You Need to Step Up Your Game.

The only words that come to mind as I open up resumes everyday is, mind-boggling. I have arrived at two conclusions.

1. People just don't care.

2. People just don't get it.

Either way, it is a big problem. It's not a problem for many of us who have great jobs we like, but for the endless number of people struggling to try and obtain gainful employment. Is the resume the sole answer, no. Is it a major factor in determining who gets called for an interview and hired, absolutely without a doubt. Yes, my face is blue from saying it, but you are a business. You are a self-employed personal services corporation. You offer a personal product and service in the marketplace to companies. You are no different than any company trying to sell a product or service to another company.

One of your key responsibilities as your own company, along with training, development, finance, and quality is sales and marketing. If you do not think of yourself as a full-time salesperson, you are making a huge mistake. Think about this. If you go in with mediocre sales and marketing material, and follow that up with a less than stellar sales presentation / interview, guess what you get. NO SALE.

Do yourself a favor and try not to look at the resume you put together through your eyes. Your eyes have bias. Your eyes are not able to remain objective when judging yourself and your work. This is the point. I think most of you care, but you just don't get it. There is a perception of you created from your resume that is either positive or negative. I am telling you right now, greater than 95% of all resumes, including yours, is creating a negative perception of you. Employers and hiring managers want quality. They want sharp. They want some degree of polish.

It does not matter what your occupation is. What the resume you are sending to companies is saying about you is the exact opposite of what it should be saying. You have convinced yourself differently, a natural human characteristic, but I'm here to tell you that you are wrong. I see your resumes, tens of thousands of them, and they are NOT good. Step up your game and get into the game. This is your livelihood.