The most important part of your resume is NOT WHAT YOU THINK

October 20th, 2011

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So, you’re building your resume. Either for the first time, or the 100th. You’re getting A’s. You’re competing in athletics. Leading student initiatives. Organizing events. You’re trying to make the most out of your collegiate experience by interning, working part time jobs, etc. You’re proactive and one motivated, monstrous son of a bitch!

During senior year you begin looking for jobs. Nothing seems to be panning out right, and you’re getting frustrated.

It’s time that you learn how to CLOSE THE DEAL. And here’s a little tip as to how.

DO THIS NOW! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
1. Find the part of your resume you are LEAST PROUD OF and delete it. Immediately.
2. Then add a new section heading to the bottom of your resume titled “INTERESTS.”
3. Within that section put 3 – 5 bullets of YOUR INTERESTS.
4. Keep the “Interest” to ONE WORD. Then put a colon (:). Then write a very specific sentence to describe it.

Examples include:
• Running: along the Charles River and throughout Cambridge, Back Bay, the North End, and Southie
• Golf: began working at Essex Country Club as a caddy at age 10 and rose to Pro-Shop Manager
• Real Estate: founded the Real Estate Society, and created the first Real Estate course offered on campus
• Piano: trained in Classical music and have been playing since age five; Billy Joel enthusiast

This tactic of buletting 3 – 5 interests in this form… “General Interest: very specific descriptive text”… JUST WORKS. And here’s why.

Who do you know on earth who does not share AT LEAST ONE of the interests I have mentioned above (someone who runs, plays golf, is interested in real estate, or plays piano)?!??!?! Interests are great conversation starters guys! And they are the PERFECT way to close out a resume, and most importantly, an interview. If you do this one simple thing on your resume, your interviews will soon start to “close” like this:

Example. Interviewer: “You like to RUN along the Charles River? ME TOO! I go every weekend! Tell me… do you ever see that guy out there who wears the blue jacket that extends over his shorts so much that it looks like he’s not wearing anything!??! That dude is crazy!”

OR

Example. Interviewer: “You GOLF? ME TOO! Where do you play? What’s your handicap? What type of clubs do you use? Titleist? Callaways? Have you tried the new X-9’s? They are amazing! I bought a set myself just last weekend on a whim. I can really crank it out with those puppies.”

If you like to fish. Say it. And be specific with regards to which lakes in Maine or New Hampshire you like best.
If you like to dance. Say it. And be specific in which clubs you like to go dancing at in the city.
If you like to ride your bike. Say it. And talk about your longest bike ride you did for charity.

INTERESTS, I BELIEVE, ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF A RESUME. There are a ton of strong candidates out there with strong pedigrees, strong “experience,” strong GPA’s, strong leadership track records, strong backgrounds. You’ve got scholarship winners, class Presidents, and people who simply have crazy awesome work ethic. BUT. You’ve got to stick out. And there’s no better way to stick out in an interview than to talk about something you bond with your interviewer with outside of the office.

Get them saying: “ME TOO!” You’ll thank me later.