Marysville man shares his resume-writing skills

Published 11:02 pm Tuesday, April 21, 2009

You have my sympathy if you are out of work.

Things are tough out there. Perhaps you’ve sent dozens and dozens of resumes and are not getting called for any interviews.

What’s the deal? The resume clearly lists your job skills. Right up front it says you are a “people person” who wants to increase profitability for the company.

Sorry, but that isn’t the best way to catch the eye of a recruiter, said Don Burrows of Marysville.

He knows his stuff and will talk about his ideas Thursday in Marysville. He’s done human resources consulting around the world, in Spanish and English, with Acorn Consulting Inc.

“A little over a month ago, I listened with tingling awe and excitement as President Obama exhorted us to volunteer our skills to help each other,” said Burrows, 63. “I am a bilingual trainer, consultant, speaker and author by profession. My sort-of hobby for three-plus decades has been writing accomplishment-based resumes to help people get their careers back on track.”

What he calls an accomplishment-based resume is quite different from the typical reverse-chronological resume. Typical resumes list your jobs history, starting with your most recent job first, make your resume look like everyone else’s, he said.

He can teach folks how to write a resume so it’s not lost in an 8-inch high stack of mind-numbingly similar and lifeless job applications.

In a nutshell, he recommends customizing your applications for each company. Job hunters should research what the company stands for and tell them precisely how you can meet their needs.

“As an employer, I did not care about the applicant’s job duties and responsibilities,” he said. “I cared about what problems he or she faced and fixed.”

Detail accomplishments, not activities.

“Resumes that stand out prompt more attentive reading, which often leads to a phone call and an interview. Which of course is the point.”

He is giving one of his programs at Uppercase Books and Collectables in Snohomish. Owner Lorraine Read met Burrows at her shop.

They chatted.

“He is a very nice man, compassionate, as well as passionate and knowledgeable about what he does,” Read said. “I think what he is offering is very timely and very important for the community.”

Burrows lives with his wife Karin and their pets, a Doberman, dachshund and a cat. Karin Burrows is a cancer survivor and her husband is active in walks to raise money for research.

She is from Ballard. He fell in love with Washington while on a consulting assignment.

Professionally, he was a graduate teaching instructor of Spanish and director of a language laboratory at the University of Maryland. He spent 20 years in human resources as a manager, director and vice president in hospitality, manufacturing, financial services and an agri-business.

In 2007 he wrote “Plan While You Still Can: 16 end-of-life checklists you need now.” For more information, go to www.PlanWhileYouStillCan.com.

Burrows has helped rewrite hundreds of resumes.

Folks have told him that by following his plan, they’ve been called for job interviews.

As he says “Your resume has to stand out like a meatball on spaghetti.”

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.

Learn more

Here are two opportunities to attend a program by Don Burrows about writing accomplishment-based resumes.

n 6 p.m. Thursday, The Barn in Jennings Park, 6915 Armar Road, Marysville. No charge, just bring a food bank donation. 425-231-0085.

n 10 a.m. April 29, Uppercase Books and Collectables, 611 Second St., Snohomish. $10 benefits Seattle Children’s hospital in Seattle. Personal resume review, noon to 1 p.m. 360-568-5987.

Resume tips

To have your resume stand out in a big stack of applications:

n Don’t use a one-size-fits-all resume. Customize your objective, special skills, abilities and accomplishments to each specific job.

n Tell employers what problems you faced and fixed; giving them a list of job duties will not make your resume pop.

n Tell employers what you can do for them. Present yourself as an asset, someone who will make money for them.

n Overcome a jumpy job history by using a functional or accomplishment-based resume, not a reverse-chronological one.

n Select key words from the job posting and use the words in both your resume and your cover letter.

n For more information about writing resumes, go yo www.oneinamillionresumes.com/index.php.