A résumé is your sales tool. The second part of your two part letter of introduction. Both your cover letter and résumé are important. But, what if they were separated: Could your résumé stand alone? It’s often the first thing a person will see. It’s your Representative. It is your opening bid to get the all-important initial interview.

Get Motivated about Writing Your Résumé

What do you wear to write a résumé that gets you in the door? Start with your best attitude. It’s a positive document crafted to show who you are. If writing résumés and job hunting is not a fun time (and rarely is exhilarating joy associated with job hunting, right), you may need to work at getting into the proper frame of mind to write.

Don’t wait for inspiration to come to you; go get it. Think about the things that get you motivated and let yourself get excited. Focus on your goal of putting your best foot forward to get that interview. Celebrate what you have to offer and what accomplishing this could bring you like:

1. the chance to interview for the perfect job
2. the new things you might learn about your community
3. the chance to learn more about yourself and things you might do differently
4. the opportunity to get the job you really want

Get Practical about Writing your Résumé

1. Carve out time to write your résumé. Decide to focus on only that writing, and nothing else unrelated in that time slot.
2. Eliminate all stressful thoughts. You don’t have to solve all your problems to do this. Try writing them down and putting the paper in your drawer for later. Then think positive thoughts about securing the interview you were meant to have.
3. Draft your goal for one résumé. Write the position you want to get and your related objective, focusing on one job at  a time.
4. With the job requirements on hand, assess your bank of skills and experiences. Select the ones you think are best suited to the position your focused on. Then select some that are laterally related, (for overview, cover letter, and to show what you want recruiters to see).
5. Select the format that suits your goals, and fill in the outline with your best information.

Get a Little Philosophical about It

Attitude matters. Behavior matters. It’s like smiling when you’re on the phone. The person at the other end can hear you smiling. Similarly, you can infuse your writing.

Use your gratitude. You may not be feeling it when you need to write your résumé. But take a moment or two to find it and let it fuel you. Think about the things you have to be grateful for, the good parts of even the most difficult and trying times. If nothing else, consider the fact that you have something to offer a company and the ability to say so. Let your spirit smile. Release your happy, relaxed state of mind and let your résumé writing flow.

Try it next time you need or want to write your résumé. Gratitude is important all the time. Especially, though, see if it doesn’t help you when you’re doing this important writing of presenting yourself to new people.

Connecting with Where You Are

When you review your resume, you have to closely consider what you do. Look at the work you choose to do. Note what you love about it. Those details will provide you the selling points you need to include in your sales document, your resume.

A Good Time to Evaluate

Ask yourself: Is this the work I meant to do? It’s easy to get caught up in a project and pulled in different directions to make it all come together.  For the moment, dismiss the “Other Duties as Assigned” and focus on the main reason for you choosing the work you do. Is it what you really want to be doing? Get to the answer.

Consider the other-duties-as-assigned parts of your job and ask two more questions. Do you spend more time on these tasks? And the more important question is: Do you like them better than your title? You want to be sure you’re selling what you happy provide.

Switching Gears

I was an administrative assistant for many years. I noticed that I didn’t really care for the secretarial aspect so much as the other duties. What attracted me was the writing, the software updates, training, audio visual work, reviewing other people’s documents, and group projects. Of them all, writing was my favorite. Whether it was writing a contract or an introduction letter, or a one hundred twenty word magazine ad, I was up for it.

So, I focused on writing. It took me years to let go of the Administrative Assistant job searches because I didn’t hate the job. There’s a lot of good feelings associated with being a facilitator, which is what I see that job as. And all the different tasks gave me the opportunity to find out what I really wanted to be doing—writing.

Make Your Point Relevant

Today, no one has just one resume. That’s because workers are expected to excel at many different tasks. And, we take advantage of years of being pushed into other duties as assigned by adding it to our resume. To make the most of the resume, always customize it to accentuate the skills that are germane to the job you’re pursuing.

A Caveat

It should go without saying, but it’s always worth reminding people to not lie. You want to dress up your resume in it’s best verbiage. And it’s important to use your action words, and show off the specific skills you have that a company wants. Integrity and personal ethics are ultimately your most important selling points. To undermine your own credibility with a lie is a great way to put yourself out of the running for good things you want. Don’t lie. Sell what you can back up.