Linda Lupatkin, Career Counselor, Coach and Consultant

A resume is like a road map, leading to your destination and if yours is not, it should be. When you’re going on a road trip you have a destination in mind when you start and then you plot a course that will get you there. Each turn has meaning, designed to get you to your ultimate goal.

Your resume should be the same way. Each statement you make, each position you incorporate should be added with your destination in mind. For example, if you’re interested in landing a sales role, your resume and the positions you’ve held should emphasize the sales aspects of your past experience.

Adding information about a project you managed, while a nice accomplishment, may end up being a diversion that leads the resume reader off course. The problem is, they may not take the time to stop and ask for directions to get back on the right track.

Now I’m not saying you should eliminate the project you managed completely, just frame it differently. Did you need to persuade an employer or customer to take on the project? That’s sales.  Perhaps you had to interface with clients on the project and provide customer service and support. Also a skill found in sales. Maybe to implement the project you needed to uncover your customer’s or even your employer’s needs and then provide a solution, a technique required in solution or consultative sales.

That’s just one example to illustrate what your thought process needs to be when writing a resume. The first step is to think about where you want to go and the next step is to map a route that will get you there.

Whether your destination is one you initially set out for when you started your career or you’re setting a new course, your resume should be a road map, pointing the reader in the direction of your desired destination, otherwise the prospective HR professional, recruiter or hiring manager may be going down an entirely different road, leaving you in the dust.

Linda