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Worried about Gaps in Your Resume?

Consider a Skills-Based

Approach...

Creating a

Powerful, Skills Based Resume One Liners that Work

By Fiona MacKay Young

I have heard people say so often that

a skills based resume doesn t work. From this, I can only assume that they

just don t know how to put one together properly, because a well written

skill based resume is powerful, creates interest and gets you the interview.

So what is the difference between one that

works and one that doesn t?

The difference is whether just write down a

list of skills you hope the reader will accept you have or whether you use

one-liners to prove that you have the skill.

You may have a line in your resume which

reads:

- organized, hard worker, excellent

communication skills, computer proficient

This proves nothing, except that you ve

read the ad and are regurgitating the information onto paper!

If my resume says I have great computer

skills, why should anyone believe me? Especially since under Education and

Training you will find nothing related to learning computers!

They will believe me if I can tell

stories to prove that I have the skill I am claiming.

So here is how to go about it.

First look carefully at the job

description or find out as much as you can about the job. What exactly

are they looking for?

Let s assume you are looking at a job

advertisement which just says excellent computer skills. This is pretty

vague and you don t know what software they need you to know, but it s a

pretty safe bet that Microsoft Office is required.

Next, think of stories, true stories

from your life they can be as long as you like at this point stories

that describe your proficiency on computers. What have you done with

computers? What projects? What software did you take courses in, teach

yourself, and what did you use this information for after you d learnt it?

I am self taught, so this makes it harder

to prove I know what I claim to know. However, I have used computer for

almost 20 years and this gives me a wealth of stories from which to draw.

Here is my story:

One of the first things I did once I learnt

to use a Word Processor (it was Word Perfect 5.1, for those of you who were

around in the olden days) was I undertook to create a newsletter for a

social group of which I was a member. So, my one liner could look

something like this:

- Created & produced a monthly 12 page

newsletter, using various advanced formatting functions

I am also a handwriting analyst and as such

I provide written or verbal consultation reports to clients. When I was at

home with my children this was a VERY part time occupation, but the computer

skills I used are still valid.

- Created & formatted 4 page structured

reports for clients, responsible for grammar, spelling, layout and content.

Are you getting the idea?

Everything I am saying is the absolute

truth, but I am phrasing it in business-like terms, and instead of

just saying I know how to use Word, I have given them 2 concrete examples

of what I have done with the program.

This is the basis of the skills based

resume.

If you look back to my story about doing

handwriting analysis I mentioned to you I did either written or verbal

reports. There is probably going to be a section in my skills based resume,

no matter what job I am applying for, entitled Communication Skills.

After all, what job wouldn t be made easier if it s incumbent had good

communication skills? So can you guess what is going to appear in this

section of my resume?

- Discussed sometimes sensitive report

results with clients, using brevity, clarity and tact.

Now, I m assuming most of you are not

handwriting analysts! But you all have something going for you. You all do

many things. Take a little thing that you felt you did or do well, and

try creating a one-liner from it.

If you are feeling modest, and thinking it

makes you seem too grand don t worry, this is normal. Try thinking of

the action or skill as belonging to someone else, say your best friend.

If you possibly can, think of someone else who actually does this same

thing. Then describe it in a one liner describing it for their resume,

with no inhibitions or thinking of it as being about yourself. Then

objectively look at what you wrote, and ask yourself if this could in all

honesty describe you also. The answer is probably yes.

Writing a skills based resume does not

include any deception. It involves describing your skills in business-like

terms, which unless you got the skills in business, is probably a way

you have not previously looked at them.

Give it a try.

This, of course, is just the start. You

have to understand how to put together the entire resume, but for now get

working on those powerful one liners which can land you the job for which

you are qualified.

2007 Fiona MacKay Young, a

trained & experienced Coach and Career Consultant specializes in working

with Women Reentering the Workplace, finding a job, or starting a

business. Returning to work after 16 years at home, she believes you

don t have to settle for a low level job just to make ends meet you can

follow your heart and do what you love to do. She can help you.

abpwrw@r.postjobfree.com,

http://www.fionamackayyoung.com.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fiona_MacKay_Young

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