Resume Solutions
Is it time to re-engineer your resume? Reflect, revamp and renew
Tuesday September 6, 2011 9:09 AM
Dear Sam: I would like your opinion on how to improve my
resume. I am 55 years old with 20 years of management experience in the food and landscape
industries. I have a degree in landscape design/build. I have applied for numerous positions that
are suited to my qualifications, skills and experiences - both in person and online - but the
majority of the time, I get zero response. When I receive a reply, I am told I am overqualified.
Would it be more effective to format my resume differently to get more responses and
interviews?
- Chris
Dear Chris: From a review of your resume, I see some areas in which you are following the appropriate strategies and other areas that have opportunity for improvement. Let me paint a picture of your resume for readers.
Your resume opens with an objective statement that communicates you are seeking a challenging position with a company where you have the opportunity for growth. It follows with a summary stating you are an experienced manager, accompanied by seven bullet points that present your areas of management experience. Next you present your technical skills followed by an exploration of 12 years of professional experience and your associate's degree.
Let's look at what's right and what's wrong.
Opening your resume with an objective statement is unnecessary and wastes the most valuable real estate on your resume. Does your objective statement tell the employer what you can do for them? No. It tells them what you want, something that does not need to be communicated at this stage in the game. Remove the statement and move the Qualifications Summary up on your resume.
Your summary has a good start on highlighting your key value offerings. Based on the feedback you have received, make sure the summary aligns with the requirements of the positions you now seek.
Being told you are overqualified is probably due to the content of your summary and not the Professional Experience section. Your Professional Experience section is quite brief and would not overqualify you for a management role.
On the other hand, your summary contains language that possibly is throwing off the reader.
An example of this is: "Experienced Manager with multiple years of leadership, technical support and training in the customer service field." Potentially, the hiring manager reads "multiple years" and feels that represents more than the three to five or five to seven years he or she wants.
Review the types of positions you seek and see how much experience most of them require, and build your summary to present a competitive set of qualifications. Positioning your candidacy at the right level will prevent "you're overqualified" responses.
Presenting your technical skills next is not an appropriate choice, especially because they are basic and will be assumed to encompass Microsoft Office programs. Relocate this section to the end of your resume.
Your Professional Experience section needs a lot of attention. You describe 12 years of professional experience in only 170 words. You should not present that much experience, and the value you contributed, in that few of words. And, only two of 12 total bullet points are accomplishments, both of which are buried in the middle or at the end of the respective employer's section.
What's more, you present a position you held for 18 months with the statement, "same as above." This tells the reader you contributed no value at this employer and lack the enthusiasm or interest to explain it differently than your most recent position. While I am sure this isn't what you were thinking, this is what will be assumed . If you show a lack of interest in developing your resume, the hiring manager will show a lack of interest in reviewing it.
Lastly, you list your first four positions with no details of what you did in each role. This makes me question if they should even appear on your rsum if you don't feel they warrant an explanation.
I urge you to review each position you have held, and define not only your responsibilities (what was on your job description) but your accomplishments - where you contributed value above and beyond your responsibilities. You should present a blend of each, being sure to highlight accomplishments more prominently as a way to predict the value you are positioned to contribute to your next employer.
Let's look at one of your accomplishments: "Reported and worked with the president of company and increased revenue from $90,000 budget to $142,000 in 2001." The result of your work is presented but the actions you took to achieve the result are not.
Explore your accomplishments differently, presenting the result and some of the actions taken to achieve it. For example: "Catapulted revenue 57% in 2001 by capturing a key commercial account, cultivating relationships with existing clients, and leading a team in providing exceptional customer service and support."
I hope you see that your resume has the potential to be great and open the doors for the positions you are interested in.
Best of luck to you.
Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service resume-writing firm. Do you have a resume or job-search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at dearsam@ladybug-design.com . For more about Sam's resume writing services, visit www. ladybug-design.com or call (614) 570-3442 or 1-888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).
Dear Chris: From a review of your resume, I see some areas in which you are following the appropriate strategies and other areas that have opportunity for improvement. Let me paint a picture of your resume for readers.
Your resume opens with an objective statement that communicates you are seeking a challenging position with a company where you have the opportunity for growth. It follows with a summary stating you are an experienced manager, accompanied by seven bullet points that present your areas of management experience. Next you present your technical skills followed by an exploration of 12 years of professional experience and your associate's degree.
Let's look at what's right and what's wrong.
Opening your resume with an objective statement is unnecessary and wastes the most valuable real estate on your resume. Does your objective statement tell the employer what you can do for them? No. It tells them what you want, something that does not need to be communicated at this stage in the game. Remove the statement and move the Qualifications Summary up on your resume.
Your summary has a good start on highlighting your key value offerings. Based on the feedback you have received, make sure the summary aligns with the requirements of the positions you now seek.
Being told you are overqualified is probably due to the content of your summary and not the Professional Experience section. Your Professional Experience section is quite brief and would not overqualify you for a management role.
On the other hand, your summary contains language that possibly is throwing off the reader.
An example of this is: "Experienced Manager with multiple years of leadership, technical support and training in the customer service field." Potentially, the hiring manager reads "multiple years" and feels that represents more than the three to five or five to seven years he or she wants.
Review the types of positions you seek and see how much experience most of them require, and build your summary to present a competitive set of qualifications. Positioning your candidacy at the right level will prevent "you're overqualified" responses.
Presenting your technical skills next is not an appropriate choice, especially because they are basic and will be assumed to encompass Microsoft Office programs. Relocate this section to the end of your resume.
Your Professional Experience section needs a lot of attention. You describe 12 years of professional experience in only 170 words. You should not present that much experience, and the value you contributed, in that few of words. And, only two of 12 total bullet points are accomplishments, both of which are buried in the middle or at the end of the respective employer's section.
What's more, you present a position you held for 18 months with the statement, "same as above." This tells the reader you contributed no value at this employer and lack the enthusiasm or interest to explain it differently than your most recent position. While I am sure this isn't what you were thinking, this is what will be assumed . If you show a lack of interest in developing your resume, the hiring manager will show a lack of interest in reviewing it.
Lastly, you list your first four positions with no details of what you did in each role. This makes me question if they should even appear on your rsum if you don't feel they warrant an explanation.
I urge you to review each position you have held, and define not only your responsibilities (what was on your job description) but your accomplishments - where you contributed value above and beyond your responsibilities. You should present a blend of each, being sure to highlight accomplishments more prominently as a way to predict the value you are positioned to contribute to your next employer.
Let's look at one of your accomplishments: "Reported and worked with the president of company and increased revenue from $90,000 budget to $142,000 in 2001." The result of your work is presented but the actions you took to achieve the result are not.
Explore your accomplishments differently, presenting the result and some of the actions taken to achieve it. For example: "Catapulted revenue 57% in 2001 by capturing a key commercial account, cultivating relationships with existing clients, and leading a team in providing exceptional customer service and support."
I hope you see that your resume has the potential to be great and open the doors for the positions you are interested in.
Best of luck to you.
Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service resume-writing firm. Do you have a resume or job-search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at dearsam@ladybug-design.com . For more about Sam's resume writing services, visit www. ladybug-design.com or call (614) 570-3442 or 1-888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).
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