Article By: Nadav Geft (Nadav@aclion.com)

As the world of digital advertising evolves, so does the tedious/“Man, I am so not in the mood to do this” world of resume writing. While some may stick to the old, conventional ways of “showing your stuff” on paper, here are a few tips I've come across (in my experience as a digital media recruiter) to help you separate yourself from the competition and land the position you’ve been ever-so yearning for in the digital space.

A. Down with Objectives! (well, most of the time) – I would go as far to say that most hiring managers rarely, if ever, look at the “objective” portion of a resume. This is largely due to the fact that most people state the obvious and resume readers view it as a waste of time. For example, if you are an Account Manager with two years AM experience, trying to further your career in the same field, there is no need to state, “looking to utilize my skills in account management to grow my career in client services.” Of course you’re looking to move your career forward in client services, otherwise you wouldn’t have applied for a Senior Account Manager position!

However, as with every rule, there are of course exceptions :) Although 95% of the time objectives are useless, there are some cases where they can be very helpful. The first: when you are trying to switch over into a new department or a more focused role; for example, “looking to transfer my up-selling skills in account management into a full-fledged sales position.” The second: if you bring a very diverse background or wear many hats in your current role, you can sum up your best talents in a sentence or two. For example, “…highly proficient in affiliate marketing, search, and online video. Led teams of up to 10 salespeople and bring national contacts in CPG, pharmaceuticals, and technology.” Specifics are what sell and is really what a hiring manager wants to see when evaluating your candidacy. If you think that these managers sit down at their desk and spend their afternoon examining your resume, you can think again because I would say they look at it for somewhere between 7-10 seconds.

B. Details, details, details…– Many years ago, it was recommended to keep your resume relatively vague so that hiring managers would feel as though they need to meet face-to-face in order to learn more about your experience. Nowadays, especially if you are in sales, it is suggested that you be very specific in your descriptions, and include as many details as possible. If you’re a solid seller, SHOW IT! Instead of using the last three bullet points to reiterate what a salesperson does, insert sales numbers, account lists, account growth, etc.
For example:

• Exceeded yearly quota of $1MM by 120%
• Grew revenue from $250,000 to $2.3MM in one year
• Succeeded in closing deals with clients such as: Coca-cola (list agency worked with), P&G, Hilton Hotels, etc.
• Won “Most New Business” award for Q3 and Q4

If you are in a client service capacity, talk about the size of accounts you work on, up-selling numbers, and account retention/growth [e.g. “Grew BestBuy account 110% (from 200,000 to 750,000)”]. These seemingly minor additions will not only distinguish you from the other applicants, but bode extremely well during the interview process too. In other words, by agreeing to meet with you, the company is essentially saying that they know all about you, can see that you have the necessary abilities to perform, and will speak to you in a more open manner from the get-go. Having an interview start with “So, looks like you really know your stuff my friend,” is usually better than “So what would you say, ya do here?!” (Office Space - sorry I had to throw it in there)

C. The Relevant Experience – After working with a few different companies, people tend to only discuss the experience that is pertinent to the position they are applying for. Though I agree with this approach, it is also important to include one’s previous employment (even if it reads, “Construction Worker, BNC Inc., 1998-2001”) to eliminate any questions such as “where was he for the 5 years before all of this?” And hey, maybe that interviewer of yours was also a professional bass fisherman before turning CEO.

Well, there you have it folks, the 3 big tips to writing a great resume and earning yourself a spot at the head of the table. Let your resume tell a story instead of being a page-full of job descriptions. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at Nadav@aclion.com.