Five with Fry

13: Secure the Damn Job - Part #2: Resumes That Actually Work

• Dr. Jen Fry • Season 1 • Episode 13

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Welcome to Secure the Damn Job, a special series on Five with Fry where I break down what actually works when you're applying for jobs. Sponsored by Hyreable (the career development wing of JenFryTalks), this three-part series covers resumes, cover letters, and interviews with real talk, real strategy, and zero fluff. Whether you're making a career move or entering the workforce, I’m here to help you show up strong and get hired.

Let’s be real: one-size-fits-all resumes are a lie. In this second episode, I’m walking you through the resume strategies that actually move the needle. You'll learn five powerful strategies to help you stand out, including replacing outdated objective statements with a compelling executive summary, incorporating quantifiable achievements with specific metrics, and saving every customized version to build your own personal resume library.

I’ll also show you how to make the job description your “North Star,” tailor your resume for each role, and get through those pesky applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan for keywords before a real person even sees your application.

Whether you're switching careers or just getting started, this episode will give you the tools and the mindset to stay in the game. Job hunting is a marathon, not a sprint—but I’ve got your back.

Need some extra help with your resume, cover letter, or interview prep? Head over to Hyreable to work with me directly—and let’s secure the damn job.

Dr. Jen Fry:

Friends, welcome to Five with Fry, where five is the magic number, whether it's five minutes, five questions or anything that fits in five. I dive into the big topics that matter, sometimes alone and other times with a friend. From navigating sports conflict to family dynamics, travel, tech, hard-hitting issues and even politics Nothing and I mean nothing's off the table. This is where curiosity meets conversation, and we always sit at an intersection. I'm your host, dr Jen Fry of Jen Fry Talks. Let's get into it, friends. Welcome to the newest episode of Five with Fry.

Dr. Jen Fry:

This is the second installment in our series entitled Secure the Damn Job. This series is sponsored by Hireable. The career development wing of Jen Fry Talks At Hireable, the career development wing of GenFi Talks. At Hireable, we help people with resumes, cover letters and interview press. If you're interested, head over to hireableco that is H-Y-R-E-A-B-L-Eco to grab the service you need. We are all about helping you secure the damn job. In the first installment we chatted about cover letters. In this second installment we will talk about resumes. In the first installment we chatted about cover letters. In this second installment we will talk about resumes. And the final installment we talk all about interview prep.

Dr. Jen Fry:

Get your paper and pen because, baby, you're about to take some notes, okay, so let's jump to resumes. So the first thing I need you all to know is, baby, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Okay, all to know is, maybe this is a marathon not a sprint. Okay, you are not running the hundred meter dash. You might be doing the 20,000 meter speed walking literally. And I say that because sometimes I see people get so frustrated because they think the first resume they put in they're getting the job, and then they start to put a few more in and you start to see them get devastated and devastated and then just say screw it all, so just prepare yourself. Again, this is not a hundred meter dash, this is the 30,000 foot or 30,000 meter speed walking. You're going to get there, but it's going to take some time. So that's the first thing I want to tell you is that you have to just be prepared, because it's going to take time.

Dr. Jen Fry:

The second thing is is no general resumes, do you hear me? You cannot have a dress for every single occasion. You cannot have a resume for every single occasion. Some of y'all want there to be one resume for everything, and you get frustrated when they're not and that's just not happening. You can't have one resume for everything. You're not about to wear a sundress to a barbecue, to a black tie event, to a basketball game, so why would you have a resume that fits project manager, project coordinator, chief of staff, whatever it is? So you have to get that out of your head, because that just doesn't occur. I hate that. For you, that means you have to put in work to do multiple resumes, and so the thing I would suggest is that you are saving all of the resumes. You're saving every single one that you're doing, because then this way, if there's a similar one, you can go back to it and you can say okay, I use this language, this terminology, okay, let me add it in so you're not consistently having to reinvent the wheel. So, please, no general resumes and to save every resume you do. I promise you'll look back, you'll say I'm so glad because now this job's closing in two hours, I can cut, paste, do it and then send it in and not have to redo the whole wheel.

Dr. Jen Fry:

The third thing is we need to make sure that the content is fitting the job description. You have to look at that job description as if it's your North Star. Some of you all are not looking at it as if it's a North Star. Some of you glance at it and then put it away, and you cannot do that. At it as it's a North Star, some of you glance at it and then put it away, and you cannot do that. You have to treat it as if it is something that is guiding your work, because it is. They are telling you exactly in the job description, the thing that they keep repeating over and over again. That's the thing that they're telling you is important. So pay attention to the language in the job description and you're fitting your resume to that. No ifs and buts about it. Also, a caveat is stop leave out the sentence that says and all duties as assigned. Yeah, they know that. So let's leave that sentence out. Use that space for something better.

Dr. Jen Fry:

The fourth thing is your content. I just said before to leave out the as duties as assigned. But also you want to have data, numbers, information in there. I, not knowing your industry, should be able to read your resume and the job description and see where they tie together. If I cannot do that, your resume isn't fit to the job description. That content is a piece, it's key In the job description.

Dr. Jen Fry:

They might say looking for someone that's a program manager and certain duties quit saying throughout it program coordinator. Because what they do is they'll use some type of data mining software and they'll put in five or six words and if those words are not present in the resume then they're not going to pull you for the next step. And I've seen it when I've worked at different institutions and the business manager was upset because we're losing out on quality candidates because the certain words weren't in the resume. So the content matters. You should be able to hand it to a friend who isn't within that industry and say does my resume match up with the job description? And they should be able say yes or no easily. If they're like, well, I'm not sure, then it doesn't. It doesn't. When you're using jargon that only a certain group can understand, you have to understand that you're going to miss, because more than likely the people that are doing the first few steps don't know the jargon.

Dr. Jen Fry:

Whenever you put in data, make sure you put the numbers in, because if I'm looking at you doing event management, I might think it might be an event that only had 50 people, but your event actually had 500 people. Those are the differences. You put those numbers, put those stats. I help them go from 50 people to 200 people a X percent increase. You want those numbers, that data, that information is so critical.

Dr. Jen Fry:

And then the fifth thing is the executive summary. That's gonna be at the top. We do not have objectives. I need you to hear me again. If you have a damn objective, take it off right now. Take that objective off. Everyone knows your objective is to get the damn job. The real objective is for you to get that money. So take off that damn objective or else I'm going to rip it off myself. You need an executive summary. The executive summary is about four, no more than five, bullet points and essentially, if the rest of your resume burned down, they will be able to see the executive summary and see why you are a fit for the job.

Dr. Jen Fry:

So think about your resume in three parts the cover letter, your resume and your executive summary. The executive summary is at the top. It's four to five bullet points and it shows you exactly, or shows them exactly, what skills you have before they even get to the resume. It's so important you change it up. Usually it's better to use the language from, like the first paragraph or two in the job description, because that's where like the meat and potatoes usually is what are the things that they're saying. I usually will literally copy and paste some of the main phrases into executive summary with the skills. It's really key that you have that information all matched together Because the executive summary when their eyes are seeing how many years of experience some of the main things you do that helps them out. And we know the more you help them out, the better you are at having the opportunity to get in front of them for the next step. So I hope this second installment of Secure the Damn Job helped you out. Remember, if you're interested in any services for cover letters, resumes or job interview prep, head over to hireableco, select your service and we can get you going.

Dr. Jen Fry:

Well, friends, that's it for this episode of Five with Fry, your dose of five insights, ideas and inspiration. If you love what you heard, don't forget to head over to where podcasts are played subscribe, share and leave a review. Got a topic you want us to tackle? Drop us a message. We'd love to hear from you. You can come, follow me on IG, twitter, the TikTok at Jen Fry Talks, or join me on LinkedIn. Look for me at Dr Jen Fry. Until next time, stay curious, stay bold and keep the conversation going. See you on the next Five with Fry.