Feb 07, 2014

It is that time again. The Winter Olympics have arrived. By the time you read this, there will have already been one full day of competition in Sochi and the Opening Ceremonies will be in full swing.

Most athletes competing in the Olympic Games this month would consider just getting to that stage to be the crowning achievement in their sport. They have worked the better part of the past four years (if not more) to get to this point. Many have put other life goals on hold just to have the opportunity to walk into the Olympic Stadium representing their country.

Now imagine if you will that you are a recruiter for your company. Several résumés come across your desk for a new position that has opened up. As you are sifting through the stack, you notice one of the applicants has “Participated in Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia” listed among their achievements. I don’t know about you, but this would immediately pique my interest and at the very least make me consider bringing the applicant in for an interview.

My question to you today is simple. When you’re thinking about your résumé and how to make it stand out from the crowd, think about what would grab someone’s attention like the example I gave above? Most of us can’t legitimately put “Olympian” on our résumés, at least I know I can’t, but there likely is something that we can put on there that makes us unique and has the potential to grab the attention of the recruiter or HR director looking at our résumé.

Remember that the point of the résumé is to get your foot in the door and get an interview. If you can get someone interested in you before they even meet you, then you are one step ahead of other applicants from the beginning.