The RESUME

A lot of reflection went into looking at my resume and revamping it.  It hadn't been changed in over 2 years and quite honestly I took one look at it and I wanted to set it aside!  

I really had a "long chat with myself."  I analyzed what I liked the most about my last role and the roles before.  I asked myself--"What do I do best"...and from there put together 3 resumes...with the following titles:

HR_General role

Benefits Administration

Payroll/HRIS Administration

The resumes are different just based on key words used and emphasis of certain duties. These resumes will be placed with a couple of choice recruiters and on Monster.com.  Key words and phrases are key for folks sourcing these sites for candidates, so emphasis is on key words. 

Customization is very important. I can't begin to tell you how many generic resumes I received over the years that addressed roles I didn't offer at anytime at the given worksite. I want to appear as though I am only applying for one role--the role I'm addressing in my cover letter--their role.  If I'm applying for a broad HR role I will include a broad base of experience to match that role, but if it's more specialized I will want to focus on specifics and that is why I created the other two resumes. I placed them on a portable thumb drive and also emailed them to myself.  I did this to have them available to me at any time via my smart phone.  

In the resumes I kept everything in present tense and instead of a fluffy list of duties I was more direct and relayed my contributions.  For example...instead of payroll processing- I went with more detail in the fact that I saved a former company $59K by cross-training and assuming the payroll function. Instead of worker's compensation administration I provided the $65K I trimmed off the WC expense budget by adopting a return to work program and a 3 point of contact with employee-adjuster-and the physician providing the medical updates on the case.  Specific, no fluff, and factual information is what an employer wants.

One thing to remember is that these resumes are not tested, so I have no idea how effective or ineffective they will be.  I will put them out there and the responses or lack of responses will be my cue on their success.  As Einstein once said....Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  If these resumes don't get the desired response, then it's back to the writing table for tweaking.