As Executive Search Consultants, we are tasked by our client companies to provide talent for positions that they are having difficulty in filling. Our job entails a great deal of research and consultative effort to find the right match for our clients.
We’re also frequently contacted by job seekers looking for opportunities, and while we’re always happy to hear from talented people, by necessity our time and energy is primarily focused on our clients’ needs. In an effort to help job seekers, we’ve come up with a short list of (hopefully helpful) tips that may assist maximize their own efforts to find a great role.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting these tips on our blog as part of an ongoing series. Here now are parts 3 and 4…
#3 – Multiple specific resumes vs. cover letters
You’ll find there’s a bit of a debate regarding sending cover letters, with some arguing that they are your best opportunity to make a good impression on a potential employer while others will claim that no one will read them. We’ll come down on the side of short and sweet introduction with a detailed resume tailored to the role you’re interested in. Think of it this way; anything you sendseparate from your resume will most likely get separated from your resume. Your incredibly detailed cover letter/email may be read by someone in HR who will put you in process, but the chances that the hiring manager will see it (vs. seeing your resume as a separate document) is less likely.
While individually tailored resumes may sound like a lot of work, it’s really not and it’s completely worth the effort – you’re in effect making simple edits to your existing document. Start with your regular resume and have the job description handy. Most JDs are written in order of importance, so as you go through the JD, assemble a quick bullet point list of your experiences that the JD cites as most important. Chances are some of them may already be in your resume to begin with – make sure those stand out. Highlight the others under the appropriate previous positions. If it seems like a very important requirement, you can also highlight it in the beginning summary to ensure that the reader will continue to read on. Your resume is not the sum total of your life – it’s a 30 second commercial designed to get attention of a hiring manager so you can get to the interview.
Your resume should reflect the specific aspects of your experience that match the potential opportunity. Never send a generic, boilerplate resume but rather tailor your resume to fit the individual position description that you are inquiring about. For example, if the job description lists that the employer desires a talent with experience in managing and growing teams and you have that experience, cite it in your resume under the position you held where you grew and managed a team and add specifics (“initially charged with managing a small marketing team of 3 and grew the department to 12 managers and direct reports encompassing aspects of branding, communications, acquisition and PR”). If you cite that experience in a cover letter, there’s a distinct chance it will be blipped over by a busy admin/recruiter/executive or completely lost over the course of time. If it is part and parcel to your resume, it will be associated with your candidacy from start to finish.
There’s a very specific reason your resume needs to …
#4 – Be specific
It’s because your potential employer is looking for someone very specific. While you may have incredibly well rounded experience (which is good) the hiring team is looking for a very specific set of skills no matter what the position and they want to know they are getting a ‘specialist’ and not a ‘jack of all trades’. Here’s an analogy:
Imagine you are putting on a very elegant and impressive dinner party and are interviewing a professional chef to cater the affair. The first chef you interview tells you they are experts in French cuisine with a specialization in recipes from Provence; they have 10 years of experience in catering high end affairs and can also offer a customized wine pairing to match a menu tailored to your favorite dishes. The second chef you interview also has 10 years’ experience, and they can prepare a meal with French cuisine, or Italian or Vietnamese Fusion, or hotdogs or they can also whip up some pizzas. Additionally they can bring some wine and beer and act as bartenders in addition to handling the valet parking and printing invitations. Which chef sounds like the one who will concentrate on the most important aspects of your dinner party? Even if the second chef is excellent and can do all of those described tasks well, the lack of focus will diminish their value in the eyes of a potential hiring manager. The other skills you bring have value and can be included, but make sure the important aspects of the job description are front and center on your customized resume.
Learning and focusing on the specifics of the role is part of what you gain by doing your research. Because the employers will be doing research on you as well.