A Written Introduction
In my role as a Job Search Strategy (Career) Coach, I perform many roles. One of them which has been happening for me more often recently, is one of Resume’ Writer. And, while I would not bill myself as a professional Resume’ Writer, (there are far more qualified than me who do such work), one thing of which I am very aware when either modifying or writing a resume’ for a client, I have one major responsibility at hand. That is I need to present the person for whom I am doing the resume’ in such a way so as to best present their value to others.
Resumes’, biographies, LinkedIn About sections or any other vehicle which introduce someone in a written format is actually the equivalent of you speaking to them directly if they were in front of you in person. When meeting a person that is new to you, often statements come up such as “Tell me about yourself,” “What do you do for a living?” or “What keeps you busy?” And, while items such as resumes’ or Linked In profiles are business oriented, they are still meant to connect you to the reader.
So what type of connection does one reading a resume’, or something of a business nature want to know about you? Well certainly they do want to know your work history. They want to have some sense of the skills you have demonstrated, what your educational background is and your skills and strengths. However, the number one thing that someone who is considering you for a job opening or opportunity wants to know is fundamentally one question. That question is “How can you meet my needs in terms of the opening that I have, or the service that I need?”
While that may seem selfish, those who look to hire you for your skillsets have in mind the acronym WIIFM. Those letters stand for, “What’s in it for them?” And, how do they get that confidence from what you have written. One way is they are looking for items such as accomplishment bullets in your resume’. An accomplishment bullet, as succinctly as possible, will introduce a challenge you faced, an action you took and the result and value that was produced from that action. A second way they get a sense for you and what may be in it for them, is the enthusiasm for what you do that comes through in your writing. Why do you do the type of work that you do? What little extras do you provide your customers? How do you differentiate yourself from other providers?
Recommendations of your work and its quality are always important. Whether that is a written recommendation in the appropriate section of Linked In, ratings on sites such as Google or your own website, or even if you can provide them individuals to contact to have a verbal conversation to get a recommendation, that written introduction done well, gives your reader what they need to gain confidence that you are the person for them.
Over 10 years ago I really began to develop and promote my business and how I could provide assistance to others. At that time, I made two decisions that continue to drive my business today. One was to hire an executive assistant to help me promote my business and who I am as a person and a coach. The other was to decide to do regular monthly blogs, a newsletter and communications. My Virtual Assistant, Crystal, said to me that she certainly could help me with all of that, including doing the writing of the submissions, if I wanted. However, Crystal said to me, “Tony, it will be better if you write your own monthly submissions, because your readers will be hearing you in your own voice.” Fortunately, I agreed with Crystal’s guidance. When a prospective client connects with me and has an initial conversation with me and says, “You are exactly as you present yourself on your website,” I know that I have connected with them through my written communication.
