What you did on your job last year is yesterday’s news
➔ Your resume is your sell sheet, your advertising, your marketing statement. It’s who you are – as well it should be. You need to convey to your prospective employer where you’ve been; what you’ve done. But will that get you the job?
It’s often said that, when searching for a job, what you’re really doing is marketing yourself; selling yourself. There’s a lot to be said for that.
Selling you as the product
If you were a product and you were trying to sell yourself, what do you try to emphasize in your advertising? Your past? Your accomplishments? How many successful advertising campaigns have you witnessed where the company (or product) in question focuses on what used to be? How many Chevys would GM sell if their ads said, “We used to be a great car company!”
You have to sell today, now. Maybe even more important, you have to sell tomorrow. That’s when you’re going to be working there. Sell your benefits. What are you bringing to the table?
Rather than thinking in terms of this is what I have done, turn their attention to what you can do for them. After all, that’s when you’re going to be working for them – tomorrow, next week, next month. No matter how well you’ve done in the past, that doesn’t mean that you will do the same for them in the future. That’s where the selling comes in.
There is, however, one aspect of your experience that may be of particular interest to your prospective employer. Emphasize that, because you have experience, you can begin delivering those benefits on day one! Compared to younger candidates, you can produce right out of the starting gate.
It’s not what you did; it’s what can do!