Recipe for Resume Salsa

Let's face it, everyone likes some type of salsa. When it comes to the resume, you have to have that extra kick to be noticed and get that phone call for an interview. Having recently lost my full time job, I am noting a few tips about resumes that I have found useful for getting them read and found.

Buzzwords: Every job title has certain buzzwords that go along with it. If you have been doing your job for very long then you are sure to have come across words that are popular in internet articles, that are specific to your trade or often talked about at seminars or trade shows. It is critical that if you have experience in one of these buzzword areas that you add it to your resume and that you add some substance around it. Why? Most recruiters are using software to scan resumes and online profiles for keyword matches. It is just like when you are using a search engine to find something on the internet...you enter a set of key words and the search engine goes out to find all the relative materials. Additionally on my resume, I tend to put some of the buzzwords in bold so that when the recruiter or hiring manager who are physically reading the resume will have those words pop out at them.

Formatting Counts: This is where you put your magazine publisher hat on and make your resume really look sharp. Decide how wide you can go into the margins, what type of spacing you will use between lines, what size fonts you will use. When using Microsoft Word to format your resume, consider using tables to get a nice clean look. A table is like a spreadsheet that helps you make better use of the space and allow for clean looks. You can also make a black and white document POP by adding some table sections that have a black background and white font.

Cover the Basics: Your resume should include the following pieces of information - Contact Information, Skill Summary, Job Titles at Companies you worked for and the time frame, Major Contributions to the company you worked for, Core Responsibilities at that job, Education, Other. These are the nuts and bolts of the resume that tell your story in an easy to read format. Don't make the recruiter work too hard to find out what you have done, who you did it for and why they should call you.

Don't forget the Salsa!: My resume has a simple phrase among others in the Other section: Making Salsa. I have had dozens of interviews over the past few weeks and in nearly every interview, I was asked about my salsa. Why? I have no idea but if I were to guess I would say it tells them that I am a real person, that I have interests outside of the job title I am inteviewing for, and perhaps if they hire me that I'll bring some to work with me for them to try. Morale of the story is that it is ok to add a few non-work related items to your resume that are fun or interesting to potential interviewers.

Change it up: Depending on the position you are applying for, you may need to modify your resume to fit that position. For example, if you are applying for a role that has leadership responsibilities, modify your resume to include statements demonstrating your leadership experiences. I have 3 standard resumes that I use to apply for jobs. However, in some cases I may need to modify one or two things to include experience relevant to the position I am applying for. I then save that different copy as well.