Is Your Resume “Killer” – or Is It Killing Your Food & Beverage Career?

January 30, 2017 in Career and Job Search Tips, Resume Tips

 

 

What’s the difference between a resume that yields an embarrassment of riches and one that’s, well, just an embarrassment?

Where do we start?

Whether you’re in operations or sales, a C-suite executive or a product manager, the primary goal of your resume is to convert (i.e., land you interviews for great positions with leading food & beverage organizations). If it doesn’t accomplish that, it’s killing your career.

Below, Kinsa Group’s senior recruiters share their best advice for crafting a resume that grabs attention and compels HR and hiring managers to contact you for an interview:

Keep it short.

Research published by Ladders.com shows that recruiters only spend about six seconds before they make an initial “fit/no fit” decision. If you’re an industry veteran, your resume should be no longer than two pages. And if you have less than 10 years’ experience, limit your resume to a single page.

Organize your content visually.

With just six seconds to make an impression, you need to ensure that the reader can quickly find what he’s looking for. Make your resume “skimmable” by organizing content into logical sections, and by using parallel structure and formatting options (e.g., bold, bullet lists, italics, etc.) to draw the reader’s eye through the information:

  • Contact information. Include email, LinkedIn URL (customized to your name), address (with “willing to relocate,” if applicable) and phone number(s).
  • Professional summary. Two- or three-line, high-level description of your background, professional ambitions and talents. This is one of your greatest assets in “selling” yourself; impress the reader by showing that you’ve done your homework and possess the skills and competencies required for the position.
  • Descriptions of past success. Include a handful of phrases describing achievements or attributes for which you’ve received recognition.
  • Experience. (More on how to organize this section below.)
  • Education. Include the educational institution’s name and city, graduation date and degree conferred, major and minor(s), as well as special honors. List additional industry training and/or certifications in this section.
  • Additional relevant information. If applicable, include computer skills, professional memberships and awards.
  • References. List your references on a separate sheet with the following: name, current employer/title, daytime phone number, working relationship and company name/title when you worked with the reference.

Move beyond job responsibilities in the “Experience” section.

For each employer, include the following basics:

  • Company name, city and state.
  • Dates of employment. Format as start month/year to end month/year.
  • Brief description of the organization, its size and the types of products manufactured (e.g., $350 million processed cheese manufacturer).
  • Position title.
  • Quick paragraph broadly describing your responsibilities. Include key details such as number of people managed, departments responsible for, reporting structure and major tasks.

Then move into information which demonstrates your abilities and sets you apart as the ideal candidate:

  • Bullet your major accomplishments in the position.
  • Use action verbs (e.g., achieved, changed, generated, eliminated, introduced, saved, sold) to demonstrate your success in the role.
  • Combine action verbs with numbers (e.g., dollars, percentages or hard figures) to quantify your accomplishments and provide evidence that you do your job well. Hiring managers want the bottom line – so give it to them!

Need more help with your food & beverage resume?