00:00Hey, Essence Fest. I'm Letitia Byrd, Grow with Google digital coach for North Carolina.
00:10Grow with Google is partnering with Black Women Lead, an initiative to train 100,000
00:15Black women in digital skills by 2022. We're partnering with the Divine Nine sororities,
00:21the Lynx, and Dress for Success to accomplish this goal.
00:30I have a question for you. How much time on average do you think an employer spends looking
00:35at a resume? Some people will say 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or even as much as 30 minutes.
00:41Although we assume that the employer will read our resume from top to bottom, that's just simply
00:46not the case. On average, most employers spend 6 to 10 seconds. I'm here to let you know there's
00:52no right way to actually write a resume. There are so many different resume styles and formats
00:58that could be appropriate, depending on the job you're applying for. Today, I'm going to share
01:03with you four key things you can do to strengthen your resume. First, choose a professional format.
01:10Second, highlight your skills and accomplishments. Third, ask specific examples. And fourth,
01:17tailor your resume to fit the specific job description. All right, first, let's talk about
01:22choosing a professional format. Depending on the role you're applying for, you may want to create
01:27a more traditional resume. Or for a more creative field, you could design a more creative resume.
01:34Now, you may be thinking, but I don't know how to do all that. Maybe designing resumes just isn't
01:39your thing. So listen, you don't need to have any design skills to create a professional resume.
01:46You can choose from a variety of pre-built Google resume templates that have done the hard work for you.
01:51That's right, we got you. The layout, spots, and colors are different for each one,
01:56but they all contain the same information that you'll need for a resume, like contact info, skills,
02:03experience, education, and accomplishments. To access these templates, go to drive.google.com.
02:10Click new, Google Docs, from a template, and choose a template you like. I won't go into each template
02:16today, but please explore them on your own when you can. Okay, now that we've addressed what type of
02:22resume style to use, let's talk about the next strategy to make your resume more professional.
02:27Highlighting skills and accomplishments. Notice that I said highlight, not list. You don't need to
02:32include everything on your resume. Your resume is not a comprehensive list of all the jobs you've ever
02:38had, or even a list of all the jobs you've been involved in for the last decade. Your goal is to
02:44showcase the skills and accomplishments you have, and to make the employer want to call you in for an
02:50interview. You may want to convince them that you're a good fit for the job, and they don't need
02:55to know everything you've done to accomplish that. So, what do hiring managers actually want to see?
03:02Skills and accomplishments that are most relevant to the job you're applying for. Don't be afraid to
03:08remove jobs from your resume that just aren't relevant. Okay, now on to our third tip. Use specific
03:14examples and measurable details in your work experience to show what you have accomplished. I like to call
03:20this showing impact. What specifically have you done, and how has it impacted your co-workers,
03:26your team, or the company? One way is to use specific examples from your previous experience.
03:33The second way is to use measurable details whenever possible to quantify the work that you've done.
03:38For example, you might say that you increased sales at your current job, but by how much? Now our last
03:45strategy is to tailor your resume for each job you're applying to. Many businesses use screening
03:51software to narrow the pile of possible candidates before a manager even looks at them. When you create
03:56a resume for a particular job, you want to incorporate as many keywords into your resume as possible.
04:03So, to close out, let's review our four strategies. First, choose a professional format. Second, highlight your
04:11skills and experience. Third, include specific examples and measurable details. And finally,
04:18tailor your resume for the job you want. Thank you so much for tuning in. We covered a lot today.
04:24For more tips and to keep learning from us, check us out at grow.google.com slash blackwomenlead.
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