Hello, and welcome to another Two Minute Tuesday, where we provide tips and advice – short and sweet – for career advancement. My name’s Taylor Maurer and I am the founder and senior managing partner here at HCRC. Today we’re going to continue with the theme of creating a resume that will get you noticed.
Today’s tip is probably the most useful piece of advice that we will cover in this resume series. And because in the civil construction sector we see only about 15% of candidates following it, by harnessing this tip you will already be putting yourself ahead of 85% of the candidates out there.
Okay then, let’s dig in:
The biggest mistake I see people make when putting together a resume is focusing too much on saying what they do rather than painting a picture that sets them apart from people with a similar skill set or background.
In other words, it’s not what you do but how you do it better. Effectively communicating this in your resume will open doors for you to the next stage in the interview process – the face-to-face interview.
In general, the most effective way to portray your skills and/or background and thus, your supreme suitability for the job, is by highlighting your accomplishments; specifically, what you have done to make money, save money, and save problems. After all, we live in a capitalistic society where what’s most important is “bottom line” results.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when putting together your highlighted accomplishments:
First, make them easy to find on your resume. Group them together and clearly note that these are your accomplishments.
Second, use quantifiable terms when speaking of results. It’s okay if you don’t have specifics. You can note that the quantities are estimated, approximate, close to, around, or the like.
Third, be succinct, condensing your explanation of how you accomplished what you did to a short, digestible length. Accomplishments should not be paragraphs or run on sentences. You will have more time to elaborate on these in the face-to-face interview.
Fourth, list your most recent accomplishments first, and include no fewer than two within the last two years. If all of your accomplishments are old, a hiring manager might get the impression that you are a stale candidate or past your prime. List the recent ones first even if you don’t consider them to be your best accomplishments.
Lastly, it’s acceptable to list accomplishments that were a team effort but try to be clear and specific on your direct involvement.
In summary, setting yourself apart from other candidates with your resume will help you advance to the interview process, where you can let your personality shine.
We hope you found this Two Minute Tuesday episode helpful.
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As always, thanks for tuning in and we will see you next week for another installment of Two Minute Tuesday.
Taylor Maurer runs the talent acquisition firm HCRC as senior managing partner. He is a professional heavy civil construction recruiter dedicated to attracting and retaining high quality talent.
