You Can't Not Hire Me

Thanks to the topsy-turvy economy, many marketing professionals who never planned to make a career change are suddenly looking for work. And if you belong to this job-seeking brigade—or suspect you might soon join their number—it's time to get that resume in order.

In a feature at the Editorial Emergency newsletter, Simon Glickman and Julia Rubiner asked recruiter Keva Dine for her resume-writing insights. "If I don't 'get' you after reading your resume—skimming it, if you want the truth—you haven't effectively differentiated, or branded, yourself," she told them.

So how do you stand out from the crowd? Editorial Emergency offers pointers like these:

You don't have to list jobs in chronological order. Rather, frontload your most relevant experience so the reader doesn't dismiss your resume before reaching what you really want her to see. "This is sometimes called a 'functional' resume," say Glickman and Rubiner. "It's arranged by order of importance. Sacrificing strategy to chronology is so 20th century."

Rely on compelling stories, not old clichés about your "strong work ethic." "Use (brief) anecdotes to illustrate your productivity, your efficiency, your indispensability," they recommend. "Give life to the tale of your 11th-hour campaign pitch (illustrated by nothing more than stick-figure sketches), which won your outfit a $12 million contract with ActiVision."

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