One of the most often used phrases on a resume is usually found under the heading “Career Objective,”or “Career Summary” and the same phrase is used over and over without regard to profession. It’s a generic phrase that your career objective is to find a job somewhat related to the degree you studied for in college. The exact wording varies slightly, but it all means the same thing: you haven’t put much thought into your career. It’s understandable when you are unemployed and willing to take basically any position offered that you might use a generic phrase.It’s still a mistake. You need to, at the very least, tailor it to match the specific job you are applying for and to be different enough from others applying for the job that you merit attention from the hiring manager. Better still is to spend the time thinking about your dream job and to state your actual career objective. It doesn’t matter if your objective is above, or even skewed from, the position to which you are applying. You can address this, briefly, in your cover letter. As an example, if your career goal is to be a computer software designer but the position you are applying for is at the help desk, you can state that while your goal is to be a software designer you are willing to work as a tech at the help desk because it will enable you to better understand the components of software design from the perspective of the user. A hiring manager will likely appreciate your honesty as well as the way you think about those situations. Remember, if you haven’t been able to define your career goals to yourself, then you will never be able to define them to someone else, and you will certainly never be able to meet them. So spend some time figuring this out and update your resume accordingly.
There is an old joke of sorts that defines recession asan economic periodwhen your neighbor is out of work, and a depression as an economic period when you are out of work. The point of that is that for someone looking for a job the economy is never great. This is why persistence is so important for your job search. Without it, even in a great economy, you aren’t going to have much luck. As an example; a young woman I know was looking for a job. She had been an intern at a company that wasn’t hiring, but she sent them a copy of her resume anyway and requested that it be kept on file. She called and checked on new positions every other week but the company had tightened up due to the economy. After 6 months of this, she went and placed her updated resume on file. The head of the department remembered her and they were chatting about some of the changes that had taken place in the year since she had been an intern. The young woman drove the three hours home. Guess what? There was a job offer from the company waiting for her on her answering machine. The head of the department admired her persistence in keeping after what she wanted. This is a real world example of getting what you want by going after it. When a company isn’t hiring, politely request that they keep your resume on file and be sure to ask how long it will be kept. Then send another one. Visit the company, network with those who work there. Because many companies prefer to hire from within, consider taking any position that opens up with that business. Persistence is often the difference between a job and a career. It’s also often the difference between being employed and being unemployed.
Picking your references is a very important part of your resume,yet many people do not take them into proper consideration. Your references are important for potential employers to get an opinion of you from someone other than yourself. This means that the references you choose to put on your resume need to be competent, reliable, respectable, and trustworthy sources who your potential employers will listen to and respect their opinions of you. This also means that you want to pick people who will talk about you in a good way. Below are some ideas that may help you decide who to pick for your references and who to avoid.
Teachers/Professors–New Graduates or College Students: Teachers or professors that you have a good relationship with and who you have done good work for are a great option for references because they get to see your work, but they also can see how you work with other people. However, do not pick teachers that have not seen your academic work. Art and music teachers may have been good friends and teachers, but they do not get to see your writing, computer skills, or other skills that are applicable to your job. This can be ignored if your field of work is applicable to art or music.
Direct Supervisors/Managers– Professionals: Direct supervisors are a good choice to put down for a reference. They are able to see how you work while also being reliable and respectable people due to the nature of your relationship with them. Avoid putting supervisors as references if you have had major difficulties with them.
These are both excellent types of people to put as references. They will give the type of recommendation that you want without being biased due to familial connection or long term friendship.
When you are writing a resume you are in the mindset of showing yourself off and you want to make sure that your potential employers know all the impressive things about you that can get you the job. Unfortunately, adding all those impressive skills, experiences, and accomplishments could fill up your resume with too much information and make it uninteresting to your potential employers. So how do you know if you have too much information? Here are some ways to tell if you have too much information and help you fix your resume so it doesn’t have too much information.
Does your resume read like a letter? If your resume has commentary that adds interesting information making it read like a letter, then you have gone in the wrong direction with your resume and you need to edit so that your resume doesn’t have that extra commentary. If you feel the commentary is necessary, then add it to your cover letter.
Does your resume go longer than three pages? If your resume is longer than three pages, you may have too much information. For technical resumes or even some senior executive resumes, it may be more acceptable, but for the typical professional or executive 2 or even 3 pages is best. The reader doesn’t want to browse through your novel to get to the good stuff. Keep it clean, concise, relevant, and focused.
Does your resume give skills, experiences, or accomplishments that do not apply to the job? If they don’t apply to the job description, leave them out. There is no reason to have things on your resume that won’t help you get the job. So edit them out and get back to the things that are applicable and impressive for the job.
These tips will help you edit your resume so you have the right amount of impressive information to get you to the interview– and hopefully the job!
The expression “curriculum vitae” originated from a Latin phrase meaning “course of life.” It can be described as a concise review of an individual’s academic qualifications, professional experience, and skills and is usually attached to a job application when seeking a job. Whereas a curriculum vitae or CV is used particularly to apply for academic, educational, scientific, and research positions, or even for fellowships and grants in the United States, it is used to apply for all kinds of white collar jobs in other parts of the world. CVs can be anywhere from 3 to 20 pages and more (we’ve seen them all!)– that describe you and your career. Especially in academia, a CV can actually be several pages long, since educators will list all of their published papers, any speaking engagements,workshops, professional development, volunteer info and more. Employers use CVs to screen candidates for personal interviews and to aid in the final employee selection. Therefore, it is important for a CV to be catchy, attractive and interesting. Good CV writing thus becomes an important part of finding a good job. In spite of CVs being so popular, there are a few organizations that prefer to have job seekers apply for a job using a format designed by the company itself. The reason is simple: these businesses rate job seekers based on their answers to a series of standardized questions. A custom format ensures that all candidates provide the desired information, as opposed to a CV, which is somewhat flexible and makes it more difficult to compare two individuals. Internationally a CV is actually what people in the United States refer to as the resume.CV writing could be divided into groups based on the purpose for which a CV is written. General or all-purpose CV writing is when a CV is written to suit all general purposes. Graduate CV writing is when a new graduate writes a CV for his/her first job. Various forms of CV writing can be difficult and has to be done skilfully. Good CV writing is not something everyone can do. As a result, a huge number of professional CV writing companies have cropped up in recent years, each promising a better CV than the other. You could approach a company in person in order to get your CV made, or you could simply hire a CV writer online, from the comfort of your home. The choice is yours. Each CV designing company makes different promises and claims. As always, to your homework and research any company you are interested in.
Job hunting isn’t easy, which is reason enough to get it right the first time. Whether you are looking to change jobs or you need a new career because you are unemployed, it makes sense that you try to get a job as quickly as possible. You don’t want to spend months trawling job hunting websites and applying for jobs, instead you want to be as successful in your job hunt as quickly as possible.
When it comes to job hunting, many of us go about it in the same way and this means that we make the same mistakes. If you are searching for jobs but are being unsuccessful, then it is time to rethink your job hunting strategy and look at ways of helping to make your job hunt as successful as possible. One of the most common mistakes when it comes to job hunting is applying for too many jobs and spreading yourself too thin. You need to decide what career you want to follow and the jobs you want to apply for. It isn’t going to work for you just to apply for as many jobs as possible. You also need to make sure that your resume is suitable for the jobs you are applying for – sell yourself! Don’t just have a resume that is generalized rather than being tailored towards a particular industry. That will do you no favors. Don’t just assume that the longer your resume is the better. Remember that potential employers are likely to be reading a number of resumes so they are going to scan them quickly rather than paying major attention to them. This means that if your resume seems too long or full of too much text, then they will be put off at first glance – which is something that you want to avoid at all costs! Remember as well that job hunting isn’t easy for everyone, so make sure that you don’t give up at the first hurdle. There is a perfect job opportunity out there for everyone so you need to keep up the hunt in order to be successful in your quest for a brand new job or step up the career ladder.
The Cover Letter – More Important Than The Resume?
The resume gets you in for an interview, but what gets that resume in the door? The cover letter. The cover letter serves as an introduction to a prospective employer, much like a handshake. Make sure that you make a good impression with your cover letter. If the cover letter is not a good one the process stops there. A cover letter is often overlooked, but is definitely something that needs as much consideration as the resume. There is never a question of whether or not you need a cover letter. It is always necessary. Remember, first impressions are key. A cover letter is the first thing the hiring manager reads in the actual resume submission process. Good cover letters will convey to the person reading it that you are in fact qualified for the potential position and send everything to the specific hiring manager for the position. That will be the person you need to follow up with later. A basic description of your personal experience that covers any qualifications of the specific job will make a cover letter stand out. Being polite is crucial. Be sure to thank the reader for their time in reviewing your information and mention your experience in terms of their needs, not yours. Mention only your qualifications that best match the position for which you are applying. Show off your manners. Make your mom proud.
End the cover letter with an action plan such as you’ll follow up with them next Tuesday. Bad cover letters will be impersonal and easy to ignore when you address the cover letter “To Whom It May Concern.” Put more time into it. Find out the name of the person handling this hire. Call around and use your resources. This will make a big difference. Keep it simple. A cover letter shouldn’t be more than one page. Stay on subject and think of the letter in terms of the reader, not yourself. Talk more about things you can do for the company rather than only what you’ve done successfully throughout your career. Negative information about the companies you’ve worked for or any layoffs have no place in a cover letter. Very little about your personal life also does not need to be mention. Remember, this is not a social networking site where you mention your wonderful spouse and awesome kids. You may just alienate someone immediately with that if they are having personal problems.
So you now have the information necessary to draft an intelligent cover letter that should not be overlooked. Start researching the companies you are interested in, locate the names of the people you will be sending resumes to and begin to draft your work of art.
Whilst many people are happy to create their own resumes and are able to write a perfectly good resume, there are times when you have to go the extra mile. We know that the type of job that you have will make a big difference to the resume that you submit. It is important to make sure that your resume matches the job you are applying for. There are times when a normal resume isn’t enough and this may be when it is time to consider professional resume creation. If you are going for a high flying job, for example, or one that is at the top of the career ladder, then you’ll want to make sure that your resume is up to the high standards that a job of this level would expect.
If you aren’t sure how to go about this, then you can contact a company to create a professional resume for you. There are different services and add-ons that you get with these services depending on who you go with for your resume creation and the package that you choose. Of course, you can expect a fantastic resume that sells all of your best bits, your skills and your experiences to make sure that they know who you are, why they should hire you and what you would bring to the table if they were to hire you.
On top of this you get a variety of other services including help with creating the perfect resume and even a digital copy of your resume which is going to allow you to email in your job application rather than post it.
