Before & After:

Getting your Resume

Market Ready
Table of Contents
Getting Started ............................................................................ 3
AFTER RESUME: ...................................................................................... 4
BEFORE RESUME: ................................................................................... 5
Writing / Editing Your Resume ................................................................... 6
Summary / Profile ...................................................................................... 6
BEFORE SUMMARY / PROFILE:.............................................................. 6
AFTER SUMMARY / PROFILE:................................................................. 7
SUMMARY / PROFILE - CLOSING THE GAP .......................................... 7
Experience ................................................................................................. 9
BEFORE EXPERIENCE SECTION: .......................................................... 9
AFTER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE SECTION & CLOSING THE GAPS: 10
AFTER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE SECTION & CLOSING THE GAPS: 11
Experience .................................................................................. 12
BEFORE EDUCATION / TRAINING: ....................................................... 12
AFTER EDUCATION / TRAINING & CLOSING THE GAPS: .................. 12
Other Considerations: ................................................................. 13
Certifications ............................................................................................ 13
No Formal Degree ................................................................................... 13
Technical Skills ........................................................................................ 13

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready

PLEASE NOTE:
This content is the foundation for Right Management’s VIDEO RECORDING: Developing a Market-ready
Resume. We invite you to explore the narrated deconstruction of the resume that explores how to close
the gaps between an old-fashioned resume and a 21st Century tool.

Getting Started
When developing a resume that is market-ready, it is critical to start with your focus. Your resume isn’t your job
history, it’s the part of your job history that sells you into the role you’re targeting. Without the focus of your target
job, writing your resume will be unnecessarily challenging.

The resume isn’t about what you CAN do; it’s about what you WANT to do, as that is where you add the most
value to potential employers.

Make no mistake about it, employers are seeking - a candidate for whom their job plays to that person’s interests
and strengths. Those candidates will likely be more engaged, more productive, more likely to be retained. That
means the employer gets more for their money from those candidates. (See www.RightEverywhere.com
PERSONAL BRANDING for more.)

As you get started, let’s meet Jane (Patel) Smith. Jane is based on a real-life candidate who gave permission to
share her exemplary job search materials. (Note: Details have been changed to protect her identity)

We’re going to deconstruct her resume, showing you her BEFORE and her AFTER resumes to highlight the gaps
and how she closed them. It can serve as a guide for how you too can complete your resume.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |3

 Jane reported a 100% response
AFTER RESUME: rate. That means, each time she
sent out her resume,
she received a call

She didn’t always land that face-to-

face interview or get an offer;
however she did engage the
recipient and get a reply.

TIP: Do your homework to

maximize the effectiveness of your
efforts.

This resume has a

strong brand, sells her
expertise, is
accomplishment-
driven, and is easy to
read.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |4

BEFORE RESUME:

Jane’s BEFORE effort lacks the

visual appeal her AFTER example
has. It also lacks a fresh look that
builds the perception she is a
technical expert who leverages
technology in her own life.

As we proceed, we’ll explain how

she got from here to there.

TIP: Resumes are often read in an

online format. Sans Serif fonts are
ideal for that forum. This font feels
outdated, especially for an IT
professional. See the Resume
Selection Style Guide for more.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |5

Writing / Editing Your Resume
Whether writing your resume from scratch or editing an older version, starting with your focus is most important.
Based on the steps above you should have a good foundation from which to build your SUMMARY / PROFILE
statement which begins your resume.

Summary / Profile
The first section of your resume is your Summary or Profile – it’s short but it’s powerful. Your personal branding
statement serves as its foundation. This section is where you hook the reader and make them want to know more
about you.

It’s also where you state your case for your target position. The hiring authority is reading this while tuned to
station “WIIFM - What’s In It for Me” so be sure to include a statement explaining a positive impact you bring to
the company and match it to their needs.

Let’s explore Jane’s Summary / Profile to see how she moved from her BEFORE to her AFTER resume.

BEFORE SUMMARY / PROFILE:

Having a resume that builds name
recognition is important. This address
started as a joke because of a song;
Hiring authorities regularly however it’s not appropriate for a job
report they want the single search.
phone number at which it’s Additionally, right or wrong, AOL is
easiest to reach you. perceived as being the email platform for
people who can’t use a computer.
Make sure the outgoing voice
mail is professional and
positive

Without focus, it’s

difficult to write / edit a
This profile does a good job explaining what resume. Jane is clear Errors are NEVER
she has done, but not a good job describing that she wants to be a acceptable. In this
what she wants to do and where she can Security Analyst, but example, Jane claims
add value. isn’t selling her point of she is detail-oriented,
differentiation in her and then misspells
TIP: Employers aren’t going to work that opening line. “DEMONSTRATED” -
hard to figure out what you can do for them. - which just
You need to be more explicit. invalidated her claim.

Let’s look more closely at her AFTER example.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |6

AFTER SUMMARY / PROFILE:

First impressions are important. Formatting

aside, this resume makes a stronger
impression with her personal branding
statement.

The top half of the resume’s 1st-page is the

most important. Jane’s used the headline
to stake a claim on whom she is:
a ‘Design-Driven Security Analyst’.

Her profile highlights both

hard and soft skills that support her
personal brand and build credibility.

She takes advantage of an

eye-catching format to highlight
areas of expertise.

SUMMARY / PROFILE - CLOSING THE GAP

These are the steps Jane followed in developing her resume. She stopped to take the time to explore what she
wanted to do as she knew that was where she added the most value. She knew she had to ‘go slow to go fast’ as
once she determined her focus and built her personal branding statement, it was easier to develop a market-
ready resume.
• Develop a strong personal brand that should include your title / function and your point of differentiation (i.e.
where you add value). For more on this see www.RightEverywhere.com Personal Branding.

TIP: For many candidates, completing the Assessments (found on www.RightEverywhere.com Self Discovery ASSESSMENTS) helps
them to identify their strengths and develop rich language to describe their strengths and where they add value.

• Because your search doesn’t happen in a vacuum, conduct your market research to be sure you’re clear of the
knowledge, skills, and abilities the market wants in an ideal candidate. See the toolkit section called TIPS FOR
FINDING KEYWORDS for more.

TIP: If you’re going to maximize your return on investment (ROI) of your time in your search, then be sure you’re selling the ‘right’
experience and speaking the same language as your audience.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |7

 How did Jane’s research pay
Your Strengths off?

When she landed, it was in a role

where the hiring manager wanted a
Your Personal Brand candidate who had a holistic
view of network systems.

His team lacked that perspective

Your and he knew it was important in the
Interests / Market-place design of IT security systems.
Desires for Needs Without ever having worked a day
the Future for this new manager, he tapped
her as a mentor for the rest of the
team.

TIP: Please see www.RightEverywhere.com >

SELF DISCOVERY - ASSESSMENTS & PERSONAL
BRANDING - RESUMES for more information.
Also, visit the RESUME TOOLKIT for specific resources and tools.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |8

Experience
The next section on the resume is Professional Experience -- where the bulk of your information will be
presented, generally in reverse chronological order. It’s where you make your case for your target position.

BEFORE EXPERIENCE SECTION:

In Jane’s BEFORE example, we can see that she did a great job of collecting and listing the things for which she
was responsible in previous roles. Let’s look at where it falls short:

It wastes valuable space

describing the company. It may be
appropriate if it’s not well-known to
your target audience.

TIP: If you’re going to put a

description, make sure it is no
longer than a single line of text.

The bullets are responsibility

statements which read more like a job
description. Look at each role, they
don’t highlight her accomplishments
or the impact she offered.

There isn’t a point of differentiation.

The reader is left asking “So what?”

Dates should be noted in years only.

Occasionally a recruiter will specifically
ask for a version with months included.

For that request, it’s best to comply with

a consistent format.

TIP: Be consistent and spell out the

names of the months.

Valuable resume space is wasted by

using a line to say
“Key Responsibilities” which should be
evident to the reader. And, worse, the
bullets aren’t accomplishments either.

TIP: Strike the phrase: “Responsible

for” from your resume. Be more
ACTIVE and use quantifiable or
Accomplishments need to start with a strong Action Verb and consistently
qualifiable results. See the Resume
be written in the past tense (unless you’re actively doing the job).
Toolkit Section called BUILDING
The resume is written in 1st-person past tense, so the bullet “Performs ACCOMPLISHMENTS for more.
policy compliance…” is incorrect as that’s 3rd person present tense.
TIP: See the three toolkit sections called ACTION VERBS, SAMPLE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, and ACCOMPLISHMENTS BUILDER for more.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready |9

AFTER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE SECTION & CLOSING THE GAPS:
Please note: Jane’s resume is shown with the break from Page 1 to Page 2.

Instead of wasting space with a

company description, she’s opted to
include a hyperlink to their website
TIP: See the Resume Toolkit Section
called HYPERLINKS for more.

By taking the time to complete

assessments and determine her
personal branding statement, Jane
had a clear focus on her target.
She completed her market research
to identify key words. Her resume
targeted the needs of her audience -
which speaks to her results.

Jane reported having a 100%

response rate each time she sent
out her resume.
TIP: See www.RightEverywhere.com
SELF DISCOVERY -
ASSESSMENTS & PERSONAL
BRANDING - RESUMES for more.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready | 10

AFTER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE SECTION & CLOSING THE GAPS:

Please note: Jane’s resume is shown with the break from Page 1 to Page 2.

Dates are in years only, but Jane is ready

to respond should a recruiter specifically
ask for a version with months.
She’s used total years on line with the
company name to highlight total tenure.
Dates for each role are inset.
TIP: Be consistent when formatting
dates. Either use a dash (-) or spell out
(to).

Jane opted to use SCOPE statements

that explain the size and scope of her
role.

They’re optional but can give the reader

a sense of context for the
accomplishments that follow.
TIP: Be consistent. If you’re using
SCOPE statements for one role, you
must use them for each role.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready | 11

Experience
Initially Jane listed all the courses related
BEFORE EDUCATION / TRAINING: to her college major. After her 1st few
years of experience, they’re irrelevant
and should be removed.
TIP: Be sure to spell out your degree. If
you have a Bachelors of Science, say so.

AFTER EDUCATION / TRAINING & CLOSING THE GAPS:

In the AFTER example, Jane completed her

CISSP certification and had room to add it as
its own section, drawing the reader’s eye.
If space was an issue, she could have
combined it under Education & Training.
TIP: General rule - leave dates off this section
as it dates your education.

Before & After: Getting your Resume Market Ready | 12

Other Considerations:
Certifications
As seen in this example, because the certifications are in demand in the marketplace and there was room on the
document, they are listed in a separate section.

No Formal Degree

If you’ve not completed a formal degree, there are still ways to document any formal education you’ve completed.
For example, if you took coursework in a degree program, but didn’t complete it, these are options to use:

Completed 45 credits towards MS, Accounting

University Name, Anytown, Anywhere

Bachelors (BS) Coursework, Mathematics,

University Name, Anytown, Anywhere

Or, if you’re actively working towards a degree, another option is:

Bachelors of Science (BS), Computer Science (Graduation expected Month, Year)

University Name, Anytown, Anywhere

Technical Skills
A general guideline is that if you’re in a technical role, and technical skills are a critical part of the job, then they
should go under the Summary / Profile section on page 1 as seen in Jane’s example earlier in this document.

If you’re not in a technical role, you can add a section on page 2 while considering the following.
• Based on your market research, are the technical skills in demand in job postings?

• Are they a value-add that you bring to the role?

If the answer is yes, then highlighting those skills could be to your best advantage.

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