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Do you know that the longer a decision-maker views your résumé, the more likely it is that youll get an interview? Recent research combined eye-tracking and machine learning to understand résumé decisions better. The most actionable conclusion was that Experience section dwell time predicts interview invitations. Thats next-level information. Weve had eye-tracking studies for years. They tell us what readers look at, but give no additional meaning. Now, by applying AI, we know which sections of the résumé matter the most for getting interviews. I was a retained search consultant for 25-plus years. For the last 10 years, Ive been writing executive and board résumés. When I did search, the first question I asked candidates after interviews was, How long were you there? That was the best way for me to know how well the interview went. Thus, it makes sense that résumé dwell time also predicts success. So, lets talk about how to make your résumés Experience section sticky to readers via design and content choices. Eliminate Walls of Text People dont read word by word. They scan, looking for information relevant to their needs. Large blocks of text lose readers because theyre hard to scan. In How People Read Online: The Eyetracking Evidence Report, The Nielsen Norman Group, a user experience firm, described a wall of text as a major repellent that instantly makes users think twice about engaging. To avoid that, limit résumé text blocks to three lines, four if you must. Nothing else about your résumé matters if people wont read it. Focus on Experience Help readers navigate your résumé by providing clear section labels (Professional Experience, Education, Skills, Community Service, etc.). Nielsen Norman also shared that many readers assess whether a page is worth any time in less than a second. They appraise before they even start the infamous six-second scan. Because the Experience section drives interviews, place it below the summary at the top of your résumé. You have to show your relevance immediately to earn deeper reader attention. Use a Consistent Structure Present your recent experience in a consistent structure. I include: Company names Company descriptions The locations where my clients worked for companies Job titles Employment dates Job scope descriptions Impact statements. I always place company names and job titles on left margins to help readers who are scanning. They want that information. Give it to them effortlessly. Also, lighten readers cognitive loads by separating job scope information and impact bullets. Describe scope in a narrative paragraph. Follow that with impact bullets. Dont force your readers to do the scope and impact sort. They want you to tell them what your role was and how you performed in it. Make it easy for them if you want to keep their attention. Rank Order Your Impact Stories Based on Your Readers Needs Identify a jobs deliverables. To do this, use job postings, talk with insiders, and ask AI platforms questions. Then, write your impact bullets to convince readers you can succeed in their roles. Let go of what you think is important about you; youll have time for that later. To grab and keep your readers attention, align your bullets’ content and order with their most critical needs. Provide White Space White space makes résumés easier to read and understand. That ease increases dwell time because it makes readers more willing to engage. Use these minimum parameters: Three-quarter-inch top and bottom margins One-inch side margins Half-point spaces between bulleted impact statements If you need more room, edit your content; dont fudge the white spaceyoull lose readers. When I see a crowded résumé, I think the person hasnt learned whats important to their audience. Because of that, theyre sharing everything they guess might be relevant. That erodes the likelihood readers will find what they need and, in turn, dwell time. Readers Evaluate Résumés and Make Decisions Ive talked a lot about readers here, but the reality is that the people who view your résumé are evaluators. They look at your presentation. Then they decide whether you appear to meet enough of their needs to merit more of their time. Make it easy for them to understand your relevance, and they will slow down to focus on you.
Category:
E-Commerce
Over the next 20 years, an estimated $84 trillion will change hands in the U.S.; some call this the Great Wealth Transfer, others the Silver Tsunami. This wealth is held in cash and assets, but also in the estimated 2.9 million private U.S. businesses that are owned by those over 55. Many retiring business owners will look to sell their company to private equity or larger conglomerates, while others will pass their businesses on to their heirs. A few are considering something more radical: giving their company away to good causes, like Paul Newman who gave his eponymous food company to Newmans Own Foundation when he passed away in 2008. This idea remains radical enough that when 83-year-old Yvon Chouinard and his family announced that all of Patagonias future profits would go to fight climate change in September 2022, the New York Times devoted a full-page spread to the move. Now, theres even a book dedicated to Patagonia and its transition. 100% for Purpose companies like Newmans Own and Patagonia are still the exception, but there are more of us than you think: ticketing platform Humanitix, search engine Ecosia, browser Mozilla, consumer brands like The Good Store and Thankyou, and more. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg also announced plans to donate a controlling stake of his company to a trust that will continue to fund Bloomberg Philanthropies after his death. As President and CEO of a 100% for Purpose organization, Ive begun to hear more and more from businesses that are looking to follow in our footsteps. Why this move? You may ask: Why would philanthropically minded business owners and founders give their company away versus just selling the business later on, and creating a foundation with the proceeds? The short answer: Its a great way to cement your legacy, preserve the company, and maximize giving. Lets imagine your business makes $10M in profits and you sell it for $50Mcongrats! You can then choose to manage a foundation endowment and give away $2.5M a year (5% as per the minimum distribution rule). Or you spend it down, giving away $10M a year for five years. Compare these options to giving your company away to a foundation (like Newmans Own Foundation) or a trust (like Patagonia). The company and its employees stay in place, and continue to generate $10M annual profits, which can then be given away to good causes year after year. You have created a philanthropic annuity. But more than that, you have given your business, employees, and customers a gift as well. Every product they make, sell, or buy is now a product whose profits go to support good causes. And for those starting new business, it may not be a fair comparison today, but Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner put in $40,000 of their own funds to get Newmans Own started back in 1982. That could have been a one-time gift but instead, Paul and Newmans Own have since given away over $600 milliona 15,000x philanthropic return! A range of models How do you get started on the 100% for Purpose journey? Here are a few models to consider, from simple to more advanced: Give Your Profits Away Today: You can do so with an existing corporate structure. Paul Newman did this at first with Newmans Own as the Foundation was established years later. Thats also how Cummings Properties and The Good Store got started. Depending on your jurisdiction, there are more or less tax-friendly ways to go about this, and if you dont already have an existing foundation, you might find a Donor-Advised Fund an easy way to get started. Donate your Business to an Existing Foundation or Non-Profit: Why re-create the wheel when there are already close to two million 5013(c) organizations in the U.S.? Id venture to say theres at least one among these that aligns to your value and your giving priorities, and that they would welcome a profit-fueled philanthropic annuity. Establish your own Foundation and Donate your Business to it: You want to be more hands on? Establish your own foundation. When Paul Newman died in 2008, he gifted the food company to Newmans Own Foundation, but that was actually not legal at the time. The IRS granted us an exception to be able to continue operating until the Philanthropic Enterprise Act was passed in 2018. This new law allows foundations to own profitable companies outright, versus in the past, being limited to no more than 20% equity stakes. Split Voting Rights and Economic / Profit Rights via a Perpetual Purpose Trust: Perpetual Purpose Trusts are also relatively new in the U.S.: the first on record dates back to just 2018, but their European equivalent, steward foundations, including Novo Nordisk, Ikea, and Rolex, have been around for decades. Purpose Trusts offer flexibility, for example allowing you to keep some or all voting rights of the company while giving away the economic rights to your foundation, a non-profit, your employees, or a mix of all these. This is what Patagonia chose to do, with a HBR case study on the details for the legal aficionados among you. Giving Tuesday is almost upon us, and while I dont expect people to make such a decision in one day, I want to invite current business owners and future founders to think about joining the 100% Purpose movement. Giving a business away is still considered a radical move, but it offers business owners, their employees, and their customers something a traditional sale never can: legacy.
Category:
E-Commerce
In early 2022, the meal delivery company I founded, Tovala, went out to raise $100mm from venture capitalists. Our business could not have been hotter. Wed crossed $110mm of revenue, growing over 100% YoY. We had retention that was 34 times better than other meal delivery services. We had low awareness, lots of room for product innovation, and a seemingly clear path to an IPO. Then the war broke out in Ukraine, and capital markets started to get spooked. All of the sudden, fast-growing, unprofitable consumer businesses were out of vogue. We managed to raise $32mm, not a small sum, but it felt like a failure. It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to us. A new game That struggle made us realize the game had changed. Investors no longer wanted to fund unprofitable growth. In fact, they might never fund unprofitable growth in our category again. So we had to find a way to stretch that $32mm as far as possible. That was easier said than done. In 2021, we burned $26mm. We had to change how we operated Tovala. Fast. This was more than just cutting some costs. It meant a complete shift in mindset of every team member. For years we had been focused on scaling as quickly as possible. For example, for our operations team, that meant thinking about how we could safely fulfill an increasing number of meals every week and, in their spare time, figuring out how to improve our margins. We had to flip that mindset on its head. And instead of thinking about rapid scaling, think about where we could find efficiencies in the business. We started to repeatedly pound the drumbeat of profitability. We talked about it at every company all hands, and most importantly, we helped everyone understand why it mattered. We celebrated wins as small as a slight reduction in our AWS fees and as big as launching new product offerings. We got much more disciplined with hiring and performance management, pushed every team to identify margin wins, and we scrutinized our P&L for any waste. We found big levers on pricing and marketing spend and small levers in renegotiating many contracts. It all mattered. Focus, focus, focus What most surprised me during this period was not just our teams ability to execute. It was the value of focus. Wed built a company culture that was frugal and yet, when the team was tasked with finding waste and inefficiencies, it was everywhere. With the benefit of hindsight, its clear to me that it is not realistic to prioritize growth, (which the team had been doing for several years), while simultaneously having real rigor on minimizing all waste and inefficiency. We ultimately achieved our goal. We havent raised a single dollar since that $32mm fundraise. Weve been profitable for two years. And weve built a culture that can operate in the chapter were now in: one defined by growth and profitability.
Category:
E-Commerce
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