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Make your resume stand out by incorporating storytelling
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The competition is stiff. Storytelling can make your resume stand out.
The average resume receives less than 15-seconds of consideration. This incredibly limited window of opportunity means careful attention must be given to every aspect of one's resume.
There are a variety of techniques job hunters can incorporate to create a resume that stands out from the competition. Katharine Hansen, Ph.D, author, educator, and associate editor of Quintessential Careers recommends using storytelling to make your resume standout.
According to Hansen there are two basic ways to use storytelling in a resume. The first is in the summary section. The summary section is typically used in place of an objective statement near the top of a resume. It is sometimes called a Career Profile, Career Summary, or Summary of Qualifications. The summary section consists of three to five bullet points that are a job hunter's "top selling points."
A summary section is preferable to an objective statement, particularly in the current highly-competitive job market. Objective statements tend to focus on what the job hunter wants. A summary gives hiring managers concrete examples of the positive impact a job hunter can have on their organization. Hansen recommends that job hunters use the summary section to incorporate compelling, relevant career stories.
"Think of those bullet points as finishing a sentence that starts out, 'I am a/an...' A bullet point might be, 'I am an experienced customer service representative with exceptional communication skills,'" Hansen says. "You're telling a little story in each of those bullet points. It's kind of a way of introducing yourself to the hiring decision-maker and giving him/her more of a sense of who you are. What your top selling points are."
The second way Hansen recommends incorporating storytelling into a resume is by weaving stories in the Experience section of your resume.
"I recommend that you use that same situation-action-results formula except do it backward," Hansen says. "Tell your results first. Then tell what actions you took to get those results. Then you can tell the situation that caused that action, if there is enough room."
"The reason you tell the story backward is hiring decision-makers read resumes extremely quickly," she explains. "The best way to catch their eye quickly is to tell the results first."
Incorporating storytelling into a resume can be challenging. Hansen concedes that resumes are the most difficult of all job search communications in which to incorporate storytelling. Yet, when done well, storytelling will bring your resume to life, quickly grab the attention of hiring managers, and make you stand out from the competition.
For more info: Learn more about how to create a resume that will make you stand out from your competitors during the online workshop, Seven Secrets to Writing a Resume That Gets Results.
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