How to Craft a Resume That’s Both Robot & Human Friendly

By Jenny Foss, JobJenny.comPDXMindshare Workshop, 4/20/16

Resume Writing is Hard – For a Lot of Reasons

How many pages should it be?Objective, or no? Do you need more than one?What happens if you have a gap, or didn’t finish college?What if you’ve been working in an unrelated fieldHow far back should you go?And …

“Apply Now” – What Happens After That?

Where does the resume even go after that?

How is it assessed?

What on earth is an applicant tracking system?

The Journey Your Resume Takes(and why you need to care)

Why People Aren’t Going to Magically See “Fit”

The reviewer may not be qualified to connect the dots for you

The reviewer doesn’t have incentive to connect the dots for you

How Do You Pick a Format?

Fancy, or just the facts?Graphics? Headers? Multiple columns?Education first or last? Objective, or summary?Word format? PDF? Something else?

What the ATS Will Be Looking For:

KEY WORDSStandard HeadersRequired Degree(s) or Certification(s)Years of Experience

Things that Make the ATS Crabby:

Graphics (logos, photos, pieces of flair)Special formatting charactersAbbreviations and jargonMultiple column formatsNon-standard fonts

What the Humans Will Be Looking For:

The “WOW” factorObvious fit for the job requirementsEvidence of hard and soft skillsHumans CAN see grey areas

Formatting: A Human Friendly Resume:

Consistent formatting A survivable font size Strategic placement of most important infoMake sections easy to read quickly

An Example: Showcasing Key Accomplishments

Bob Smith Automotive Group, Charlotte, NC Feb 2010 – PresentMultiple-store automotive dealer group offering new and pre-owned vehicles, expert service and parts. Brands represented include Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Lexus, Toyota, Scion, Ford and Hyundai.General ManagerAggressively recruited into a Used Car Manager (Buick, GMC, Cadillac) role then quickly promoted to General Sales Manager (2010) and General Manager / Dealer Principal (2012). Oversee all day-to-day business operations for the organization’s Lexus store, including new and used car sales, service and parts. Directly supervise a high-performing team, with direct responsibility for 50+ employees.Key Accomplishments: Shattered all-time gross and net profit records across 2012-2015, achieving double digit growth results in Parts, Service,

New and Used Car sales – all while concurrently managing a major remodel construction project at the dealership. Generate $1M+ in net profits annually.

Hired, developed and shaped several top leaders. Created a nurturing, performance focused environment that enabled seven inexperienced employees to grow into management level positions.

Named #1 Lexus volume dealer in the State of North Carolina (2013, 2014) and #1 Lexus volume dealer in the district three years in a row, 2011-2014.

Subsection makes it easer to get to the meat fast

The Bottom Line…

Content absolutely mattersSo does strategy & understanding of the gameIf you understand the game, it’s a lot easier to

playMake you make perfect sense, to both audiences

Resume Q & A (You Know You’ve Got One)

Pressing resume questions? Now’s your chance.

Need More Help Creating a Smashing Resume?

Check out our just launched Weekend Resume Makeover Course

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WHO IS SHE?

Jenny Foss is a career consultant, personal branding strategist, recruiter, and the voice behind career blog JobJenny.com.

JobJenny.com has been named among Forbes’ Top 75 Websites for Your Career, and among the top resume writing firms in the U.S. (ResumeRemodeler.com)

Jenny is also the author of the Ridiculously Awesome Resume Kit and the Ridiculously Awesome LinkedIn Kit, and a regular columnist for TheMuse.com.$50 off the Weekend Resume Makeover Course w/ promo code MINDSHARE, thru 4/27