{"id":1013,"date":"2013-04-29T12:24:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T20:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?p=1013"},"modified":"2022-12-16T11:02:01","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T19:02:01","slug":"7-things-hollywood-can-teach-about-how-to-write-a-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/7-things-hollywood-can-teach-about-how-to-write-a-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Things Hollywood Can Teach about How to Write a Resume"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood is arguably the biggest and most experienced marketing machine in the world. It earmarks <\/span>massive budgets<\/a> for feature flicks and often exceeds them because it has mastered the art of advertising the appeal of these films to the masses. In fact, Hollywood is so great at crafting amazing movie trailers that we <\/span>often feel duped<\/a> once we\u2019ve actually paid for and committed hours to watching a bad movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while Hollywood may want, or even need, to trick us into seeing a terrible movie, you definitely don\u2019t want to take the same approach when applying for a job and marketing yourself to hiring managers. However, there are plenty of lessons that Hollywood can teach you about how to write a killer resume.<\/p>\n

#1 – Showcase the Highlights<\/b><\/h2>\n

When you watch a movie trailer, it\u2019s packed with snippets of the best parts of the film. If you\u2019re watching one for an action movie, there\u2019s no doubt you will see a bunch of explosions, car chases, fights, and other action-packed scenes. All of this is done to give you a taste of the movie as a whole rather than allowing you to consume the whole movie via the trailer (at least, you hope!).<\/p>\n

The goal of a movie trailer is to get you excited about the movie, so excited that it compels you to go see it! Your resume must have the same effect. If it isn\u2019t exciting, what other reason does a hiring manager have to move you through to the next step of the interview process?<\/p>\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking: resumes are impossible to make exciting.<\/b> Not true! I get excited about Kibin editor applications all the time. When I receive a resume that highlights experience in a way that fits with our needs, I immediately move that person onto the next step.<\/p>\n

#2 – Edit Ruthlessly: Keep It Short<\/b><\/h2>\n

How long is the average movie trailer? You probably don\u2019t know. But you wouldn\u2019t be surprised if I told you that movie trailers must be shorter than 2 minutes and 30 seconds<\/a>. While that\u2019s a great benchmark for advertising your soon-to-be-released flick, it doesn\u2019t help you much when advertising yourself to a potential employer.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the best length for your resume?<\/p>\n

While opinions vary<\/a>, I\u2019m a huge advocate of the one-page resume. It\u2019s clear that we, as humans, have very short attention spans. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you blame genetics, the media, Twitter or Facebook. The fact remains that we are easily bored. And you definitely don\u2019t want someone becoming bored with your resume!<\/p>\n

Hack out anything that doesn\u2019t really <\/i><\/b>matter, and get it down to one page. I see too many experienced people wanting to include every job they\u2019ve had for the past 20 years. Don\u2019t. It\u2019s now easier than ever to create a short resume without leaving anything out.<\/p>\n

How?<\/p>\n

Add everything under the sun to your LinkedIn profile, and put a simple snippet at the bottom that says something like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo learn more about other positions I\u2019ve held, please see my LinkedIn profile at: http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/travisbiz<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If hiring managers really want to know every detail about your past, they\u2019ll appreciate the ease at which you provide them the opportunity to do some cyber stalking.<\/p>\n

\t<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
Is your resume really ready?<\/div>\n\t\t\t
Get expert feedback & corrections, 24\/7.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tYes! Edit my resume.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

#3 – Leave Them Wanting More<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve done a good job with showcasing your highlights and keeping it short, this one is much easier. However, many people still go into too much detail even after they\u2019ve chosen to include only the most relevant information on their resumes.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s think back to movie trailers. Nobody wants to watch a trailer and feel like you\u2019ve been told the entire story in that short two and a half minutes. The same goes for your resume. Hiring managers don\u2019t want to read your resume and feel like they now know everything about you.<\/b> That\u2019s a rookie mistake!<\/p>\n

You need to leave your reader wanting more, feeling compelled to invite you in for an interview. Just as we\u2019re bombarded with movie trailers each week, hiring managers are bombarded with resumes. If you give too much away, it\u2019s too easy for your readers to make up their minds about you before you have the chance to get in front of them.<\/p>\n

The good news is that it\u2019s easy to prevent this. All you have to do is make sure you do not expand on your highlights.<\/b> That\u2019s right. You read that correctly. A resume is no place to expand on the things that make you great. Save that for the interview.<\/p>\n

By doing this, you leave your readers wanting more. Rather than reading all about a particular job or achievement, they\u2019ll be intrigued to hear more about it from you directly. The last thing you want to do is cover too much information in your resume and be left with nothing to talk about during an interview.<\/p>\n

Just as a movie trailer is a stepping stone to get people to go see the full-length film, your resume is a tool to earn an interview. Don\u2019t give away the whole story before you have a chance to tell it!<\/p>\n

#4 – Cast the Right Characters<\/b><\/h2>\n

Every movie has a plot and storyline. Some of them are incredible, while others… not so much<\/a>. Furthermore, actors are carefully selected for the type of role they\u2019ll be playing. Chances are Danny Devito wouldn\u2019t be selected to play a heart-throbbing hunk in a frilly chick flick.<\/p>\n

Your resume ideally strives to accomplish the same thing. Your past experiences and jobs need to relate to the position you are applying for. If they don\u2019t, you\u2019ll leave your audience lost and confused. If something seems unrelated to the position you\u2019re applying for, make it clear why it\u2019s of relevance or omit it. Leaving it in only makes you seem less qualified than you may actually be.<\/p>\n

While this may seem obvious, it\u2019s a very common mistake. This often means that your resume may be slightly or completely different for each position you apply for. Even if positions are related, you still want to tailor your resume for your audience and what employers expect from a potential candidate.<\/p>\n

#5 – Nail the Details<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/b>

Some more extreme movie fanatics may even walk out of the theater, cursing the director and crew for having such little concern for their movie-going experience. The same thing can happen with your resume if you submit it with typos and small errors.<\/p>\n

Hiring managers take typos quite seriously; just one can send your application packing<\/a>! The assumption here is that if you\u2019re careless when submitting your resume, you\u2019re most likely going to be a careless employee.<\/b> It\u2019s hard to argue with that logic.<\/p>\n

So before you submit your resume, have it double checked by a friend at the very minimum. It is even wiser to have one of Kibin\u2019s professional resume editors<\/a> take a look at it instead.<\/p>\n

#6 – Include a Plot Twist<\/b><\/h2>\n

As moviegoers, we absolutely love<\/i><\/b> a good plot twist. The Usual Suspects, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense, <\/i>and Se7en <\/i>are just some of the movies that we love because they take us in a direction we never saw coming.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what makes plot twists so powerful. We think we know exactly how the movie is going to play out, and then… WHAM!<\/i> All of our assumptions are thrown out the window, and we\u2019re on the edge of our seats, delighted by the new turn of events.<\/p>\n

So what does this have to do with your resume?<\/p>\n

Quite a bit, actually.<\/p>\n

Like it or not, people will stereotype you as soon as they begin reading your resume.<\/b> If you majored in engineering, it\u2019s highly likely that people will assume that you are socially awkward. If you majored in communications, you\u2019re probably personable and easy to talk to, but people may also assume you struggle with data and analysis.<\/p>\n

People may also form assumptions about you based on your previous jobs or where you went to college. While this sucks and doesn\u2019t seem right, there\u2019s little you can do to prevent these assumptions from forming.<\/p>\n

However, you can completely disprove these stereotypes by playing up the skills and experience you possess beyond your major. If you do this, you not only stand out, but you prove that you\u2019re a well-rounded applicant that should never be underestimated.<\/p>\n

#7 – Boast Your Box Office Stats<\/b><\/h2>\n

Movies live and die by box office stats. New movies are immediately judged by their opening weekend numbers and viewed as a success or failure based on their overall gross figures. And it\u2019s not hard to understand why.<\/p>\n

Numbers and data are easy ways to compare things and judge success. Saying that a movie \u201cperformed well\u201d is perhaps interesting, but saying a movie \u201cgrossed $250 million in its opening weekend\u201d is much more powerful and effective.<\/p>\n

This is something you absolutely must keep in mind when writing your resume.<\/p>\n

Pick through each bullet point, and see which ones you can quantify with numbers. This is easy for sales people, but for others it can be a bit more challenging. Did a project you worked on increase productivity on your team or company? By how much? Did you come up with a new and more efficient process that your department implemented? Did it increase sales or decrease expenses? Tell me how much it did these things with hard numbers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to read things like \u201cInitiated and implemented new social media marketing software that increased team productivity<\/i>.\u201d But it\u2019s also a bit flimsy, and it almost sounds like you could have just made that up. What if you were able to say \u201cDecreased time spent on social media marketing by 3 hours per week by initiating the implementation of new software<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that\u2019s interesting! By quantifying the impact of your efforts, you give the statement more legitimacy.<\/b> It also shows that you\u2019re results driven and measure the effectiveness of the things you do. That\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>\n

Which one of these seven tips do you find the most useful? Are there others we missed? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hollywood is arguably the biggest and most experienced marketing machine in the world. It earmarks massive budgets for feature flicks and often exceeds them because it has mastered the art of advertising the appeal of these films to the masses. In fact, Hollywood is so great at crafting amazing movie trailers that we often feel … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/b> “7 Things Hollywood Can Teach about How to Write a Resume”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,35],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Things Hollywood Can Teach about How to Write a Resume - Kibin Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trying to figure out how to write a resume? We've got some awesome tips in this blog post that you won't find anywhere else. 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