3 Key Strategies for Creating a Winning Resume – It’s All About Relevance!

It’s important to express in a resume the unique skill set, expertise, and knowledge that you can bring to the employer. It is commonly referred to in the career world as your unique promise of value. Essentially, what you’re communicating to the employer through this unique promise of value is exactly that—the value that you offer the employer if they choose you over another candidate. So what are some elements in your resume that help demonstrate this promise of value? A COMPELLING AND DISTINCT BRANDING STATEMENT A branding statement shouldn’t be a cheesy one-liner that sounds like it comes from a commercial or is a pitch line for a product. It needs to be an authentic, matter-of-fact representation of your distinctness as a candidate for employment. It’s also critical that it’s relevant to the needs of the employer as related to the position for which you’re applying. A TARGETED CAREER SUMMARY Follow up your authentic and distinctive branding statement with a career summary that addresses your ability to meet the employer’s needs through previous wins. And by wins I don’t mean competitive wins like you *win* a football game. I mean this is the perfect place to tout your relevant previous successes. Successes that are relevant are those that most relate to the position you’re applying to and the needs the employer has expressed for that particular position. PRIORITY IS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR You don’t hear this discussed much, but the order in which you place the accomplishments and bullets on your resume is pertinent to the success of your resume. You always want to give priority to the applicable accomplishments on your resume as they relate to the position you are applying to. In the job description the employer will list the required skills or experience—and your bullets points are the place to demonstrate that you’ve met and exceeded these requirements. This solidifies your qualification for the position—and is a huge selling point. I’ve talked a lot about relevance in this article, but I can’t stress the importance of it enough. By customizing each resume when you apply for a position you are demonstrating your qualifications and solidifying your candidacy.