It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. – John Wooden
The above quote certain rings true as you move throughout your career and establish yourself as an industry leader. Paying attention to the details can set you apart from others who overlook the minutiae of the task at hand. By keeping one eye on the details you can approach everything from the daily grind up to the complex projects with an appreciation for what it takes to get the job done. This comprehensive style helps to increase your chances of success. This is a great way to earn a reputation as someone who gets it done right the first time. As Harvey S. Firestone said, “Success is the sum of details.”
However, when it comes to your resume I want you to forget everything you just read in the first paragraph. Details can make your career but can break your resume. When you are writing your resume you want to get across to the reader your value by showing them what you have done and how that translates to the position in which you are applying. No hiring manager wants to read through every mundane detail about how you achieved XYZ; they just want to know that you achieved it.
Have you heard the saying “Can’t see the forest for the trees“? What it means is that you are so consumed with the details that you can’t see the big picture. If you submit a resume full of ‘trees’ your reader won’t be able to see the ‘forest’. Too many details will overwhelm the reader and they will fail to see your true worth.
Your resume is a marketing document designed to sell you. You want to highlight the good stuff, make it easy to find and show what you can do for them. Imagine the marketing used for soda (or pop depending on where you are located). More than likely attractive people are having a good time while drinking the soda. Oh, imagine the fun you could have if you drank this soda!
Now what if before you see all the good stuff you have to listen to all the ingredients that make up the product, how exactly it was made, the name of the guy who ran the machine that bottled the soda, the route the delivery truck took to bring it to your local grocery store, how the store decided which aisle to sell it in, etc. I think you get the idea.
When it comes to your resume it’s important to remember not to get bogged down with the details; it is more beneficial to highlight the outcome rather than the series of events that brought you there. If you tell them everything on the resume you’ll have nothing to talk about during the interview.
Too many details:
Examined different possibilities for increasing sales including special promotions, loyalty incentives, combining sales regions and developing a sales management team which would act as liaison between management and sales staff. Through careful assessment of all options the decision was made to create a sales management team to increase promotion of combination sales packages which increased sales by 30%.
To the point:
Enhanced sales 30% by developing a sales management team to act as liaison between management and sales staff to guide promotion of combination sales packages.
When writing your resume, remember it is more important to show what you achieved than to show every aspect of how you did it.
by Megan Koehler
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