This
week I was asked to contribute to the Central Florida Employment Council’s job
seeker blog. The CFEC and Christian HELP provide great resources
for job seekers including job fairs, training programs and more.
In
celebration of President Thomas Jefferson’s birthday on April 13th, my blog post provides
some great résumé tips with a little “Founding Fathers Flair.” You can also read the full blog post on the Central Florida Employment Council's
site where I’ve contributed quite a few other articles
as well.
I’m
so happy that Signs of a Great Résumé and Signs of a Great Résumé: Veterans
Edition have been recognized by the Central Florida Employment Council as “Recommended
Reading” for job seekers. Thanks CFEC!
Thomas Jefferson Would Tell You to Write a
Résumé Before You Need It and to Support Our Veterans
By Scott Vedder - #1 Best-Selling Author and
Résumé Expert
April 13th marks the 271st birthday of Thomas Jefferson.
Often called the "Father of the Declaration of Independence,"
Jefferson gave some fatherly advice to his granddaughter including the famous
quote, "Never
put off till tomorrow what you can do today." That's also great advice for job seekers. The best time to start writing a résumé is today.
Don't put off writing your résumé until you see your
dream job posted tomorrow... or the next day, or next week! Today
is the best day to start writing a résumé full of !@#$%, the Signs of a Great Résumé:
! - Any part of your experience that was “amazing!”
@ - Defining points, places, dates and things in your
career
# - Numbers that quantify and prove your past successes
$ - The dollar value of your contributions
% - Figures that easily show growth and results
It is critical that you customize your résumé for each
job application. However, you can start writing
your résumé today, beginning with your core skills and most significant
accomplishments. Then you can customize it to directly align to the
qualifications listed in each job posting.
For example, Thomas Jefferson may have started writing
his Summary of Qualifications by highlighting his outstanding written and
verbal communication skills. We hold the
truth that he was a great communicator to be self-evident. And in addition to writing the Declaration of Independence,
Jefferson’s résumé would surely include the fact that he
spoke four or five languages!
If TJ started writing a résumé to apply for a leadership
role in government land acquisition, he’d likely describe one of his most
significant accomplishments, the
Louisiana Purchase, using !@#$%, the Signs
of a Great Résumé. Perhaps he’d
write:
"Increased the size of the continental
United States by nearly 100% through the $15 million purchase of 828,000 square
miles of land."
That’s certainly an “amazing!” achievement which is explained
and quantified with lots of !@#$%. If Jefferson
applied for a position where the job posting also required experience negotiating
international treaties he could customize the statement on his résumé to match
the posting:
"Negotiated an international treaty to
increase the size of the continental United States by nearly 100% through the
$15 million purchase of 828,000 square miles of land."
By customizing his résumé based on the job posting and
using !@#$%, Thomas Jefferson would be writing a résumé that speaks for itself.
From the early days of the militia that won the American
Revolution to today's modern military, Americans have enjoyed life, liberty and
a pursuit of happiness thanks in large part to the brave military men and women
who have proudly served our country. I'm
sure Thomas Jefferson and all of our Founding Fathers would encourage you to
support our nation's veterans. Jefferson
did his part to prepare and support our service members when he signed the Military
Peace Establishment Act to create the United States Military Academy at West
Point. One way you can support our
nation's military veterans today is to join our Indiegogo campaign to help 2,000 veterans,
transitioning service member and military spouses get to work. You can send deserving veterans a copy of Signs of a Great
Résumé: Veterans Edition and help them find a great new job in the civilian
sector. Don’t put it off until tomorrow,
contribute today.
Jefferson loved to read. In a letter
written in 1809, Jefferson said "I have often thought that nothing would
do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small
circulating library in every county, to consist of a few well-chosen
books." I'm grateful that the
Central Florida Employment Council has identified
a few "well chosen" books to help job seekers and has recognized Signs of a Great Résumé and Signs of a Great
Résumé: Veterans Edition as recommended reading.
In an 1815 letter to John Adams, Jefferson said "I
cannot live without books." When you write a résumé that's full of !@#$%,
you'll wonder how your résumé ever lived without at least one book... Signs of a
Great Résumé.
Scott Vedder is a Fortune
100 recruiter and author of the #1 best-selling book, Signs of a Great Résumé and Signs of a Great Résumé: Veterans Edition.
Scott has been recognized by the White House and Pentagon as an expert
on veteran résumés. He’s taught
thousands job seekers in résumé workshops at colleges, universities,
conferences, veteran service organizations, military installations and
non-profits across the country. Scott
has been featured as a career expert in national and international media. For free résumé and interview tips, visit http://www.authorscottvedder.com/free-stuff-.html.
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