It was an honor have been asked to be a guest speaker at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), the third largest college in the State of Wisconsin. The topic was Resumes. As an MATC alum myself, it’s great to help young students entering a career.
Today, resumes are a lot more than just resumes. Resumes are a lot more than a list of responsibilities, education, certifications, and employment histories. It’s ALL about DEMONSTRATING A CAPACITY TO SUCCEED on paper. I call the concept DACTS – Demonstrating a Capacity to Succeed. Effective resumes need to come to life and reach out to the hiring manager in a way where they say “wow.”
For the most part, students lack the experience that many employers are looking for, however, the good news is that there are strategic ways to Demonstrate a Capacity to Succeed with the right detailed documentation of project-based work, describe work experience and responsibilities using accomplishments, starting bullet-points with action words, proactively obtaining and incorporating testimonials, incorporating transferable skills unrelated to the specific role, focusing on character, and much more.
More and more managers hire people for the person they are. The best experience a person can have is experience in succeeding in roles for which someone walked into and had no prior experience. Show what you accomplished and how you were able to figure it out and make it happen. This demonstrates a capacity to succeed. Show an ownership, accountability, and responsibility mindset with all tasks while never blaming others.
I used to speak at many events on various topics, including crowds of hundreds of attendees. Over the past two years, I would not accept speaking engagements due to work commitments. However, after receiving so many invitations and experiences with boards, round-table discussions, strategy sessions, committees, and more, a clear demand exists regarding resumes, interview prep, and interview follow-up strategies. I have spoken at many functions recently and am happy to speak very specifically detailed strategies that will help young people starting off in their career.