IN WRITING A JOB-WINNING RESUME as an educator, what you assume to be a best practice may no longer be valuable in the current education marketplace. If you want to build a job-winning resume for your next educational leadership role, we have some do this, not that practices you should consider.

»No. 1: Align your achievements to the job description. Don’t force the reader to do the work.

Your competition for a post likely will submit a traditional resume listing their experiences in reverse chronological order. But if you knew that recruiters (including those in superintendent search firms) spend an average of 7.4 seconds reviewing each resume, according to Meredith Lepore, writing in 2020 for The Ladders career networking site, you might rethink this approach.

Stand-out leadership candidates make the 7.4-second review count by aligning their resume to the most important responsibilities in the job description and highlighting accomplishments supported by measurables. This approach ensures that the resume is about the future success of the organization, not the candidate’s professional past. You need not cover 100 percent of your accomplishments in the resume. You just need to grab enough interest to advance to the interview stage.

»No. 2: Incorporate graphic elements. Don’t submit pages of grey text.

If you want to increase your chances of standing out as a top candidate, you should consider including elements of novelty in your resume. Knowing that most will feature page after page of bulleted text, consider incorporating infographics, icons, pull quotes, and other visual elements that break up the text. These graphic design elements will guide the reader’s eye to look at what is most important.

For the more traditional elements of your resume, follow some basic graphic design rules: ensure readability by using 12-point text and a serif font that is easy to read, and avoid the messy look of using multiple forms of emphasis (underlining, italics, boldface and capitalization) at the same time. Let white space provide a visual break for the reader, allowing your message to be absorbed. 

For electronic submissions, always send a PDF to ensure that formatting is maintained.

»No. 3: Leverage social media platforms. Don’t assume your resume tells the whole story.

Eighty-seven percent of recruiters use social media sites to vet candidates, according to talent development firm Jobvite in a 2016 report. An effective social media presence will include blog posts on topics relevant to the job you are seeking, the promotion of respected col-leagues’ work and advocacy for issues in which you believe and that support your own professional platform.

If your personal and professional social media accounts are one-in-the-same, carefully scan your history to remove any political posts and inappropriate photos and comments, and disassociate from those who may promote controversial content. This will decrease the chances of a future employer flagging an offensive item that could prevent you from winning the job or even losing it after you are employed.

»No. 4: Know your audience. Don’t blindly submit your resume.

Before submitting your resume to a search firm or uploading it to a website, you should first scan the organization’s website to research senior leadership team members, board members and human resources personnel. Identify any connections and reach out to them to learn more about the role and hiring process. This will allow you to strategically position yourself.

Leverage any personal connections within the organization to let them know you are applying. If appropriate, ask them to reach out to the hiring manager on your behalf. That simple act will create a psychological obligation to review your application and will inherently make you a more trusted candidate by way of your connection to a current employee.

»No. 5: Build your professional network. Don’t just build your resume.

Eighty-five percent of jobs are filled via networking, says Lou Adler, author of The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired. There are many ways to build your network, but the most effective include joining professional organizations at the state and national levels as well as attending and presenting at the conferences of these organizations.

Embrace a “never let go” philosophy as you move through your career. Keep former colleagues in your network and continue to spiral back to them, connecting professionally, sharing job opportunities and looking for reasons to intersect your work. 

Within a few career moves, you will have a strong professional network within which your resume will carry the weight of personal relationships, reputation and trust.

AMY HOLCOMBE is dean of High Point University’s Stout School of Education in High Point, N.C. Twitter: @amyaholcombe. TERRY GRIER is a retired superintendent in Wilmington, N.C.