Marketability Through Value

Resume writing lessons inspired by HBO’s Game of Thrones

I have a friend who works for the IRS. I have a friend who recently transitioned from the military. I have a wife who’s now looking to start a new career (and transitioning from the military). The one thing they all have in common is anxiety over finding a new job. With tech companies laying off part of their workforce, RTO mandates, and a new administration in the White House, folks are anxious. So how can we get an edge?

If you don’t already follow @randomrecruiter, do it now. You won’t regret it. I had this article in my draft’s folder when I read his tweet that perfectly summarized the article I was writing:

Credit: @RandomRecruiter on X

It all comes down to the value you can deliver today. So how does this translate to a resume? Consider Daenerys Targaryen’s in the HBO series Game of Thrones. As the show went on, Daenerys stacked up quite the resume: Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, etc. I don’t want to hire an anti-slavery advocate, I want to hire someone who already broke chains. Why? Because in the Earned Value world, I can’t bill the customer until the first chain is broken. I need results.

Resumes need results. In the EV planning world, we call these “action verbs”. We don’t bill the customer to “discuss” something, we bill them to submit, or conclude, or finalize. The same is true for résumé’s. The resume you submitted with “five years of experience in sales” is sitting next to 300 other resumes that all say “experience in sales”, but what value did that experience create for the company? When value is created, results speak for themselves.

Let’s use a real-world analogy. During the pandemic, I was a field engineer for a modern fighter Jet. On my resume, I explained my duties as interpreting engineering documents. I was significantly more advanced than some of my peers, but our resumes were identical. So what made me so advanced? Results. I authored a deficiency report that saved the program tens of thousands of dollars.

Jacob Willey: Interpreter of documents

Jacob Willey: Author of product improvement resulting in $10k savings

Results don’t necessarily have to come from your 9-5 job. If you know anything about service organizations, you know they put you to work as soon as you’re a member. Holly (my wife) has managed projects as a Rotarian anywhere from water purification in Haiti to running a hurricane shelter during hurricane Irma. As a recent graduate, her volunteer work provides results to compliment her education. Your local Rotary, Kiwanis, or other service organization is a great place to start for those that need results!

So take another look at your resume. What resulted from your efforts? If you were hired today, what could you produce tomorrow? What value do you deliver on day one?