All about resumes

 
 

Happy October! I live in Boston where the temperature is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change colors, and I’m back to driving the theater carpool. This transition happens every year and I find myself both looking forward to it and surprised by it everytime.

Hiring also picks up during this time every year. Our clients are looking to bring someone on board by 2024. As we move through this busy time of change, I want to cover resumes and give a little more insight into how NRG reviews them.

Resumes, love them or hate them, are often the first thing the hiring manager sees. Have you looked at your resume recently?

In past issues of Get Hired, we’ve talked about resumes and how it is important to own your narrative. Still, it can be challenging to translate your experiences into a two-page document.

Believe it or not, there are very few strict rules when it comes to resumes. We all know the obvious: check for grammar and spelling errors. But even this one is flexible. At NRG, we understand that minor mistakes happen and don’t hold that against you. I get a lot of emails from people who stress that one word wasn’t spelled correctly. We get it. We make mistakes too.

What I want candidates to pay more attention to is the story their resume tells. Get out your resume and try to look at it with fresh eyes.

Questions to ask as you review your resume:

why should someone hire you?

Your resume is a document to showcase your story and why an organization should hire you. Full stop. If your resume doesn’t do this, then you need to make some changes. If you are applying for jobs where you’ll be managing a team, is it clear from your resume that you have management experience and leadership qualities? If you are applying for a political job but none of your experiences show that you are passionate about changing the political system to work for more people, then maybe you need to rethink your resume and include volunteer experiences.

 
 

what makes you stand out?

Did you win an award? Did you hit and surpass goals at your previous jobs? When we look at resumes, we have our clients’ preferred qualities in mind. How collaboratively are you talking about the projects you worked on? Did you start a DEI committee at a previous organization you worked for? Make sure that the qualities listed in the job descriptions you are applying for are clear on your resume.

Can your brother-in-law read it and be able to say why someone should hire you?

I’ve mentioned the “Brother-In-Law" test before, and I have to say, it works with so many things. What I mean is that you want to avoid jargon or language that is overly specific to your field. If you are trying to switch careers into a new field or a new department, this is non-negotiable. If you are staying in your general field, you may want to include specifics to that line of work but be careful. You still want your brother-in-law to be able to deduct what you are generally talking about and be able to articulate why someone should hire you.

Am I exhausted by the time I get to the end?

You don’t have to keep your resume to one page as some advice will offer but having a resume that includes every single thing you did will distract from your accomplishments and superpowers. You are telling the story of why someone should hire you. If there is too much fluff then it’s hard for someone who doesn’t know you to make sense of it. If you have a lot of experiences and qualifications, then one page may not be enough.

Hot tip: If your resume is 6 pages long and you can't read every word without getting distracted, then it’s time to make some serious edits.

In the last issue of Get Hired, I talked about our survey results and I mentioned that even though we can’t give specific feedback to candidates, we would try to offer more insight into our work. In keeping with our topic of resumes, I have included a video of me going over the rubric we use when evaluating resumes. At NRG, we always do human-centered resume reviews and never use AI. The content in the video isn’t for a specific job, but it gives you a sense of how we review resumes and application answers.

 
 

I hope that you’ll use all of this information to take a second look at your resume and make sure you are telling the story about why organizations should hire you.

 
 

On to the jobs! Check out all of NRG’s searches here. Eighteen of those positions are remote. 

Opportunities NRG is hiring for:

opportunities nrg is hiring for in education:

In addition to this list, you can find more opportunities on the website. Follow NRG on LinkedIn and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all of the roles we are hiring for.

Let’s move,

Naomi

P.S. If you are just getting started with your job search, don’t wait until you get down the road to change your resume. Spruce up your skills now and sign up right now for 15 minutes with Kristin to learn how NRG’s coaching programs can help you. 

If you find this newsletter helpful, forward it to your friends and help us build our network! Sign up here to receive future “Get Hired'' newsletters. 

Resume and applicationJaclyn Jones