subject: How to Transcend Fill in the Blank Resume Templates and Supercharge Your Job Search [print this page] How to Transcend Fill in the Blank Resume Templates and Supercharge Your Job Search
With over 9 million people looking for jobs, every opening attracts a larger number of applicants than any time in recent memory. But you can still thrive. Because most applicants go to the same places for leads and submit the same templates. Their herd behavior is your opportunity.
Here are just two advanced tactics for going beyond fill in the blank resume templates:
1. Use powerful action words. Most fill in the blank templates focus on duties and responsibilities. Those won't impress the recruiters.
To underscore your accomplishments, make these small but critical changes. First, switch to an active voice. Passive voice (Disruptive students were...) doesn't communicate how dynamic you are. Don't use non-active phrases (Responsibilities included...).
Signs that you're using weak language include starting sentences with nouns and modifiers ( versatile teacher in...) instead of past-tense action verbs (slashed turnover by...).
Finally, think about how your actions have advanced your organization's most cherished goals. If you're in academia, for example, that might mean increased funding or fundraising by..., increased attendance by..., increased national awards and recognition by..., cut non-academic wage costs by...without increasing student fees.
2. Join a lead group to find unannounced job opportunities. Get a couple of people who are in the same industry - say teaching, transportation, or corporate finance- but different job functions - like economics, sales, and risk management. Arrange a time to meet weekly. When you get together, discuss your progress, your tactics, and especially your contacts. Exchange business cards. Hand out the cards when you find a contact one of your Partners can use.
Help each other put the business cards t best use. Write down two things:
a. how you can recognize an opportunity for me, and
b how to contact me
Finally, set goals and keep each other accountable.
You're facing a big opportunity. Every job applicant you're competing against submits the same two docs - a resume and a cover letter. And most don't know how to do the simple things to make either stand out. Imagine your advantage when both of yours are completely optimized to make the phone ring.
Here's how you can easily make yourself the candidate to beat for each job you apply to:
3. For each resume, do just a few small things that added together make your job packet impossible to put down.
4. Automate your process so modifying a fill in the blank resume template is so easy and so rapid that you don't think twice about creating an optimized resume for EVERY APPLICATION (instead of just using the templates that all your competition are submitting).
