How to ensure a targeted resume focuses on your market!

The concept of a targeted resume is easily misunderstood. Calls begin like this:

"I’d like you to write a resume for me."

"Ok, what industry are you in and what positions are you targeting?"

"Oh, I just need a resume. Can’t you just write something generic?"

Why a generic and general resume is useless

No, I can’t. A generic resume is useless. At some point, the job seeker has to determine the direction and select the path he or she wants to travel. When you throw a dart at everything, it hits nothing!

When I write a resume, we analyze your resume targets to determine what accomplishments fit your goals. If your career path is diverse, we may engineer two different resumes to hit each of your resume targets.

For example, I have worked with multiple executive technology clients who have substantial experience as Vice President of Operations as well as Vice President of Sales. Former executive clients held prior roles as diverse as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer with major corporations.

Why a targeted resume matters

Sometimes a job seeker is so afraid that they will never get a job that they push out applications for everything out there. When the focus is so garbled, they sell nothing.

To create your specific resume target, determine the direction. As an executive resume writer, I write your resume, guiding the process to isolate specific traits, accomplishments, and keywords to fit the position you seek.

How to hone in on your resume targets

Writing a generic resume ensures you will never connect with the right audience because you give them nothing to tell them why you fit. One of the assignments I often give is to find two or three positions the individual would love to narrow down in a specific direction.

 

Next, create resume stories to explain your value:

  • Emerging Technologies Research competitive landscape for emergent technologies and create a strategic plan to lead technology direction to develop new initiatives – software-defined data center (SDDC), security and compliance, go-to-market strategies on cloud platforms, such as Azure and VMWare.

 

  • Led resource utilization for a large global cross-functional staff elite team of senior managers, directors, cloud engineers, data scientists, software developers, and CTOs with significant expertise in the Big 5 in the technology sector.

 

  • Culture Transformation – Led corporate teams in conducting extensive research to develop strategies and program processes to eliminate and change culture, such as identifying and creating solutions for sexual harassment issues in the military.

 

  • Product Architecture – Redesigned fundamental architecture of the business, Product Architecture, to categorize products by basic features, which became the corporation’s Product Bible.

 

As the pioneer of a unique resume writing services and strategy, I use interactive live writing and coaching sessions to capture your value. This positions you for a successful resume, success on LinkedIn, and throughout your job search. I help bring out your passion and stories to dig deep into your experiences. Learn more here

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How to ensure a targeted resume focuses on your market!

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Julie Walraven, Design Resumes

Julie Walraven

Professional Resume Writer

Here are ways I can help you land your dream job.

You may be halfway across the country or the world. When you work with me, we share coffee, laughs, and concerns. This turns the scary job search into creative, consultative writing and learning sessions.