Stop Starting With Your Resume and Start Getting Interviews

The first thing many of my clients want to discuss when we meet is their resume, which in their minds is the most important component of their job search. They're not the only people who believe job seekers need to nail down this aspect of the job search.

Career-search organizations, some ill-advised resume writers, and others who think a resume is the holy grail fall in line when it comes to the resume-first mentality, but the best career coaches, resume writers, and recruiters know that the resume isn't what gets job seekers jobs.

The first thing I want to discuss in our meetings is how they're conducting their job search, particularly how they're doing emotionally, what they're doing to relieve stress, the information they've gathered through labor market research, their networking strategies, etc. I'm not the typical career center career coach.

What they don't realize is this: the resume is not the starting point of the job search; it's the output of it.

Don't get me wrong, the resume is an essential element of the job search, but it doesn't rank high on my list of must-dos. Resumes must tell a compelling career story, but one doesn't know their story until they've hashed out what leads up to writing a great resume.

Reduce Your Stress

If you've been laid off, let go, or quit, you know it's a stressful situation. Having gone through it more than twice in my life, I'm here to tell you losing a job is one of the worst things I've experienced. This is why I talk about stress reduction in numerous webinars and why I address it first in initial meetings with my clients, most of whom are high earners.

I was of the believe that job seekers should begin their search immediately after losing their jobs, but I've since changed my thinking. Beginning a job search before you're ready is like jumping into the water before you know how to swim. Some of you might think this is easy for me to say; I'm gainfully employed and not going through this hellish experience. But harken back to the fact that I've been there.

Take time and get your house in order. However, maintain the same routine you had when you were working by going to bed and rising at the same times. And when you hear the alarm clock ring, don't hit snooze a dozen times; get out of bed immediately, get dressed, and approach the day as you would when working.

Get your body moving. I've always been a big fan of getting out of the house. If you think about it, it's a powerful act. This can include something as basic as taking a walk alone or with your dog. In spring, clean up around the yard. Go to your local coffee shop with or without your laptop. Remember the gym membership you opened 10 years ago? Now's a good time to make up for the time you stopped going.

How you feel directly impacts how you show up in networking conversations, in interviews, and even how you write your resume. A scattered mindset produces a scattered job search

Conduct Some Self-Reflection

One of the biggest challenges some of my clients face is knowing what they want to do. This doesn't apply to all of them, but there are a few who, upon some reflection, tell me they don't want to do what they've been doing for the past several years.

Preface: I asked a number of people in my network if they would provide some advice to job seekers for what they should do before writing their resume. Amy Miller, a recruiting manager for Amazon offered her take on this matter. You might expect that her advice would hone entirely on determining the technical skills required for the roles for which you're applying; and in a high-tech company like Amazon, this makes sense.

Amy's advice involves more than knowing what you're good at; it also addresses what you'd like to do, and what you can get paid to do. In her YouTube video addressing this topic, she comes across as someone who, foremost, wants people to follow their passion (save for the bridge job that tides you over.)

This said, she writes, "I see a lot of people who WANT to pivot to a new field but 1) have no experience and 2) the market for said field is absolutely saturated. So having a really clear understanding of what's realistic matters tremendously Pick a Target Before You Launch."

Clarity Before Action

Nothing is more frustrating to a recruiter than receiving resumes that are totally off mark. This tells them that the candidates haven't done their homework. And this happens more than you'd think. I've been told multiple times by recruiters that the large majority of resumes they've received reveal that the candidates are highly unqualified, or they're applying for the wrong position.

I asked Kelli Hrivnak, a tech and marketing recruiter, what she felt about receiving resumes that demonstrate a lack of research before applying. She writes: "Clarity before action. But what does that really mean? Get clear on your specific target. A resume is a marketing document, and you can't market yourself if you don't know your audience.

"If I receive a cold application and the resume doesn't show exact experience/skills of role applied for, I'm passing. Especially if the resume is ambiguous for a niche role. Only exception is if I know the person/aware of background or if role is REALLY hard from an inventory perspective, then I'll screen to vet depth/scope."

Coupled with Amy Miller's advice on self-reflection, Kelli reinforces the point that clarity is essential before writing and submitting your resume. You can’t market yourself if you don’t know your audience.

Build Your Career Story

Gina Riley is an executive career coach and author. Her suggestion is to build a career story before writing your resume: "Build a solid foundation by preparing to showcase your unique value proposition with a rock-solid account of your career story. Your ability to not only make it to the final rounds of interviews but land the job offer depends on your ability to effectively communicate your story in a way that lands with decision-makers."

In fact, writing a resume doesn't occur until the second tier of her Career Strategy diagram, which she calls marketing. Before that comes conducting an assessment, being able to speak to your leadership qualities, "extracting your career highlights and key career results," and crafting your unique value proposition (UVP).

After the work Gina suggests you complete in phase one, it's now time to get to work on your resume and other job-search documents. Networking is an ongoing process and can happen at any time; it's not confined to formal networking meetings in large groups or one-on-one, but the more prepared you are for networking moments, the better you'll be able to talk about your accomplishments and ability to lead.

At this point, your resume stops being a list of responsibilities and becomes a marketing document built on clarity, direction, and proof of value.

Know Which Companies You Want to Work for

Another expert at the job search is Adrienne Tom, an executive resume writer, but she also believes that writing a resume and applying online is not your first step. In one article she's written, she asserts that doing your research before the resume writing phase is key to your success.

She writes, "Before firing off resumes, get crystal clear on your job target.

Define your ideal title(s), industry, level, and geographic preference.
Know what size/type of company excites you—startup, Fortune 500, nonprofit?
Be specific. Instead of “something in marketing,” say “a senior digital marketing role in the tech sector with a focus on B2B demand generation.

"Create a 1-page 'target company list' with your top 25 companies of interest to guide your research and networking. Yes, you need a target list. It’s important to understand what organizations are tied to your offerings and who is hiring people like you."

Not many job seekers understand the importance of doing this prep work before sending out resumes, and what most of them do is apply through the "spray and pray" method, where they disseminate the same resume to various employers, rarely hitting the mark.

What some of my clients tell me is, "I've been sending out resumes that I tailor to each job with the help of ChatGPT." This is one step above the "spray and pray" method, but recruiters across LinkedIn bemoan reading the same resumes to the dizzying point where they can't tell one from another. How much better is that?

Without a clear target, you're not job searching, you're guessing. And guessing is what keeps people stuck in the cycle of applying online with little to no response.

Network

One attribute a great resume has is knowing to whom you should sent your resume, which requires doing a deep dive into research. Like Adrienne advises, develop a target company list of 25 of your desired companies or organizations. From there, this is where networking comes into play.

But who are the people in your desired companies with whom you need to speak? This is the million-dollar question that can only be answered through networking.

Start with three categories: recruiters, peers in the role, and decision makers. Each serves a different purpose, and the most overlooked group is often the one with the most influence: the decision makers.

When my clients ask me how they can find these people, I tell them their first stop should be LinkedIn, where anyone who is anyone has a profile. Easy targets are recruiters, but the ones you want to be on their radar are the decision makers one or two steps above your occupation. However, it's not as easy as sending them an invite or an InMail. You have to attract their attention in other ways.

One such way would be practicing one of the seven principles of influence called Liking. Brian Ahearn, CPCU, CTM, CPT, CMCT is an author on the science of influence. To paraphrase, he states that showing that you like someone allows you to influence their decision-making. You can accomplish this by commenting on what they write on LinkedIn or sharing a relevant article with them.

If you're more inclined to reach out to decision makers through in-person networking, Reciprocity is another principle that comes into play. Offer help to others before asking for help. That might mean making an introduction, sharing industry insight, or even pointing someone to a useful resource.

This, in return, will garner assistance in the form of an introduction from someone else. Maybe not the same person, but, as they say, "What goes around comes around."

Remember, the goal is to land conversations with the people in your target company list. And here’s where most job seekers miss the mark: they go in asking for a job. Instead, go into these meetings with the intent of building a relationship. Ask for insight, not employment. Ask for perspective, not permission. Over time, as familiarity and trust build, opportunities begin to surface naturally.

Now You're Ready

Now you’re ready to write the resume. Not because it’s the first thing to do, but because you’ve finally done the work that most job seekers skip.

You've reduced the stress, as much as you can, of unemployment and are ready to act.
You’ve gotten your head on straight. You’re not operating from panic. You’ve figured out what you actually want to do, not just what you’ve done.
You've gained clarity before writing the most important document you'll write.
You’ve built your story, the kind that makes someone lean in instead of glaze over.
You’ve identified the companies you want to work for and started thinking about who you need to know inside them.
And you've networked to find out more about what you should have on a very important document.

And maybe most important, you understand this: the resume isn’t what gets you the job. It supports the conversation that gets you the job. So now when you write it, you’re not guessing. You’re not copying what everyone else is doing. You’re not relying on ChatGPT to sound like every other candidate out there.

You’re writing a document that backs up your story, aligns with your targets, and gives people a reason to talk to you. That’s when a resume actually works. And that’s why you’re finally ready.