How to write a killer resume to land more interviews and get you hired

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Chan With A Plan, host Max Chan speaks with Virginia Franco, a multi-certified Executive Resume and LinkedIn Writer, Coach and Storyteller. Virginia discusses how writing a resume isn’t a one size fits all solution, as your strategy will change depending on where you are in your career. She also discusses other important resume best practices such as length of bullet points, addressing work gaps and common mistakes you should avoid when writing a resume. We end the conversation more on the business side of resume writing such as when is it best to hire someone to write it for you, the expected price range and what questions to ask the resume writer to ensure they are an ideal fit for you.

QUOTES

“When it comes to writing your resume and writing your LinkedIn profile [for the next level up], you need to go through job postings and compare a manager role to a director role and see the differences.” - Virginia Franco [3:52]
“[When writing a resume to pivot industries] what I try to do is often times I can dig into someone’s history and uncover where they’ve actually worked at different industries but maybe that stuff doesn’t show up until page 2, so someone doesn’t recognize it so when someone is looking to make an industry pivot, sometimes I will list the industries they worked at, in the branding paragraph at the top, so that the reader can go, oh well he’s clearly been able to jump from industry to industry.” - Virginia Franco [10:54]
“A big error that I see is that people are still writing these [resumes] as if the only way we look at them is by printing them out, resumes are by in large read online, they do get printed out but usually doesn’t happen until a little bit later down the road so you really have to write for the online read.” - Virginia Franco [19:36]

TIMESTAMPS

[0:18] Meet Virginia
[3:33] Writing a resume to land you a role that is the next level up
[6:43] How close of a match you need to be with the job ad in question as it pertains to your experience and skill level to land an interview for that role
[8:01] Essential framework of a good resume
[10:22] Drafting a resume to transition to another role and/or industry
[11:35] Crafting effective resume bullet points for your roles on your resume
[14:15] Writing an effective resume as a new grad with no to limited work experience
[17:32] Difference in writing a resume the higher you are in the corporate ladder
[19:00] Common mistakes professionals make when writing a resume on their own
[22:38] Difference between writing your resume and writing your LinkedIn profile
[25:14] Virginia’s thoughts on the importance of cover letters for online job applications and her strategy on how to write a standout cover letter
[27:28] Mentioning work gaps on your resume
[30:10] Virginia’s thoughts on the future of the resume and what part it will play in the overall job search process
[32:23] Why and when should you hire a resume writer to write your resume
[33:46] The average online application to job interview ratio
[34:44] What a resume writer does not do for you
[35:18] How much should a resume cost for a professional
[38:54] Choosing the right resume writer for you and questions to ask them
[40:49] Virginia’s story on overcoming a major roadblock in her life and what she did to overcome it
[42:51] Contacting Virginia
[45:08] Outro

RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS

Virginia Franco Resumes
Job Search Secret Weapon
Virginia Franco on LinkedIn
Resume Storyteller with Virginia Franco Podcast
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on LinkedIn