Boston Career Counselor Blog

My favorite resume critiquing exercise is to ask a client to read his/her own resume and see what they think.  If, for example, the resume sounds boring and uninspiring to YOU, how could it possibly sound better to a potential employer?

Now I know that resumes are never really going to be anyone’s idea of pleasure reading, but they can be attention-getting and they can inspire an employer to hire you!

So how exactly do you write a resume that won’t bore employers to tears?  No, I wouldn’t suggest wacky fonts, colors or resume cartoons.  Instead, writing an engaging resume is about proving to the employer, through past results, just how valuable you would be to them.

As you write your resume, don’t try to comprehensively list your job responsibilities as one might do in a job description.  Rather, ask yourself:

1. What measurable results have I achieved in past jobs?  How much  money saved, efficiency gained?  How many clients attracted, employees trained, customers returned?

2. What unique things did I do that make me a superstar?  Did I catch an error which saved the company money?  Did I land that company-changing client?  Did I improve the process by which things are done?

3. What are my greatest strengths?  What concrete accomplishments can I point out that “prove” just how great I am at these things?

4. What skills, strengths, abilities would make me invaluable to an employer?  How can I demonstrate, through my actions, that I have done and can do these things?

Instead of trying to give a complete picture of your every job responsibility, focus on the things which can prove just how valuable you are.

As a career counselor, I hope to create a partnership with clients, one in which I guide and empower them to achieve their goals.  It’s a working relationship which is designed to encourage self-sufficiency and initiative-taking.  I’m here to guide and support to the best of my abilities, but at the end of the day it’s the client who has the ultimate power.

That being said, here are the top three things career counseling clients can do to have a better, more fulfilling experience.

1. Don’t limit your career work to counseling sessions or communications with me. If I suggested you do an exercise to think about your talents, don’t just do the exercise, write down your answers, and wait for me to give you the next step.  Instead, do the exercise and think about the possibilities, how they connect to what you’ve done in the past and expect to do in the future.  If you’re inspired to look into a new possible career, just do it.  If the exercise reminds you of a career you were interested in back in college, tell me about it.  Don’t wait for me to suggest it.  Take the initiative.

2. For that matter, talk about what you want. Not just for jobs, but in our career counseling work together.  If I’m focusing on your resume, when what you would really rather work on is your networking skills, tell me that.  You’re the one who knows you best and the one who best knows what you need.  I’m here to empower you!

3. Think of me as a guide, not an encyclopedia (or even wikipedia?). I know things, many many things, but I can’t possibly know what it’s like to do every job out there.  What I can do is help you explore what you want and then find people who are experts to talk to.

The key to a good career counseling experience is to share your expectations with your counselor every step of the way and have her share her expectations for you.  With good communication, you’ll be on track to get where you want to go, whether a new satisfying career, a stellar job or a new life-work balance.  Good luck!