Resume Profile – Brand Yourself For Success

RESUME SUMMARY

“Customer Service Professional with over 3 years of Client Care experience. Areas of   expertise  include technology, telecommunications, ecommerce and retail. Proven ability to deliver outstanding service, improve efficiency, resolve conflict, and exceed department targets. Cheerful, analytical, teamwork skills, fluent in French and English.”

A brand is a promise to fulfill service or deliver a product.  A brand helps distinguish one product or service from the rest of the competitors.  When you apply for work, what is your brand as a job seeker?

Today let’s talk about the resume summary or profile as a way to build your personal brand as a job seeker.  Will cover why it is important for you to build your personal brand.  We will cover the secrets to quickly helping use distinguish yourself from your competitor when applying for a job.

The resume, “Profile” is a section on your resume, that lies write up front on your resume.  Due to its unique position so close to the beginning of your resume, it is in a unique position to quickly create a positive impression on the hiring manager before interest is lost.  For this reason, I encourage all job seekers to include resume summary or profile in their resume.

Why Do I Need One?

As I mentioned earlier, much like a products brand promise, your brand as a job seeker represents your promise to deliver a service.  It also helps to separate you from the rest of the jobseekers, by identifying your unique talents that the other jobseekers do not have.  By including the resume profile you will be well ahead of the pack in your race to secure new job.

Brand Quickly.

Is important that when you create your resume profile that you brand yourself in the first few words.  For example, here is a sample resume profile for someone in customer service.

Resume Summary

“Customer Service Professional with over 3 years of Client Care experience. Areas of expertise include technology, telecommunications, ecommerce and retail.  Proven ability to deliver outstanding service, improve efficiency, resolve conflict, and exceed department targets.  Cheerful, analytical, teamwork skills, fluent in French and English.”

In this example resume summary, the job applicant has quickly branded him or herself as a “Customer Service Professional”.  By using this powerful resume phrase in the first few words of the resume profile, the applicant is just created a brand instantaneously.

Don’t Forget Soft Skills.

You’ll notice in the resume example above, that traits such as, “Cheerful, analytical, teamwork skills, fluent in French and English” were included.  Is very important to finish your resume profile with a few words that describe your personality.  These soft skills or traits give your resume authenticity and personality, it helps make that connection with the hiring manager.

The other reason to include soft skills and competencies at the end of your resume profile is because more often than not, employees don’t work out not because they lack technical skills, but because they lack soft skills.  In my years of hiring and firing people, I have yet to come up crossed a situation where manager wanted to fire an accountant or IT person because they lack a technical skills.  All too often these front-line managers come to human resource professionals for help because they’re employee lacks people skills or some other soft skill.