One of the things that we at Management Recruiters have learned is that resumes, more often than not, result in more rejections than interviews. For this reason we seldom send a resume to a prospective employer. In presenting you to a prospective employer, it is our objective to have you stand out above the other candidates. One of the best ways that we have developed to do this is the Features/Accomplishments/Benefits presentation or FAB for short. The FAB presentation helps us to present your background and experience in a format that helps the employer to see value. Unlike a resume, it does not contain any information that an employer frequently uses to disqualify a candidate from consideration for an opportunity. The FAB presentation is totally job related.

 JUST WHAT DOES A FAB DO?

• It tells what you can do for the employer. We want to show the employer just how you can impact their business and make their life easier. Remember the employer wants to know what’s in it for them?
• It tells how you can benefit the potential employers.
• It helps to detail what you’ve accomplished in your past and present jobs.
• It helps to highlight your unique accomplishments and experiences.

 WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A FAB PRESENTATION?

Example: 8 years experience as a supervisor. Chemical Engineering,
BS in Chemical engineering, specializing in production management.

• Significant, specific results you have generated for present or past employers.

• Quantitative and measurable.

Example: Reduced waste by 27% or $50K per month by introducing
6 Sigma QA Program that…
Increased sales by $1MM in first six month by…
Opened 38 new accounts.

Example: Won’t need long training periods.
Will be able to make a major impact to the company’s bottom line.

 HOW DO WE DO A FAB?

1. Make several copies of the blank FAB sheet below.
2. Block out 2 to 3 hours of uninterrupted time to complete your FAB. The time that you invest in preparing your FAB presentation will help your recruiter in marketing you to prospective employers and in finding the right career opportunity for you.
3. Analyze yourself and what you have done in your career. Single out FEATURES that make up your education, years and types of experience, patents and licenses obtained, awards won, special seminars and unique life experience.
4. Prepare a personal career timeline. List all positions; no matter how small, include any and all promotions. List all significant ACCOMPLISHMENTS for each position. If possible try to quantify them with specific accomplishments. Numbers talk. Review them and identify how you can BENEFIT the new employer because of your past experience or training. Pick the most compelling reason someone should hire you over someone else. Ask yourself just what you can do for a new employer.
5. Fill out and assemble the information on the FAB form. List these FEATURES and the ACCOMPLISHMENTS for each feature. Next, show BENEFITS as result of the Features and Accomplishments. Try to get as many as possible. There may only be one benefit for multiple accomplishments.
6. Go over your FAB presentation again. Have you forgotten anything? Are there any more accomplishments or benefits that you overlooked? Is there anything else that you can quantify? Can you rephrase a benefit so that you will look more attractive to an employer? Remember; don’t be afraid to blow your horn, but be truthful.

BASED UPON YOUR FABs, IF YOU WERE AN EMPLOYER, WOULD YOU WANT TO INTERVIEW AND HIRE THIS PERSON?

1. Did you help to increase sales, productivity, efficiency, etc? Specifically, what was the dollar or percentage contribution? How did you do this? Did you have a unique approach or different results from others?

• Specific dollar amounts are the strongest evidence that you can offer. Use percentages only when the actual dollar amounts would be less meaningful versus the actual percentage.

2. Did you save money for the company? How much did you actually save the company? What were the circumstances? How much more ($, %) than others? How were your results compared to others?

3. Did you institute any new systems, procedures or changes? Why? What was the situation that led to the change? Who approved? Why was this system selected over others? Did it compete with others? What happened as a result from your action? Has it been adopted anywhere else in the company? Where?

4. Did you identify any problem that had been overlooked? What was the problem? What was the solution? Why was it overlooked?

• Answering this question proves that you have the capacity to delve deeper than the next person.

5.  Were you ever promoted? Why were you promoted? How long between promotions? Did you do

something outstanding to earn your promotion? How much more responsibility did you have? Did you get to manage people? How many? Were you given significant salary increases or raises? What were the circumstances? Were you ever promoted by more than one party in the company?

• Being promoted several times by different parties within a company provides strong evidence that you have the potential for growth and advancement and that you can work well with others in management. A prospective employer wants and needs to know this.

6. Did you ever train anyone? Did you develop or help develop any training programs? Describe them. Compare your results to others. Is your program being used by anyone else in the organization? Industry? Why is that? What has happened as a result of your training?

• It is a well-known fact that executives don’t get promoted until they have trained their replacement. Make sure to let it be known to the potential employer.

7. Did you suggest any new programs? Describe the program? What were the results? Did they increase efficiency or sales? Were they published or presented at any industry seminars, conventions, and industry magazines or trade journals?

8. Did you help to establish any new goals, ideas or objectives for your company? Did you convince management that they should adopt these goals or objectives? How did you arrive at your unique goal, idea or objective? Why were they adopted? What did it result in?

9. Did you change the nature or scope of your job? Why or how did you redefine your position? Have others with similar roles redefined their positions because of you? Were there responsibility changed because of this? What were they?

    10. Did you ever undertake a project that was not part of your responsibility because you liked or were intrigued              by the problem?

• This is proof that you not only have the ability to take initiative, you also are totally involved in your work.

11. Did you ever do anything to lighten your workload or make your job easier?

• This shows an employer that you are interested in increasing profits, reducing costs, or increasing volume. Prospective employers are always interested in people with this kind of initiative. Especially when it leads to positive results.

12. What special problems were you hired for or brought in to solve? What did you do? How did

you analyze the situation? What were your proposed solutions? What were the results?

13. Show any areas where you were creative. What were they? What did they result in?

• I.e., solutions, products, innovations, applications, markets, accounts, etc.

14. What would you say would be the most important qualities for the position you seek? Put yourself in the shoes of your prospective boss. Describe six qualities or characteristics and look for examples you have for each of them. Look for how you match up to each of these qualities or characteristics. How do you stack up?

These illustrations prove to the employer that you have what it takes to do what they are looking for to do the job. Remember! People don’t hire resumes, they hire people!

FAB SHEET