One of the reasons we decided to start this blog was to encourage visitors to our site to communicate with us about their job search and career questions. As former career expert for Monster.com, I am used to answering a deluge of career questions from job seekers and have found it to be a good way to help people with their career conundrums.
For example, I had a question emailed to me the other day. Jake with an Earthlink address asks “Peter, why is it important to have quantifiable information in a resume?”
This is a common question that many job seekers have about resumes so let me use this space to answer it.
A resume paints a picture of your career. You want it to give as clear a picture as possible to the hiring manager so they do not have to guess at what your accomplishments were. Allow me to demonstrate with an example pulled from my files.
The following was the “before” part of a resume that a client of ours had written. The resume was not getting results and he came to us for help. He was a manager of an independent pharmacy that he had taken through a sale to a large chain. Here is what he had written:
“Responsible for management of independent pharmacy including all business operations. Duties included oversight of employees, writing policies and procedures, and dealing with the public.”
After interviewing the client, doing some digging in his mind, we discovered there was a lot more to the story than he was telling. This is what we came up with:
• Assumed reins of $7M independent pharmacy turning 1000 prescriptions per day after sudden death of owner.
• Steadied stunned team of eleven employees including two pharmacists and brought them through highly stressful time of upheaval.
• Directed collection of over $80,000 in unpaid, overdue accounts receivable and slashed expenses by 35%.
• Achieved increase of $500,000 in profits despite drop in revenues attributable to death of owner.
• Groomed overall operation for upcoming sale to nation’s second largest pharmacy chain.
See the difference in what you “see” about this particular individual’s work record? That’s what we do here at Career Resumes. We paint your career in neon so it’s easy to see why you are the best candidate for the job.
I can see why the pharmacy owner had difficulty. One of the most challenging things that I see while preparing my resume is the “inclusion factor”. I have been very fortunate to have been involved in many key assignments and projects that had significant outcomes. In addition I have transitioned into several industries, so each time a have to redo my resume it becomes overwhelming. At which time everything is a blurr and you feel as though you are not making any kind of progress.
Acquiring a service such as yours is something I am about to embark on.
Looking forward to my neon sign!
I am presently 61 years of age and own my own Management Consulting Firm. I am considering closing shop and would like to enter the job market. How detimental is the age factor? What suggestions do you have to overcome potential age considerations? I have a strong background in project managemnt and team building. My speciality has been in identifying and develpoping public private partnerships.