Why video resumes won’t work!

Hilarious video resume:

Michael Spafferty’s Video Resume from Unemploymentality on Vimeo.

If you do create a video resume, beware! You don’t want yours to end up like this.

Shaun White

The name and face of American action sports, Shaun White was born with a congenital heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot. It is no wonder that after surviving two open-heart operations by the age of one year, White became the most recognizable star in a sports arena with fast-growing popularity. Remarkably, White is a top competitor in the winter sport of snowboarding and the summer sport of skateboarding. White has never had a day job as he has been a professional snowboarder since the age of 13.

Popularity is not the only prize that White has gained from his leadership in action sports. His exceptional talent has also been financially beneficial. In the 2007 US Male Burton Global Open Champion, White took home $125,000 for three separate awards, including Global Open Champion. The profit for his accomplishments is not the only reason White works hard and thrives at his craft, however. White has medaled in every Winter X Games since 2002, winning a total of 14 medals (9 golds).

White is perhaps more known as a pop culture icon for his young fans. He has been the inspiration for several action sports video games, including one specifically named after him. He also won numerous Teen Choice Awards for action sports. The lessons to be learned from White’s success are numerous. Affectionately nicknamed “The Red Tomato” for his long red hair, White’s success and his appreciation from fans is due much to his aggressive and carefree style. He has been an innovator in moves for both snowboarding and skateboarding.

White demonstrates that passion and professional success often coincide. Having been given a second chance at life, White holds nothing back in the way he uses his passion to drive his performance. He inspires fellow boarders and serves as a wonderful role model for other young action sports participants and anyone looking to take full advantage of all life has to offer.

The killer resume – key questions to address

The one overriding question any employer has when screening a resume is: Should I call this person for an interview? Keep in mind – Getting a call for an interview is the main goal of a resume. It is not to tell your life story or mention every great accomplishment you have ever achieved. The resume is a sales tool, you being the product, with a purpose of effectively representing your qualifications for the position you desire. Plus, it must be concise, as employers look at 120 resumes on average for each position filled in the US. The average resume is looked at for seven seconds.

In order to quickly answer the “big question”, employers usually look for a few answers to other important questions. Here are a few of the main questions a killer resume should address to help ensure a “Yes” response to the key question:

What have you done lately?

One of the main formatting issues with resumes is whether to use a chronological or functional style. The functional style emphasizes impacting positions and experiences while a chronological format lays out positions held, beginning with the most recent. Generally speaking, employers want to know what you have done lately as it is a good indication of your present capabilities. Thus, assuming you have been consistently employed, it is most often best to highlight selling points that maximize your most recent selling benefits.

Do you clearly meet the basic expectations of the position?

It is sad but true, because of the high number of resumes received for many positions, resume screeners are often looking for red flags or reasons to weed people out of the prospect pile. This means for you that one key of a good resume is avoid red flags and clearly demonstrate your basic qualifications for the position. Offering a summary of qualifications as the introduction section to a resume is often a great way to state in 2-3 sentences how your qualifications line up with the expectations of the position. This summary can then stand alone or give reason to the screener to keep reading. The killer cover letter should essentially carry forward with this summary of qualification.

What make you a leading candidate?

Getting a resume screener to consider this question usually relies on successful responses to the other questions mentioned. If you can intrigue the resume screener enough from the other features addressed that they skim through your experiences, you have already accomplished much. Now, you want to clearly show them, through accomplishment-driven selling points (measured if possible), who you are capable of performing the required tasks at a high level. If you do this, you are likely assured a phone call.

How to get noticed at work

While some employees would prefer to work in isolation and pretend others do not know they are there, the more ambitious, growth-oriented employees realize they must be recognized by supervisors to have a chance to move up. Growth and mobility within one’s organization is often a motivating factor that drives employees to perform. Part of human nature is a desire for learning, growth, and opportunity. The best employees understand they must be noticed to have opportunity.

The key to selling oneself in a work setting is that same as selling a product in a business setting. Effective sales involves clearly demonstrate the benefits or gain your product provides to the potential customer. If a prospect clearly sees your product offers the best value proposition (bang for the buck), there is no reason they would not buy from you. In the same vein, you can sell yourself as a valuable employee by demonstrating skills and traits sought by employers that separate you from the crowd.

A basic rule of growth-drive organizations is that in order for employees to find opportunities to move up, people must be developed to take over new roles and responsibilities. Thus, supervisors, who also typically want to grow, are looking for people they can trust and rely on to perform. The more responsibility you as an employee can handle, the more able the supervisor is to delegate routine tasks so that they can in turn focus on higher order needs. This is the nature of the organization.

What then, can you as an employee do, to separate yourself from the crowd? The answer varies a bit, with factors including organizational mission and goals, nature of the work, and more. However, there are usually some common traits and skills desired by all organizations, regardless of goals and position. Here are a few behaviors that will make you stand out from the crowd:

Self-motivation – One of the most time consuming aspects of a leader’s job is to motivate employees to perform. Supervisors love employees that have personal discipline and drive and that do not need constant supervision and encouragement.

Initiative – There are employees that never seem to have anything to do and those that never seem to have enough to do. A supervisor’s best friend is an employee who always looks for ways to help rather than meeting the “minimum standards”.

Positive Attitude – Sounds simple, but people like to work with and around people that provide positive morale for the work environment. Positive and hard-working employees inspire those around them to do more.