You have earned a sales meeting (interview) and you are now looking forward to selling your service (you) to a prospective buyer (employer). Congratulations, that is a nice job. Your work though is only half done, so be happy, but don't get lazy at this point. You have to prepare for your meeting. You need to prepare your sales presentation by practicing overcoming objections you anticipate, writing down questions to ask, researching the customer, etc. You also need to make sure that what you take and leave behind after your meeting, and when the buyer is now reviewing all of his or her options (candidates), that it is going to help you get the sale (job). Having seen thousands, most resumes people take might be better off left at home.
Well my resume is good enough, you say. How do you know? Did your family say so? Your buddy? Your co-worker? It looks just like a free sample on the Internet? I believe everyone who sends a resume to a company believes that it is good, or they wouldn't send it. The problem is that it is just not the case most of time. Of the tens of thousands of resumes we have seen as headhunters and hiring managers, it is truly a rare day when a spectacular one appears. It's not a slam on anyone to say this. You don't have to be offended. It is just the case that like many things, it's hard to remain completely objective when you are judging yourself or judging what you do. People do it, but you probably shouldn't be sending the final version of a major project you have been working on to the CEO or owner of the company you work for without first having someone, like your boss, review it. It is just not wise, no matter how good you think you are.
Everyone considers the fact that the quality of the resume you send a perspective employer is key to generating some initial interest. What people underestimate is that the resume you take to your meeting, and that gets left behind, is critical as well. At all stages of the job seeking process everything counts. You can't have great interview skills, and a bad resume. You can't dress poorly and think that your experience will always overcome this. Everything counts and the higher your score, the better chance for a successful outcome. We have harped on it enough, but it is just the case that nearly all resumes are not where they could be. Not even close.
A resume that you take to an employer needs to a piece of art. It is a sales brochure and you are going into a sales meeting. It can help, or it can hurt you. For example, think about an IBM sales professional heading into an executive sales meeting with material that isn't world class. First off, they just wouldn't do it, and the salesperson would not have created it on their own. Companies have entire marketing departments that devote a significant amount of time to producing and improving sales collateral. Or, if a company doesn't have a marketing department they will often outsource this vital function. Well that's different you say? How is it different? What greater and more valuable product and service is there in the world than you? None. Treat yourself like it.
When you first show up to a meeting, what do you do? You hand someone your resume. Do you usually hand out only one? Sometimes, but there may be five or more people that you meet during an interviewing. What happens after you hand it to them? They stare at it, and then they start asking questions, and they stare at it some more. Do you think you're influencing this person with what you have handed them, and with what they are continually staring at? You bet you are. You just need to make sure you are influencing them in the right way. If they are the type to set it aside, don't allow it. Use it as a sales tool like a professional sales person would do. Refer to it. Point things out. Use it.
Now the interview / sales meeting is done. What usually does not happen during an initial sales call with a perspective customer? Getting the order on the first visit. It happens, but the final commitment to hire someone as well doesn't usually get solidified on the spot. So what are your options? You need to leave your best piece of sales literature you can so when the the customer is reviewing all of the other candidates / services, you are the one that stands out. Customers serious about filling an order and making a good decision, review literature and material again to help them make the right decision. It's addressed in other articles, but you need to follow up with the buyer as well.
So even though the initial sending of a high quality resume is key, whether it be by email or in a form, and by the way, don't think because you sometimes apply with a form on a website that what appears at the other end isn't as critical as an email attachment, equally as important is what you take with you, hand someone, use during an interview, and leave a potential buyer.
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