Chapter 10Building a Winning Résumé

The most important document you will

develop over the course of your career is

your résumé. Whether it’s a one-pager

when you’re getting your career started or

two- to three-pager for grizzled veteran,

your written résumé has to effectively

communicate everything you can bring to

the workplace. It must stand out from a

pile of résumés on the desk of a potential

employer.

Chronological RésuméThe example we just looked at was a chronological

résumé. It’s laid out with the most recent

accomplishments listed first. This is also called

reverse chronological order. The example was based

closely on one of the author’s former students who

now works in the audio post-production industry

(SOUND FOR FILM).

Remember, your professional resume is a marketing

tool designed to secure the next step in the job

acquisition process.

IT IS NOT your autobiography, your life story, nor

must it include every job or volunteer activity

you’ve engaged in. The more directly you can

explain to a prospective employer what you are

seeking with respect to your career, and make the

case for why you are a qualified candidate, the

more likely it is your résumé will result in interviews

and job offers.

Now we’ll look at another style of style of résumé:

The Functional Résumé

A functional résumé enables you to list

accomplishments in the order you feel best

represents your qualifications for a particular career

path. When is the functional résumé appropriate?

Usually, when you either have gaps in your

timeline, or you’re changing careers.

Notice that in the “functional” example, that the

current law job only occupies one space and the

experience more relevant to the job applied for is

more prominent and more abundant.

Important anecdote from the

author on the next page!

“A colleague of mine who is a senior human-

resources executive once shared an interesting fact

with me. I had always been under the impression

that the people who screen résumés, especially at

larger firms, looked for the strongest résumés of

those submitted. I was surprised to learn that it’s

often actually the opposite case. In many larger

companies, a résumé screener’s job is to look for

mistakes: to take as many résumés as they can and

justifiably put them in the shredder. Why? “This one

is full of misspellings.” (Buzzzzzz….. Goes the

shredder.) “This one says she only will work in

A&R.” (Buzzzzzzzzzzz.)

“This one says he wants to be president of the

label.” (Buzzzzz.)

In a large organization, the résumé screener’s job is

not to pick the strongest résumé; it’s to leave a pile

of non-offensive résumés for their supervisor’s

review. That’s why you cannot afford the slightest

error or mistake on your résumé. It can quickly

eliminate you from consideration.”

It’s critically to make sure that your

résumé is read and proofread by

other people, ideally a professional,

such as a career counselor at your

school or college!

Chapter 10 (continued)

Never underestimate the

power of a strong Résumé• A well-crafted résumé is a strong

statement that you are a leading

candidate for a prospective opening.

• It may be the ONLY chance for you to sell

yourself to your potential new boss!

Example: Job offer in New York that you

hear about from your network.

• You call to confirm company is looking for

someone with some of the same

qualifications as you

• They request a résumé

• Your résumé represents:• Your life

• Your skills

• Your net worth

• Your total marketable skills to date that relate to that

job

Will your résumé be the best,

strongest, tightest document

you can create, or a quickie

that you copied out of a

résumé book you picked up

the night before?

Which of the above is destined for the

shredder?

In this same scenario, another

candidate sends only a naked

résumé and you send a well-crafted

one WITH a well-written cover letter.

Which candidate will have a better

chance of avoiding the shredder?

Ans: No-brainer

• What is a “naked résumé?”

• What is a cover letter? (answers on

next page)

A “naked résumé” is one that does not

include a cover letter and is almost as

serious a faux pas as showing up naked for

an interview!

The only time not to include a cover letter is

if a job posting states “résumés only”

which is a vary rare occurrence.

A cover letter enables you to highlight key

points on your résumé and shows you

have done your research on the company

Important Elements - Résumé

Identity

• Literally who you are

• Name at top – slightly larger font

• 14 to 18 point type if body of résumé is 10 -

12

• No fancy fonts – résumés often scanned – a

fancy font may wind up being unreadable

after scanning

• Exception would be for graphic designer job

» Still need to be a bit conservative

Résumé Elements - continuedJob Objective

Example: To obtain an entry-level position at

a music publishing company to learn more

about the publishing industry.

Good statement above: remember, you can

adapt your job objective statement for

different situations without necessarily

having to change your résumé.

Résumé Elements - continued

Another example: To land an entry-level

position at an established recording studio

to expand my recording knowledge and

skills.

Above example is for a candidate that wants

to be in the studio business and is not sure

in what capacity. Even though it is generic,

it still shows a potential employer that the

candidate has a goal in mind.

Résumé Elements - continued

Experience

• Where you can detail accomplishments

• Many intimidated about listing accomplishments

• Rule of thumb – emphasize strongest

accomplishments regardless of where you were

employed!

• As your career evolves, your résumé will reflect

more industry experience.

Résumé Elements - continuedEducation

How important is it in the music industry?

More and more as the industry changes!

• Hundreds of schools and colleges that

offer training in the workings of the music

industry, covering:• Basics of industry, common practices, copyright law,

artist management, record label operations, and

many other facets of the industry

Résumé Elements - continued

Education (continued)

• Studios, labels, management companies,

and many other industry entities that hire

entry-level staff rely on music industry

programs to provide candidates with

rudimentary skills and knowledge of the

industry.

• Most of these programs include required

internships before graduation – great way

to gain skills

Résumé Elements - continued

Education (continued)

• No music industry education?

• Still important to list any educational

background including high school

• Took music industry courses but didn’t graduate?

• List the relevant courses you completed

• Far too many résumés don’t list education at all

which is a big mistake

• Prospective employers want to know that you

are literate.

Résumé Elements - continuedBackground and interests

Why include these on your résumé?

• Potential rapport builder – interviewer might

share an interest – great ice-breaker

• Example – you have an extensive record

collection of a particular genre. While you are

researching jobs you find a label that specializes

in the same genre. Listing it on your résumé

could be very helpful

Résumé Elements - continuedBackground and interests (continued)

• Avoid mentioning controversial, highly charged,

religious or political interests

• Do not PAD your résumé with any untruths! It will

almost always come back to haunt and

embarrass you – you will also lose all credibility –

there have been CEOs who lost their jobs when it

was discovered that they lied on their résumé.

Résumé Elements - continuedReferences

Not usually done – common practice is

to list: References available on

request

If you state the above, you need to make sure that

you have secured some references ahead of time

in case a prospective employer requests them!

Résumé Elements - continued

• References (continued)

Who to get references from?

• Anyone you have worked with in a

professional capacity

• If you are a student, you could ask one of

your instructors

Résumé Elements - continued

References (continued)

Asking family is taboo, especially if potential

employer finds out.

Important Point (not in book):

What have you done to deserve a

recommendation?

Do you think someone should recommend

you when it could jeopardize their

credibility?

Progressive Career Growth

As your career grows, so should your

résumé.

After you have had some work experience

and you are hopefully progressing up the

career ladder, that fact should be

represented in your résumé. Potential

employers are sharp enough to look for

positive career growth on your résumé and

if they don’t see it, Buzzzzzzz goes you

know what!

PresentationPresentation is extremely important

including:

• Clear clean and uncluttered

• Easy to read – leave some white

space

• Stick with white paper and

conservative fonts

• Proof read – have someone else proof

read!

Final Thoughts on Résumé Editing Students often ask, “should I revise or edit

my résumé for each job opportunity?”

Short answer is no! You may wind up losing the

essence of a carefully crafted document in the

process. The job objective should definitely be

changed to fit the particular job you are seeking

and the cover letter should always reflect the fact

that you are knowledgeable about the company

you are applying to and pointing out ways you

would be valuable.