Improve your resume by limiting subjective assertions
“Exceptional communication, leadership, and change management skills.” To a trained resume reviewer that line reads: yada-yada-yada.
Why?
People who read resumes for a living dismiss such comments, because they are subjective assertions made by the only person who has anything to gain from them. You!
How do I know if you have the expertise to make accurate assessments about the quality of such skills? Most people don’t have the acuity to make accurate assessments, which is why these comments are met with skepticism. As a result, it’s best to limit the use of “subjective” assertions.
The truth about assertions:
- Subjective assertions are most powerful when used sparingly.
- The most powerful assertions are those the readers make on their own.
So limit the use and instead provide information that leads the reviewer to come up with the very conclusions you want to make. Then you really have a powerful resume.
Example:
Imagine you’re a Vice President of Operations. In a resume you cite how you grew your operations team from 2,100 to 4,000 employees and started-up three new manufacturing facilities in five years. You instituted management training programs and teaming processes that drove decision making down to the level that the actual work is being done; rolled out quality improvement programs including six-sigma; developed a succession planning process that ensured capable replacements for each of the 11 Manager and Director positions within your organization, as well as a bonafide back-up for your own position; that of your four direct reports, three of them have been promoted to more senior positions in other parts of the company.
You go on to cite statistics showing a 25% reduction in turn-over and a 37% increase in job satisfaction among your work force. You additionally list key metrics that show how the operations have improved year over year for the past four years.
As an objective reader I can make many assertions based on these facts. They suggest you have excellent communication, leadership, and change management skills. (Sound familiar?) You also appear to be exceptionally quality oriented. Having me, the reader, come to these conclusions is more powerful than you telling me you have these great skills.
The secret of a great resume is that it leads the reader, on his or her own, to come up with the very assertions you would like to make. The best way to achieve this is to show, not tell. Use facts, not feelings.
