3 High-Impact Resume Strategies For Aspiring Managers

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If you're an individual contributor looking to make the leap to a manager-level position but have never held such a role role, you need to sell yourself as a proven leader. This can be challenging since organizations typically look to hire managers with direct managerial experience.

Here are 3 high-impact strategies aspiring managers can use to elevate the impact of their resume!

1. Demonstrate continued professional success. Strong leaders don't just do their job, they elevate the performance of the entire organization. Your resume should present a strong list of measurable achievements. Well-structured bullet points detailing your professional wins show both the initiative and value you've brought to your company, and will help a potential employer visualize the positive impact you'll make should they hire you.
    

2. Clearly illustrate your leadership history. Perhaps you've led projects or initiatives which have required the coordination of various other team members. Or maybe you've coached and mentored peers, summer interns, or temporary employees. Details about your ability to successfully align diverse stakeholders will speak directly to your managerial skills.
    

3. Detail your strategic orientation. Managers undertake a variety of important critical functions, including budgeting, resource allocation, short-term and long-term planning, interviewing, and other leadership duties. If you've collaborated on any of these initiatives, note them prominently in order to demonstrate your ability to think strategically and with a broader perspective.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

5 Easy Ways To Research A Potential Employer Before The Job Interview

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An essential component of interview preparation is research. By researching the company, you won't be caught unaware; you'll better understand the company, its business model, and its culture, as well as what questions to ask during your interview.

Here a 5 Easy Ways To Research A Potential Employer Before The Job Interview!

1. VISIT THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE. Corporate sites usually contain a trove of information about the company's products and services, and frequently feature profiles of the executive leadership team. Larger companies also often share investor relations information, press releases, and corporate announcements.
    
2. READ THE NEWS. Type the company's name into a news aggregator such as Google News or Bing News. If there's important news to be found, there's a pretty good chance you'll see it here.
    
3. LOOK AT LINKEDIN. If the company provides you with a list of the interviewers prior to your meeting, take a look at their profiles on LinkedIn. You're often able to learn about your interviewers' roles, projects, career progression, and more.
    
4. CHECK OUT THEIR REVIEWS. Glassdoor is like the Yelp! of employment. But instead of dining reviews, people dish on their interview and employment experiences. The feedback is anonymous, and in many cases, it tends to be the unhappy employees who share their feedback, so evaluate reviews with a grain of salt. You should be able to identify aggregate views of the corporate culture.
    
5. REACH OUT TO SOMEBODY WHO'S WORKED THERE. Just as an employer is going to perform a reference check on you to make sure you're a good match, there's no reason you can't do the same to them. If you'd like to find out somebody's experience as an employee, ask them. By working your personal network, you should be able to identify an individual who will provide you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

3 Critical Details You May Be Forgetting To Include In Your Resume

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A resume is a marketing brochure, and like any brochure it exists to sell a product. Namely, you.

While brevity is key to the successful resume (most shouldn't exceed 1 or 2 pages), it's absolutely essential that you also clearly demonstrate your potential value to an employer in a succinct manner. A fuller picture of who you are can help you snag an interview.

Here are 3 Critical Details You May Be Forgetting To Include In Your Resume!

1. ACCOMPLISHMENTS. You'd be surprised how many people's resumes are little more than a transcript of their job description, just a detailed description of day-to-day duties with no mention of their wins. Don't be modest – highlight the initiatives you've led, the process improvements you've developed, the sales you've generated, and the money you've saved! Clearly articulated – and preferably, quantifiable – accomplishments demonstrate that you won't just take up space, you'll elevate the potential employer's overall performance.

2. CONTEXT. Responsibilities and accomplishments listed on a resume can carry greater impact if they provide a bit of details into the circumstances. And you'd be surprised how much important detail you can fit on one or two lines if they're tightly written. Take a look at the following examples and decide for yourself – which ones are just bullets, and which ones provide critical insights that really sell the job seeker?

• Generated $300K in region-wide sales. (OR)
• Generated $300K in region-wide sales as #1 sales representative in company, growing business through aggressive lead generation and new account development.

• Installed Windows 10 onto all of the company's desktop computers. (OR)
• Installed Windows 10 onto all of the company's desktop computers, leading project from initial planning through final sign-off.

• Achieved high levels of customer satisfaction on service calls. (OR)
• Achieved high levels of customer satisfaction on service calls, consistently earning 4 and 5 ratings (out of 5) on surveys through focus on culture of customer service and accountability.

•Oversaw 350-person layoff during business downturn. (OR)
•Oversaw 350-person layoff during business downturn. Led executive team in workforce analysis to identify efficiencies, retain key talent, and drive compliance with regulations.

3. PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT. If you're a manager at any level, an important skill is the ability to develop your staff. Do you have people you've promoted to leadership roles? How did you get them there? Did you engage your employees in career planning? An employer is going to want to know how you help your team improve and grow, since organizations need the continuity and competitiveness that a supply of leadership provides. Detail your people-oriented wins.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.