Don't Fold Your Résumé! The Power of Professionalism By: Sharon Williams, M.Ed JobRockit, Owner / Guru Certified Professional Résumé Writer

How do you want to be perceived when hiring managers review your job search documentation?

Words are power, but even before a hiring manager reads the words on your résumé, s/he will have a first impression of you! When we meet someone face to face, it is said that an impression is formed within the first seven seconds, and it's no different with your résumé package.

Packaging conveys professionalism and personality. If you are promoting “Brand YOU!” why not start building it from the very moment the envelope is in the hands of the decision makers?

Choose an attractive, 9"x12" envelope that matches your résumé paper. I had a hiring manager tell me that he “stapled the envelope to the résumé” to remember the professionalism of the candidate! Who knew?! Oh! … and while we're branding, why not overnight or two day air your résumé to make a powerful entrance into the targeted organization. By doing these things, you are creating personality and stirring emotion with your professionalism… and emotion sells! 

Appeal creates IMPACT. Your résumé should unfold the “best of who you are” to prove that benefits will be gained by the company who hires you. It shouldn't be a résumé that is unfolded by a hiring manager who discovers creased, unreadable lines of smudged text. Folded résumés are unmanageable and do not lay flat in a pile. A hiring manager told me that when folded résumés mess up the pile, he throws them in File 13! An unfolded document makes it easier for the employer to photocopy. It just makes good business sense to use a large envelope and mail your documents unfolded.

Embrace professionalism and discover that you will be invited to more interviews. By eliminating the negatives, you drive professionalism into competitive advantages.

Sharon Williams, Owner / Guru of JobRockit, is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW), and a member of Career Management Alliance and Career Directors International (CDI).

Sharon holds BSBA and M.Ed. degrees from Bowling Green State University and has served as a college instructor in Northwest Ohio for the last 16 years. She is a Thirteen—time National Winner of * Best Résumé / Cover Letter Honors * including Best Executive Résumé, Best New Graduate Résumé and Cover Letter, Best Professional, Best Career Change, and Most Creative categories.

Most recently, Sharon earned the designation of “World's Best Résumé Writer” voted upon by career professionals nationwide and Career Directors International members. Contact Sharon for questions about driving your job search forward—Sharon@JobRockit.com or 419.422.0228.

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