Résumé Building

A search of Barnes&Noble.com shows 2115 results when searching for the term “résumé”.  One thing that all of these books have in common is that they ask you to tell a story about yourself and your experience.  Before you hit the computer, it might not be a bad idea to grab a scratch pad and write down some of those life experiences that would add some heft to what you will want to include in your résumé.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Have you ever changed a light bulb or the air filter in your house?

Have you ever used a hammer or a tape measure? 

Have you ever sent an email?

Have you ever taken a photograph with a camera?

Do you pride yourself on your ability to solve the mystery before the detective on the crime dramas?

Let’s take a look at your answers:

Have you ever changed a light bulb or the air filter in your house?

            “I am mechanically inclined”

Have you ever used a hammer or a tape measure?

            “Some construction experience” 

Have you ever sent an email?

            “Computer Literate”

Have you ever taken a photograph with a camera?

            “Able to document damage with photos”

Do you pride yourself on your ability to solve the mystery before the detective on the crime dramas?

            “Good attention to detail”

Now, this does not mean that you should add anything to your resume that isn’t the truth, but you want to make sure that you add those traits that show all of your positives when your potential employer’s HR staff is looking to add you to their roster.

A detailed description of what an adjuster does is as follows:

Independent Insurance Adjuster, XYZ Adjusting Inc.

Responding quickly to catastrophic events, usually arriving within 48 hours, responsible for managing claims inventory, determining legal liability and extent of damage to persons and property and assisting agents in the resolution of claims by working with policyholders to investigate, evaluate, negotiate, and conclude claims including verification of coverage, assess their losses and pay for covered losses within the carrier’s policy guidelines within a wide range of policies to include; Homeowners, Renters, Rental Dwelling, Farm and Ranch, Manufactured Homeowners, and Commercial.  This involves initial contact with the policyholders, setting up appointments, inspecting and assessing covered damages, creating a written or computerized estimate, documenting all activities associated with a claim, and providing excellent customer service through the entire claims process. 

My résumé is complete, what next?

Get it out there!  Take your company list and your own research and put it into action.  A large portion of the independent firms have some sort of online application process as well as good contact info so that you can mail in your resume.

In this industry, if you want to work, you need to let them know that you are ready.  Send out that resume and follow it up with phone calls to the firms HR department to verify that it was received.  Ask the firm if there is anything you can do training wise that will make you more deployable.  Finally, if they give you a task to complete, then COMPLETE IT!

Take the time to make regular calls to see if any storm deployments are available and if you can get in on the fun.