When you start to look up hints and tips on resume writing online, you will find a number of websites and support guides that claim to help you write the perfect resume. Most of us are aware of the fact that your resume is extremely important and can be make or break when it comes to an employer deciding whether to invite you in for an interview. Most of us know what to include on a resume when it comes to job hunting, but it also means we fall into the same traps of including information that we don’t need.
Out Of Date Information: A lot of us just use the same resume when it comes to applying for different jobs. This is fine as long as the information included in the resume is generic and not too specific. For example, if you have a list of objectives on your resume, then you need to make sure that it matches the job you are applying for because it if doesn’t this is going to be detrimental to your job application.
Head Shots: Don’t include photos in your application because they are simply not needed. Whilst people shouldn’t judge on appearance (and probably won’t admit that they do) it is easy to do so, so you really don’t want to give them an excuse to write off your application purely on the way you look.
Personal Information: Information such as your date of birth, where you were born, name of your partner, etc. is information that they don’t need and simply serves to make your resume longer than it needs to be. Make sure that the information on your job application and resume is only the information that needs to be included in order to help them make up their mind as to whether or not to invite you in for an interview.
Why You Left Your Last Job: Unless your last job was temporary or for a set contract, don’t include any information regarding the ending of your last job on your resume. If your potential new employers need to know this, then they will ask you at the interview stage. There is no need to include this on your resume.
Unfinished Information: Any decent word processing program with have a resume template that you can use to create a professional looking resume on. This is great, but make sure that you don’t leave any of it incomplete (ie “your name here” instead of replacing it with your own name).
This is just a short look at things you should leave off of your resume in order to give yourself the best chance of job success and to help you create the perfect resume.
If you are applying for jobs but aren’t being successful, then it is time to look at where you could be going wrong. The job market is tough so if you aren’t doing what you can to beat the competition, then you are really ruining your chances of being successful.
There are several things that can help or hinder your job application success rates and if you are having problems in getting your dream job, then you need to look at these and how they can be improved.
One of the main things you need to look at is your resume and making sure that it does you justice. There are several ways that you can get hints and tips on how to have the perfect resume and the changes you can make to ensure that your resume is doing the best possible job for you.
However, when you are simply reading other people’s advice and trying to put that into place with your resume, it can be difficult. Knowing what your resume should be like and how to improve it is hard, but it is a vital step to job success.
If this is something that concerns you or you feel like you could do with help improving your resume, then why not get a professional on board? By getting someone who knows what they are doing to read over your resume and make any improvements that are needed, you are giving yourself the best chance of job success.
The term “return on investment” (ROI) means getting something worth your money, no matter what that is. A resume needs a good ROI as well. One rule of thumb for your resume is to ensure that it earns revenue in excess of the amount of money your company has spent on your training. Write your resume in terms of wording your successes effectively.
For example, a person in sales could mention bringing in a key client for the company. If the client contributed $10 million to your company’s bottom line, then that will be a demonstration of your ability to close profitable sales. It also shows your value to potential employers. That’s precisely how you want prospective employers to think of you – in terms of how much value you bring to them.
When it comes to demonstrating numerical success, you have several options. You can use
Percentages
Amount of revenue increase
Profitability ratio
Etc.
It’s always nice to be able to illustrate your success with hard numbers.
If you refrain from getting bogged down in your duties and draw attention to your successes instead, then you’ll be able to clearly demonstrate to potential employers why you are the right candidate for the job. Focus on results. Make sure your resume doesn’t look like you copied your job description off a company website. Use hard and verifiable facts about how you created success in past positions. This will separate you from the competition.
If you’re not sure how to use hard facts, go back and read some performance reviews. What did your boss consider your strengths? If your performance review shows high praise for your ability to communicate effectively with clients, you can use that in your resume. You can incorporate that information to make yourself stand out from the crowd.
But what if you can’t do that? Then try to come up with accomplishments you made that were significant improvements to your company’s culture and overall work environment. Did you improve work efficiency? Did your customer service skills result in happier customers and fewer complaints? Think along those lines.
I hope this gives you a better idea of how you can demonstrate ROI to potential employers. Think in terms of numerical successes will clear examples. You’ll soon have the job of your dreams.
If you were to ask career counselors if a career objective is worth merit, half of them would say yes. Those arguing against objectives will say they are too limiting and usually poorly constructed. Those in favor will say that employers want to be able to determine quickly what you can do for the company and what you’re good at. An objective can help meet that need. To some employers, the lack of an objective translates into a job seeker who doesn’t know what he or she wants. On the other hand, numerous employers say they rarely see a well-written objective.
There’s no doubt that many resume career objectives are poorly put together as they are usually vague and not job specific. This defeats the whole purpose of the objective in the first place.
Job seekers also tend to ignore the employer’s need to know what a potential employee can contribute and list everything that the job seeker wants. For example, a typical self-serving objective will say “To obtain a meaningful and challenging position which enables me to learn the accounting field and which allows for advancement.” If your career objective doesn’t match what the hiring manager has to offer, he or she is not likely to give serious consideration to other positions within the company that you might fit into.
In other words, don’t leave the career objective off of your resume. You can have several versions of your resume saved on your computer that each have a different objective. You could even come up with a specific, tailor-made objective on your resume for each job you apply for. With technology, resumes and objectives need not be “one size fits all.” However, if you go to a job fair where it’s impossible to tailor your objective as you move from booth to booth, or if you’re handing out resumes in a networking situation, it may make more sense to leave your objective off.
If you are still uncomfortable with committing yourself to an objective on your resume, you can use a cover letter to tailor a resume to specific jobs. The cover letter can help bring the resume into sharper focus by elaborating on what the job seeker wants to do and what he or she can specifically contribute to a particular job.
Employers are seeing more objectives being replaced with wording such as summary, skills summary, qualifications or profile. Keywords in these sections are very important if they are tailored to specific job skills.
Objectives should reflect the employer’s perspective, not the job seeker’s, and should tell what the job seeker can contribute. An objective should demonstrate the value the candidate will add to the organization. Objectives should be as concise as possible. Whether or not you choose to include an objective, you may wish to present a skills or qualifications section on your resume
In today’s current era of technology, social media, choppy economies, and 14-year-old executives, it pays to learn the job search process. Anyone, whether employed or not, can benefit from learning how to streamline the job search process.
With over 40,000 websites and companies competing to offer job search services, it is easy to get confused. Career websites are set up so that you can submit resumes electronically to businesses. Applying for jobs takes time, and landing one is really a numbers game. Almost all potential jobs can now be examined, located, and applied for from the comfort of your own home. Follow these simple steps to learn how to manage your time and resources in an effort to get more interviews. Write Down your Goals. Before even writing a resume or applying, write down your goals. If you don’t write yours down, you will just be helping someone else achieve theirs. Decide what you want, write it down, and create a plan to get what you want. Get a Resume and Cover Letter. Write your own or use a service. If you think about the cost/benefit analysis of purchasing a resume, it really makes sense to invest in a custom resume written by a professional. This could be the difference between two jobs and big salary differences. There are numerous experts that say a cover letter is imperative. Most resume services will write a cover letter with the resume you purchase. Then all you have to do is change the company and contact name in the letter. Another reason to use a professional resume service is because they know how to write resumes integrating all the right keywords in all the right places. Research Companies. Research the companies for which you want to work. When interviewing it is always better to keep focused on the company and how you will benefit them. Don’t sell yourself short. Get Organized. When you find a job of interest, be sure to make a list of their contact people and email them your resume directly if possible. If there is a phone number, pick up the phone and call the headhunter. Log everything. You never know when HR will call. You will look really good if you know something about the representative. Submit your Resume. This is by far the most important step. Most of the time, jobs will find you, not the other way around on line at various job boards.
These five steps, if followed, will guide you to an interview. Always remember that your thoughts control your destiny. You have to be positive and patient. You can do it. Always remember, if you don’t respect yourself, no one else will.
The electronic age has revolutionized the way job seekers and employers meet. Online services take the volume of resume traffic to levels unimagined only a few years ago. With services to job seekers expanding continually, it’s important to understand the different options available to increase exposure of your resume to potential employers and recruiters. Two types are resume posting and resume distribution. Resume Posting. This is a service where job seekers post their resumes to a job board for employers and recruiters to find. This is a passive approach in that the employer or recruiter must find you within the resume database. They usually find you by calling up resumes via key words. The chances of their finding you depend greatly on your including all the appropriate key words in your resume.
This service is normally free to job seekers, and used only by those employers and recruiters who have paid a substantial fee to access the resumes. In other words, when you post your resume to an online resume posting service, not every employer or recruiter will find you. Resume Distribution. This is actually opposite of a posting service. With a resume distribution, the job seeker has access to a select database of well-qualified employers and/or recruiters to email his/her resume to. This service does cost the job seeker a fee. The amount will vary depending on the service you use.
There are several advantages of a distribution service. The advantages include not having to wait to be found, you decide who receives your resume and you are in control of who actually gets your resume.
Make sure the distribution service allows you to target the employers who receive your resume. At a minimum, you should be able to query the employer/recruiter database by industry, job function and geographic region. If the service offers no targeting capabilities, your resume may be sent out indiscriminately to employers and recruiters who do not match your employment criteria.
For optimum resume distribution or posting effectiveness you’ll want to make sure your resume is updated. If you are not currently getting the response rate from your resume that you’d like, using a resume distribution service will only be marginally helpful, because you will still be distributing a resume that is not working for you.
Both services, resume posting and resume distribution, are valuable strategies for your job search. Don’t be turned off by the fact that one is free and the other you must pay for. The money spent on a good quality resume distribution will repay you over and over again with valuable job leads and introductions to influential recruiters. After all, aren’t you worth it?
Both cover letters and resumes are essential when applying to a job. However, each format has its own specific style so it is important not to confuse the two in the preparation process.
The cover letter introduces the candidate as well as explains to the prospective employer the reasons and qualifications for applying to the specific job.
A resume is the listing of experiences, accomplishments, and education that one has accumulated over the years. These are the five ways that cover letters and resumes differ:
While the resume is brief in nature, the cover letter should expand on any details that the resume may have left off, including explanations for inconsistencies.
The cover letter should be an actual letter with complete sentences and divided paragraphs while the resume can have bullet points and phrases.
The cover letter attempts to get further consideration from whomever reads it while the resume is the basis for which they see the candidate’s background and qualifications.
A resume outlines past accomplishments and experiences while a cover letter expresses future goals.
The cover letter can express more enthusiasm in the language while resumes should follow a rigid and professional tone.
As you can see, the two go hand in hand. So, be sure to have your cover letter prepared and detailed for each job posting that you apply for.
It’s funny how job titles have changed over the years. You know, titles like “nurse’s aide” are now called “patient care representative” and “janitor” is now called “sanitation engineer.” The newer job titles of the 1990s had all positions sound much more glamorous than they really were.
Other phrases that were popular on resumes in the ’90s were “team leader,” “coordinator,” “communication manager,” blah, blah, blah. Employers of today do not want to see those types of phrases on executive resumes. While you may very well have developed skills in these areas, it is important to word your resume a little differently so it won’t sound as boring as the other resumes.
Instead of using a catch-all phrase like the ones listed above, employers are now looking for pieces of information within your resume. You need to tailor your resume to be more specific about your skills and accomplishments.
For example, team leader. Detail what you were a leader of or what you coordinated. Not just the phrase “team leader.” It is important to be much more creative with resumes because that more than anything else will make your resume stand apart from the rest.
And with the job markets the way they are and more people competing for the same jobs, you have to have something on your resume that will catch the attention of a recruiter so they will stop and really read your resume.
Resources and resume examples are available for you to help you transform your resume into a completely new one – one that will stand apart from the crowd.
