Words that Change Lives

The words you write for your clients and the words you speak will affect their lives, and the lives of their families for years. That’s what sets you apart as a professional résumé writer and career coach from the wannabees and rip-off “artists.” It is, or should be, part of your brand. It should drive all your marketing and networking efforts as well.

Underlying everything we do is our ability to communicate exceptionally well. Most people don’t really have a clear definition of that term. We must; it sets the quality standard for all we do.

That’s important because it is a very, very rare client who can write or speak exceptionally well. You know that from the résumés they bring you, from their LinkedIn profiles, from the worksheets they fill out, even from their emails and posts.

Most of us think of our communication skills as they apply to writing. Communicating very well in writing is more than the ability to recite the basic concepts, more than a knowledge of grammar. 

Programs for career professionals often don’t have time to teach to that level. Most colleges have full semesters devoted to the subject. Moreover, it’s one learned by practice, honed with a “sounding board,” and tested in the “real world.”

We must write with enormous precision and power. We must be masters of style and tone. And if that weren’t difficult enough, what we write must sound like our clients. We want each one to appear as good in person as we portray him on paper. 

How easy it is to fall into the trap of writing for, or with, an algorithm. I suspect AI drives many job seekers to write their own documents. To them, it must seem an improvement. But they never think of what drives us to write with excellence.

Our potential clients forget humans—many different kinds of humans—must ultimately read their résumés. We, on the other hand, know it’s humans, not “key words,” who hire our clients. 

At the top of your list of readers is your client. It’s more than asking them if you inadvertently gave too much or too little credit. It’s more than asking them if you have reflected their word choices and philosophies. It’s more than using their jargon well. 

Do your clients really see their true value? Could they use the résumé you wrote as a template for outstanding interviews? After all, one of the roles and missions of the résumé is to entice (usually) untrained interviewers to ask our clients questions they both want to explore. If we leave that in interviewers’ hands, our will get interrogated. But what both parties want are collaborations.

Too often, we find ourselves writing for HR specialists. They certainly must be considered. Most use what we write to help determine how well our client fits in. 

But they also know as much about our clients career field, as our clients know about the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 203 (as amended). That’s a key reason why we must write excellently. The HR manager must see our client’s thinking made visible. 

Of course, there is the hiring decision maker. He’s the one with the greatest stake. She is also your client’s likely boss. She will judge not only fit, but knowledge, wisdom, and potential.

Then there is a diversity in work culture. Public sector hiring decision makers work in a culture quite different from their counterparts in the private and non-profit sectors. Veterans work in a setting that is very, very different than those who never served, and that includes 95% of all hiring officials.   

Let me illustrate with two corporate cover letters. The first is from a hard-charging Chief of Staff looking for a position with a U.S. senator:

“Dear Senator Smith:

Your search for a Chief of Staff is over. Tell your secretary to expect my call at 10:00 on the dot next Tuesday. 

I need 12 minutes in your office. If I cannot convince you I can get your bills out of committee in that time, I shall leave under my own power.

But if I can, I’ll be ready to start work on the first day of the next pay period.”

That’s who my client is. That’s how the Senator operates. And yes, she got the job.

Let’s compare that letter with cover letter for a pastor and civil rights leader:

“Dear (head of the pastor search committee):

Ever since I learned of the opportunity to serve Second Baptist Church, my prayer has been to find the best way to get you the information you need to make your choice a well-respected one. 

I hesitated at first. Just over a year ago, I heeded the call to leave a 126-year-old church: the cradle of the voting rights movement. I’d seen our congregation grow mightily in every way: in diversity, in true fellowship, in service to our communities, and to God. Nevertheless, I thought He was calling me to a new mission: to guide the inner city poor to Christ in one of the most impoverished cities in the nation: Baltimore.

I went hopefully, knowing Christ would provide not for me alone, but for the family of the Second Baptist Church of Baltimore. I couldn’t have come at a better time.

Our church was and continues to be strong in faith. What gave me the greatest reward was building on that old foundation to revitalize the congregation. It’s grown 20 percent in the last year, it’s more united than ever. And it’s providing community services on a never-before-seen scale of generosity and grace. 

Why would I ever want to leave what others might see as such a comfortable situation? There are two reasons. First, most important, God doesn’t call me to be comfortable. He calls me to be comforted by the fruits of difficult striving, to be more like Christ, so that others will follow His path. Second, I can see the impact of a very different, nearly impenetrable culture from the South I love on my children and our family. The result, after careful prayer, is this application to be your Senior Pastor.

My résumé won’t look like others you have seen. I thought you deserve to read, right at the top of the first page, my pledge to your church and community. But promises are only as good as the deeds that come from them. And so, I’ve included a few examples of my contributions. There are many more.

Your task is difficult. But no matter whom you eventually choose, I want to do what I can to make your work easier. I know you will call on me to answer any question, speak with any reference, and fulfill any special requests you and your committee may have.

Yours in Christ”

Yes, he got the job as well.

If your market is international, the tests are even greater. A cover letter written to a company based in Florence doesn’t read the same as the counterpart document written to a Hansa firm in Lubeck. 

A résumé written for a Japanese national doesn’t look like the one you wrote for your American client. Your Japanese lives by the saying in his country: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” He may be appalled if you strive to make him “stand out,” when conformity is so important. Some of my Japanese clients begin their day standing in front of their desks singing the company song.

The other half of communication, the part we rely on most, is speaking. Most of your clients don’t communicate well at all. Since every one of them is under stress, it’s vital you not only communicate the wisdom they need to succeed. You must reassure them without them realizing what you are doing. Yes, you are going to give the right answer—even if they don’t like it at first. However, you must do nothing to add to their stress. 

Consider offering to “critique” their résumé. You have the best intentions. Let’s assume we’re willing to offend a potential client by critiquing what they’ve probably spent hours doing. 

What’s our goal? Do we want her to rewrite the résumé so it’s really powerful? No, and for two reasons. If she could write that well, she wouldn’t come to us; and if she somehow mastered that complex art in the few minutes we spent with her, we’ve lost a sale. 

If you were your potential client, what would you like at the end of your first meeting? Do you want a report card with all your mistakes—which you know you can’t correct—falling into the “needs improvement” area? Do you want to feel at the mercy of a ghostwriter? 

Or would you rather walk away with a solid, informed, caring advocate in your corner and a plan to help you and your family reach your career goals? 

I thought so.

Often, we go out of our way to find the most fearful language our most uninformed clients use to describe the career search. Want an example? How often have we told our clients they must “sell” themselves? 

Think of the image we put into our clients’ minds—clients who are already under stress as they search for a job. We’ve reduced them to nameless commodities. 

We haven’t sold anybody in this country since January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. No wonder people distrust the idea of sales. 

Ready for more proof? Let’s try a little word association. I say insurance salesman; you run for the exit. I say used car salesman; you snicker.

No hiring manager ever wants to be sold to. But they love to hire the best!

Let’s root out another toxic term. Do you suggest an “elevator speech?” We, of all professionals, should know the power of the words we use. We can put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and envision that most welcoming, most businesslike, most productive, most private setting—an elevator! 

And what do we want our clients to do? Make a speech. Those three words have appeared in major studies describing things that terrify average people most. Yes, right after death, injury, disease and divorce comes “making a speech.” 

Our clients should have brand statements—benefits they bring to employers. Now picture the power of those words from the clients’ viewpoint. They think of themselves as powerful. 

We expend a lot of skill and energy to show their value in the résumé and the cover letter. We want them to know why they are powerful: they can add to an employer’s bank account. In fact, we want an unspoken message in the mind of every employer: you may hire our client (if she thinks you’re a good match), or you most assuredly will compete against her.

There is a parallel in medicine when we don’t communicate well. There are technicians and there are true physicians. The former doesn’t see patients; he sees case numbers. He gives them the best information he has—in a jargon they don’t understand and are too embarrassed to ask about. If the patient were a machine, it would work fine. Since they are humans, the technician adds a dose of stress to every medicine he prescribes.

The physician, on the other hand, treats the whole person. He, too, gives the right information. However, he does it so the patient trusts him. He and the patient are a team.

You and your client must be a team as well.

We all know the value of building trust. That can never happen without exceptional, consistent, wise communication. 

Perhaps it’s time to reflect on your communications skills. Even if they are well developed, a sounding board will help.

As a PARW/CC member, you have the advantage. All the speakers in the upcoming Conference are top communicators. Even a few hours with them face to face will pay big dividends…for you, for your client, for our industry.