This is the second article in a series by our Guest Blogger Jack Thomas.

In the first of this series, I asked you to keep separate notes on each job or educational experience. Now you’ll find out why. Whether you decide to proceed with the resume yourself, or if you have to decided to have someone else do it for you, I want you to follow the same instructions. Part of selling yourself is to see things in a bigger picture frame of mind. You need to really focus on each experience and describe in detail, or at least expound on what the experience is. If you do it yourself, you should write it out first. If you’re having someone else do it, be sure you can at least explain it to them for the purposes of putting it in writing.
Here’s an example:

Let’s say you are an assistant in a small office.

You could say- Office assistant for Company Z.;

or

Associate for Company Z in charge of meeting daily and weekly deadlines,budget adherence and contacting customers about finished product availability.

Which is going to get the all important second look?

The same goes with your educational experience.

You can say- Finished 2 years of college with Associates degree in Business.

But I think you would rather have someone read this:

Attended BBB College for 2 years with studies in Business Management, Introduction to International Marketing and Product Promotion. Culminated with Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management.

This is a very real scenario that may involve the same person. It is however how that person portrays and projects themselves that pushes them forward in the application/resume process. Note, it does not necessarily mean the 2nd person is more qualified than the first, it just gives them the edge in moving ahead in the process.

You need to follow these guidelines throughout the resume process. Some will discourage you from using too much and some companies may indeed have a set format for their resume. That’s OK. You still do the same thing on paper for yourself. Why? If you are fortunate enough to make it past the resume and into the interview phase, you will have had plenty of practice on expanding the description of what your experiences are. So those extra notes are NEVER a waste of time.

Not too long ago, I interviewed a person for a customer service position for a national corporation. When I asked him to explain what he did that stood out amongst others, he stared at me blankly. When the interview was concluded, he told me that my interview was very tough and asked if I could help him do better in future interviews. I asked him why he felt it was so tough.  After all, I just asked him to describe some of the things he had done for customers with his previous employers that would be considered excellent. He told me that no one had ever told him that his actions were excellent, but he came with very good reviews from those employers. He then started to tell me some things that he felt were minor. “You know,” he said, “things I did for people one on one, that maybe my bosses didn’t know about.” He gave me several brilliant examples. I  asked him-Why didn’t you use those in the interview?

He said he never thought much about them. Then he thanked me. He got it! And you need to as well. No one can sell you better than you! Remember, interviews now may be face to face or over the phone or on net meeting on a computer. The process remains the same. Get good at it. I wanted to tie part of the interview process in with the resume with this article, and now I hope you understand why. You must be able to back up and explain everything in your resume should you be fortunate enough to advance in the process.

Always apply the three X’s- Expand, Explain and Examples.

Next - The dreaded on line application.