Sell Yourself in Your Resume - Jumpstart Your Career

The unemployment rate is rising and the competition for the jobs that are available is tough. The only way to get the job you want is to get yourself noticed and get an interview.

Whether you like to believe it or not, every position needs a sales pitch. If you want a job that pays, you have to be an asset to the company that hires you. Any company that can afford to bring in new people is making money. They need more people who can do the same, so no matter what the job, you are selling your ability to help that company make money.

For every job that is posted on the internet, in the Sunday paper want ads or advertised in association bulletins, there are hundreds of applicants. Even if there are only 25 or 30 applicants, someone has to read those 30 resumes. You can imagine how thorough a reading those resumes get. If you want the job, you have to stand out and the only way you can do that is by writing a stellar resume; one that gets you in the door.

Even if you are a salesperson, it is difficult to think of every position being a sales position. But even a teaching job is based on sales. Think of it this way: you want to teach because it is a noble calling and you know you will be good at it. You go to college, get your degree and start looking for a job. But every school district is facing budget cuts and hiring freezes and the competition for every job is fierce. The principal is looking for the teacher that can help her school reach its goal of raising test scores. If test scores go up, the school stays open.

The principal has to the sell the idea that her school is succeeding where others are failing and therefore not only does it deserve to stay open, but she should be allowed to hire more and better teachers. This is a sales job for the principal and an opportunity to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job.

Your resume is your ticket in the door. It has to stand out and catch the principal's attention right from the start. Even with a position that seems as far away from sales as any job can be, use the analogy of selling yourself as a product to benefit the company to achieve your goal of getting that job.

A resume is too important a document to leave to chance. It must have a professional touch to reflect your capabilities and experience. If producing a resume is out of your skill-set, it will pay to consult an expert, like resume and interview expert, Jimmy Sweeney, whose techniques have spelled success for many job hunters.