etc).
Clean presentation, perfect spelling and grammar are all essential.
No matter how great are your achievements, these may be disbelieved where there are spelling mistakes or errors in punctuation and grammar. Most jobs require written communication, and a CV shows just how well you can communicate.
Detailed questioning or background and reference checks will expose any omissions or overstatements about experience and achievements.
Don’t waste anybody’s time in interviewing you if you know you are unsuitable for the job. Spend more time focusing on obtaining jobs you can do, without pretence.
For a comprehensive list of action words that will enliven your CV, visit the Career Development and Employment section of RMIT's web site or download their document here.
Send us your CV for assessment, or request a professional makeover by Tom Hanneman. (Your budget for a professional CV makeover is between A$200 to A$750 maximum). Allow one week for a reply.
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