Here are some ideas to emulate movie trailers to jazz up your resume. You may be thinking what do movies have to do with my resume.  Well, there is a lot you can learn from how blockbusters are promoted to capture your attention, captivate your interest, and catapult you to pulling out your credit card to buy a few tickets.

While your career may not be a billion dollar movie at the box office, it is worth a lot to you.  For most of us, a job and career is an important aspect of our lives, and hence it pays to get the best job we deserve and build a career.

As we all know, a resume has become more than a calling card. A well-crafted resume is your advocate in absentia and present your skills, competencies, education, expertise, and experience in the best possible light.

So, why not learn from the honchos of Hollywood and follow the best practices from movie trailers.

In the movie industry, the fortunes of a billion-dollar film depend on a 2-minute trailer. While the end product (the actual movie) ultimately matters, a trailer can create the buzz and get the initial throngs to the gates.

Now let’s come to your resume. When you are in the market for a new job, creating a positive first impression is essential to get past the initial set of gatekeepers and get in front of the hiring managers.

Since all of us love movies – at least the good ones – let’s try taking a cinematic approach to building your resume. Learn from these best practices on what movie trailers can teach you about getting more interviews and ultimately a job you love and deserve.

Emulate Movie Trailers to Jazz up your Resume

1. Start fast. The face is most recruiters spend less than 6 seconds looking at a resume. You have to capture their fleeting attention in an instant. Ensure your resume and cover letter have a strong opening – the punchline if you will – that addresses the employer’s needs and showcases you as the possible solution.
2. Finish with a big bang.  The end of a trailer makes you long for seeing the actual movie.  Similarly, you also need a powerful closing because the beginning and end of any event are what we tend to remember most. Present a cogent closing argument to present your case and demonstrate your enthusiasm.
3. Use keywords. Movie trailers abound in keywords that catch our attention. When you write your resume, include the words that automatic scanners and humans in your industry want to see.
4. Vulnerability is Positive. You don’t have to be a superhero and know it all. Even superheroes need the entire movie to establish themselves. In a movie trailer, there are tantalizing clues about the vulnerabilities of the hero (or heroine). Similarly, you can showcase your ability to withstand setbacks and bounce back.
5. Focus groups and feedback. Hollywood marketer gets a variety of feedback including focus groups to get feedback on the trailer. You can take the cue and get feedback from your friends, colleagues, and others who can opine on your resume.  Iterate and include their feedback until your resume is the best representation of who you are.
6. Generate excitement. Successful movie trailers create an aura and capture your interest. Remember that you’re using your resume to market yourself rather than just describing your chronological work history.

When Emulating Movie Trailers may be a bad idea:

1. Embrace spoilers. While a movie trailer never reveals the whole plot or key outcomes, you want your resume to support a clear conclusion – that you are the best fit for a given job. Film audiences may be willing to gamble on a movie where they don’t know what to expect, and possibly it is the reason to go to the movies, but it’s the rare hiring manager who will call you without knowing your fundamental skills, abilities, experience, and expertise.
2. Avoid Controversies. Risqué content and controversial ideas can help promote and position a movie, but most employers are committed to protecting their brand. Avoid saying anything that evokes controversy and eliminates your candidacy. While you’re at it, see if your social media accounts need any cleaning up too.
3. Be selective. Do you enjoy sitting through 15 minutes of trailers before seeing the movie you paid for? While that strategy may make sense for the movie industry, you can find more productive and less annoying ways to share your resume — only target companies who match your priorities.
4. Think long term. While movie trailers aim to generate an initial gate, you need to take a longer perspective as you want a career, not just a job. It’s natural to be happy about any job offer but evaluate how it will affect your future. Will you find the work fulfilling and does it offer meaning and reward? Are there opportunities for advancement? Are the company values in line with yours?

So, next time you go to a blockbuster movie, please pay attention to the movie trailers rather than take that bathroom break or buy popcorn.  And remember to emulate movie trailers to jazz up your resume.
Embrace any great ideas about how to craft the resume that makes recruiters invite you to the next step – the big interview dance.