Put Some Personality Into Your Resume - Please!

Today I'm writing a resume for a young man who's applying for a job within his existing company. I have his old resume in front of me and I'm reviewing the worksheets he completed. The difference between the two is unbelievable.

His existing resume is stiff, stilted and boring. He used one of Microsoft's Word templates and he simply listed his positions and responsibilities, as most people do.

But his self-assessment worksheets tell another story. Let me show you what I mean with a couple of excerpts:

"I wanted to be a production assistant when I joined the company, but got stuck in clerical work. When the opportunity came to apprentice without pay, I jumped at it. I did my real job and this at the same time. I came in 3 hours early every day to work at the production job, then went to my normal job at 9 am and worked until 6. When I got home, I'd read up on production to learn more. I was obsessed!"

Wow. He worked for free just to get experience in his desired field -- and then did extra reading at night? Who wouldn't want to hire someone like that? Of course that information is nowhere to be found on the resume he's currently using. Here's another quote:

"I came into this position as a new supervisor launching our biggest product to date. The launch was very problematic due to poor planning, and required massive amounts of hours to get it off the ground. I came in early and worked late for 6 months straight, 7 days a week. I was still trying to find my way and learn the ins and outs, but I knew we had to get it done. It was crazy and I loved every minute of it! The day we shipped the product was the proudest of my career."

I want to hire this guy now! (But that information isn't on his resume either.)

My job is to instill that personality into his resume, so that readers have the same reaction you had when you read those quotes. Your job is to look at the resume you're using, and ask yourself if it really communicates what makes you unique and valuable. If not, inject some personality!

(If you need help, sign up for the resume writing course on the left-hand side of the page.)