My Career Voyage! Charting The Course

By Patty Edwards Shaver
Career Development Facilitator

Does the thought of selling yourself when applying for a job seem like a foreign concept to you? When looking for a job you are, in fact, marketing yourself. In the current economy it’s absolutely necessary to use a strategic marketing approach in the job search. “How do I do this?” you ask. In Résumé Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Résumé Writer author, Susan Britton Whitcomb, waves her magic wand and reveals how to design a résumé that sells.

Strategies that Sell
Using personal branding and ad agency strategies in the résumé writing process “has brought great success” to people from entry level to executive, said Whitcomb. With this goal in mind, she introduces three elements of a career brand:

• Authentic image: Whitcomb presents a model called The Magic F.I.T™ that helps you pinpoint your authentic image and locate positions that will be a good fit.
• Advantages: Writing a sales-focused resume sells benefits and value, not features.
• Awareness: Communicating your brand in a way that gets attention and prompts hiring managers to respond to it.

Generating a brand is the first step in creating a résumé that sells. Whitcomb also borrows a four-step advertising formula from copywriter and author, Robert Bly, called AIDA. AIDA stands for the following:
• Get Attention;
• Capture Interest;
• Create Desire; and
• Call to Action.

“Using these advertising principles have helped thousands of people in their job search,” Whitcomb said. Like advertisements, résumés can gain attention in powerful headlines and leads, through visual appeal by using an attractive layout with consistent formatting, and by writing great copy using active verbiage and emphasizing successes, contributions and achievements.

Interest is gained by placing the strongest selling points near the top of the page, the visual center. Supporting information should go below the center, and skimmable information goes at the bottom.

Creating desire is finding the hiring manager’s “buying motivators.” This is done by stating results and accomplishments. These are the benefits you can bring to the employer. Once you have accomplished the first three steps, you are in a position to move to the next level – call to action–or asking for the sale.

Design Elements that Gets the Buyer’s Attention
A visually stimulating résumé attracts the buyer’s eyes and keeps them moving throughout the document. To maintain reader attention, effective use of design elements is a must. According to Whitcomb, the following design elements should be used:

• Visual pattern
• Balance and symmetry
• Tasteful font-work

Creativity and consistency go together in creating a résumé that will hold the employer’s attention. Set a visual pattern and stick to it, Whitcomb advises. Remain consistent with line spacing between headings and text. Use consistent tab settings and bullet styles under each heading, reserving bullets for important information like accomplishments. Think in threes when listing subheadings, combining similar categories if necessary. White space is critical in creating a visual pattern and increasing readability. Too much gray area creates a tight, cluttered look that is not appealing to look at. Find ways to create the right amount of white space even if it means learning how to adjust word processing software default settings.

Creating balance and symmetry plays a role in good résumé design. Pay attention to vertical and horizontal balance by making sure left and right margins are equal. Top and bottom margins can vary by .1 to .2 inches with lesser space at the bottom. A full width format can be a difficult read if it’s not laid out properly. Keeping paragraphs short, three to four lines, and allowing extra spacing under headings is often required to increase readability. Also, indenting bulleted information after a paragraph will help.

Another alternative is to use a two column format which can increase white space. The disadvantage is that a two column format may not allow as much copy as the full width format. Personally speaking, if the resume designer is creative enough she can overcome this word count disadvantage, and produce a unique, attention-getting resume using the two column format. Whitcomb illustrates some creative newsletter resume formats using two or three columns.

To use tasteful font-work means choosing attractive font families and sizes that will add to the résumé design. No more than two font styles are recommended, one for the body text and the other for headings. Body type should be between 9 and 12 points and headings should be no more than 12-14 points. Font choice shows personality, so choose according to the person’s personality and profession.

Headings are established according to a logical sizing hierarchy. Select four to six levels to provide enough variety to catch the reader’s eye. Levels or can be set up to include various font styles for main heading (name) which is the largest font size, then the main category, sub category, company name, position or title and contact information. Some levels can be bold, italic or underlined, but they must be used sparingly.

Final Touches
Other design elements that can be incorporated into the résumé design are: lines, bullets, charts, graphs, tables, text boxes, logos, watermarks, drop caps, industry icons, and spot color. Reserve these résumés for presentational purposes only (handed to someone in person), not for online submissions or to be included in a text based database. Keep in mind that design elements should reflect the client’s profession and should not be overused.

One last design consideration in creating a résumé that sells is paper choice. White or eggshell colored, 70-pound text weight paper will work well for supervisory, management and executive candidates. For others, specialty papers are becoming popular and should fit the person and/or profession. Utilizing the strategies that sell, proper use of design elements and applying final touches outlined here will transform your job search marketing campaign.

Recommendation
In compliance with the National Résumé Writer’s Association (NRWA) Study Guide, Whitcomb illustrates how to design a résumé using branding and advertising strategies that are sales focused, visually appealing and use classic design elements. Unlike many résumé books that illustrate the same rigid résumé format from cover to cover, Whitcomb’s creativity and attention to personal brand is evident in the variety of eye-catching résumé samples she showcases.

I highly recommend Résumé Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Résumé Writer by Susan Britton Whitcomb for the NRWA’s approved book list.

Not sure how to transform your résumé? Contact me, I can help.