How not to become radioactive in the job market
By Catherine Kaputa, founder of SelfBrand (
www.selfbrand.com), a brand strategy company that works with people, products and companies.
It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Everyone knows there's a lot of competition particularly for coveted jobs at top companies. So to stand out in his application to a major Wall Street firm, a senior at Yale put together an 11-page resume and a video clip.
Rather than becoming a hot commodity, the Yale student felt "mocked" after his video CV appeared on YouTube and became a viral sensation. The student lost his privacy and probably his chance for a job on Wall Street after all the publicity and scrutiny his resume and video have received.
While you want your resume to get noticed, you don't want it to be over the top, either. Here are some tips on how to do a resume and when to do a video clip from my new book, U R a Brand! How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success:
- Don't take all the credit. Business is about relationships, not individual accomplishments. Give credit to the team, your boss, your clients - even your mom - and your likeability quotient will go up immeasurably.
- Tell a story. Most resumes are a laundry list of skills and job experience. There is no focus or message or narrative. Build a theme that takes someone on your personal career journey.
- Have a surprise element. Great resumes have an "A-ha!" moment, something that makes the employer want to learn more about the person, such as an important cause you are involved with.
- Demonstrate specifics. Most resumes are too generic and focus on job function rather than performance and accomplishments. A one-page achievement addendum allows you to showcase three key projects in a case study format (challenge, action, accomplishments).
- Create endorsement buzz. When you say it, it's bragging. If your boss, colleague or client says it, it's expert testimony. Get "testimonial quotes" from a former boss or client about your performance or a specific project you handled. Use it in your achievement addendum or cover letter.
- Keep it short. 11 pages is too long. Most resumes work best as a 2-page document with a one-page achievement addendum.
- Create an appealing package. Most resumes look downright forbidding in terms of layout making them hard to read and appreciate. Use Fed-Ex or UPS to send the resume and cover letter to important job prospects.
- Use a video clip at your own risk. Video clips are risky. They can quickly unsell your candidacy - even appear on a video sharing site like the Yale student's did. For some companies and jobs, though, they can be that something special that clinches the sale, particularly if the video is about a marketing promotion you spearheaded or an industry talk you gave at a conference - and not about you.
- Remember the internet has a long memory. Everything you send or post on the internet (or could be posted by someone else) - your resume on a job site, a personal blog, a hasty email, a video you're a part of - can come back to haunt you. And, in many cases, you won't be able to erase the item from the internet, so a potential employer may find it when "googling" you as part of the job vetting process.
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October 23, 2006 Vol.2, No.10
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U R A BRAND
How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success.
By Catherine Kaputa with foreword by Al Ries.
Order from
Amazon.com
bn.com
In Bookstores
April 1, 2006
Click to find out more
Who We Are
Catherine Kaputa is a brand strategist, speaker and author. She is president of
SelfBrand, a marketing consultancy that works with companies and individuals
who want to unlock the optimum marketing focus and game plan.
Speaking and Workshops: Visit www.selfbrand.com
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