Business Communication, MGT309

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

*How to Create a Persuasive Resume

Writing that Works (2010). Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred

*Persuasive Resume

Be audience-centered!

* What Makes a Resume Persuasive?

*Non-verbals (How they appear on a page)

*Organization

*Neatness

*Preparation

*How well you know yourself – self awareness

*Shows confidence

*Attention to detail

*Prepare

*Prepare – What sets me apart?

*Strengths

*Talents

*Passions/Interests

*Values

*Personality

*Limitations

*On the job

*How did you make the company better?

*On volunteer experiences

*How did you make society better?

*Prepare – Ask yourself

1. Do you enjoy working with people, data or things?

2. Would you like to work for someone else or yourself?

3. How important is salary, benefits, technology or stability?

4. Would you rather work for a corporation or a company?

5. How would you describe the perfect job?

*More Questions to Ask Yourself

What do I want them to do?

What objections do they have?

What is my credibility?

What cultural influences are there?

What is the best approach – emotional, logical or both?

*First - Prepare

Business Communication, MGT309University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Writing that Works (2010). Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred

*Prepare :What sets me apart?

*Strengths

*Talents

*Passions/Interests

*Values

*Personality

*Limitations

*Accomplishments: * How did you make the company better?

* How did you make society better?

*Prepare: Ask yourself

1.Do you enjoy working with people, data or things?

2.Would you like to work for someone else or yourself?

3.How important is salary, benefits, technology or stability?

4.Would you rather work for a corporation or a company?

5.How would you describe the perfect job?

*Second – Execute. Create the document

*Step 1: Decide what job or job area you

want.

* What are the characteristics of this industry? Job?

*What are the skills needed?

*What are the strengths needed?

* Step 2: Decide which format is attractive to

you.

Think-

*Look at other resumes. What presentation is attractive to you?

*Don’t use a Microsoft Word Template.

*How do you want to express yourself?

* Step 3: What do I want located in the power

position?

Think-

*What is the most persuasive qualifier that I have?

* Step 4: Type your document.

Do –

Use an organized, easy to read approach. Remember, you only have seconds to impress.

*Make it beautiful on the page.

Don’t -

*Use ‘crazy’ fonts

*Use I

*Use a template

*Use a summary section

*List every single job you ever had

*Use complete sentences

*Miss the power play in positioning & bolding

*“References Available Upon Request”

Required

*Objective

*Education

*Experience

Options

*Leadership

*Honors/Awards

*Languages/Study Abroad

*Computer Skills

*Associations

*Volunteerism/Community Service

* Internships

*Academic Projects

*Related Coursework

*Use Smart Sectioning

*Use concise, strong, active language

Think –

*Action. Business is performance.

*Use emotional word pictures

*Be specific.

*Increased production capability by 10% resulting in 50K in revenue.

*…and AVOID saying “Responsible for the success of the production team”

*Start with an action verb.

*Analyzed

*Chaired

*Coordinated

*Developed

*Improved

*Increased

*Strengthen

*Negotiated

*Step 5: Bold & Proofread to

perfection!

Bold your transferrable information, like job titles and the names of your degrees

Tell your story at 100%.