5. Resume Preparation

E. Employment History

How to Write a Winning Employment History

Here are eight ways you can jazz up your experience section to capture the attention of hiring managers:

1. Ditch the Job Description

One of the most common mistakes is to write experience sections that read like job descriptions. Some job seekers go so far as to copy job descriptions word-for-word. The result is a boring recap of job duties with no indication of actual job performance.

2. Prove Your Value

Hiring managers scan your resume looking for clues about what type of worker you are. If you show that you consistently produced positive results for previous employers, you will be seen as a desirable candidate. The key is to emphasize your accomplishments and provide proof of your potential value.

3. Quantify Results

Which statement has more impact?

A. Significantly increased revenues and grew client base between 1997 and 2000.

B. Increased revenues from $250,000 in 1997 to $1.5 million in 2000 and tripled client base from 2,500 to 7,000.

In both cases, the candidate is trying to convey he increased revenues and expanded the client base, but statement B measures how well he achieved this growth. Wherever possible, include measurable results of your work.

Note that not everyone can release company performance figures. If presenting this information is a breach of confidentiality, find another way to present your accomplishments. For example, use percentages rather than actual dollar figures.

4. Lead with Your Work's Outcomes

An effective strategy is to write the result of your work before listing the problem and action. This allows you to lead with the most compelling aspect of your accomplishment.

For example: Reversed an annual $2 million decline in market share by streamlining the benchmark process and building a top-flight sales team.

5. Make It Readable

Some resumes use bullets to outline work histories, but this tends to blur duties and accomplishments, which dilutes the impact of achievements. Other resumes use a narrative style to describe work history, which tends to be cumbersome to read, especially for hiring managers who are quickly scanning resumes to extract key information.

Instead, use a combination of paragraphs and bullets. For each employer, provide a brief paragraph that details the scope of your responsibilities. Then create a bulleted list of your top contributions. The bullets draw attention to your accomplishments, while giving the eye a place to rest. Preface accomplishments with a heading such as Key Accomplishments or Significant Contributions.

6. Target Your Experience to Your Goal

Resumes are marketing tools. Your employment history should effectively market you for your current job objective. Focus on accomplishments that relate to your goal and remove job duties and accomplishments that don't support your objective.

7. Use Power Words

The quality of the writing makes or breaks your chances for an interview, so select your words carefully. Avoid dull or stale phrases such as "responsible for" and "duties include."

8. Be Honest

Studies indicate that job seekers often lie about their work experiences on their resumes. But with honest and well-written employment histories, even job seekers with less-than-perfect backgrounds will secure interviews. The best strategy for your resume is to always be truthful about your background. If you were recently terminated, do not give the appearance that you are still employed. Hiring managers are more understanding about layoffs and reductions in force than you may expect, and you run a significant risk by not disclosing the true periods of employment, as many employers verify resume information.

How to Handle Employment Gaps and Job-Hopping

While hiring managers are more understanding of an imperfect work history than they used to be, you still need to carefully present your experience to avoid being seen as unstable. Start by evaluating your situation and determining how bad it really is. If you are panicking about two months of unemployment back in 1984, your job search will probably not be affected. However, if you are dealing with recent periods of unemployment extending for months or even years, you will need to start strategizing.

If you’re concerned about employment gaps:

• Think about other activities you can use to fill that time period. You might have experience relevant to your job target, regardless of whether you were paid. Volunteer activities, community involvement, special projects, consulting engagements and continuing education can be used in the Experience section.
• Short gaps might not be apparent if you eliminate months from your traditional resume. Use the Objective statement to summarize your goal as well as your top qualifications. This will draw attention to your selling points and downplay your work chronology.
• If you're returning to the workforce after an extended absence, show how you've kept up-to-date with changes in your industry.
• If you've been out of work because you raised a family, continued your education, cared for a sick family member or recovered from an injury, be sure your tone is not apologetic. There's nothing wrong with being out of work for whatever reason, and a negative attitude might affect your resume's quality.

If you're concerned about job-hopping:

• Some fields are prone to short periods of employment, and job-hopping might not be a concern. For many other occupations, there is less of a stigma regarding job-hopping than in the past.
• The best way to handle job-hopping on your resume depends on your specific job titles and companies. You may be able to lump two or more similar positions under one heading (for example, Sales Representative, ABC Company and DEF Company, 2/94-4/96). You can list your combined work experience's highlights. Independent contractors and temporary workers should consider grouping their experience under one time period (such as IT Consultant/Network Specialist, 4/95-present) with project highlights.
• You don't need to include every job you've ever held. Short-term positions that don't do anything for you can certainly be omitted. Keep in mind: A resume is a marketing piece, but you will need to provide a complete work history if you are asked to fill out a job application, which is a signed legal document.
• Employers might be leery of hiring candidates with a history of job-hopping due to recruiting and training expenses. Use your cover letter to explain your work history and put a positive spin on your circumstances. Also, indicate your interest in a long-term position.

What About a Functional Resume?

Many hiring professionals say they prefer chronological resume presentations to the functional format. They are often suspicious of functional resumes, which are usually used to hide something. Only select this format if you have an extremely poor work background with extended gaps or a terrible history of job-hopping.

Accentuate the Positive

There's nothing you can do to change your work experience, so the best strategy is to develop a forward-looking resume that shows the value you offer potential employers. If you are sticking with a chronological resume format, lead with a Qualifications Summary, a narrative profile summing up your key qualifications for the position. This will draw attention to your strengths.

Layoffs and Downsizing: Quick Tips to Improve Your Resume

• Update your resume right away and be sure to showcase your recent achievements no matter how you may feel about your employer.
• Ask your former employer or colleagues to supply you with written reference letters. Consider including a positive quote from a reference letter in the Qualifications Summary or Experience section.
• Read as many job openings as possible to evaluate the skills and experience employers find desirable. Incorporate your matching credentials into your resume.
• Don't misrepresent your employment status by indicating "to present" on your resume.
• Don't write the reason for leaving on your resume, but do use the cover letter to explain your circumstances.

Overqualified You

Six months ago, you were laid off from your executive job by a company that's now six feet under. You've sent out 800 resumes, done one interview, and received zero offers. You blew through the severance pay in two months, the COBRA health insurance is gone and your unemployment benefits are about to expire.

You find yourself looking lower and lower on the totem pole and occasionally eyeing openings for line managers at the competitor that killed your former employer. If you must apply for a position for which you're clearly overqualified, how do you actually land the job?

Withhold Your Resume

Here's what not to do: Fire off a volley of resumes to human resources departments. Sending a resume is simply a way to oblivion. HR departments must quickly eliminate nearly all of the hundreds of resumes submitted for a single opening. At the first whiff of your extra qualifications, most screeners will stamp "no" on your application. Resumes are read to be rejected.

What's the workaround for overqualified candidates? Go directly to the hiring manager to pitch your ability to excel in the open position. You can either call or write, but hold back your resume in the first round of communication with the employer.

Sell to the Employer's Need

Once you've found out as much as you can about the company and the position, you've got to imagine how your qualifications mesh perfectly with the job requirements. If you're overqualified, you need to articulate how a handful of your skills will help that specific employer. At least at first, say nothing about higher-level skills that don't pertain to the position at hand.

Use Emphasis to Shape Employer Perceptions

Sooner or later, you'll probably have to send a resume. More than you ever have before, you'll need to customize your one-page presentation of yourself. To de-emphasize those over-the-top elements of your professional background you can make some information more sparse, but you've got to be careful about misrepresenting yourself.

How do you tread this fine line? One solution is to create a functional resume where relevant skills are pumped up in detail toward the top of the resume, while overly impressive titles are demoted to the bottom and given little ink. Strategic emphasis is integral to persuasion; omission of recent, important rungs in your career ladder is unethical deception.

Make a Virtue of Your Extra Qualifications

In the interview, if your prospective employer says that your extraordinary qualifications cast doubt on your candidacy, recast your past as an asset to your future at the company. Emphasize that they would be getting somebody with the potential to move up.

Draw out Objections; Don't Volunteer Them

Employers typically have the following objections to candidates with extra qualifications: You'll get bored quickly; you won't be satisfied with the salary; you'll jump to another company as soon as you get a better offer. Employers are pretty reticent to hire overqualified people, because they believe when the economy picks up, they'll lose those people.

If you raise these issues early in the application process, you risk short-circuiting your candidacy. Instead, see what's on the minds of your interviewers by asking open-ended questions such as these: "What else do you need to hear to be convinced that I'm the best fit for the job? Do you have any questions about my candidacy that I haven't yet had the chance to answer?" Just make sure you've already ferreted out all the tough questions that your work history could possibly raise -- and practiced answering them.

The Ultimate Issue

Finally, be prepared to answer one question that the interviewer may be too embarrassed to ask: Won't it be humiliating for you to take a job that many people would consider beneath you? You can address this issue indirectly through the positive attitude you convey in everything you say about the available position and your fitness for it. You have to be perceived as the kind of person who believes there is honor in every job.