Resume Hack To Land A New Job: Highlight Your Unique Value

With nearly 1.1 million graduates entering the workforce in less than a month, standing out with a resume that reflects your unique strengths and transferable skills is more critical than ever. A new survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that employers expect a 1.9% dip in hiring compared to last year.

Whether you’re a graduate, a professional seeking a career change or a mid-career expert aiming to pivot, this resume hack helps you highlight the value you bring to the table.

How do you make your resume an outlier? Present yourself as having a unique value.

ForbesReinvent Yourself Every 7 Years: A Career Change StrategyBy Cheryl Robinson

The Value Formula For Your Resume

Create a compelling resume with the value formula: [Skill] + [Achievement/Result] + [Impact] = Value.

This formula helps you convey what you did, how well you did it and what effect it had.

• Skill: Start with a concrete skill or responsibility you had in a role.
• Achievement and Result: Add a specific achievement or result you attained by applying this skill.
• Impact: Finish by tying this achievement to its broader impact on your team, project, or company.

For instance, if your role involved leading a project team, your entry could look something like this:

• Skill: Project Management
• Achievement and Result: Led a team of 12 in the successful delivery of a key project three weeks ahead of schedule.
• Impact: This early delivery allowed the company to commence with the next phase sooner than planned, ultimately speeding up product launch by a month and potentially increasing market competitiveness.

By structuring your experiences using the value formula, you make it easier for employers to see your direct contributions and the tangible benefits they brought to your past employers. This approach highlights your skills and achievements and demonstrates your potential value to a prospective employer.

Your Unique Value

Conduct an in-depth self-assessment to find your unique value in a saturated market. Reflect on your passions, the projects you’ve found most rewarding, and the skills that set you apart from your peers.

This formula involves identifying your core competencies, achievements and personal brand. Ask yourself questions like, “What have I accomplished that I’m most proud of?” and “What skills do I have that others frequently commend?” Documenting your answers can help crystallize your unique value proposition, making it easier to articulate on your resume. This introspective approach ensures that your resume showcases your skills and experiences and conveys your individual essence, making you stand out in a crowded job market.

To succinctly capture your unique value for your resume, consider these key points:

Core Competencies

• Identify and highlight the skills that make you a standout candidate in your field. Think about what technical or soft skills you excel in that align with your career goals.

Achievements

• Focus on your accomplishments rather than just your duties. Quantify your successes with numbers, percentages or other metrics that demonstrate your impact.

Personal Brand

• Convey your personal brand by showcasing what makes you unique. This could include your work ethic, problem-solving approach or how you lead and inspire others.

Adaptability

• Use Examples: Demonstrate adaptability through specific examples of when you quickly embraced change or learned new skills.
• Include Relevant Keywords: For compatibility with ATS (Applicant Tracking System), integrate keywords related to adaptability, such as “quick learner,” “flexible” or “change management.”

Creativity

• Showcase Your Projects: Include portfolio links or case studies that highlight your creativity in problem-solving or project execution.
• Qualify Your Achievements: Describe scenarios where your creative solutions led to measurable outcomes or business successes.

Transferable Skills

• Tailor Skill Descriptions: Position your skills in a way that they relate to the role you’re applying for, even if they were gained in a different industry.
• Create a Skills Section: A dedicated section for skills can enumerate both hard and soft transferable skills, making them stand out.

Formatting Tips For Resume Clarity

Visual Elements

• Caution with Pictures: While adding a picture can make a resume stand out, it’s advisable to tailor this decision based on industry norms and attentiveness to biases. In many situations, especially where formal processes and equal opportunity laws are in place, pictures may be advised against.
• Highlight with Bullets and Headings: Bullet points can be used effectively to organize and draw attention to key accomplishments rather than responsibilities.

Focus On Your Story

• Professional Summary: Begin with a strong narrative summary that weaves your diverse experience into a compelling career story.
• Relevancy is Key: Even when choosing to focus on your story, keep your experience relevant to the position you’re aiming for.

Your resume is not just a list of jobs—it’s the story of your professional journey. Fresh graduates, career changers and even seasoned professionals have something unique to offer.