Resume Help Blog

Archive for the ‘Changing Careers’ Category

With so many individuals competing for jobs, the only thing that will differentiate you from the rest of the equally qualified crowd is what you achieved while on the job. But be warned—an accomplishment must be quantified in order to hold any weight with the hiring manager or recruiter.

Too many times an individual writes: “Reorganized an entire department per management instructions.” That’s not an accomplishment, that is a daily duty. An accomplishment would read: “Generated savings in excess of $25,000 annually by reorganizing the marketing department and employing temp workers rather than full-time staff.” This speaks to what a hiring manager and/or recruiter wants to see: how you can make them money and how you can save them money.

To further strengthen your resume, make certain to put at least one, preferably two, quantified and relevant accomplishments in the Qualifications Summary. This is especially true if you use the word “proven” to describe yourself. For example, you write: “Accounting professional with comprehensive experience and proven results in negotiations with the IRS.”

Proven by whom? You? That’s not enough proof for a hiring manager or recruiter. They want more. It’s better to write: “Accounting professional with comprehensive experience and proven results in negotiations with the IRS as evidenced by the $0.5 million in savings, resulting from the 2009 audit.”

The above clearly states that you saved your company a half-million dollars through your expertise. That speaks volumes to hiring managers and puts you well above the others competing for the same position.

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Hiring managers routinely receive hundreds, perhaps thousands, of responses from applicants for any given job. To avoid having your resume sink into this sea of paper, it’s imperative to stand out from the crowd and make a good first impression. A compelling cover letter that meets five essential requirements will convince a hiring manager to read an applicant’s resume.

Rule #1: Create appealing appearance
The resume and cover letter must be aesthetically pleasing and consistent in appearance. This includes using the same heading and fonts for each.

Rule #2: Target your audience
Always use the hiring manager’s name in the salutation. If the contact’s name isn’t provided in the job posting, a bit of Internet research or a well-structured phone call can produce results.

Rule #3: Produce a strong opening
A dynamic opening paragraph is essential to capture and retain a hiring manager’s interest. Pared down to essentials for a quick and effective read, it should reference the position you are seeking and include a brief statement as to why you believe you are qualified to fill the job.

Rule #4: Showcase accomplishments
Include a bulleted area to emphasize accomplishments pertinent to the targeted job.

Rule #5: Close with a proactive statement
Always initiate further action at the end of a cover letter. A proactive closing indicates that you will call within a few days to see if a time might be scheduled to meet. Then, be sure to follow through on the action you include in your letter.

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You have been out of work for quite awhile and it doesn’t seem that you will ever get another job again. I know it’s frustrating because I like you read the newspapers and listen to the news and know that you are just one of many. So what are you to do?

First let me say that the purpose of this article IS NOT to sell you something just because I might think you are desperate enough to buy it. This is an article to give you some ideas.

I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh program Friday and he had a call from a landscaper in Florida who said that his income had been cut by over 50% due to the new home foreclosures. The gist of the call was Rush’s suggestion that the caller approach the banks who now own the homes and make them a deal on maintaining the lawns rather than have them sit unattended until they sell. Since the banks don’t want to own them and really want to resell them it makes sense that they would want to keep the appearance looking beautiful.

That got me to thinking. Look around you and find a need then see if you can think of some way to fill that need. Back in 1976 I worked in aerospace and had a job that I hated. At that time I came across a company that offered training for repairing vinyl in restaurants. The cost was modest so after looking into it, I went for some training and bought the equipment to do this. The training consisted not only repairing the torn or cut vinyl but color matching so it would look presentable and the tear wouldn’t get larger. In a couple of weeks I was ready to begin. Well I thought I was but it turns out that I needed more experience, so I went to work at home practicing what I had learned. All told it took me about a month and the cost for training and equipment was modest. Incidentally, I made a good living from this.

There are many things like this that you can learn or maybe you already have what you need to begin. Start by brainstorming with your wife/husband/friends/relatives etc., and see what ideas you come up with.

Doing that is 1000 times more productive than waiting for “something to happen”. Think about it and see if you can come up with about ten ideas then delve into the possibilities. If you have trouble coming up with ten ideas do some research but don’t quit. Even if it took you some time, what else are you doing?

You are not beaten unless you absolutely give up.  Never do that!