The Resume Masterpiece

It`s no secret that a resume is your ticket to landing a job, getting recruited by head hunters, or initiating the first steps for locking an interview at ESSEC Business School .

Resumes are the face of what you have got to offer, a big sign stating your added value and ‘game’ for companies, schools and recruiters. It is your marketing plan of your unique self, a showcase of all of the admirable and unique values that your profile consists of. It is like your very own Mona Lisa, and yup, you got it, you are DaVinci.

"Resumes are the face of what you have got to offer, a big sign stating your added value and ‘game’ for companies, schools and recruiters"

In order to fabricate this masterpiece, here are some simple guidelines that we can suggest to you in order to make your resume clear, precise, clean and aesthetically pleasing, just like a noteable piece of art from the Renaissance era. We are going to give you an art lesson in structuring your very own personal marketing plan.

Lesson N°1 – Resume Writing = Marketing

ADVERTISE

It is no secret that your resume is your sales pitch, your marketing strategy, your direct reflection and differentiation of yourself as opposed to other candidates. Your resume is designed to scream « I am an awesome candidate, hire me ! », and « I am so much cooler than the rest of these candidates, pffffff please ».

 "...you are advertising yourself." 

So, know in advance before sitting down and writing your resume that you are advertising yourself. You need to communicate to the recruiter that once you are hired, all of the benefits that are presented on your CV will come pouring down on the company and people will shout hallelujha. Show that you will and can be successful for the potential job or school that you are applying to.

DO THE RESEARCH

Any good marketing plan is research based, as you will thoroughly learn here at ESSEC.

Look up and hit the books about the company you are applying to or the school you wish to attend, and formulate your CV according to their interests – this will boost your visibility, as entities always are eager to interview candidates who have some kind of connection to the establishment.

Your resume must demonstrate that you have at least 70% of the entity’s requirements to have a legitimate hope of landing an interview, with a 30% shot at a silver lining. Stalk the company or school to know as much as you can about them and what activity they are involved in currently – the web, social media tracking and networking with people you know are always great ideas in order for your resume to shine.

Better yet, if you have the luck of knowing anyone in the place where you want to slam an interview, take them out for coffee or lunch and ask what they are looking for in a resume. Everyone likes food and company.

"You need to be unique – it’s boring to have identical resumes. Tailor in your creativity and pizzaz"

CUSTOMIZE

You need to be unique – it’s boring to have identical resumes. Tailor in your creativity and pizzaz when formulating your CV, but also make sure to adhere to the company’s or school’s needs – the extra effort will land you an interview. 

Thus, your marketing is unique, but informed and precise, with a specific targeted audience. This ensures that your resume is definitely an attention grabber, just like Leonardo’s masterpiece.

Lesson N°2 – Your Resume’s Job is to land an Interview

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

Sad, but true. It’s totally about the recruiter and how they view your profile. Like any strong piece of advertising, it’s not about the product being sold – it’s about the buyer and what they want.

Let’s take a look at Coke advertisements: They say very little about the soda pop bubbles, but they communicate the fact that people who drink it are happy and have a lot of bright and shiny people around them. The focus is on the benefits of drinking Coke. So, be Coke - your resume is about the benefits of hiring you.

"...your resume is about the benefits of hiring you."

Lesson N° 3 – An aesthetic resume is an Attention Grabber

Beauty is pain. To make your CV look fantastic and fabulous, many revisions need to be done to make sure that your work of art is aesthetically pleasing, clear, and logical to the recruiter’s eye. 

If this is your first time writing one, take a gander in the library and find a book about resume writing – inside, you will be sure to find many examples of what a good resume is supposed to look like.

After using these rough guidelines, think out of the box and make your CV unique. You want to make sure to differentiate yourself from all of the other candidates applying for the job. Being fresh is never a bad idea.

"You want to make sure to differentiate yourself from all of the other candidates applying for the job. Being fresh is never a bad idea."

Lesson N° 4 – Never Lie

Though you might be tempted, make sure to not create a white lie on your resume to strengthen your chances of landing a job. Chances are, in an interview the recruited will automatically see right through your past experiences and your competencies.

If you put that you speak six languages for instance and in reality only speak two, you will be busted when a native speaker happens to drop by during your interview to chat in Mandarin with you. Lying never benefited anybody, especially when applying for jobs and schools.

Lesson N°5 – Give a Fresh Perspective

Even though resumes are personal marketing, you still gotta keep it original. Make  sure to show the entity that you are applying to that you are a diamond in the ruff. It is always  refreshing to see character in a CV.

 "Make  sure to show the entity that you are applying to that you are a diamond in the ruff."

With that being said, it’s time to go to work. Go to town on your masterpiece – who knows, maybe your CV will get auctioned to a special exhibition in the Louvre.

Go get ‘em tiger.