HR people report they spend about 15 seconds on each resume. 15 seconds!
How can you ever hope, then, to make your resume so appealing, so noteworthy that it makes it over to the next pile? The answer is NOT to print it on a toilet paper roll, either, or some other dumb idea.
Instead of putting your name and objective at the top of your resume, try this technique. Make a single sentence headline about yourself that is so intriguing or funny or descriptive or unique or creative that it breaks through the clutter and gets read. The hiring manager’s reaction you want is “I have to read more about THIS person.” Typographically, make it bigger or bolder than anything else on your resume, so that it is the first thing read…remember you have 15 seconds.
So, how do you come up with the one sentence headline? Before you do that, do these four things;
1. Leave your humility at home.
2. Read some magazine headlines and see what gets your attention.
3. If your mom or dad were asked to list only three things about you, what would they be?
4. What are you most proud of?
The perfect sentence would combine a specific reference to the job you are applying for, a skill you have demonstrated before and how you would apply that skill for them. Or, more simply…just make every word count.
This is hard to do, so I have given you 11 examples
1. I married the prettiest girl in my small town high school, proof positive I can sell myself; just think what I can do for the widgets of ABC.
2. Voted ‘most likely to succeed,’ when I should have been voted ‘most likely to help ABC develop killer products.’
3. I’m the eldest of five, so I’ve always been the go-to person for extra work; hopefully, no one is still in diapers at ABC, and if they are, chances are I will be the first volunteer for this and other work that no one else wants to do.
4. If I maintained my grades and juggled three jobs to pay my own way through college, just think what I can do for ABC when I can reallyreally concentrate on the customer service job.
5. I know who both Britney Spears and Carl Icahn are, but if I don’t know something, I can get the answer faster than you can say GOOGLE and ABC, Co; you won’t have to tell me every little step along the way.
6. I am not the kind who takes credit for things I don’t do—ABC has the perfect team spirit for me.
7. I will never ask you for a raise, but I bet I will earn them at ABC, working in your warehouse.
8. You can’t know how good I will be for ABC, yet; but I am confident there is no other candidate who knows more about PHP programming than me.
9. I was MVP for a state championship team in high school, voted on by my peers.
10. I can tell someone’s mood by just the tone of their voice; maybe you could use someone with my empathy skills in the customer service department of ABC.
11. I am the kind of person who looks in snopes.com when I am sent forwarded ‘factual’ emails, and I know which sender I can correct and who I shouldn’t.
Hat tip: Michael Neece of Pongo Resume
30 users commented in " Your Resume Headline Should Get My Attention, First. "
G.L.
You have certainly taken this concept and developed valuable guidelines and examples. Very well done. We may find your “Resume Headline” idea becoming a resume best practice sometime in the near future. Just when I thought there was little else new about resumes, you create a really cool and valuable concept.
Thanks for letting me participate just a little.
Michael Neece, PongoResume.com
Thanks Michael…because on a whim, I posted this idea over http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=210008, a very interesting type forum-hackernews site that is on the cutting edge of some technology finds, people, etc. Evidently, my humorous examples didn’t fit well with that group.
I think the point is still a good one, however, anything you can do in a short sentence to help get you noticed, to get that interview is worthwhile.
Maybe a pro like you, could come up with some better examples to leave here?
So it’s essentially like a really good pick-up line for your resume.
Mr Timoni…not sure if that is the exact metaphor but if memory serves, I did not begin such conversations by listing my accomplishments and graduation dates.
Putting the name of the company in the resume at all, let alone at the very top, smacks of desperation.
I’d be more likely to say “This guy sounds desperate. What’s wrong with him? Next.” Than “I have to read more about THIS person.”
Hi there — found you via your comment on Nick Corcodilos’ blog. On the same page with you (literally and figuratively).
I always tell my clients until we have a one- to-two line value prop in their unique voice (and that appeals to their target) we will not begin their resume. And when we hae that, it leads the rez – at the top.
The whole rez is crafted around that value. Period.
I work with C-level folks, and try to make their “pitch” as personal as I can. Usually I have to persuade them that speaking on paper like a real person is OK. Takes a lot of courage to break the mold, but when they do, it works to really attract the right opportunities.
I’m going to stretch a bit further now and play with some humor and see what happens, thanks to your examples.
BTW, what we both do seems like one of Twitters’ 140 character “TwitPitchs” – with some punch.
Nice work!
Deb Dib
Thanks Deb, for stopping by. Any friend of Nick’s is a friend of mine. If you get some good examples, please share them here too. Maybe we can change the resume, a little bit at a time.
Nice to meet you, GL
GL,
With the talent you have with the keyboard translating your brain waves, you have so many careers ahead of you but you can always become a consultant to those guys at the NY Post or Daily News.
You certainly are spot on regarding initial attention span, yet it continues to amaze me that people actually think that someone is really going to read this document carefully first time out of the box.
One technique that has worked for me in talking with job seekers is to ask them when they were recruiting for an opening on their team, how long they spent looking at the stack of resumes (electronic or otherwise) before they decided to toss or save? That’s when I tend to hear “Oh, I see what you mean.”
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hai.. i’m a final year student of B.E. Anyone can help me to have an eyepopping resume headline…
“Leave your humility at home” is probably the best advice!
“I will never ask for your respect; if given the chance I will certainly earn it.”
I used ” I Will Never Ask For A Raise, I Will Earn One “
[...] Creative profile and resume headlines – As there are millions of resumes and profiles on all the job boards and social networking sites, creating a creative title can help make you stand out on the search results page, for example, ” Sales Manager who increase sales by 20% at McDonalds“. Also read this blog post “Your Resume Should Get My Attention, First“. [...]
I agree very much with this post.. You need to have a great headline or executive summary. Sometimes you have less than 15 seconds to make a impression..