The Power of Selling, 2010a

may be difficult to keep all of your experience and accomplishments to one page, so choose those that best
tell your brand story. As one executive said, “It better be worth my while to turn to page two.” [1]
There are several appropriate résumé templates available at your campus career center or in Microsoft
Word. The downside to some templates is that they are difficult to adjust or adapt. The most important
thing to consider when you are choosing your résumé format is to be sure it is easy for the reader to skim.
Some formats with horizontal lines separating the categories, or those with dates that precede company
and position information, are harder to skim because the reader has to work too hard to see the brand
story. See the comments in Figure 2.7 "Standard Résumé" to recognize some things to avoid in your
résumé.
It’s easy to create a résumé that looks like Julianna Lanely’s revised résumé shown in Figure 2.8
"Standard Résumé Incorporating Brand Points".
Once you choose the format you want to use, you should choose a font that you will use for your résumé
and cover letter. The font should be easy to read like Arial or Times New Roman (Arial is a bit more
contemporary; Times New Roman is more traditional). It’s best to use twelve-point type (or eleven-point
at the smallest) for ease of readability. If you need a little more space on your résumé, consider adjusting
the margins slightly, keeping at least 0.7 for each margin. You don’t want your résumé to feel crowded or
that it is an effort to read.
Step 3: Choose Your Headings and Put the Most Important Ones First
Now that you’ve done your groundwork, it’s time to actually create your résumé. Think about your brand
points and then determine the headings you want to use. Use headings that help you tell your brand story
at a glance. Don’t focus yet on what you will write in each heading; that will be covered in Step 4.
There are some headings that are standard to include such as “Objective,” “Education,” and “Experience,”
but other headings should be used to support your brand story. For example, instead of having a heading
for “Work Experience,” be more specific and use “Sales Experience” to highlight that if it is one of your
brand points.
One of the most critical things to remember is to put the most important things first. Start with a heading
for “Objective,” then “Education.” As you gain more experience in your career, your education will move
to the bottom. But at this point, it is a key selling point for your brand.
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