The Hiring Manager (HM) wants nothing more than to find a qualified candidate for a gap in her team. She is hungry for a solid, resume that answers the job description she posted on the internet. If your resume has a cohesive story, a persuasive argument, a well-organized appearance, and perfect spelling and grammar, yours could be the winner.

Cohesive Story

A winning resume will read like a compelling story, only in reverse, starting in the present and ending in the past. It has a theme that runs through it like a golden thread. The theme is your role in an industry, and your performance in that role. Tied to that thread are certain treasures:

• Progressively increasing responsibilities

• Acquisition and growth of key competencies

• Evidence of accomplishment within your industry

• Focus on similar issues and problems

• Facts that support your level of comfort in your role

These points may not make good bedtime reading, but they are pure literature to an HM.

If the theme of your resume is: "Jack of all trades; Master of none," the HM will read it like the table of contents to an untidy life. Those for whom this is the case would do well to hire a professional resume writer to help them shape the data into an acceptable marketing message. It can be done!

Persuasive Argument

Whether you know it or not - and whether you like to argue or not - there is an argument going on when you apply for a job, between your resume and all the rest. And there will most likely be a winner, and a lot of losers. Which side you are on depends on just how well your resume argues your case to the HM. The most persuasive resume is the victor.

One of the common weaknesses of most resumes is that the writer doesn’t consider the competition when writing his document. In a 100-yard dash, a runner can see his competitors, and strategize and work hard to beat them. You don’t see your competitors in the resume race; but they are there. Doing some research on writing a solid resume is a way of recognizing your rivals - who may be doing the same research. Taking your time and doing your best is also a way of competing.

To argue persuasively, follow a few basic communication rules:

• Be brief, with no extra words or distracting thoughts. Brevity is difficult, but being wordy is an offense that most HM’s won’t read through.

• Be concise. Limit each bullet point to one "point." That is why it is called a point.

• Quantify your accomplishments. Numbers speak loudly to an HM who is responsible for her team’s productivity and performance.

• Make your "bullet point story" cohesive and logical. Show progressive increase in responsibility, progressive growth, and progressive accomplishments.

• Address the job description when writing your resume. It is a gift the HM is giving you, telling you exactly what she is looking for. It is fatal to ignore this.

Well-Organized Appearance

Assuming she is reading your resume as a Word document, and not plain text, the HM is going to make some snap judgments about YOU before she reads the first word. It is like she is meeting you in person for the first time; you are 20 feet away and walking towards her; she is sizing you up and forming first impressions before you even introduce yourself. Her response to the first impression will either be a discontented sigh, or a smile. Here are some elements that will make her smile:

• It appears very readable; the font isn’t too small; the text isn’t crowded on the page; it is an attractive document.

• There is an overall logic to the layout. It does not appear annoyingly confusing, or have too many layers of indents, or excessive use of bolding and italics, underlining and capitalization.

• The length doesn’t raise red flags. She has become skeptical about 3-pagers, and very seldom reads them.

First impressions last, and you can shape the HM’s into something positive by doing a little research, and looking at well-designed resume examples. The choice is yours whether the HM approaches your resume interested, positive and receptive, or skeptical, negative and annoyed.

Perfect Grammar and Spelling

While this seems like a no-brainer, there is an important point to be made here: It is surprising how tricky human concentration can be when proofing a resume. You can’t just rely on spellcheck to save your neck because some errors will not show up. For instance, if you choose the wrong homonym, such as "fore" or "four" when you want "for," spellcheck won’t pick it up - but the HM will. You may read the resume ten times and still miss it. Your best bet is to have another person proofread your resume.

Conclusion

The contest isn’t between you and the Hiring Manager; it is between your resume and everyone else’s. If you remember that, and take the time to create a resume that is more cohesive, persuasive and attractive than the competition’s, yours may be the last one she needs to read.