You have the passion and drive to succeed, but your heart sinks when you look at the job requirements. The job lists 5 years working experience and you only have 1 year experience. Are they serious about the 5 years working experience for entry-level role? Should you even bother trying or should you focus on something more realistic?
We are firm believers that job descriptions are only guidelines. They paint an idealized picture of what the employers thinks he wants, based on past experiences and assumptions. It is by no means conclusive. No candidate will fit ever the job description exactly. If you are a strong applicant who can make up for the lack of experience with a work ethic and powerful attitude, the employer will take a chance on you.
In this multi-part series, we will walk you through the (1) application stage, (2) interview stage, and (3) salary negotiation, for a job "out of your league".
Stage 1: Application
The first step is to craft a fantastic resume. A well-crafted resume will catch the eye of your employer. Whether or not you fulfill the "hard requirements", a well-worded and engaging resume / cover letter will make the employer pause and contemplate if you could actually be a good fit for the organisation. With his interest piqued, the manager drops an email to HR, asking to schedule an interview to find out more. All this takes place in the span of 30 seconds to 1 minute, which is all the time your resume will get.
Don’t overthink things, and never forget that your resume has 1 role and 1 role only: to get you to the interview. A lot of candidates think that a resume is a full blow-by-blow biography of their life thus far. This is not true. Your employer may care if you interned at a prestigious company or won a national prize but your employer does not care whether you were Captain of the Badminton team in secondary school. AND, the primary thing he cares about is whether you can get the job done with minimal supervision from him, so that he gets to his bonus without a hitch.
Always draft your resume with this in mind. How can you present yourself as a responsible team player who will make your future boss' life easier? How can you show that you understand company culture, company objections and that you will blend in seamlessly in the organization?
Some practical suggestions to take your resume to the next level:
1. Keep it short and sweet
As the famous adage goes, “1 page for every 10 years working experience”. If the Chairman of Goldman Sachs can keep to this rule, I don’t see why any of us can’t.
This rule is important because in modern society we are constantly bombarded by information. A concise & well thought-out document really stands out. By keeping your resume short and sweet, you demonstrate to your employer that you understand priorities and are able to deliver on a targeted basis. This is a very much underrated skill in society today, and your employer will love you for it.
If you are competing against fellow job-seekers who are more qualified, and have far more working experience than you, do you really want to go into a naming competition with them, where you list down every single achievement you have? Keep it short, simple and concise. List only the most relevant experience on 1 piece of paper, and your employer will assume that you have a wealth of knowledge at your disposal, but only listed the most relevant.
2. Eliminate irrelevant content
The corollary of rule 1 above is that everything that goes into your resume MUST support your application in some way. Again, don’t think of your Resume as a biography. Think of it more as an elevator pitch, where you have 1 minute to convince your employer why you deserve your dream job. Think of resume space as valuable shop-front space of a retail store. Retail stores only put out their best, most recent and most eye-catching at their window display. Do the same for your resume. If you keep to 1 page, you will realise that there is no space in your resume for junk.
Next, ask yourself whether the information you are adding is beneficial to your employer, and tailor it accordingly.If you are applying for a mechanical engineering role at ST Engineering, you need to demonstrate relevant technical skills and evidence of good work attitude and initiative. Everything else, while meaningful in a different context (e.g. volunteer experience, musical and arts skills) should be secondary. Context is key. Think about what THIS employer wants versus a generic company.
Don't worry if you lack the experience. Focus on giving examples where you demonstrated that you can get the job done. Give examples where you demonstrated work ethic or went above and beyond for your role. Chances are that the manager will be intrigued, and he will ask for an interview to find out more. As mentioned above, that is the sole objective of your Resume - to get that interview call.
3. Go Big or Go Home
Once you have decided on what should go into your 1 page resume, you have to actually write it. The most common mistake is weak language, where candidates fall flat at selling themselves fail. Again, your resume is a written copy of an elevator pitch for your dream job. Would you use words like “Collaborated with 5 team members on a new business development initiative”? Or would you use “Spearheaded a group-wide business development initiative that successfully increased FY2017 revenue by 12.0%”?
You have already done the hard part by having the skills / experience. Why short-change yourself when it comes to describing your achievements? Your competitors definitely won’t. Think about Ronaldo. He is one of the best football players in the world today. He knows it, and he’s not shy to state it. You want to be Ronaldo when writing your resume. If you don’t there are going to be a lot of shitty players out there with much less experience than you who are going to write their resume making themselves sound like a god. I’m sure you know what I mean, so go ahead and inflate your ego for this exercise.
Use strong verbs that are synonymous with success. A suggested list of words is set out below for easy reference:
Accomplished
Achieved
Delivered
Eliminated
Exceeded
Grew
Maximised
Minimised
Optimised
Spearheaded
Generated
4. Small Mistakes cost you Big
Once you have finished your resume. Proof read it. Then put it away, sleep on it, and proof read it again the next morning. When you are done, ask a close friend or family member to proof read it. Even better, submit it to SuccessGoGo for an insider opinion by a professional in your industry.
Why? Because there should NEVER by any editorial mistakes on your resume. If you are describing how you are a Ronaldo in your previous company, you'd better also not have any silly grammar or spelling mistakes, because Ronaldos don’t make errors like that.
Of all the mistakes above, this is the easiest to solve, yet this is the most common. Do yourself a favour and eliminate ALL grammar, spelling or formatting mistakes. The basic rule is to send your resume and cover letter in a pdf so that formatting stays consistent. In addition, take care to read the submission guidelines. Spell the name of your addressee correctly, double-check the email addresses, double-check your own contact information, see if there is any additional information that you need to provide and prepare accordingly (transcripts etc.). Pay attention and do your best to get everything right. If submitting through a portal, look through the application procedures, prepare accordingly and submit after you have everything ready.
You worked your whole life to get here. Why lose out on your dream job because your resume failed to covey your true AWESOMENESS?
In the next part of this series, we will talk about how to ace the interview once you get the call-up. Stay tuned!
Found this useful? SuccessGoGo consists of a professional network of working professionals in diverse industries, ranging from finance to law to accounting. Submit your Resume for a 100% confidential review, or reach out for a free career consultation today.
We are firm believers that job descriptions are only guidelines. They paint an idealized picture of what the employers thinks he wants, based on past experiences and assumptions. It is by no means conclusive. No candidate will fit ever the job description exactly. If you are a strong applicant who can make up for the lack of experience with a work ethic and powerful attitude, the employer will take a chance on you.
In this multi-part series, we will walk you through the (1) application stage, (2) interview stage, and (3) salary negotiation, for a job "out of your league".
Stage 1: Application
The first step is to craft a fantastic resume. A well-crafted resume will catch the eye of your employer. Whether or not you fulfill the "hard requirements", a well-worded and engaging resume / cover letter will make the employer pause and contemplate if you could actually be a good fit for the organisation. With his interest piqued, the manager drops an email to HR, asking to schedule an interview to find out more. All this takes place in the span of 30 seconds to 1 minute, which is all the time your resume will get.
Don’t overthink things, and never forget that your resume has 1 role and 1 role only: to get you to the interview. A lot of candidates think that a resume is a full blow-by-blow biography of their life thus far. This is not true. Your employer may care if you interned at a prestigious company or won a national prize but your employer does not care whether you were Captain of the Badminton team in secondary school. AND, the primary thing he cares about is whether you can get the job done with minimal supervision from him, so that he gets to his bonus without a hitch.
Always draft your resume with this in mind. How can you present yourself as a responsible team player who will make your future boss' life easier? How can you show that you understand company culture, company objections and that you will blend in seamlessly in the organization?
Some practical suggestions to take your resume to the next level:
1. Keep it short and sweet
As the famous adage goes, “1 page for every 10 years working experience”. If the Chairman of Goldman Sachs can keep to this rule, I don’t see why any of us can’t.
This rule is important because in modern society we are constantly bombarded by information. A concise & well thought-out document really stands out. By keeping your resume short and sweet, you demonstrate to your employer that you understand priorities and are able to deliver on a targeted basis. This is a very much underrated skill in society today, and your employer will love you for it.
If you are competing against fellow job-seekers who are more qualified, and have far more working experience than you, do you really want to go into a naming competition with them, where you list down every single achievement you have? Keep it short, simple and concise. List only the most relevant experience on 1 piece of paper, and your employer will assume that you have a wealth of knowledge at your disposal, but only listed the most relevant.
2. Eliminate irrelevant content
The corollary of rule 1 above is that everything that goes into your resume MUST support your application in some way. Again, don’t think of your Resume as a biography. Think of it more as an elevator pitch, where you have 1 minute to convince your employer why you deserve your dream job. Think of resume space as valuable shop-front space of a retail store. Retail stores only put out their best, most recent and most eye-catching at their window display. Do the same for your resume. If you keep to 1 page, you will realise that there is no space in your resume for junk.
Next, ask yourself whether the information you are adding is beneficial to your employer, and tailor it accordingly.If you are applying for a mechanical engineering role at ST Engineering, you need to demonstrate relevant technical skills and evidence of good work attitude and initiative. Everything else, while meaningful in a different context (e.g. volunteer experience, musical and arts skills) should be secondary. Context is key. Think about what THIS employer wants versus a generic company.
Don't worry if you lack the experience. Focus on giving examples where you demonstrated that you can get the job done. Give examples where you demonstrated work ethic or went above and beyond for your role. Chances are that the manager will be intrigued, and he will ask for an interview to find out more. As mentioned above, that is the sole objective of your Resume - to get that interview call.
3. Go Big or Go Home
Once you have decided on what should go into your 1 page resume, you have to actually write it. The most common mistake is weak language, where candidates fall flat at selling themselves fail. Again, your resume is a written copy of an elevator pitch for your dream job. Would you use words like “Collaborated with 5 team members on a new business development initiative”? Or would you use “Spearheaded a group-wide business development initiative that successfully increased FY2017 revenue by 12.0%”?
You have already done the hard part by having the skills / experience. Why short-change yourself when it comes to describing your achievements? Your competitors definitely won’t. Think about Ronaldo. He is one of the best football players in the world today. He knows it, and he’s not shy to state it. You want to be Ronaldo when writing your resume. If you don’t there are going to be a lot of shitty players out there with much less experience than you who are going to write their resume making themselves sound like a god. I’m sure you know what I mean, so go ahead and inflate your ego for this exercise.
Use strong verbs that are synonymous with success. A suggested list of words is set out below for easy reference:
Accomplished
Achieved
Delivered
Eliminated
Exceeded
Grew
Maximised
Minimised
Optimised
Spearheaded
Generated
4. Small Mistakes cost you Big
Once you have finished your resume. Proof read it. Then put it away, sleep on it, and proof read it again the next morning. When you are done, ask a close friend or family member to proof read it. Even better, submit it to SuccessGoGo for an insider opinion by a professional in your industry.
Why? Because there should NEVER by any editorial mistakes on your resume. If you are describing how you are a Ronaldo in your previous company, you'd better also not have any silly grammar or spelling mistakes, because Ronaldos don’t make errors like that.
Of all the mistakes above, this is the easiest to solve, yet this is the most common. Do yourself a favour and eliminate ALL grammar, spelling or formatting mistakes. The basic rule is to send your resume and cover letter in a pdf so that formatting stays consistent. In addition, take care to read the submission guidelines. Spell the name of your addressee correctly, double-check the email addresses, double-check your own contact information, see if there is any additional information that you need to provide and prepare accordingly (transcripts etc.). Pay attention and do your best to get everything right. If submitting through a portal, look through the application procedures, prepare accordingly and submit after you have everything ready.
You worked your whole life to get here. Why lose out on your dream job because your resume failed to covey your true AWESOMENESS?
In the next part of this series, we will talk about how to ace the interview once you get the call-up. Stay tuned!
Found this useful? SuccessGoGo consists of a professional network of working professionals in diverse industries, ranging from finance to law to accounting. Submit your Resume for a 100% confidential review, or reach out for a free career consultation today.