How do you get people to pay attention to your resume when there are 100 others just like it?
You can’t. You have to be different.
The best way to be different is to be obviously well qualified. Another great way is to prove, not just say, that you have a great attitude. You can also solve their problems. Being bizarre even occasionally works.
1. Being Bizarre
Unless there is substance behind your resume, being bizarre just gets your resume trashed. So, try bizarre for fun and personal entertainment. Try the others for results.
2. Solve Their Problems
Most managers hire someone because they have a problem. If the first two bullet points under your current job prove you can solve the manager’s problem, you’ll get an interview. You figure out that problem by reading the ad, and also by calling up and asking. You can call Human Resources, or you can call and ask for the “Manager Of Computer Systems”. If you can find out the real problem, prove you have already solved it for someone else. Make it impossible to miss the fact that you can solve his problem.
3. Prove You Have A Great Attitude
How did you help lead the team? In what ways were you provably the best? How was your attendance? You need to figure out how to show that everywhere you go the teams work better. Don’t just say, “Everyone works better when I am around”, say “When I joined the team turnover dropped from 60% to 10% per year.”
4. Be Obviously Well Qualified
Prove you have done that job very well in the past. Don’t say, “Worked on the Accounts Receivable team.” Instead say, “Highest collections rate on the Accounts Receivable team.
You need to prove that you should be hired. You also have to make it impossible to miss that fact.
Something To Do Today
Call up a company about a job you know they have open. Ask for the manager of that area. No matter who answers the phone, ask why the job is open and what problem the person hired will solve.
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Later: Beat the job boards – beating hundreds
Now to get past the human filter