5 Secrets to Writing an Interview-Winning Resume in Even the Most Competitive Job Market

It is easy to become frustrated in a competitive job market, feeling like every time you send out your resume, it is landing in a black hole, never to be heard of again.

If you are reading this, I'm sure you know the feeling. You've scoured the job openings on LinkedIn, you've found a dozen that you think are a perfect fit for your experience. Excited, you send your resume, eagerly anticipating the interviews you are sure to get, so you can have a chance to explain exactly why you are perfect for the job.

But then...nothing. You wait and wait and wait...still hearing only crickets and eventually realizing that you didn't make the cut.

But, you don't give up easily. So you repeat the exercise. Feeling hopeful at first, but quickly having your hopes dashed by the same poor results.

That awful feeling of rejection creeps in.

While this is a common experience in a competitive job market, it doesn't have to be your experience.

You can make simple changes to your resume that will help it rise to the top of the stack, standing out among the masses of other job seekers, and capturing the attention of hiring managers.

When you learn this simple secret to transforming your resume, it can become your ticket to interviews. But, even more significantly, your new resume will do double-duty, helping to guide your interviews to a focus on the value you bring to the table.

Secrets to Turning Your Resume Into an Interview Magnet

What is this secret? It's simple: Your resume needs to "sell" your potential to deliver RESULTS rather than just skills and baseline qualifications.

In other words, it needs to communicate your ability to deliver VALUE and BENEFITS to the employer. Fill your resume with examples that show that you have the ability to produce results and to do so in a way that is more PROFITABLE than your competitors for the job.

THIS is your ticket to an interview and eventual job offer. Very few employers could resist the promise of a strong return on their investment in hiring you.

Don't Make This Common Resume Mistake

Hiring authorities are NOT looking for job descriptions on your resume. Job descriptions simply tell the reader about the responsibilities of the positions you have held. A resume focused on responsibilities does nothing to differentiate you. In fact, all it does is make your resume look like every other resume. Don't make this mistake!

To set yourself apart, your resume must tell the reader what you have accomplished–and more importantly, the value and benefits that those accomplishments have produced for past employers.

If you have numbers (e.g., dollar figures, percentages, raw numbers, etc.) that illustrate the impact of your accomplishment, make sure you include them. Numbers are proof. They get attention and they add credibility and context to your achievements.

In today’s competitive job market, it is essential that you know your value and be able to communicate exactly how you contributed to your past employers’ bottom line.

5 Questions Your Resume Must Answer

During tight economic times, everyone talks about money. Around kitchen tables everywhere families discuss how to SAVE money or how to MAKE money. The same is true in companies even during the best of economic times.

It is important to recognize that as an employee, you are an investment. The hiring company invests in you with the expectation that you will produce returns on that investment.

Use the following 5 prompts to help you think about your own experience and recall stories of your accomplishments that prove that hiring you is certain to be a good investment, and more importantly, that hiring you will be a more profitable investment than hiring your competitor.

Can you help make your next employer money?

To help you think about the ways you have helped employers make money in the past, here are some example money-making result statements from real resumes we have written for Distinctive Career Services' clients.

• Built U.S. sales 27% to $1.5 million and sales in Canada 15% to $2.3 million.
• Increased territory sales quarter-after-quarter, performing among the top 10% of sales reps nationally in 2020.
• Created new annual revenue stream of $10 million by spearheading development and growth of new technology chemical delivery system business.
• Made immediate impact in a competitive market, growing monthly sales from $600K to $1M by educating customers on product rebates/backend funds.
• Raised recurring revenues to 90% of total revenue while cutting customer churn in half.
• Built foundation on which sales grew 20% as markets recovered, adding $27 million to the top line.
• Reversed 5 years of declines and revived growth in a market that continues to shrink up to 10% annually.
• Delivered 4 million new customers and a 20% increase in rental transactions in first year of tenure.

Can you help save your next employer money?

Almost every company could benefit from saving money. Here are some real-life example achievement statements to help you think about your past money-saving accomplishments and how you might include them in your resume.

• Reduced IT headcount >65% by outsourcing network administration functions, saving nearly $200,000 and enabling company to focus on core business while expanding IT knowledge base.
• Saved total of $10 million in 2 years through combined impact resulting from negotiation of more favorable vendor terms, discounts, and cost avoidance.
• Reduced insurance premium increases 70%, saving $50,000 by soliciting bids and encouraging vendor competition.
• Faced with a $5 million, 14% seller note resulting from acquisition just prior to hire, established new banking relationship and negotiated refinancing at 4%, saving $500,000 in annual interest costs.
• Implemented waste reduction and cost-cutting programs that resulted in immediate $150,000 reduction in costs within first 45 days

Can you help your next employer solve a challenging problem?

The ability to develop and implement solutions that help companies solve problems or meet challenges are in-demand skills. Bonus points if you can show how your problem-solving abilities have produced quantifiable results for past employers. These examples illustrate this.

• Enabled $240,000+ in additional billing to be submitted to insurance companies within 2-year period by cleaning up 2,400+ outstanding accounts (out of 3,000).
• Solved critical problem caused by rapidly rising pharmaceutical prices. Produced $45 million in annual savings by leveraging strategic sourcing and negotiating deep discounts for national network of affiliates. 
• Recovered 70% of annual losses resulting from produce spoilage and product returns by establishing and training employees to properly inventory and store food products.
• Achieved 40% reduction in close time, achieving management goal of 3-day close by evaluating existing process, prioritizing tasks, and modifying staff schedules to maintain morale despite workload increase.
• Delivered $300K cost savings through introduction of highly efficient paperless validation system that reduced errors and provided automated documentation workflow solution.

Can you help improve customer relationships?

Customers are the lifeblood of most businesses. Do you have any examples of improving customer relationships in a way that positively impacted the financials of your employer? Here are some examples from real resumes to inspire you.

• Staved off the competition and formed stronger account relationships, engaging 50% of previously apathetic C-suite customers in networking events allowing a forum for delivery of strategic loyalty initiatives.
• Launched pioneering loyalty program, attracting 1M visitors in first 12 months and 133% higher sales-per-customer.
• Repaired lucrative relationship with millions of dollars at risk; rebuilt to a “trusted partner” and generated $2 million new business (100% increase).
• Maintained 99.9% client retention, serving as ambassador and face of the company. Met with diverse client base on renewals, price negotiations, and SLAs as well as tradeshows/conferences.
• Helmed account growth from $200,000 to $7 million annual revenue in 8 years after taking over customer relationship management (at all corporate levels) for a large alternative fund complex.

Can you improve profitability for your next employer?

It is all about the bottom line. Including examples of how you have helped past employers increase their profits is a sure-fire way to stand out.

• Drove record EBITDA margin and operating cash flows in 2019 as result of new forecasting processes that provided foresight to make mid-year changes, improve operating results, and set the stage for strategic investments in 2020 and 2021.
• Unlocked 7% improvement in margins within 6 months and 10% within the first year through a variety of strategies that cut delivery costs.
• Stemmed €500,000+ annual losses immediately and propelled turnaround to achieve record €10 million profit in 2019.
• Achieved substantial year-over-year profit increases (5-year average pretax return on revenue of 13.6%), leading to multiple acquisition offers from highly respected insurance companies.
• Delivered profit margins 3X the industry benchmark by focusing the entire organization on the customer, technology, service, new product development, and operational excellence.  

So there you have it: 5 resume writing prompts that will make your resume stand out and get attention no matter how competitive the job market is. By communicating how you have delivered results in the past, using numbers when you can to illustrate the actual return on investment you have delivered, you will easily set yourself apart from the masses of job seekers you are competing against.

In short, you must change your focus to emphasize what is in it for the company.

It’s not about what’s in it for you.

It’s all about the company.

What can you do for them?

How can you solve their problem?

How can you make money for them?

In what ways can you save them money?

How can you help them in these economic times?

Emphasize and communicate how you can be an asset to the company, and you will be surprised how quickly you will see positive results. To see more of these ideas in practice, review the professionally written resume examples in our online portfolio.

To get expert help drawing out your own ROI accomplishments and writing an interview and job-winning resume, set up a free Discovery Consultation. We'll discuss your needs, explain our services, answer your questions, and help you determine if our services are a good fit for you

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Michelle Dumas is the founder and CEO of Distinctive Career Services, one of the internet's longest-standing and most respected professional resume writing firms. Michelle is a 6X certified and 7X award-winning resume writer and career consultant. To learn more about the services offered by Distinctive Career Services book a free Discovery Consultation.