Transforming Your Resume for a Higher Paying Career
Today’s guest post was written by Lynda Spiegel, the Founder of Rising Star Resumes.
How can your resume get help you earn higher compensation? If your resume clearly presents your professional brand as a value proposition to an employer, you can expect to earn a better salary, with greater perks like stock options or performance shares.
When a potential employee is the absolute avatar of what a hiring manager needs to fill a job opening, that employee can command top dollar. So how can your resume position you as “The One,” the obvious and best candidate for the opening?
First and foremost, your resume needs to begin with a succinct paragraph that defines your professional brand; in other words – who you are, what you represent and why you are special. To do this well, you should avoid overused phrases, like “team-player” (if you weren’t, would you admit it?), or “successful,” although there are thousands of equally overused words. Instead, show how you are a team-player or are successful at what you do. For instance, instead of saying that I am a team-player, I’d say, “establishes consensus among multiple business units.” Rather than simply calling myself “successful,” I would note that I “achieved 150% increase in web engagement over 3 consecutive quarters.”
Candidates who achieve the biggest salary jumps when they change jobs are those who quantify their achievements and talents on their resumes. Again – show, don’t just tell hiring managers how good you are. Have you consistently exceeded your sales quota? Give a percentage. Did you negotiate leases for multinational brands? Provide a total dollar per square foot. Do clients at your PR firm get recognition thanks to your work? Name those wins!
And finally, read the job description thoroughly. While it would be a slam dunk if you had every single attribute listed in the bullets, most employers are thrilled if you hit most of them – particularly if you demonstrated how well you performed. So go through your resume to make certain that key words used in the job description are embedded appropriately throughout your resume.
Crafting a professionally branded resume is a lot of work – but it will provide you an even better payout when you land your next opportunity.
Lynda Spiegel is a human resources and communications professional with over 14 years’ experience in sourcing, recruiting and hiring top talent in a variety of industries. She founded Rising Star Resumes (www.risingstarresumes.net) to help professionals develop their professional brand and get noticed by headhunters and hiring managers.
Leave a Reply