photo by kallu
My potential clients differ vastly in needs and desires.
Sometimes prospective clients know exactly what they are looking for and realize that they are at a point in their life where they need my help.
I want to invest in myself!
Sometimes I will hear: “using your services is my way to invest in me.” I love that!
I want my clients to feel that they are using my services to get a better handle on who they are and how to move on to the next step in their career.
There is the opposite kind of call, usually because someone really doesn’t have a handle on what a resume is, does, or how it should be marketed.
Generic Resumes
The opposite type of caller will say something like this: “I just want a generic resume, one that works for everything!”
To this, I respond:
I’m sorry, I don’t do generic resumes. You need to target your resume for it to work for you and if I don’t do that, your resume is a waste of my time and your money.
Bold and blunt is not generally my style but it is on that topic. The one-size fits all resume is like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. I can’t and won’t do it.
On Target & Focused
Your resume needs to be targeted, with keywords, accomplishments, and focused to the position you are considering. Even if I or another career professional did your resume, it needs to be culled and clarified as you grow in your career, as Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter from Career Trend says, Nipped & Tucked. Gayle Howard, author of one of my favorite references, “PS, You’re A Resume Expert,” talks about turning a cut and paste of your job description from Robotic to Robust with two questions: “How did I?” and “How well did I?”
If you are multi-talented and have multiple career paths you could take, this is the time to focus on one talent and one path to really bring out those accomplishments. A resume can be changed and retargeted for other career goals. But without that focus, target, and zoom-in quality to your resume, you will find it much harder to get responses, interviews, or the career of your dreams.
I don’t believe that any employer would take a second look at a generic resume. In these competitive times, employer want definitive information. Without including this important qualification in one’s resume, chances are very slim of being noticed.
You are totally correct, Walter. I think job seekers get so scared that they think a generic resume will let them throw it out to any position they see that they are even remotely qualified. Thanks for stopping by!