Resume Help Blog

Posts Tagged ‘resumes’

Resumes today are changing in how they determine qualified candidates. It used to be that a simple accounting of one’s work and educational experiences was enough to be titled “resume.”

Today, the competition due to layoffs, downsizing and women joining the work force in greater numbers has resulted in a decrease in the number of available positions as more people vie for them. Old positions are becoming obsolete as technology creates new ones, technology is ever changing and creating new demands and deficits, and the idea of remaining in any one position or career for an entire work-life is no longer a realistic expectation.

The result is a need for something more. This “more” comes in the form of “benefits” of service, allowing the reader to appreciate the benefit of hiring someone over a competing candidate with similar skill sets. The assumption is that if an individual brought benefit to a past employer (achievements), a new employer may enjoy the same type of beneficial service.

So what can make a resume “weak” is the same thing, in its opposite, that can give it strength.

Candidates often forget that the decision maker within the hiring process is feeling his or her own brand of pressure. This person is being held accountable for their selection of the best candidate for the position. He or she will have to justify his or her decision, as well as backing up the reasoning for hiring one candidate over another. A resume that clearly defines the additional benefits (achievements) offered provides a good foundation for this reasoning.
One Page Restriction (?)
The old standard that a resume should be no more than a page in length has changed. Two pages is fine, even when hiring managers say they prefer a one-page document – IF (and this is an important “IF”) the information contained is valuable to your reader and relevant to the position you’re targeting. The absolute limit however is two pages.

All the information contained in your resume should be relevant to the position and company being targeted, and key information should always be presented as early as possible in the document. If your information isn’t relevant to the job or company being targeted – take it out!

A resume may only receive an initial viewing of as little as 15 seconds, or less. Therefore keep it short and relevant.
What To Do When What You’re Doing Isn’t Working
The Don’ts:

• Don’t assume this job search will be just like the last job search. It may be harder or easier, but chances are it will be different. Use all the avenues available to you in this job search.
• Don’t set your sights on the one perfect potential offer and stop all other activities and search efforts. No job opportunity is a guarantee until the job has been offered and accepted. Keep looking, keep submitting resumes, keep applying, and keep interviewing for other positions, even when you believe, in your heart of hearts, that an offer is in the air.
• Don’t focus all your energy and extra time on your job search. Establish a set number of hours per day or week that you will devote to securing a new position and use any extra time available to: improve yourself (take a course, read, learn a new skill), catch up with friends and family, catch up on activities or projects you haven’t had time to enjoy or complete, volunteer to a cause that means something to you, meditate and relax, help someone else, and have some fun. Creating balance in your job search will make you more productive and enthusiastic, and will increase your chances for success.
• Don’t let fear of the unknown overwhelm you. Rather, think of all the possibilities, envision yourself doing what you want to do and being where you want to be. Focus your energies on the positive, see it in your mind, believe it will happen, and make it happen.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
• Don’t be afraid to offer help. Your interviewer and potential employer is looking for solutions. Go in as a positive problem solver and you will increase the perception of your hiring value tenfold.

Don’t let negative experiences or feelings from past events or positions cloud, hinder or damage your ability or opportunity to secure a new position. Rethink these situations and find the positives. Focus on these positives and what you have gained or learned from the experience and use this new level of understanding to your advantage.

The Do’s:

• Do have your resume reviewed for strengths and weaknesses. Talk to the people who are currently responsible for hiring in the field, industry or position you want to secure, regardless of whether a position opening currently exists. Have these individuals review your resume. Have them offer you suggestions on areas in need of definition, improvement, or greater experience. Allow them to guide you in ways you can improve your opportunities, and follow through on their suggestions.
• Do network with professionals in your industry of choice. Talk to the people currently doing the type of work you want to secure and learn from them. Join professional associations. Participate in professional events.
• Do establish goals, but don’t set your ultimate goal as your immediate goal. Envision your ultimate goal and determine what steps are necessary and what shorter term goals must be met, first, in order to reach the ultimate goal. Establish flexible time frames in which to meet these smaller goals and celebrate your success upon reaching each, before moving to the next goal.
• Do use every avenue available to get your resume and information out to your targeted market. This includes applying to jobs posted in every venue imaginable. Contact recruiters (but only those who are employer-paid). Contact college placement professionals and representatives from your alumni college. Search the Internet, phone book, library reference guides, and professional publications for information on companies of interest, and contact them (after you’ve done your homework and regardless of whether or not a job position is being advertised or made known). Attend career fairs and industry-related events and always have your resume ready for distribution anywhere you go. Tell everyone you know that you are in the market and what you can do. Volunteer your services to organizations in need.
• Do prepare yourself for interview situations by practicing your public speaking and interviewing skills, preparing appropriate answers to difficult questions, focusing on what value and benefit your skills and experiences can contribute to the companies you’re currently targeting, and how you are presenting yourself to others in both mannerisms and dress.
• Do thank everyone who has helped you in this job search, and follow up on all job interviews with notes of appreciation, it can be the deciding factor between two equally qualified candidates. Don’t assume that everyone follows up an interview with a note, because very few candidates actually do. By showing your appreciation to those who have helped you in your job search, you’ll build your network and keep allegiances strong.

Do continue managing your career and building up your network, even after you secure the perfect job. Update your resume periodically, while the information is current and fresh in your mind. Career management is an ongoing process.

Employers and recruiters receive hundreds of resumes for every position they are trying to fill. To select their shortlist of candidates to interview, they look for the most common resume mistakes and eliminate them first. To increase your chances of getting an interview, make sure you avoid these common mistakes.

Ten Resume Mistakes to Avoid

1. Multiple pages – You need to be concise. Keep it to one page and one page only. If you can’t highlight your talents on one page, you’re generally giving the message that you are unorganized and tend to go on and on. There are a few exceptions to this rule but generally speaking one page is best.

2. Fancy paper – If your skills don’t speak for themselves, then your fancy paper isn’t going to make a bit of difference.

3. Fancy font – Same as above. Don’t try to set yourself apart with a different font on your resume. Set yourself apart by being uniquely qualified. It’s a proven fact that normal fonts like Times Roman and Arial are easier to read and that strange fonts (like the script ones) cause a persons eyes to not move naturally over the text. If a person has to concentrate on what they are reading because of the script font then they will put it down and move onto another resume that’s easier to read.

4. Irrelevant info – No one really cares that you were a singing waiter if you’re applying for an accountant job.

5. Outdated information – Does it matter that you had a newspaper route and were on the high school cheerleading squad 24 years ago? Leave it off.

6. Typos and misspellings – You would think this is an obvious one, but you’d be amazed at the number of resumes received with big blaring mistakes. This can’t be stressed enough!

7. Falsified information -Greatly elaborated credentials are the same as lies. Do not list diplomas, certifications, affiliations or awards that you did not earn. Just don’t do it. Especially nowadays when employers are hiring “screening” firms to do background checks. They WILL call the colleges and institutions you say you went to and it’ll come back to bite you in the butt.

8. Attachments – At the resume stage do not send any attachments, whatsoever. If you are granted an interview, at that time you could bring in whatever it is you’re so hot to get into the selecting official’s hands. The person accepting the resumes will likely just throw it in the round file. So while letters of recommendation are nice, you are better off bringing them with you to the interview and NOT attaching them to the email or fax or electronic application.

9. Elaborating too much – Place of employment, job title and brief, very brief description of job responsibilities are all you need. Don’t complete a whole paragraph for each job you’ve held. Hold these for the job interview and be very prepared for that. Make sure that you include the “bragging” points. Things that brought value to your employer. Saving money, saving time, managing 100 people, etc. Nobody cares if you made fresh coffee every morning or fetched lunch for people (even if it WAS part of your job).

10. No cover letter – Writing a good cover letter is a bit of an art. However, any cover letter is better than none. Just keep the same principles in mind with your letter: Brevity, relevant and free from typos.

If you can avoid these ten simple resume mistakes, you’re more than half way there to getting an interview. Once you have your foot in the door you can really shine for the boss. If you don’t make it past the first cut, due to any of the above fatal mistakes, your beautiful resume will be used to wipe up coffee spills or will be added to the recycle pile! Don’t let that happen to you.