You've probably heard me talk before about how important it is to have a resume that tells employers what you're going to do for them, not what you want them to do for you. You want them to read an advertisement that sells your benefits, not a product manual that tells them more than they want to know about your point of view.

Last week in New York, TheLadders.com's career-services team got a chance to show the difference to a very different group of job seekers: 25 young mentees at an event hosted by StreetWise Partners, a program that helps people from underprivileged circumstances find better careers. Participants spend 14 weeks meeting weekly with a pair of mentors who take them through the ropes of improving their chances of being hired, looking at everything from poise and presentation to networking and resume writing. That's where our team came in!

Thirteen of TheLadders.com's resume analysts, who donated their time that evening, told the mentees that their resume needs to state their accomplishments and quantify their value.

After her critique, one young participant showed our team how the resume analysts showed her how to take her experience as a KFC cashier and sell it on value and performance. She turned "served customers" into "served 85 customers an hour and kept wait time down."

Only four weeks into the program, the participants have already made strides, having worked on presentation basics like looking someone in the eye, Melanie Dammermann, StreetWise's director of corporate relations and programs, shared with our team.

Take a look at the concentration on these faces:

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We're rooting for these young workers, Readers, just like we're rooting for you!

Warmest regards,

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.