My approach to résumé writing is different; instead of creating a laundry list of each task as a bullet in every job or assignment I ask my clients to tell their message in a concise story to showcase their leadership. Ergo, each bullet must be a story that speaks to their leadership in how they completed their task. I have a structure and a template to make this easy for them. My second requirement is that each story thus presented must have an Aha! and intrigue to it, otherwise it is not a story worth telling!

This requirement immediately results in my clients’ recoiling at the thought of the effort involved and at their own inability to come up with enough stories needed to make their résumé complete. Depending on the job they are after and the level they are seeking each story needs to present a different leadership thread and the import of that story needs to reflect the level at which they exercised their leadership to accomplish that task.

There in lies the rub!

Most approach their task or challenge at hand as a transactional assignment, rather than as something that they can conquer through their ingenuity, grit, and resourcefulness. Others do engage these factors in what they do, but are unable to tap into themselves to flesh out the story that makes for good reading. Either way, each one struggles to figure out what they really did in their jobs and how to tell it in a way that puts them in a good light!

Now, why is that?

I think that there are two reasons why this happens: For one, many professionals are engaged in their jobs as order-takers, looking up to their boss to tell them what they need to do to stay out of trouble; and second, which is even more pervasive and troubling, most cannot write a good story if their life depended on it, even when they do have a great story to tell! In a way, it is a writing-skill gap.

So, here are my suggestions for anyone attempting to present themselves through a compelling résumé message: First, dig through your Aha! stories from the past and learn how to tell those in a written narrative that is concise and compelling. Regardless of how many clients told me at the outset that they have NO Aha! stories to tell, we were able to round up enough of them to make them realize what they had accomplished, even though they did not look at them that way until they were able to verbalize them. Second, a good writing skill is a sine qua non in any professional activity. This is a learned skill and no one is exempt from it, not even software programmers! And, third—and the most important—if you did not attend to your job or assignments as something about which a story needs to be told then from now on, every task or job you do must be looked at from the vantage point of this story-telling perspective. When you take this view of your ongoing tasks under your charge you will work on them differently, and when completed you’ll have one heck of a story to tell for each task.

Before I end this blog let me illustrate my point with a story in the Before/After format:

Before: As a Regional Sales Manager improved sales productivity 30% and increased sales 50%.

After: After taking charge as Western RSM recognized that star players were generating twice as much as the rest, even during downturns, and with increased account penetration even when competitors were losing ground. Quickly met with the stars and uncovered their success recipe. Codified the learning and created new success guidelines. For laggards, remedied their performance through mentoring, working out the incorrigible. Within a year productivity soared 30%, and sales 50%.

The “intrigue” in this story: What was the stars’ recipe? The reader can only find out by calling you after reading your résumé!

I hope that you are able to learn how to tell your story in your résumé and see its power for yourself!

Good luck!

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