I absolutely do have a love-hate relationship with resumes.
On one hand, it's a quick way to show all the ways that I'm qualified for a job, and on the other, it's a quick way to show all the ways I'm unqualified for the job ๐
Writing a resume for a Customer Success Manager job isn't too different from writing one for any other job. But... There are ways to stand out and in this article, I want to share 7 tips that I've learned throughout the year that will help you land ๐ your ๐ dream ๐ CS ๐ job!
Let's get started!
#1 The ATS for Customer Success roles
ATS, which stands for "Application Tracking System" isn't necessarily our friend. This tracking system helps recruiters weed out any application that misses the mark. This means that we need to be a little smarter than the ATS and we can do that by dropping in keywords that it likes.
๐ฅ Hot tip: If you don't have an objective already, add one! In your objective, add keywords like "Customer Success" which might be one of the things that the ATS will be looking for.
#2 Keep it to one or two pages
Unless you've had years and years of experience, your resume shouldn't be longer than two page.
Stick to what is relevant to this job! I'll use myself as an example. Before I entered the tech arena, I was many things. I was a:
Cocktail waitress on a boat
Waitress (on land)
Bartender
Worked in retail
Housekeeper
Paralegal
Bartender (again)
Bartender (again)
Owned my own business
You won't find any of these things on my resume because I gained more experience that started to become more relevant to what I was looking for. Initially, I did include things like Paralegal and business owner on there as they were the most "professional" jobs that I've held. But as time went on, those items were no longer telling the story that I needed them to tell.
๐ฅ Hot tip: Cut out any role that 1). Isn't relevant to a CS role (the ones that don't support customer-facing, strategic thinking, project management, problem-solving, empathy) and 2). Old jobs.
#3 Consistency
When I review resumes, this is the #1 thing that stands out to me right away. Visually, if your resume is all over the place, it makes it hard for the reader to digest it. But not only that, every piece of writing, video, whatever, that you submit to a recruiter or hiring manager is a reflection of the work that you would produce in the role itself.
๐ฅ Hot tip: Make sure that if you're going with 5 bullet points for one job, you have 5 bullet points for all. Check your grammar, font, sizes, and colors!
#4 Stick to the skills that align with the job
This point relates to #2. I have no doubt in my mind that you have an incredible arsenal of skills but they don't all need to be here. To beef up your resume or "CS" your resume, you'll want to stick to the skills that support the role itself.
๐ฅ Hot tip: When you're putting together your bullet points for each job, think about the actions and skills used that directly relate to CS work. Add those in, leave out anything that isn't relevant.
#5 Customer Success Manager Tool Stack
This one will require you to do some work! You'll need to get familiar with the tool stack of a CSM and find a way to get experience in these tools. The good news is that a majority of the tools a CSM uses are free or have resources to help you learn. Here are 3 that I recommend:
Salesforce - Every CSM uses a CRM and Salesforce is the biggest one. They offer free guides where you can even get certified and add to your resume/LinkedIn.
Slack - CSMs are likely using some sort of communication tool in their day-to-day to stay connected with their team and even customers. You can join CS communities today to get experience.
Google Suite - Emails, Slides, Spreadsheets, Docs โโ You can learn this for FREE today! It's a huge part of the role of a CSM.
๐ฅ Hot tip: Get familiar with the 3 tools I mentioned above and when you feel comfortable in them, add them to your resume.
#6 Soft skills
We just covered technical skills and now it's time to focus on the soft skills. I've mentioned them above but here's a reminder:
Empathy
Discovery
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Organizational skills
Be sure to list these skills on your resume BUT you can't just say this, you need to back it up. The last thing you want is a resume full of lies that you can't back up in the job itself.
๐ฅ Hot tip: This is your chance to think deeply about the times throughout your professional career where you've demonstrated any of these (or supporting) skills.
#7 Use a Resume Builder
I guess this is the part I hate the most... The layout of the resume. Even with the free templates by Google, it still feels like it's missing something.
So in my time of need, I bumped into this one resource that has changed the game for me. It's a free resume builder by Cultivated Culture:
๐ฅ Hot tip: When you're ready, use one of these templates to get your final product ๐
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There we have it โโ 7 resume tips to help you NAIL this job! If you prefer watching, there's also a video up on the YouTube channel!
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