A Boastful Resume From a Modest Example

A Boastful Resume From a Modest ExampleA Boastful Resume From a Modest ExampleSome resumes ignore the best parts of a career. Jan Baidens resume did.Jan Baiden never expected to be laid off.Im 59 and Ive never been out of work, she said. Ive worked since I welches 21 years old. Jan Baiden never expected to need a resume again. She said she is like most executives near a high point in their careers - confident that tenure and experience made herbei job secure and put her in strong position to find her next job based on her record.I think many people dont take notice of these things unless theres a necessity, Baiden said.But Baiden was laid off from her position as a direct-marketing executive and needed a resume once again. It was up to date, but her achievements were buried in tasks and modest language. Thats another common trait among executives near a high point in their career, said Becky Erdelen, a certified professional resume writer who works with Ladders and helped Baiden cra ft a more assertive resume.Job seekers have a hard time finding the balance between pride and modesty, Erdelen said. Many know theyre not giving themselves the credit they deserve, but theyre uneasy about saying it any other way. They dont want to sound pompous and arrogant.To fix Baidens resume, Erdelen had to get her to describe the accomplishments in her career, some of which she hadnt even mentioned in her original resume. Erdelen interviewed Baden and had her provide detailed factsheets on her career.Going through the critique and doing the worksheets really made me sit down and go, What did I really achieve? Baiden said.It turns out she had had achieved quite a lot. Shed saved a company more than $200,000 by streamlining business processes and eliminating waste, Erdelen said. She turned around the performance of an entire department by replacing the entire staff.We had to work on pulling forward the accomplishments, rather than stick with a task-oriented resume, which doesnt really let people shine, Erdelen said.Its how you say itWording can be key, Erdelen, said. She was able to pump up Baidens resume using a broader vocabulary and action verbs that made her accomplishments seem more dynamic.To be able to market a client and make it an interesting read, you have to use a variety of action verbs that are more powerful and attention-grabbing, Erdelen said. So, she championed, she directed, she realized savings instead of generated them.Baiden said shed tried spicing up the wording herself but didnt get very far. You cant spearhead everything, you know? You need to be able to describe very similar accomplishments in very different ways for different positions, she said.While Baidens resume is still in progress, she said its nearly finished after three drafts. The most rewarding part, Baiden said, was discovering new insights about herself and her work as seen through the eyes of another person.I dont know what I ever said to get Becky to describe me in th e way that she did, but its incredible, she said. She included information that I never would have said about myself that was actually true