Resumes are branding documents
Your resume or bio is the first impression your personal brand makes on a potential employer or client. And we all know how lasting first impressions are. Most of the resumes I come across as a branding executive and personal branding coach are not branding documents. They are not marketing pieces.
Most resumes are a laundry list of skills and jobs with no focus or message. Most are boring, a high percentage are downright terrible. They are full of jargon and clichés, and look downright ugly or forbidding in terms of layout and display of the content. It is no surprise that many are deposited into the discard bin with just a quick glance. Your goal is to get your resume into the "Review further" category.
The good news is, a resume can a powerful way to position and sell yourself and create a powerful personal brand identity. So how do you do it? You begin by adopting a self brand mindset. You begin as a marketer of any product would, by looking at yourself as a brand looking for a buyer or market, a brand that is a solution to a problem.
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The first shift is from resume as job history to resume as an advertisement for the brand, You. |
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The second shift you need to make is to a market orientation, don't think of what you want to tell the potential employer or client, but, think of what reaction you want from them, and how best to present your resume to accomplish that response. |
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The third shift is to focus your message. Rather than resume as laundry list, develop a single minded positioning for yourself that differentiates you from others and is relevant to your target market. The resume should tell the story of that positioning and link the various aspects of your career in a coherent whole. |
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The final shift is to be memorable visually and verbally. The layout should look inviting and the copy should capture the reader's attention and compel them to read more.
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What You Should Have in Your Resume Arsenal
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Resume template that is a maximum of 3 pages. This is your working document to be customized based on whom you are meeting with, and updated as your career or business expands. |
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Narrative resume that is tells a focused story: maximum one page in length and tells your brand story in an engaging way. |
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30 second elevator speech This should come off the tongue easily and be rather colloquial, weaving who you are and why you are different from others. |
Resume Development
In looking at your resume as an "advertisement," begin with a personal brand profile, which is like the headline and strong lead paragraph in an ad.
Personal Brand Profile
Your self brand profile at the top of your resume is like he headline in an ad. The profile should identify who you are, what sets you apart from others, and the value added your bring to a job. A profile should not only differentiate you, it should sell with a compelling reason to choose you and not the other people you are competing against.
A resume profile can cover the following areas:
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Key leadership and business accomplishments (tangible and intangible) |
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Industry or functional experience |
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Current title or level |
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Quantifiable achievements: revenue generated, budgets, new business |
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Sense of personality and leadership philosophy |
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Years of experience (never list over 20) |
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Companies or clients |
Here's an actual example of a "Before" profile for a Sales Executive
Summary
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Proven sales professional with over 20 years experience |
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Team player with good interpersonal skills |
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Extensive experience in financial, especially brokerage industry |
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Successfully managed 150 person regional sales force |
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Excellent presentation and sales skills |
There are two key problems with this profile: One, it is too generic and uses generalities and clichés we've seen before in hundreds of resumes. Secondly, it does not differentiate this senior sales executive from other people with similar experience.
New Profile
REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR
CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM EXECUTIVE
SALES LEADER * STRATEGIST * MOTIVATOR
Over 20 years of consistent senior-level sales success working within Fortune 100 and mid-sized companies.
Key member of corporate management teams, bringing sales focus, creativity and knowledge of sales force to high level strategic planning and decision making. Sales leadership is enhanced by operations experience and a strong marketing orientation. Driven by challenge and the desire to add value. Capture business opportunities by understanding target, marketing brand strength, and motivating the sales force. Expertise in financial services and high-tech sectors.
Review of key changes to new profile:
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Headline of personal branding statement immediately grabs attention and points out candidate's expertise and self brand positioning:
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Sales Leader * Strategist * Motivator |
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Over 20 years of consistent senior level sales success at Fortune 100 and mid-sized companies |
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The self brand positioning statement makes three key points:
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Key member of corporate management and strategy decision making |
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Points out operations and marketing experience as important value adds and ingredients for sales success |
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Is motivated and a motivator |
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Other Resume Enhancers That Can Make a Big Difference
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Take a page from advertising and use a Celebrity Endorsement
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"Celebrity" in this case is the CEO or President of a company that you worked at who has agreed to provide a third part endorsement. |
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Place the Senior executive endorsement statement right after the personal brand profile. |
Here's an example.
CEO's Comments:
John is exceptional at team building and sales leadership, guiding team members and executives in customer focused goals. His charisma and ability to motivate a wide range of sales professionals helped the company achieve and often exceed budget goals.
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Use action words and specifics to tell a "story" about your job accomplishments.
Here are some examples:
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Instrumental in start-up's rise to become the biotech leader in X. To create market demand, convinced company's management team to create a variation of an existing product which we sold to companies wishing to gain X experience. |
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Repositioned non-competitive product line and developed $20 million + revenue stream by focusing on a new niche market. |
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Directly responsible for increasing business revenue 50% year on year by leveraging client contacts to gain access to new decision-making areas. |
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Challenged to fuel growth despite fading product set, poor internal morale and declining revenue. Refocused business areas resonated with clients, the media, consultants and employees, and led to exceeding $50 million budget goal. |
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Include a compelling Achievement Addendum
An Achievement Addendum is a relatively new device used by senior executives to set their accomplishments apart and serve as the "clincher" in the sale. A resume can do a lot in selling you, but an Achievement Addendum is the something more than often makes the critical difference is choosing you, and not the other guy.
Putting together an Achievement Addendum demands some intense work on your part, in identifying career defining achievements, things you have done that meant a lot to you, help define your brand, and are compelling to your target audience.
How do I put one together and what does an Achievement Addendum look like?
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Headline the top of the page with something like : "Resume Addendum * Critical Leadership Initiatives " or other title that best suits your situation, such as "Key Campaigns" or "Major Engagements" or "Important Design Projects" |
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The Achievement Addendum should be an interesting read and tell the story of your brand. Because it doesn't have all the usual resume trappings, it is a great networking and discussion piece. |
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The key goal is using this section to tell a story of how you as an executive or a professional solved problems and saved the day (made money or saved money, etc.) |
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Formats that work well are a small story set up, followed by a "Results" paragraph and a "Strengths" paragraph, or a "Challenge", followed by "Action" and "Results."
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Here is an example:
Initiated the second-largest sales contract in the company's history.
As Director of Sales for ABC, challenged to dramatically increase revenue in the X marketplace. Together with President, pursued a new contract with XYZ Company to make ABC's new software part of their product offering. Worked closely with engineering and technology departments to design and cost out.
Results: $50 million contract was the second largest in the company's history, and led to a profitable new on-going relationship. Contract generated considerable publicity and enhanced credibility with Wall Street and investors.
Strengths: "I am the salesperson's salesperson. I love the challenge of breaking new ground in sales and negotiating the impossible deal.
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Develop a one-page narrative bio.
I believe that it is important to have a one-page narrative resume or bio in your arsenal as well. Narrative bios are used in pitch books, in marketing pieces, for speaking engagements, or at any time when you need to promote yourself. They are perfect for situations where a formal resume or CV would be too long or ponderous, and you want people to understand quickly what the heart and soul of your brand is about.
A narrative resume should tell a story, your personal brand story. So like any narrative, there should be a focused theme to the narrative bio, and links between the various things that you have done. There is a narrative bio attached at the end to help you in putting yours together.
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Always have a 30 second Elevator Speech: the oral version of your narrative bio.
The elevator speech is a must that most people overlook, hence they stumble through explaining who they are and why that is important. The :30 second elevator speech should be colloquial and conversational, but like the narrative bio and Achievement Addendum, it should be both powerful, focused on what's most important, and be tied together in a thematic story. In essence, it should convey the key highlights of what you have done, how you did it, and imply, there's more that you can do for them.
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Following are The SelfBrand Assesstment form to help you focus your accomplishments , along with a sample resume, a bio and an elevator speech which should help in the process. But remember, resumes and bios and elevator speeches are dynamic documents. They should be customized based on who you are presenting it to, and evolved as you evolve, or the market changes around you. The key is making it differentiate your brand from others, tell a focused "story" and convey the perception of value added in choosing you.
SelfBrand Company Brand Assessment
Self Brand Identity
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What are your unique strengths and how do they distinguish you from others?
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Make a short list of the tangible results or benefits your target audience receives from what you offer?
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Define your target audience? |
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What are your personal brand weaknesses? What kind of plan do you have to enhance or improve them?
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If you were a product, how would you describe your personal brand promise?
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For example, To (target audience) who need (unmet need), my brand provides (solution to unmet need)
Brand Personality/Brand Equity
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How would you answer the question, "Who are you and what do you stand for? Ie., What is your core identity? With friends? With business colleagues? With clients? What 2-4 items are you known for? |
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What 1-2 items would you also like to be known for? |
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If you were to write an advertising slogan or tagline for the brand "You", what would it be? |
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If you were a famous person, who would it be? If you were an animal, what would it be? If you were a car, what would it be? (Include a short explanation for your selection. |
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What adjectives come to mind when you think of yourself? Your work? What words have others used?
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Self Brand Image
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What is the first impression your self brand makes on others?
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How do you develop an emotional bond with your clients?
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How is what you offer others personalized or customized?
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How are the materials/environment/personal image associated with your brand personalized and different from others?
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Office |
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Personal Appearance |
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Stationary/Communications |
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Presentations |
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How do others perceive your personal image/materials/environment - first impression?
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Describe a peak job experience? A peak selling experience?
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Under what conditions do you feel most comfortable and perform best?
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What bad habits do you have that might be slowing your progress?
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Self Brand Message/CompanyBrand Message
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Describe your personal brand in 20 words or less. Your company brand.
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What's in it for your target audience (10 words or less)?
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How do you build trust so your target audience is receptive to your self brand/company brand? Give an example.
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What techniques do you use for persuasion and selling?
What are your career-defining accomplishments? Write a story about each one that covers this is what I've done, how I've done it, and why it shows what I can do for you? You can use a format such as : Situation:..., Results:... Strengths:.., or Challenge..,Action.., Results...
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What are your outside interests?
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CompanyBrand Analysis
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What sets your business or you apart from other companies (USP)?
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When your clients talk about your company or you, comments include...
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What adjectives do clients use in describing you, your company and its benefits?
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How do you add value to clients? Focus on each individual client or job and flesh out the specifics of what you accomplished.
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Break down your client list or job history into types of projects/% of your revenue. Break down client list by type of client (Corporate, small business, individual, Non-profit)/%of revenue.
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What would you like your business to look like in 5 years? Your client list?
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Who are your competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
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New business development: What is your assessment of the market, and what types of clients offer the most opportunity for developing new business?
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What do you value most in your business? Least?
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What are your current visibility and promotion efforts? Networking and alliances?
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Imagine yourself as you are at this moment, and how you would like to be in 5 years? What is your dream?
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Catherine Kaputa is President of SelfBrand LLC and a personal branding coach and strategiest. Catherine works with executives and entrepreneurs who are good at what they do, but not good at branding themselves effectively. For more information, visit www.selfbrand.com or email Catherine@selfbrand.com or call 212-662-4734.
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