Resume books, seminars, podcasts, & other career building tools.

THE FIRST KEY
Resume Header

A young man enters a contemporary office and approaches the secretary. He tells her, “I have a 9:30 appointment to see the owner of the company. I’m here to go over my resume with him.”
            She looks at the young man and smiles. “Well, I guess you’re ready to open a few new doors in your life. He’s been a mentor to a lot of young people in the past who now have very successful careers.”
            The young man smiles, takes a seat and looks around the well-appointed waiting room. He’s impressed by the obviously expensive art hanging on the walls as well as numerous awards. His Dad’s friend is the owner of this business and the young man knows that his Dad pulled a big favor getting him an appointment. Several groups of people pass through the waiting room. Some are dressed in suits while others are dressed in jeans and brightly-colored shirts.    
The young man muses, “I wonder if my name will ever be hanging on the outside of a place like this.” He shakes his head. “Not if I can’t even get an interview it won’t.”
            The secretary ushers the young man into a large office and an athletic man in his late 40's greets him with a warm smile and an outstretched hand. “How are you doing? Your Dad said you could use a few pointers on getting your next job.”
            The young man takes a seat and replies with a degree of frustration. “I’ve sent out at least 20 resumes in the last four months and not one person has called me. What’s wrong with people? I mean...that seems so rude.”
            The executive suppresses a laugh and says, “Well let me take a look at your resume and see if we can figure out what’s going on.”
            The executive studies the resume for what seems half a second and says, “The first problem is obvious. Whoever is looking at your resume has no idea what you do or what you want to do. You need to put a job title at the top of your resume.”
            The young man questions, “But how should I know what title to put? Shouldn’t the person who’s hiring decide what job I should have?”
            The boss explains, “That’s your job, not theirs. The people to whom you’re sending your resumes probably receive hundreds of resumes for any number of positions (*1 Research supporting this is in Appendix 1). Recruiters and managers are typically short on time and attention (*2 Research supporting this is in Appendix 1). They need to know what you do with a quick glance at your resume (*3 Research supporting this is in Appendix 1). If it takes them more than a few seconds for them to figure out what you do, then your resume is used for trash can basketball.”
            “What if I’ve never done the job that I want, but it’s my next step?” asks the young man.
            “Your resume needs to support the job title at the top, whether you’ve actually done the job or not.”  The boss states bluntly.
            A glimmer of understanding sweeps over the young man’s face. “Well how would I know what to put for a job title?”
            The executive replies, “Research. Call the recruiter, get online, or talk to someone who works at that company and find out exactly what positions they’re hiring. Pick one that suits you and your experience and put that title boldly at the top of your resume. In fact, the job title and your telephone number are even more important than your name. Companies are seldom looking to hire a Sharon or a Richard. They’re looking for an accountant or salesman.”
            The young man looks confused. “I thought that my name and stating my objective were the most important things to have at the top of the resume.” He thinks to himself, “At least that’s what that one career coach told me.”
                The boss shakes his head. “Maybe it would be less confusing if you think of a resume in parts and for our analogy we’ll call the different parts keys. I like to divide a resume into three main keys: Header, Experience, and Supporting Evidence. The First Key of your resume is the Header. The Header Key needs to fit the lock that opens the door to you getting an interview. The header should state the job title (the job you want), your name, phone numbers, a personal website if you have one, and an e-mail address. And since your resume will no doubt be e-mailed during your job search, keep in mind that the top third of your resume is what people will likely see on their computer monitors (*4 Research supporting this is in Appendix 1). It needs to be clear, concise and compelling enough to get people to scroll down.”               

...Continued in Your Resume Sucks.

Forward - Mark Simon

With so many resume books out on the market, why write another? We wrote this book because what we suggest, works! Most of what’s taught in schools by teachers and suggested by career counselors and well-meaning parents is not practical nor will it help you get a job. All the information in this book is based on our, the authors’, combined 50+ years of experience and on common sense. We will show you the information in a resume that could possibly work against you and why. Many will disagree with the contents of this book, but after you finish reading it, you’ll wonder why you wrote your resume any other way.

I know what makes a good resume because I’ve been a freelancer for 20+ years and during that time I’ve applied for countless jobs, and I learned quickly what worked and what didn’t. Conversely, as a business owner I’ve hired many others on the strength of their resumes and became quite adept at picking out effective employees from their resumes. I’ve also shared my
knowledge through a series of lectures I’ve given to schools and professional groups regarding freelancing and career development.

Jeanne Simon’s career spans 19 years and she’s also gotten freelance and staff jobs with her resume using our method. As a television producer, she reviewed hundreds of resumes a year and became proficient at quickly sizing up candidates from their resumes.

Dr. James E. M. Irvine, D.M., started his professional career 17 years ago. His first resume out of college did not help him as he looked for his perfect job for over 2 years. Using my system of The 3 Resume Keys, Jim quickly got responses to his new resume and landed the job he was looking for within weeks. He now holds a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership and works as a Human Resource specialist for Nissan North America. He has provided us with invaluable insight into large corporate hiring practices as well as researching the supporting evidence for our Keys.

We’ve used the form of a short story to illustrate our resume concepts for two reasons. One, most resume books are boring and no one reads them all the way through, thus important concepts are missed. Two, people learn more when the subject is relevant and entertaining. Most everyone has gone on a job search and our story allows you to experience important resume feedback in a
context that should be somewhat familiar. The examples used in this text are either based on actual events that happened to us or that we found in our research. Names were changed to protect the oblivious.

The back of this book is filled with supporting evidence and resume examples. In the resume section, you will see original resumes on the left and revised resumes on the right with a brief description of what was changed and why. The sample resume portion allows you to visualize the concepts we talk about in our story.

I have seen my system, The 3 Resume Keys, work time after time for a variety of careers and it will work for you too. I’ve heard wonderful success stories and I’m always looking for more. When my system works for you, send me your story at mark@FunnyToons.tv. We are all proud when we can help someone succeed and get the job they want and deserve.

Now go get that Job!

Mark Simon


Forward - James Irvine

A resume is a work of art. And like all art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The issue is who is ‘beholding’ your resume and do they see it as 'beautiful’. If there is a ‘right’ way or a ‘wrong’
way to write a resume, I’m not really that interested in it. What does interest me is what works. Academic and theoretical debates are boring…results are energizing.

I have spent hundreds of hours researching, discussing, and debating the ‘correctness’ of formats, fonts, and punctuation. Likewise, I have spent thousands of hours with ‘real-live’ managers reviewing resumes and making interviewing and hiring decisions based on our impressions of resumes like yours. You may not agree with the ideas or suggestions contained in this book, and that doesn’t bother us a bit. However, the concepts contained in this book have, do, and will work. For many, the issue often boils down to the question: Do you want to be ‘right’ or do you want to be ‘effective’?

The goal of this book is not to make you right’, but to make you ‘effective’.

James E. M. Irvine, D.M.