Blog Post: Selling the product - YOU!

Getting the interview is the purpose of your résumé. It is not supposed to sell you into the job. Because of that, you don’t try use your résumé to tell the prospective hiring manager everything you have ever done, no matter how interesting you think it is. You only tell him/her what he/she needs to know about your ability to perform in a particular job, based on your past experience.

I always joke that all the hiring managers listen to the same radio station – WII – FM – What’s In It – For Me. If you insist on telling a hiring manager things that don’t translate into what is needed for the job, that added information counts against your chances of getting the interview.

Often, people tell me they want me to prepare a generic résumé so they can apply for a variety of jobs. They expect the hiring managers to read through all their wonderful skills and find the perfect job for them. This doesn't work.

Sending a “generic” résumé is like advertising SOAP to someone who needs an INDUSTRIAL GRADE SOLVENT. If you only communicate “soap,” and that one of the strengths of your soap is that it produces a lot of suds (which your audience may consider to be inconsequential, or even a disadvantage), you aren’t going to sell your soap in that market. Maybe your SOAP is strong enough to take enamel off cars, but unless you communicate that, and call it by it’s right name, you’re not going to make the sale.

The same with your résumé. You've got to decide what your market is, and target your résumé for that market.