Page 158 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

have it reviewed by as many people as possible before you
send it out. Make sure that it is clean and legible and has abso-
lutely no mistakes. It is a general truth that résumés with
mistakes (even small typographical errors) end up in the
wastebasket. Employers don’t have time to waste on some-
one who did not even bother to make a perfect first impres-
sion. These suggestions may seem like basic good advice,
but you wouldn’t believe how many smart, well-educated
people prepare sloppy, dreadful résumés—and think that
they’re just fine!
It is usually helpful to have more than one version of your
résumé. In fact, if you are searching in more than one arena
(e.g., for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations) or
more than one industry, it is essential to have a targeted
résumé for each category. Your skills and experiences will be
the same; you will just present them differently, highlighting
the most pertinent information and slanting your benefits
to meet the needs of the targeted organizations.
The purpose of a résumé is to get you past the gatekeep-
ers and closer to an interview. Once you have a first interview
scheduled, your résumé has done its job—the rest is up to
you. Having said that, I would suggest that your résumé pre-
sents your features (i.e., your skills and experiences) in a short
format, often bulleted and in chronological order—but it’s
critical that you know each one of those features and facts
by heart, and even more important, you need to be able to
attach an appropriate benefit to each one.
Use everything you know about the job and the company
when composing your cover letter. Once you have chosen
which version of your résumé to use, write your cover letter
highlighting a few appropriate features and benefits. Your cover
letter is often the first opportunity you have to set yourself apart
from the other applicants by emphasizing your benefits.

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