Don Roulo is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) of Life Quest. He is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

By DON ROULO

The following is the second in a two-part series:

Statistics tell us the average resumé gets less than a one minute first look. Wow, less than one minute! This is why it is so critical your resumé has some basic characteristics, but also some creativity.  Here is a brief list to consider.

1) Aesthetically pleasing. As with any sales brochure, your resumé needs to be pleasing to the eye. It needs to be different, while still being professional. You don’t have to use pink paper and purple colored font to catch their attention. Choose a style that fits your personality and the position you are interested in.

2) Two page limit. Remember, they are only looking at this for one minute or less. Too much information is an immediate turn off. If you go past one page, make sure you have at least one and half pages filled. You do not want too much white space showing if you go over one page.

3) Use ‘hot’ words. Use hot, or action words like: Managed, Organized, Produced, Implemented and Increased. You always want to show action. Also, any time you can mention your part in increasing sales, reducing expenses or creating new programs make sure it is on the resumé.

4) Spelling and grammar. Never send a resumé out with spelling or obvious grammar errors. Spell check can be your worst enemy. Think about the words two, too and to. Spell check will say each one of them is correct, but they are obviously not the same words. Please have at least two other people read it before your send it out.

5) Be creative. Let me share a true story to make the point about getting your resumé an extra look. There was a young man who sent a resumé in for a marketing position with a media outlet. He wanted his resumé to stand out and be noticed. He put together a creative resumé and then wrapped it in an ear of field corn. Not only did he wrap it in field corn, he was creative with his cover letter. He said things like, “I know this may seem corny … but now that I have your ear … I would like to tell you a few kernels about myself.”

Did he get an interview? Yes! Did he get the job? Yes! Remember, he was putting in for a marketing (creative) position. What he did worked for him for this particular position. I do not recommend you do the same for an accounting position. Be creative with your resumé, while still being professional, so you can get the extra look you deserve.

I have some free resources on my website. I have an example of two resumeé for John Q. Public. One is the standard chronological resumé, while the other is more creative.  This is a good example of being creative and professional at the same time. You can also see all 11 different styles of resumes with notes on why each one was chosen.  Look under the ‘Resources” page at www.lifequestcoaching.net.

About the Author
Don Roulo is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

As a business consultant, he has written business plans and worked to market products or services as well as organizing financial statements for investors. Because of his success in the sales and business arena, Don has been blessed with the opportunity to train, motivate and inspire others. His passion is to motivate and equip people to find their passion and achieve their goals and God given destiny.