How to Build Trust with Your Resume

Michael Howard

Most job-seekers like to list skills on their resume. In fact, most experts suggest listing skills on your resume. The problem with simply including a skill set is that the reader has no reason to believe you. You could say that you're an expert in hiring, training, sales management, payroll control, visual presentation, and loss prevention, but that doesn't mean the reader will trust you just because you say it. That's why it's important to back up those statements with proof in the way of accomplishments.

Most people think of accomplishments in terms of financial results like the following:

• Grew sales 6% per year between 2007 and 2010.
• Surpassed sales target by 8% in 2010.
• Increased average transaction from $22.00 to $27.50 in 6 months.

Those types of accomplishments are very important to include. However, any type of impact you had on the company can be stated as an achievement, and that can help build trust with the reader.

Let's use an example. Say you want to highlight the fact that you're skilled in hiring, people development, loss prevention, and new store openings. Many job-seekers include those terms in a skills section like this:
CORE COMPETENCIES
Hiring - People Development - Loss Prevention - New Store Openings

Many job-seekers also expand on the terms themselves by stating what they can do for a potential employer:

• I excel in hiring the right people and can ensure your store is staffed appropriately.
• As a proven leader and developer of talent, I will train and coach your staff to perform up to their potential.
• I will minimize inventory loss by developing and implementing strict controls in the store.
• I am capable of opening multiple new stores simultaneously, while meeting all budgets and project schedules.

Either way, the reader will see no reason to trust you based on those statements alone. They may very well be true but since almost everyone portrays themselves as a miracle worker on their resume, recruiters and hiring managers are rarely convinced. Rather than stating how you hope to use those skills in the future, show how you've used them in the past:

• Hired 15 store managers in the past 5 years; 14 are still with the company.
• Mentored and developed 3 district managers for promotion to regional and national positions.
• Reduced inventory shrink from 2.4% to 1.2%, 3rd out of 55 stores and well below the budget of 2%.
• Opened 16 new stores in 4 states in 2010, all on schedule and under budget.

After reading statements such as these, the recruiter will reach the conclusion that you are in fact skilled in hiring, people development, loss prevention, and new store openings. A certain level of trust will have been established, and that will go a long way to improving your chances of getting called for an interview.

Related to How to Build Trust with Your Resume:

• Skills Inventory
• Researching potential employers
• Interview Advice