Promotion Based Resume Writing

by: Lincoln E. Bittner

It is a reality in today’s business world that to move up into management, you often have to look outside of your current company. This is because most employers can’t seem to see you for more than the position that you currently occupy. In other companies, you have to apply for a position just like someone who is coming from the outside. In both cases, you are required to have a resume that shows your talents. So let’s get started.

Make A List

The form of your resume is not as important as the content is, no matter what you may hear or think. You can’t design a resume if you don’t have any qualifications and experience to put into it. You need to find out who you are, and what experiences qualify you for management. Remember that if you have ever supervised people, you were managing them, title or not. To do this you start with your current position, and work back through your career. Include any duties that you performed in community service or volunteer service positions. Remember, you will be asked about the items on your resume, and they will be checked with your current and former employers, so you must be able to quantify the items listed.

• List your duties. Even if you only did a particular duty once, list it. Look at those things that would be managerial, not just functional. Make sure that you identify which company you performed each item for.


• List your contributions. Did you find a better way to do something that increased the quality of the product or the efficiency of the operation?


• List any rewards that you received. 


• List any special training that you received while with the company that could even remotely be related to management training. Such training could be seminars on supervision, interviewing skills, or techniques on enhancing interpersonal skills.

Decide On A Resume Style

This may sound like a no-brainer, but I assure you that your resume style has as much to do with you getting selected to come in for an interview as does the content of the resume. A management resume looks and “feels” different than a resume for an office or blue-collar position. It has different qualities about it, and the focus is different. A good manager takes the time to research every decision, and you will want to spend a great deal of time researching this. The best resumes that I have seen have come from internet job sites that have resumes posted that I could look at. Your resume must include the following information, including the sub-category information. If you leave any of these items out, someone else will be selected to fill the position.

• Header. This is the area at the top of professional stationary that has the senders name, address, phone number, email address, and pager number if there is one.


• Skip the objective! It is obvious that your objective is to get this job. Don’t waste their time with this.


• Summary. This is where you summarize who and what you are, and what your goals are. You must be specific. Don’t generalize, and keep it to no more than three short sentences. Generalization  is “a people person with exceptional skills who desires the opportunity to make a difference in business.” A specific summary could read, “A leader with 19 years of operations experience in the distribution industry and a proven talent for contributing to profits by combining process improvements with technology.”  You want them to see you as a person who has managed. And this is where you tell the reader that you are a leader.


• Accomplishments. These should tell the reader of your leadership capabilities as well as your contributions to the company, or the organization that you belong to. It is okay to list volunteer accomplishments here as long as they show you to be a leader with good decision making skills.


• Work History. This should include the usual company name, dates and positions, but what comes next can make the difference in the screening process. Include the following in one form or another in the text below the history item:


1. Company description. A brief, one line description of what the company does.


2. Total Reports. To be a manager, you must have managed people. This allows you to show the potential employer that you have managed people, even if you didn’t have the title.


3. Mission. What is it that you were supposed to do for the company in your current or last position.


4. Salary. You can leave this in or take it out as you see fit. Always list your salary as a monthly figure. Even if you are paid by the hour, average what your monthly earnings are, and list it this way. Employers think about salaries by the month, and you will be doing yourself a favor by giving them the information in a format that they can understand.


5. Accomplishments. This is where you use the list you made earlier. List those accomplishments that show decision-making skills, people skills, or supervisory skills. Of particular value are team accomplishments where you were the supervisor, and you listed the accomplishment in a team setting.


6. Promotions. Always list this last, otherwise it could be offensive to the employer. By listing it last, you present yourself as someone who is promotable, but who does not value promotion over the greater good of the company.
• Education. If you have had some college, list the college and your major, but do not list dates. If you are currently attending college, list ‘degree in progress’ after your major. If you have graduated, list the degree and the date you received it. Do not list your high school. Also, list any special seminars or workshops from the list mentioned above. Make sure that they speak of management training. Unless there is a particularly good reason, such as job requirement, do not list vocational or trade seminars.

Organize The Resume

Not all employers will list the same requirements, or if they do list similar requirements, they are not in the same order. The order of the list tells you the importance of each requirement listed. Pay careful attention to this, and rearrange the order of the accomplishments on you resume to match their order as closely as possible. This makes it easier for the employer to see you as a good match to their position.

Finally, an item that is not in this article is the cover letter. I could write a separate article on this subject, but I would be mirroring what others have already said. In short, research the company, and personalize the cover letter to that company. Put in something that lets them know that you have done your homework. Be careful, it is easy to come across the wrong way. I suggest that you research cover letter writing before doing it wrong. Moving into management can be a lot of work-everything in management is-but if you are going to do it, do it right and do your homework.

About TML Business Services LLC

TML Business Services LLC has over 27 years of business management experience and more than 10 years of strategic advisory experience. We have been providing risk analysis and process engineering services to business and government agencies since 1998 and are available to discuss your needs with you. No two engagements are alike and using our proven methodology, we can provide the level of service your company is seeking. Contact us today and get started on a path to realizing your company's vision!