Carl Sandburg, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, once said,
“I’m an idealist. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way”.
Carl Sandburg
Unfortunately, far too many job seekers approach the task of developing their resumes with this same idealistic philosophy.
Carl Sandburg never had to compete in the 21st century job market.
Employers in today’s market are far from idealistic. They know where they’re going, and they have a solid plan for getting there. They give jobseekers clear information by posting detailed position descriptions. They include specific information about critical requirements and skills that the successful applicant is expected to bring to the table. Employers know that a well-crafted job description is one of their best tools for targeting prospective employees who meet their needs and are likely to perform well with the responsibilities of the position.
They’re looking for people who can do what the job requires, but they’re screening carefully for the select few who can do it better. They want people who can outperform standards, provide exceptional value, cut costs, increase profit margins, deliver hard-core results, and contribute highly relevant knowledge and experience.
So with all this information at hand, why do so many jobseekers still respond to these carefully crafted, targeted job postings with generic, one-size-fits-all resumes?
Honestly, I think that many job seekers are unaware of modern best practices in resume development. They’re unaware that some of the applicants they’re competing against have developed persuasive, targeted resumes which skillfully and successfully highlight critical job-specific information, address key requirements, and demonstrate exceptional value. They’re unaware that there’s a better way, that with a little additional effort they can dramatically increase their chances in a highly competitive job market.
In the next few posts, I’ll be addressing critical aspects of targeted resume development. If your resume is of the one-size-fits-all variety, stay tuned, there’s more to come.
