by Deborah Walker
Most job seekers believe that salary negotiation starts once they have an offer in hand,
but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, your resume can make the difference
between negotiating at the top end of the salary range -- or the bottom end -- in your next job offer.
If that sounds strange to you, consider the following points:
A prospective employer's first impression of you is created entirely by your resume.
The employer's first impression of you will assign a value and build a level of urgency for the
employer to contact you -- before someone else does.
First impressions are nearly impossible to change.
If your resume sells your skills short, then you can't expect to receive offers at the upper end of
your salary scale. Your current resume could be losing you thousands of dollars in income power.
By making a few key changes in your resume now, you can position yourself for higher salaries
in the future.
Three resume strategies can promote high salary negotiation success:
1. Show that you are a high return on investment with quantifiable results.
Many job-seekers throw around the phrase "results oriented," but they fail to back it up with
concrete evidence -- leaving the reader to conclude otherwise. You may feel that you have
no quantifiable evidence of your value in previous jobs, but every job has quantifiable results that
can better reflect your worth on your resume. Revenue, sales dollars, and material costs are
not the only results that use numbers.
Consider using the number of person-hours saved in process improvements, the percentage
of repeat customers, or the number of peers helped by a particular efficiency to help reflect
your abilities. Every employee is hired to solve problems, and most problems have some
quantifiable element at their core.
2. Illustrate the breadth of your experience.
Notice the use of the word "breadth" rather than "length" of experience. Just because a
candidate has been doing a job for a long time does not necessarily mean he is worth more.
Breadth of experience focuses on quality, not quantity.
You can express your breadth of experience in two key ways:
Industry knowledge: Since industry expertise is usually in high demand, you can show
your value through insider understanding of industry issues.
Transferable skills: If your career spans many industries within the same occupation,
highlight the transferable skills that have enabled you to bridge the gaps from industry to industry.
3. Entice the reader to want to know more about you.
Job-seekers often make the mistake of assuming that the job of their resume is to inform
the reader. Not so! The only job of your resume is to entice the reader to want to
know more about you.
What that translates to is an understanding of what to include and what to leave off your
resume. Too much detail can distract the reader and lose his or her interest, but not enough
information, and the reader will wonder what you have been doing with your life. A proper
balance between detail and result will win the reader's interest and leave them saying,
"I've got to call this person for an interview today!"
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information
(definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's
Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Deborah Walker is a Certified Career Management Coach. Her expertise includes
resume writing and career coaching. She holds membership in the National Resume
Writer's Association. As a former headhunter, her advice comes from an insider's
prospective based on years working with HR professionals and corporate hiring
managers. Visit
Deb on the Web. Or email her for a free resume critique/price quote at
deb@alphaadvantage.com.
Review all our resume tools and resources in the
Salary Negotiation
and Job Offer Tools and Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
