It takes time to be specific. It takes thought. That's why so many reference letters toss about such glittering -- and vague -- generalities as: "Henry Johnson was always an honest and industrious worker." Such statements impress no one. For they offer no measure of accomplishment.

"Be specific," you recall, is one of the cardinal selling principles. But your former boss will rarely spend the time necessary to do this well. You can do it for him. You can spend hours on it. You can assemble the exact facts and suggestions on which he can base a really good letter.

Bring him a copy of your presentation. Point out the illustrations you used to set off your accomplishments. Ninety-nine times out of one hundred your former chief will be happy to follow your lead and verify your story -- in equally specific fashion. <pg. 150>

The first two letters that follow are good examples of the usual meaningless letter of endorsement. Probably without so intending the writers have damned with faint praise. Note that the first letter is addressed "to whom it may concern." Always ask the writer to address such letters to you, or to a prospect.

The third letter is better because some modicum of experience is indicated. It is still hardly worth using. So Mr. Stoneley took his portfolio over to Mr. Marcusson, the writer of the letter. When Mr. Marcusson saw the clear statements of fact in the portfolio, he was quite happy to strengthen his letter accordingly. The result was the revised letter, full of actual accomplishment.

Here are the three letters:

MARLEY MILLS
Poningo, Alabama

January 27, 19--.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Gentlemen:

We take pleasure in saying that Mr. Herbert Z. McClure was associate with us for a period of over seven years in a general sales capacity and as assistant to the writer, leaving our employ on December 31, last.

His record in every way has been above reproach. We recommend him to anybody desiring a high-class salesman. We feel sure he would make a success of anything he undertook.

We would be very happy at any given opportunity to repeat the statements in this letter to anybody interested in his services.

Very truly yours,

Marley Mills
Baker Edwards Sales Manager<pg. 151>

---

JOHN R. BOYD MFG. CO.
Sharon, Georgia

June 23, 19--.

Mr. A. B. Blake,
Pres., Harvard Furnace Co.,
New York City

Dear Mr. Blake:

In reply to your inquiry, Mr. Townsend worked under my supervision for four years as a technical assistant in our Sales Service Division. His services were eminently satisfactory. He is a worthy young man, 28 years of age.

During our retrenchment it has been necessary to reduce our personnel, thus making Mr. Townsend's services available.

Mr. Townsend is honest, conscientious, loyal, and has a good appearance. I should be very happy to give you any further information you desire.

Very truly yours,

B. M. Cook

---

BRUCE ADVERTISING CO., INC.
100 North 31 Street
New York City

August 24, 19--.

Mr. A. B. Johnston,
515 South 40 Street,
New York City.

Dear Sir:

Mr. Stoneley and I worked together for six years in the Bruce Advertising Co., Inc., and in that time he gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in commercial bulletin, electric, and Neon sign work; also in outdoor bulletins, electic spectaculars, and hand painted poster work of various descriptions. <pg. 152>

He has for the past four years devoted his talents in his own business and in free-lance work to theatrical lobby display and pictorial work of theatrical nature. I can honestly say without fear of contradiction that he is an unusually progressive worker. Any far-sighted man would profit by taking advantage of this man's wealth of experience in his art department. He is a person of the highest caliber and regular habits.

Yours very truly,

W. A. Marcusson

---

BRUCE ADVERTISING CO., INC.
100 North 31 Street
New York City August 24, 19--.

Mr. A. B. Johnston,
515 South 40 Street,
New York City.

Dear Mr. Johnston:

In his six years' association with the Bruce Advertising Co., Inc., Paul Stoneley was one of a carefully selected group of commercial artists whose job it was to lay out in actual size the detailed patterns that were to be followed in the construction of many of Broadway's most gigantic spectaculars. For example, the famous "Broadway Beauty" display meant taking a sketch of approximately 12" x 20" to 2500 square feet. This outstanding job had to be finished in three weeks -- and was, with complete accuracy. This was the largest individual contract for a Broadway spectacular at that time, to the tune of $300,000.

There were many other outstanding jobs, such as -- Coffee,--- Dental Cream, --- Chewing Gum, --- Motors, --- Gasoline, --- Beer, and many others. He seemed to get the tough jobs and turned out results which produced more sales.

In addition he did extensive work on such commercial painted bulletins as --- Trust Co., --- Gas & Electric <pg. 153> Co., --- Plumbing Fixtures, --- Soap Co., and many others.

The following two years he had his own business in which he serviced general commercial accounts and handled a considerable volume of theatrical lobby display work. This experience intensified the interest he always had in the sales and profit angle of his work.

Paul Stoneley is an unusually good artist. But he is more than that. He can originate and develop ideas, or he can quickly grasp another's idea and translate it into productive advertising. He works well with his associates and with clients.

I shall be glad to answer further inquiries.

Yours very truly,

W. A. Marcusson

---

If personal warmth has entered the relationship in the past, try to evoke it again by your own attitude. An employer who has called you "Jim" for five years thinks he has to go dignified and call you "Dear Mr. Snodgrass" when he writes you a letter of endorsement. If you can do it tactfully, try to keep him on the "Dear Jim" basis in his letter. The letter is likely to be better if it is really written to you, not to the wide world.

Some few firms refuse to give letters of endorsement to former employees. We would like to question such a policy. The only thing most people have to sell is their services. If an employee has served well he is entitled to the firm's certification of his good work. When letters of endorsement are sought and given in accord with the facts of the case, the results will be good for all concerned.

Let us first define our terms. What do we mean by resume? As it is generally used, it has come to mean a standardized and all too lifeless listing of dates, duties, and personal history. In this deadly incarnation it no longer does what a sales presentation ought to do. It doesn't sell. <pg. 154>

David Lash found out the hard way. David lost a good job as sales engineer for a large truck company because of personnel cutbacks. Finding a new position as good as his old one loomed as a tough proposition. So David labored long over a typical resume containing the usual tired data: where he worked, his duties, dates of employment, and autobiography. It looked something like this:

PERSONAL RECORD

Name: David G. Lash

Address: 550 Featherbed Lane, Longdale, N. Y.

Telephone: Longdale 6537

Born: Date--July 8, 1915 Place--Livingston, Montana

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

1950-1953: North American Truck Co., Inc. I sold and serviced our customers.

And much more of the same.

We see this sort of thing turned out over and over again. Yet it drags along with all the grace of an overloaded cement truck. David didn't get a nibble.

Mind you, he's a good salesman. But by thoughtlessly following an accepted routine he sucked himself into violating all the selling principles he used on the job. What does he offer in the above resume -- a good build? German-English descent? Who cares?

When he came to the Man Marketing Clinic for advice, he <pg. 155> suddenly remembered he was a salesman. And he realized that the only reason a business concern would pay him a salary is because he could make money for it. So here, in part, is how he changed his resume:

DAVID LASH
550 Featherbed Lane,
Longdale, N. Y. LOngdale 6537

SALES ENGINEER

Let's Look at In four years as sales engineer with North the Record: American Truck, I sold fifty heavy-duty gas-oline and diesel trucks to accounts which had purchased only twenty-one units in the previous eleven-year period. I introduced North American diesels into Hemisphere Sugar Co. and the Carter Division of Progressive Chemical Corp., two accounts which North American had never before been able to crack.

---

And so on down the line.

Obviously, this holds the attention far more than the first version. Where does the difference lie? In nothing but sales technique, the underlining of a service (a man who can crack tough accounts) backed by specific illustrations.

Now he compresses name, address and phone into one line. The rest of his "autobiography" he junked excepting the education, which comes after his business record. And this time he makes sure that "sales engineer" stands out prominently.

David landed a job in short order with a major supplier of railroad equipment.

The resume poses a number of problems. Bombarded by a constant barrage of job requests, employers, executives and personnel men want something that can give a quick bird's-eye view of an applicant's background, and be easy to file. The resume evolved to meet this special need. And the stodgy, grocery-list version became the standard form. <pg. 156>

The trouble is, it does its job poorly. When you follow the traditional attendance record form you give no clue of your ability to think, act, and get results. Thus, the decision to call you in for an interview rests largely on chance.

True, you can alter the form so as to incorporate sales ideas. As David Lash did.

In any case, the resume faces an occupational hazard peculiar to itself. Because it is used solely as a condensed job application, a resume immediately signals "job hunter"! Conversely, a portfolio registers: "business report." And a letter promises: "sales order," or "business discussion," or "personal message."

Certainly no one need be ashamed of looking for work. Yet, beyond all logic, the man openly seeking work faces a subtle, almost unconscious bias. To that extent, any job-hunting tool that wears an identifying uniform is a handicap. This is true of the resume.

As a sales instrument, the résumé should conform to the same principles as portfolio and letter. But the resume is not so easy to tame. Nor does it "sell" too well.

Department Store Buyer

[A.B. Stem, Department Store Buyer]

On a one-page "Personal Record" he outlined his experience and his achievements. With this as a base he added a cover letter -- and bought a flock of stamps. Using a copy of Sheldon's Retail Trade, he listed the top department stores in twenty big cities plus the names of their merchandising managers. He changed his letter slightly for chain stores, and made up a list of those with ready-to-wear departments.

Here is his resume: <pg. 157>

PERSONAL RECORD OF

A. B. Stem
712 East 27 St.,
Saint Joseph, Missouri

1935 to date   Merchandise Manager of the ready-to-wear department of the Henheim Stores, a chain of seven stores in the middle west. I was called upon to install and operate a central buying department. Through the application of chain store methods, some of the departments I operated showed increases as high as 214 per cent and a majority of them were over 100 per cent. We had complete control and accurate knowledge of the stocks of each unit; we knew the demand in each location. We had the right merchandise in the stores when the customers wanted it, in the correct colors, sizes, types, and price ranges. Our stocks were balanced at all times and the stores were open for new merchandise each week.

1932 to 1935  Buyer, ready-to-wear department, the Goreman Store, Saint Charles, Wisconsin. Before I came to the Goreman Store, the ready-to-wear department lost money. Their markdowns were excessive, they couldn't turn their stocks fast enough. Because they were so far from the market they bought a quantity of dresses every two months and relied on their buying agent to purchase the remainder without knowing what they were selling. I kept an accurate daily check on fast moving styles, sizes and colors, kept the buying office in-formed, and arranged for daily shipments. As a result we increased our turnover to thirteen times, decreased the markdown to 9 per cent, sold 132 per cent more units . . . and showed a good profit. <pg. 158>

1929 to 1932  Buyer for the ready-to-wear department, Allenstein Department Store, Columbus, Indiana. The year before I took charge, the department sold 392 dresses. The buyer had been under the impression that they could sell only tailored merchandise, that women's sizes were a big item, and that certain colors would not sell. A careful analysis of sales led me to introduce variety in all these points. By judicious purchasing and better merchandising I built up a volume department. My first year we sold 1262 dresses -- over three times the volume of the previous year.

1927 to 1929  My apprenticeship was served in this store, as stock-boy, clerk, and then assistant buyer of the ready-to-wear department. I am 33, married, but free to go anywhere.

As you can see, Mr. Stem avoids the usual resume error, the overloaded personal data list. And he shuns completely the duty description approach. Instead he pounds home results.

"………some of the departments I operated showed increases as high as 213 per cent...." "Our stocks were balanced at all times. We increased our turnover to thirteen times . . . and showed a good profit." These are all solid selling points.

One weakness that seeps into almost every resume we have seen also crops up here. That is, the use of dates as headlines. Dates don't sell!

Granted, employers often want dates, especially when they ask for resumes. But include them in the text as you tell what you have done.

Your captions should tell a story, build up the appeal of your resume. "213 Per Cent Increase"; "From Big Loss to Big Profit"; "Volume Trebled"; are heads that sell. They say something; dates do not.

Then, we would have liked to see Mr. Stem put the title of the job he wanted at the top of the page in place of "Personal Record." <pg. 159>

Listing a job title always helps when you make it specific. "Economic Analyst," or "Office Manager," for example. Because of the way your resume is filed, you want your job title to register quickly.

Sales Manager

[Paul Angstrom, Sales Manager]

When he decided to head for sales manager, he put together the following resume:

DISTRICT SALES MANAGER

33 years old         Peggy Smart, Inc. 7 years
15 years outside sell-  Armitage Mfg. Co.  3 years
ing experience with      Standard Beauty Preparations 2 years
nationally known or-  Minton Grain Co.  3 years
ganizations

Proved Background:

Consistently high man, rarely less than second high. For example: Led the country in 19-- for percentage of increase over quota with Peggy Smart, Inc. Thirty men.

Armitage put on a few hundred men in 19-- to fill junior positions. About a dozen were eventually promoted to regular jobs. I made the grade in eight months.

Survived three layoffs with the Minton Grain Company. Out of a staff of twelve was one of two carried over the slow months. Increased Sales:

Have taken over unprofitable territories and made them pay. For example:

Took over the southeastern territory for Peggy Smart in 19--. Admittedly the toughest nut the firm had to crack. <pg. 160>

Brought it into the black the first year. Showed an increase for six succeeding years.

New York territory for Armitage. Was first sent to call on the accounts not sold by the regular salesman. Within six months these accounts produced 45 per cent as much as the regular salesman's. Promotion followed. A regular territory was assigned.

Did pioneer work for the Minton Grain Company selling packaged cereals. Territory developed to a point where Minton Rolled Oats enjoyed a volume greater than any of our competitors.

Developed a territory for Standard Beauty Preparations so that it was necessary for an additional salesman to call on the new accounts. Results That Count:

Have built results that count by the following means:

Planned work. Proper handling of the territory. Worked with distributors. Addressed jobbers' sales meetings, went out to the trade with jobbers' salesmen and trained them to put it over. These methods raised Peggy Smart's southeastern jobbers' business from almost a blank to a sizable figure. Worked with newspapers. Always called on beauty editors and sold them the news value of the current item. Tied the stores to this publicity with counter and window display; as a result opened many new accounts. Consistently sold the dealer on the merchandising helps he received. Always went after window and counter display and clerk cooperation. These methods developed profitable business.

Paul Angstrom
522 Riverside Drive
ACademy 7-5600
New York City

---

Like the good salesman he is, Paul packs his sales pitch with concrete proof of quality. "Consistently high man . . . led country for increase over quota . . . into the black for the first year . . increase (in business) six succeeding years . . . developed volume greater than any competitors." <pg. 161>

These facts are convincing evidence of results. Since they are facts, Paul could state them without seeming at all boastful, whereas he could not say becomingly, "I'm a fine salesman," or "I was their best salesman."

You need not hesitate to use very strong facts to indicate success, so long as you omit all general assertions and claims, and withhold your own opinion of your value.

Paul then goes on to show how he attained his outstanding results. What employer is not interested in a salesman who "addressed jobbers' sales meetings . . . trained jobbers' salesmen . . . worked with newspapers . . . tied stores to (newspaper) publicity with counter and window display . . . went after window and counter display and clerk cooperation"?

Paul used this resume as the basis for his whole campaign. In his interviews he used the same main selling points, elaborating on the details.

When he was asked for a record of his experience he left it; when he was requested to fill out an application blank he clipped it to the blank. Occasionally he used it as the basis for a letter replying to a "Help Wanted" ad which interested him.

For all the success of his resume, we must mention one significant fact. He had it mimeographed and tried enclosing it with a brief letter requesting an interview. But he found he got better results when he put more "sell" into the letter itself and omitted the enclosure.

This throws into sharp relief the basic weakness of the traditional resume form. Since it is expected to be a complete outline, yet brief enough to file, it too often assumes a heavy, statistical appearance. And it stifles personality.

But, we repeat, you may need one. When you do, fill it with results.

Here is the letter Paul wrote when he omitted the resume enclosure: <pg. 162>

September 18, 19--

Mr. E. T. Somerset
Somerset Company
Cleveland, Ohio

Dear Mr. Somerset:

Most firms have in their sales picture a tough spot or a selling situation that does not yield to ordinary methods.

It has been my experience to handle just this sort of thing. I have done this for Standard, Armitage, and Peggy Smart these past fifteen years.

I have worked with distributors, addressed jobbers' sales meetings, and taught jobbers' salesmen how to put it over. Consistently sold the dealer on the merchandising helps he receives. Always called on women's page editors, lined up publicity and tied the stores in with it. These methods more than doubled the business of Peggy Smart's southeastern territory.

Somerset Company is the kind of firm I want to work for. May I have fifteen minutes of your time for further discussion the next time you come to New York?

Yours truly,

Paul Angstrom
522 Riverside Drive
New York City

Again, we have sound selling technique. There is the offer of a service -- handling the "tough spot," the tough "selling situation."

Observe how Paul then crams a full load of success evidence into one short paragraph. The letter form adds a touch of warmth missing in the original presentation.

Advertising Man

T. R. Monroe
351 East 82 St.,
Cleveland, Ohio.

ABILITIES

Seasoned Advertising Man. Knowledge of all media. Familiar with various elements of advertising agency service.

Sales Ability. Can sell different types of advertising and develop sales promotion material.

Copy Writer. Clear, concise, forceful English. Copy for advertising in newspapers, magazines and trade papers, direct mail campaigns, broadsides, booklets, letters to the trade, speeches.

Ideas. Creative talent for original advertising ideas.

Analytical Mind. Can analyze sales problems and work out solution.

Public Relations. Knowledge of how to develop public goodwill.

GENERAL DATA

Princeton graduate, class of 1914. Anglo-Saxon parentage. [NOTE: DO NOT INCLUDE PARENTAGE INFORMATION ON CURRENT RESUMES] Married; three children. Excellent health. Plenty of energy, endurance, initiative. Hard worker, conscientious, thorough. Good sense of humor. Strong loyalty. T. R. Monroe

EXPERIENCE

PERKINS ADVERTISING COMPANY, Akron, Illinois. Small agency, so I got all-round experience in various departments, including copy. <pg. 164>

J. C. PLUM ADVERTISING COMPANY, Cleveland. Account executive. SHARPLESS-MONROE ADVERTISING CO., Cleveland. Became a partner. Developed many well-known accounts. Wrote all advertising.

CLEVELAND-SHARPLESS ADVERTISING CO., Cleveland. Merger of the two companies. Vice-president. Prepared plans and presentations used in securing new business. Worked closely with account executives. General direction of all copy.

---

On the first page Mr. Monroe presents an impressive list of his abilities. But they are just statements of ability without one bit of supporting evidence.

We hope to find the evidence on the next page but all we get is an "attendance record," a listing of the companies for which he worked and his duties. From the positions he has held, we get a glimpse -- "as through a muddied lens darkly" -- of Mr. Monroe's ability.

Surely he has some success stories that set off his talents clearly. Had he specifically stated some of the problems he met and the results achieved he might be outstanding in any group. At any rate, all who read his resume would have a much clearer idea of the service Mr. Monroe could render.

Contrast his presentation with evidences of accomplishment such as these, culled from other presentations:

As general sales manager for a household heating appliance company I directed ninety salesmen, supervised fifteen branch offices and four thousand dealers, and helped boost sales to four million dollars, a hundred-year high in the company's history.

Our main office overhead was 25 per cent of the net sales in 1930. Through strict control, both actual expenses and ratio to net sales have steadily been reduced, until in 1937 <pg. 165>

the ratio was down to 15 per cent, while expenses were at the lowest point ever reached.

When I joined the company, buying methods were not in keeping with volume. Proper discounts were not secured. Of the 10,000 different articles purchased, I established substantial savings on 80 per cent. For example, on three major groups of items alone, savings amounted to $120,000 a year.

---

And what does Mr. Monroe want to do? Can you tell?

Does he want to write copy? Specialize in public relations? Be an account executive again? Or perhaps be top man on the totem pole? -- he was a vice-president, you know.

Changing Careers

Carl could no longer abide the sight, smell, or taste of beer. For twenty years he had been a top-notch brewery salesman and at the time this story opens he was sales manager of one of the largest breweries in the East. Physically, Carl was the very personification of the beer sales-man. He was a cheerful roly-poly type with a beaming moon face that always surrounded a block-long cigar. Relishing his work in the past, he had built an impressive record of accomplishment. But now he was tired of beer. "An industrial line, that's what I want to handle," he told the group at the Man Marketing Clinic.

"I've been getting interviews right along," he went on. "Like today. I walk in and this big shot shakes hands with me. 'Let's see your resume, Carl' -- they always call me Carl -- 'so I can have something to work with while we're talking.'

"I hand him a copy, he takes one look and says, 'Brewery man, hey? That's out of our line.' I just can't get away from beer," he added mournfully. Everyone laughed at this, and Carl joined in too.

"Okay, it's funny," he said. "Maybe it's even foolish. I've got a good job but I won't be happy until I get away from it."  <pg. 166>

Every man makes his own choice. If that was the way he wanted it we were there to help.

"Are you a brewer or merchandiser?" we asked him.

"Merchandiser, of course," Carl exploded. "And let me tell you, this is one of the most competitive fields you can find. I really had to dream up some smart ideas to keep those beer taps flowing."

"Look at your resume again," we told him. "1945 to date -- Joseph Daubert Inc., 1940-1945, Eastern Breweries, and so on. You've got some good stories there about what you've done, but you hit everyone in the eye with brewery, brewery, brewery."

"I've got to give my background, don't I?"

"That's right. But why don't you concentrate attention on the fact that you're a merchant and not a brewery man?

"Why don't you talk in terms of merchandising functions?

"And you could arrange the resume the same way. Stick the company names somewhere down on the bottom so that your beer experience doesn't spill over too quickly. Start the ball rolling by showing how you solved selling problems, how you more than kept your own against all competition -- and how you can do the same for the firm you're addressing."

"I think you hit it on the nose," cried Carl. "I'll get right into the problem of moving goods in my opening shot. And I've got some original ideas on training salesmen any executive would like to know."

And so Carl functionalized his resume The functional approach means simply that you present your background according to types of experience grouped together, rather than by the individual jobs. For example, the attendance record method is to use dates coupled with duties for each firm, as Carl did originally:

1945 to date A Brewery

What I did there

1940-1945 B Brewery

What I did there

Handled functionally, Carl grouped his experiences according to the work he did. Like this: <pg. 167>

Sales Promotion

Sales Administration

Sales Analysis Sales Training

Under each heading he then gave stories of what he did in that phase of merchandising. In that way his years of able handling of merchandising functions came through. Now his record spelled sales executive and not beer salesman.

True, Carl's change of career wasn't too drastic. It was just a matter of different selling lines. A jump from hotel manager, say, to advertising would of course be more difficult.

Still, when changing careers, the functional approach is the best way to manage it. In going after a job you haven't held before, select the five or six major functions of that job and use them as section headings. Then insert your most closely related experiences under each one.

Play up all those things that tie the two careers together. When you group the similarities under functional headings, your qualifications for the new job come through -- without emphasizing that you have not held that type of job before. This gives you a chance to sell your overall ability before the question of specific experience arises.

For example, consider our hypothetical hotel manager who wants to be an advertising man. First he could establish his right to be considered for his new career in two or three short paragraphs that tie the old and the new together. Like this:

For years I've had one promotion problem after another tossed into my lap. Did a hotel need more guests? Did the banquet department clamor for more customers? Did the restaurant want more diners? And the ballroom more social events?

Always I had to analyze the problem, plan the advertising and promotion campaign, prepare the copy. And always I got results.

Then, he could tell where he got this experience in one short section. Like this:

Hotel Shelton       Cleveland    5 years

Hotel Ambassador    Detroit      3 years <pg. 168>

That done, he could go on to more detailed stories of some of his best advertising campaigns -- the problems, what he did, and the results.

Weave "sell" into your presentations with stories that dramatize your achievements.

But let's be clear on this. Either the story-by-job approach or the functional arrangement will fit into the well-planned presentation. Use the one you find most comfortable. It's just in changing careers that the functional approach has the best of it.

This point has been demonstrated over and over again in the long years of Clinic experience. So much so indeed, that it has become axiomatic in Clinic circles that a radical change in careers calls for functional treatment in your sales presentations.

The reason for this is clear. When you break down your old jobs in terms of operational activities you are much more likely to find parallel sets of functions in the new field you're heading for. This enables you to get more mileage out of your past experience as you can more readily set it within the framework of the new requirements.

This does not mean you can safely omit time and place details when changing careers. Most employers want to know where you worked before and for how long. You can give this information directly but briefly. That done, you can then effectively concentrate on drawing parallels between the functions you performed so well in the past and those waiting to be carried out in your new line of work.