Corporate Meetings
February 12, 2025
Effective communication is the process of successful transmission of the message from the sender o the receiver. If the receiver is able to download the message in exactly the same way as the sender intended to do, communication is effective. The receiver must understand what the speaker wants to convey and accordingly must give his […]
Introduction Research has shown that recruiters on an average have about thirty to forty seconds for each resume they screen before they decide whether to take it to the next round or discard it. Therefore, it becomes imperative that you prepare a resume that is as compelling and as attractive to recruiters as your work […]
Brain Lateralization theory stress on the fact that the two halves of the brain known as right and left hemispheres function differently but yet interdependently. If we study the brain anatomy, we will understand that the brain is divided into 2 hemispheres which are connected by the corpus callosum. Both these hemispheres regulate the body […]
In the previous article, we have read about what multi-year reinsurance contracts are. We now know what these unconventional contracts are and why they are becoming increasingly popular with the passage of time. However, we only understood the arrangement from the point of view of the ceding insurer. It is important for us to also […]
The Business Case for Agile Organisations Each age or era in business has its own defining method of doing business. If it was the top down bureaucratic model in the Industrial Era, it was the flatter organisational structure in the services age. Now, as we are on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and […]
“Wow Factor” is about achieving harmony or a balance between the distinguishable qualities, your new passions, and strengths. The wow factor is the USP that distinguishes you from others and attracts attention. A lot of us hardly bother to analyze what their wow factor could be, but the fact is that all of us possess it. In a highly competitive job world where one has hardly a few seconds to capture the recruiter’s attention, a resume should be able to stand out amidst the clutter.
According to an analytical study by The Ladders, the average time taken by recruiters to scrutinize a resume is just six seconds. The recruiters also extensively make use of the Application Tracking Systems (ATS) to shortlist the resumes that meet their benchmarked criteria or scores. Under this scenario, if your resume fails to fulfill the standards or the benchmarks of the ATS, then it may not even be seen by the recruiters. So, how will you be crafting an effective and impressive resume that will attract the attention of both humans and the ATS applications eventually helping you land the interviews and the job offers?
The first step in discovering the wow factor begins with self-awareness and involves a careful thought process, analysis, and gut-checking. While preparing your branding statement, stress should be on maintaining specificity, objective orientation, and achievements across the career. Here’s an example of a statement that lacks specificity, achievement orientation, and does not show action:
To achieve specificity, this could be written as:
To achieve action focus in your resume, replace passive language (responsible, accountable) with powerful action verbs such as pioneered, grew, developed, drove, established, transformed, and a lot more. Described below are a few of the effective strategies on how one can include a wow factor in different sections of the resume.
Summary section of the resume: Bland or generic resume summaries are no longer in demand in the current job market; instead, it has been replaced by smart and crisply written career snapshots. Ideally, two to three wow statements can be included in a snapshot to capture the attention of the reader with your noteworthy career highlights or success stories. Alternatively, you can highlight one of your personal branding statements at the top of your resume and include two more wow statements in the summary section to let the recruiters know the value you can add and your unique strengths.
While drafting the WOW statements, you must aim for maintaining brevity to make a bigger impact with fewer words. The objective of a well-written summary should be to offer a quick snapshot and the details can be provided in the experience section of your resume. Also, your hiring managers will be scanning for the industry-specific keywords or the hard skills, and incorporating them into the wow statements will be an ideal way to attract quick attention.
Given below are some of the examples of wow statements used for C-Suite level profiles:
The Experience section of the resume: The experience section of the resume should capture career achievements instead of responsibilities handled during different professional stints. You need to describe at least the recent 3-4 experiences in achievement-centric terms in reverse chronological order. It would be recommended to at least describe 3-5 major achievements for important roles.
If you are struggling to recollect your achievements for those relevant roles, then you can recall those special events or experiences when you must have been appreciated for making a meaningful difference with your contributions in the context of that role. Prepare a list of these achievements in 3-5 bullet points for each role.
Described below are a few examples of achievement-centric descriptions of the experience section for senior-level professionals in bullet points:
Honors & Awards and Education Section: Include honors & awards in the topmost section of your resume if it is relevant to the position you are applying for. If you have a good enough list of accolades, then create a special space in your resume to prominently highlight your achievements, as this could serve as a crucial wow factor for influencing your recruiters.
If you are applying for a role that requires a certain type of certification or a degree such as an MBA, then do highlight it at the forefront and provide the complete details of that qualification in the education section at the end of your resume.
Listing the Contact Details and Social Media Links: Your details such as your name, mobile number, personal email address, and also your LinkedIn account or website links should be prominently highlighted on the top of your resume.
The other criteria that would be impressive for the recruiters to see in your resume may be your details of high-profile clients that you have handled, list of publications, affiliations/memberships, patents, board positions, and public speaking engagements.
To sum up, the wow factor provides your resume a differentiating edge and can maximize your chance of bringing you a step closer to the job that you have aspired for. So, utmost attention should be given to all those elements which make your resume sound memorable and impressive to wow the recruiters.
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