It’s About You but Never for You
While your resume is always about you, it is never for you. The purpose of writing a resume is to help someone else, someone in your resume’s audience, to get to know you quickly.
By quickly, I’m mean real fast. Research suggests that resume reviewers give your resume 6 seconds of initial attention. In those 6 seconds, it is your job to demonstrate what you have to offer that aligns with what your audience is seeking.
The goal for your resume in the first 6 seconds of your audience’s resume scanning process is to give your audience enough evidence that your resume is worthy of their time to read.
You have to earn your audience’s commitment to read before they’ll move past visual scanning mode.
People Don’t Read Anymore
Think about it. Our minds have been conditioned to scan 120 characters in a Tweet. When people write comments on Facebook, how often are those comments short and incomplete sentences? It isn’t that nobody can read. The reality is that most people will start out scanning before they commit to reading.
Write your resume so that it can be visually scanned in 6-10 seconds and make sure you are delivering what your audience cares about more than what you care about.
Your Resume is a Highly Complex Document
If you’ve ever struggled with resume writing, it’s okay. Writing a great resume requires a mix of Technical Writing, Business Writing and Creative / Strategic Writing. Knowing exactly what matters to your resume’s audience is where you begin the process of creating your own resume.
Jeff Snyder’s Jeff Snyder Coaching Blog, 719.686.8810
