6 Ways to Make Your Résumé Stand Out

Here’s a question for every job seeker: Does your résumé cite *activities*, or does your résumé cite *achievements*?

If you’re like most people, then you cite activities. These are typically your day-to-day duties. They read like a laundry list.

By contrast, an achievement packs a punch. It uses adjectives, numbers, and results to quantify your work and make it specific and real.

When your résumé is shot through with activities, it’s like all the others: Forgettable. But with achievements, you stand out. You make yourself distinctive, impressive, and memorable.

To these ends, here’s a glimpse of what we’ll cover:

• How to write to the job description.
• How to make each of your bullet points fulfill the “V.N.R.” formula.
• How to transform your responsibilities into achievements.
• How to quantify your experience even if you don’t work in an inherently quant-y field.
• How to make your résumé visually impactful.
• How a “summary” differs from an “objective.”
• How — and how not — to round off numbers.
• How to reframe a “skills” section.

Transcript

1. THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, College Park, Maryland
   Adjunct Professor of Business Writing, 2014 – Present
   • Teach the principles of business writing, encompassing subjects from proposals to
   PowerPoint, from memos to media training to, from branding to blogging.
   • Earn enthusiastic evaluations from colleagues and students, many of whom volunteer
   to be my teaching assistant or hire me for subsequent ghostwriting.
   • Nominated, by students, for a teaching award from the Office of Undergraduate
   Studies for “gaining and holding the attention of students in a way that few other
   classes do.”
   THE JONATHAN RICK GROUP, Arlington, Virginia
   President, 2011 – Present
   • Develop crisp and cogent copy that entertains readers as much as it educates them.
   • Deliver workshops on corporate communication to Fortune 1,000 companies,
   national nonprofits, federal agencies, and individual executives.
   • Conduct communication boot camps for AXA, the Food and Drug Administration,
   Johns Hopkins University, Booz Allen Hamilton, and chambers of commerce around
   the country.
   ROCK CREEK STRATEGIC MARKETING, Chevy Chase, Maryland
   Senior Strategist, 2010 – 2011
   Led highly collaborative teams of strategists, technologists, and designers on innovative
   social media and advocacy projects that won rave reviews from demanding clients.
   6 Ways to Make Your
   Résumé Stand Out
   

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2. From Subject Line Time
   Carrie Bradshaw Applying for Strategist Position 8:00 am
   Samantha Jones I Want to Be Your Next Strategist! 6:03 am
   Charlotte York Please Accept My Résumé Aug 5
   Miranda Hobbes Strategist Aug 5
   Steve Brady The United Nations Aug 5
   John J. Preston Strategist – John J. Preston Aug 5
   Stanford Blatch Application for U.N. Strategist Aug 5
   Trey MacDougal Strategist Position Aug 5
   Aidan U.N. strategist Aug 5
   H. Goldenblatt Job Posting #349 Aug 5
   Jerry “Smith” Jerrod Aug 4
   magda Strategy Aug 4
   

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3. View Slide

4. IF YOU
   DISAGREE
   

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5. Right
   Wrong
   resume résumé
   

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6. 1. Stages
   2. Job Description
   3. Achievements
   4. Aesthetics
   5. Rookie Mistakes
   6. Pro Tricks
   

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7. Know the Process
   1
   #
   

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8. Stage Question
   Résumé
   Screening
   Call
   Interviews
   Are you qualified to do the job?
   Can you speak to these qualifications?
   Do you fit our culture?
   Cover Letter Should I read your résumé?
   

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9. “He or she who gets hired is not
   necessarily the one who can do
   that job best; but the one who
   knows the most about how
   to get hired.”
   — Richard Bolles
   

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10. Write to the
    Job Description
    2
    #
    

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11. What the Client
    Is Looking For
    What I Call
    Myself
    A ghostwriter. A speechwriter.
    

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13. 5 business development
    3 aggressive
    

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14. w
    ordcounter.net
    

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15. Résumé #3
    Marketing
    Résumé #1
    Workshops
    Résumé #2
    Writing
    

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16. If I asked you to send me your
    résumé, what would you do?
    

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17. Should you call the section for
    your job history “Experience”?
    

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18. Uncommon
    Common
    ❌ Experience
    ❌ Work Experience
    ❌ Job History
    ü Business Development
    Experience
    ü Sales Accomplishments
    ü Public Relations Expertise
    

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19. Transform Your
    Activities Into
    Achievements
    3
    #
    

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20. V R N
    N R
    

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21. V R N
    erbs
    

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22. V R N
    N
    umbers
    

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23. V R N
    N R
    esults
    

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24. V R N
    erbs
    

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25. Verbs
    1. Keep your résumé
    consistent.
    

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26. Verbs
    1. Keep your résumé
    consistent.
    2. Make your work
    sound powerful.
    

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27. Achievement
    Activity
    Held a weekly lunch with
    three other department
    heads.
    Organized a weekly lunch
    with three other
    department heads.
    Verbs
    

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28. Achievement
    Activity
    Made a wardrobe for
    a 30-something single
    woman in Manhattan.
    Designed a wardrobe
    for a 30-something single
    woman in Manhattan.
    Verbs
    

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29. V R N
    N
    umbers
    

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30. Numbers
    1. Provide proof that
    your claims are more
    than just puffery.
    

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31. Numbers
    1. Provide proof that
    your claims are more
    than just puffery.
    2. Concretize your work,
    making it specific
    and real.
    

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32. Achievement
    Activity
    Argued before the New
    York State Supreme Court.
    Argued 13 cases before
    the New York State
    Supreme Court.
    Num
    bers
    

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33. Achievement
    Activity
    Increased the firm’s
    followers on Twitter.
    Increased the firm’s
    followers on Twitter,
    from 250 to 1,000.
    Num
    bers
    

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34. BUT…
    

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35. 1. I don’t really work
    with hard numbers.
    2. My job leans more
    on softer skills.
    3. I don’t have data
    to pull from.
    

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36. R F P
    

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37. R F P
    ange
    

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38. R F P
    requency
    

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39. R F P
    eople
    

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40. Achievement
    Activity
    Prepared daily summaries
    of the top news stories
    for the firm’s C.E.O.
    Prepared daily summaries
    of the top three to five news
    stories for the firm’s C.E.O.
    Range
    

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41. Achievement
    Activity
    Wrote a column, “Sex and
    the City,” for the New York
    Star.
    Wrote a weekly column,
    “Sex and the City,” for
    the New York Star.
    Frequency
    

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42. Achievement
    Activity
    Recruited volunteers for
    a charity walk to raise money
    for breast-cancer research.
    Recruited 12 volunteers for
    a charity walk to raise money
    for breast-cancer research.
    People
    

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43. V R N
    N R
    esults
    

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44. Results
    1. Help the hiring manager
    imagine that you can
    achieve the same results
    for his company.
    

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45. Results
    1. Keep your résumé
    consistent.
    2. Transform an activity
    into an accomplishment.
    

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46. Achievement
    Activity
    Choreographed photoshoots. Choreographed photoshoots
    that won over a demanding
    client.
    Results
    

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47. Achievement
    Activity
    Spearheaded a media
    campaign about Smith Jerrod.
    Spearheaded a media
    campaign about Smith Jerrod,
    which helped land him on
    an Absolut Vodka billboard
    in Times Square.
    Results
    

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48. GET
    SPECIFIC
    

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49. Activity
    Was responsible for organizing
    a gathering of peer
    professionals to discuss
    possible steps toward
    improving relations among
    diverse department entities
    

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50. Achievement
    Activity
    Was responsible for organizing Initiated and oversaw
    

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51. Achievement
    Activity
    Was responsible for organizing
    a gathering of peer
    professionals
    Initiated and oversaw
    a conference of IT specialists
    

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52. Achievement
    Activity
    Was responsible for organizing
    a gathering of peer
    professionals to discuss
    possible steps toward
    improving relations
    Initiated and oversaw
    a conference of IT specialists
    to foster cooperation and
    communication
    

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53. Achievement
    Activity
    Was responsible for organizing
    a gathering of peer
    professionals to discuss
    possible steps toward
    improving relations among
    diverse department entities
    Initiated and oversaw
    a conference of IT specialists
    to foster cooperation and
    communication across
    7 departments
    

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54. You Decide!
    1/5
    Created a C++ database for
    a children’s programming
    course, thus allowing
    teachers to remotely track
    300 students’ progress
    in real time.
    

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55. Created a C++ database for
    a children’s programming
    course, thus allowing
    teachers to remotely track
    300 students’ progress
    in real time.
    1/5
    ACHIEVEMENT
    

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56. You Decide!
    2/5
    Delegated tasks to a team
    of three, and monitored
    the team’s progress.
    

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57. Delegated tasks to a team
    of three, and monitored
    the team’s progress.
    2/5
    ACTIVITY
    

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58. You Decide!
    3/5
    Used propriety research
    about macroeconomic
    trends in Asia Pacific
    to upsell clients.
    

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59. Used propriety research
    about macroeconomic
    trends in Asia Pacific
    to upsell clients.
    3/5
    ACHIEVEMENT
    

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60. You Decide!
    4/5
    Update the weekly
    predictor model used by
    management to assess
    company performance.
    

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61. Update the weekly
    predictor model used by
    management to assess
    company performance.
    4/5
    ACTIVITY
    

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62. You Decide!
    5/5
    Designed two surveys
    that streamlined
    communication between
    software engineers
    and product developers.
    

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63. Designed two surveys
    that streamlined
    communication between
    software engineers
    and product developers.
    5/5
    ACHIEVEMENT
    

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64. AN
    EXCEPTION
    

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65. The Jonathan Rick Group
    President
    Orchestrate high-stakes communication
    campaigns that engender buzz, drive public
    opinion, and motivate people to action.
    

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66. Orchestrates
    Orchestrate
    Orchestrate high-stakes
    digital-marketing campaigns.
    Orchestrates high-stakes
    digital-marketing campaigns.
    

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67. Orchestrates
    Orchestrate
    I orchestrate high-stakes
    digital-marketing campaigns
    that engender buzz, drive
    public opinion, and motivate
    people to action.
    I orchestrates high-stakes
    digital-marketing campaigns
    that engender buzz, drive
    public opinion, and motivate
    people to action.
    

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68. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO GET
    FLOWERY
    

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69. Instead, Do This
    Don’t Do This
    Upgraded and deployed
    a new environmental
    illumination system without
    any cost overruns or safety
    incidents.
    Changed a light bulb.
    

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70. Care About
    Aesthetics
    4
    #
    

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71. Does the thickness of the
    paper you use matter?
    

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72. What size font should you use?
    

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73. Is it ok to use colors?
    

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74. How can you vertically align
    the dates for each of your jobs?
    

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75. ❌
    

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77. Should you include an “objective”
    or “mission statement”?
    

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78. Objective
    To get a job that helps me pay the rent.
    

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79. Mission Statement
    To make a lot of money without
    doing a lot of work.
    

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80. Should you include a “summary”?
    

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81. Summary
    1. Establishes a framework.
    

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82. Summary
    1. Establishes a framework.
    2. Facilitates scanning.
    

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83. Summary
    1. Establishes a framework.
    2. Facilitates scanning.
    3. Emphasizes key points.
    

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84. Summary
    1. Establishes a framework.
    2. Facilitates scanning.
    3. Emphasizes key points.
    4. Identifies common
    threads.
    

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85. Summary
    1. Establishes a framework.
    2. Facilitates scanning.
    3. Emphasizes key points.
    4. Identifies common threads.
    5. Focuses attention.
    

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86. Summary
    An energetic and enterprising ghostwriter.
    Excel at delivering copy that’s clear, crisp,
    and convincing, in formats such as résumés,
    cover letters, personal statements, elevator
    pitches, and LinkedIn profiles.
    

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87. Avoid Rookie
    Mistakes
    5
    #
    

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88. Don’t be selfish.
    

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89. “The hiring manager isn’t here to make
    your dreams come true. They’re in it
    for themselves. OK, that’s harsh, but
    the truth is that they’re looking for
    an awesome candidate to come in and
    do a kick-ass job that’ll help them run
    their department (or company) more
    efficiently and successfully.”
    — Lisa Siva
    

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90. Selfless
    Selfish
    Expanded my knowledge
    of GAAP compliance.
    Stayed abreast of the latest
    GAAP regulations.
    

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91. Selfless
    Selfish
    Gained networking experience
    by meeting with other chapter
    presidents.
    Met regularly with other
    chapter presidents to swap
    best practices and coordinate
    activities.
    

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92. Selfless
    Selfish
    Honed time-management
    skills.
    Juggled competing client
    demands without sacrificing
    the quality of service.
    

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93. Selfless
    Selfish
    Learned the importance of
    corporate social responsibility.
    Helped define Exxon’s
    policy on corporate social
    responsibility by contributing
    research to the company’s
    2018 annual report.
    

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94. Be consistent.
    

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95. Consistent
    Inconsistent
    ❌ Employee of the Month
    ❌ Served as first point of
    contact for visitors,
    deliveries, and phone calls
    ❌ Recruited interns, and
    screened them for
    interviews
    ü Named Employee of the
    Month for overtime work
    ü Served as first point of
    contact for visitors,
    deliveries, and phone calls
    ü Recruited interns, and
    screened them for
    interviews
    

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96. Consistent
    Inconsistent
    ❌ Named Employee of the
    Month for overtime work.
    ❌ Served as first point of
    contact for visitors,
    deliveries, and phone calls.
    ❌ Recruited interns, and
    screened them for
    interviews
    ü Named Employee of the
    Month for overtime work.
    ü Served as first point of
    contact for visitors,
    deliveries, and phone calls.
    ü Recruited interns, and
    screened them for
    interviews.
    

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97. Consistent
    Inconsistent
    ❌ Short Hills, NJ
    ❌ Clinton, NY
    ❌ Arlington, V.A.
    ü Short Hills, NJ
    ü Clinton, NY
    ü Arlington, VA
    

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98. Consistent
    Inconsistent
    ❌ Human Resources
    Director
    ❌ Associate Director
    of Human Resources
    ❌ Assistant Director
    of Human Resources
    ü Director of Human
    Resources
    ü Associate Director
    of Human Resources
    ü Assistant Director
    of Human Resources
    

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99. Consistent
    Inconsistent
    ❌ 2015 - Present
    ❌ 2011- 2015
    ❌ 2008 - 2011
    ❌ 2005 - 2008
    ü 2015 – Present
    ü 2011 – 2015
    ü 2008 – 2011
    ü 2005 – 2008
    

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100. How can I show experience
     if I don’t have any?
     

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101. 1. Coursework
     

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102. 1. Coursework
     2. Internships
     

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103. 1. Coursework
     2. Internships
     3. Clubs
     

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104. 1. Coursework
     2. Internships
     3. Clubs
     4. Sports
     

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105. 1. Coursework
     2. Internships
     3. Clubs
     4. Sports
     5. Personal Projects
     

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106. Account Executive, Advertising Sales
     Yellow Book
     Seriously: I sold phone-book ads. Right when smartphones
     came out. In the Detroit area. The joke just writes itself.
     What do phone-book ads have to do with my current
     copywriting calling?
     Only everything.
     As a salesman, I hit the streets and talked every day with
     small-business owners about their passions, their dreams,
     their challenges. I realized that the smartest entrepreneurs
     have a deep appreciation for the power of marketing and a
     heightened BS detector.
     So, I learned how to shut up and listen, how to unearth hidden
     emotional pains and triggers, and how to convince people to
     buy with their hearts.
     This B2B knowledge now informs every project I take on.
     

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107. Barista
     Latte Larry’s
     On the weekends in high school, I was an entry-level, minimum-
     wage barista at the campus coffee shop. Not the most glamourous
     job, but nonetheless a critical one.
     Really? What exactly does the experience of serving cups of Joe
     have to do with my career in journalism?
     Only everything.
     Let me explain. Dealing with people — especially on a campus
     as big and as diverse as that of the University of Maryland’s —
     is tough. Some customers are belligerent; others struggle with
     spoken English; others are exactly the entitled narcissists whom
     society has come to associate with Gen Z.
     Yet whatever the situation, I found a way to defuse it. Sometimes
     that meant giving away a free scone. Sometimes that meant
     spending a few extra minutes perfecting the swirl on a latte.
     Sometimes that meant saying “sorry” (even when I wasn’t wrong).
     As a reporter, I’ll encounter sources of all varieties. Some of these
     folks will be weird; others will be wonderful. Yet in order to
     succeed, I’ll have to cultivate all comers. I’ll have to be humble,
     adaptable, and welcoming — three traits that I mastered as
     a college barista at Latte Larry’s.
     

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108. How long should your résumé be?
     

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110. View Slide

111. Should you list your references?
     

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112. In the “heading” space for each job, how
     many identifying details do you need?
     

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113. View Slide

114. 1. Employer
     2. Title
     3. Location
     4. Dates
     

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115. 1. I worked at ________,
     2. where I was a ________,
     3. from ________.
     4. located in ________,
     

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116. Samantha Jones PR
     Founder
     1998 – 2004
     New York, New York
     

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117. Master the Tricks
     Used by the Pros
     6
     #
     

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118. Is it ok to change your job title?
     

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119. Résumé
     Business Card
     Senior Consultant Senior Consultant,
     Alumni Affairs
     

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120. Elevator Pitch
     Contract
     Lecturer Adjunct Professor
     

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121. Describe any employers that
     your audience might not recognize.
     

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122. Clear
     Unclear
     Susan Davis International
     Account Executive
     Launched and led the digital
     department.
     Susan Davis International
     Account Executive
     Launched and led the digital
     department of this boutique
     PR agency.
     

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123. Clear
     Unclear
     The USMCA Coalition
     Executive Director
     Founded this nonprofit to
     lobby for congressional
     approval of the 2018 North
     American trade deal.
     The USMCA Coalition
     Executive Director
     Founded this nonprofit,
     which consists of the top
     business trade associations,
     to lobby for congressional
     approval of the 2018 North
     American trade deal.
     

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124. Should you include a “skills” section?
     

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125. Embarrassing
     ❌ Word
     ❌ Google Docs
     ❌ Windows
     ❌ Social Media
     

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126. Useful
     Useless
     ❌ Excel
     ❌ Photoshop
     ü Created advanced pivot
     tables in Excel to track
     inventory in real time
     ü Designed images and ads,
     in Photoshop, for clients’
     Facebook and Twitter
     accounts
     

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127. View Slide

128. 5 Reasons Why People Think They Need
     a “Skills” Section on Their Résumé
     — And Why They’re Wrong
     JONATHANRICK.COM
     

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129. How should you present numbers?
     

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130. With Context
     Without Context
     Grew sales to $5M/year. Grew sales by 66%, from
     $3M/year to $5M/year.
     

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131. #5
     $12,500
     #1
     $12,329
     #2
     $12,000+
     #3
     $12,300
     #4
     ~$12,500
     $12,329
     

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132. #5
     255 tickets
     #1
     254 tickets
     #2
     Over 250
     tickets
     #3
     300 tickets
     #4
     250 tickets
     254
     

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133. BUT NEVER
     LIE
     

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134. Yahoo Confirms CEO Is Out After Résumé Scandal
     

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135. Dean at M.I.T. Resigns, Ending a 28-Year Lie
     

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136. A USPS Vice President Was (Quietly) Sent to
     Prison for Lying on His Job Application
     

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137. How do you account for time off?
     

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138. Multitasking Might
     Stay at Home Mom, 2008 – 2018
     v Raised 3 young children, instilling in each
     the values of hard work, honesty, and
     excellence.
     v Managed household finances, creating
     and adhering to a budget for a family of 6.
     v Implemented HR procedures by resolving
     all manner of complaints and arguments.
     

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139. RECAP
     1. What’s the purpose of a résumé?
     2. Name a website that identifies key phrases
     in a job description.
     3. Each one of your bullet points should ideally
     adhere to the “VNR” formula. What’s “VNR”?
     4. Name one rookie mistake.
     5. How can you align dates?
     6. Should you include a “summary”?
     7. Instead of calling your job history “experience,”
     what might you call it?
     

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140. LET’S REVIEW
     YOUR RÉSUMÉ!
     hi@jonathanrick.com
     

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