How to Write a Great Resume Headline

How to Write a Great Resume Headline How to Write a Great Resume Headline Many people struggle with how to start their resume. Should you write an objective statement describing the type of lage you seek? Or should you just launch right into your career history, figuring thats what employers most want to see?The answer is neither. Instead, I recommend starting your resume with a strong resume headline that clearly communicates who you are and what you have to offer. The reason is simple your resume will be viewed by people who are very busy and who are inundated with other resumes to view. Very often, they will also be filling more than one vacancy. This means that when they look at your resume, they need to immediately understand two things1) What type of job are you applying for?2) Why would you be great at that job? How to create a resume headline For this reason, I like to create resume headlines in two parts. The first part of the headline simply states your target position (for example Marketing Manager or Senior Sales Executive or Junior Accountant.) This allows the busy recruiter, manager or HR rep to mentally assign you into a potential vacancy. (Ah, hes not applying for the sheep shearing job then.)The second part of your headline needs to say why you would be the best marketing manager, senior ausverkauf executive, or junior accountant they could possible hire. And even more importantly, it needs to say it in plain English without waffle words. Dont try to come up with clever wording or branding statements. The recruiter doesnt care. She simply wants facts facts that tell her why you would be successful in her company. So lets take the senior sales executive. He might sayDocumented record of driving sales multimillion dollar sales increases in tough economic times, including recent 40% boost for XYZ Inc. despite decline in overall market. Built and led teams that have beaten sales goals 12 years in a row.If this sub-header is bolded below the headli ne SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE, its hard to imagine too many recruiters who wouldnt want to talk to our executive.But what if you work in a more junior role or one that isnt accountable for delivering sales increases? Thats OK. Delivering 40% sales increases isnt your job, so you have to think about what is. What is the reason employers hire people like you? What skills and achievements are important in your line of work? What personality traits are valued? What results are important?Our marketing manager might emphasize his knowledge of both traditional and new media marketing. Our junior accountant might stress his qualifications along with his 3 years of experience with SAP or his specialty in financial analysis.Here are 3 resume samples that start with powerful headlinesNon-profit executive resume sampleIT Manager sample resumeCTO resume sampleThe key is to make your resume headline factual, easy to read and clearly focused on the specific needs of employers in your industry or field , so that they know exactly why they should hire you. (For more on this, check out How to Write a Resume Summary that Grabs Attention).If youre interested in professional resume help, just shoot me an email with a copy of your resume and Ill get back to you with feedback and a price quote. The best bit? As a reader of this blog (and therefore clearly a person with impeccable taste) you are entitled to claim a 15% discount on our resume writing service. Just mention the blog when you email me.