Everyone knows that in order to apply for a job vacancy they have to submit a resume as well as a cover letter. We often spend hours going over our resume and ensuring that it is perfect, however, we don’t really give consideration to what it really says about us.
What you need to remember is that the people reading resumes often have a number of them to read – after all job vacancies are rare so more people than ever are applying for them. You need to make sure that your resume stands out from the crowd and tells them exactly why they should hire you.
This means looking a little deeper into the details of your resume and paying attention to what it really says about you. For example, is your email address hotchick @me.com or vodkadrinker @email.com. This doesn’t give off the right impression and even if it is ‘just’ an email address it isn’t saying the right things about you and your application! Setting up a free email address is easy so why not just take a few minutes to set up firstname.lastname @email.com as this will look far more professional on your resume/job application.
Your potential new employer also needs to know that you are serious about the job and easy to contact. Include as many different contact details on your resume/cover letter as possible. This way they know that you are easy to get hold of and this shows you are serious about getting the job!
These might seem like small details, but your resume needs to let them know you are serious about getting the job and that you are going to be a welcomed, professional addition to their workforce!
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.
The whole point of having a resume is to showcase your talents and experience with the aim of helping you to achieve the job of your dreams. When you have a decent resume, it should help you to secure job interviews as well as ensure that when you do get an opportunity to interview, you have a strong chance of being offered the job.
Many people think that just having a generic resume is enough. They assume that if their resume looks decent, then their chances of getting a job is high. What many job seekers don’t realize is that their resume could be holding them back and actually be the reason they are not getting called for job interivews.
If you are unemployed, or actively searching for a new career, take the time to look at your resume and identify areas where you can make improvements. A common mistake is to assume that your resume will work well as a one-size-fits-all option. However, there is little highlighting your office skills on a resume if you are applying to be a Structural Engineer. You need to ensure that your resume is written for the type of position your’re seeking, and effectively communicates the value and expertise you can offer in the position you’re applying for.
Remember – your resume is an employer’s first impression of you and what you offer as a potential employee. Everything you communicate your resume will help them evaluate you and your qualifications. Many hiring managers only take a few seconds to glance over a resume – you must ensure your resume grabs their attention during those few seconds.
In today’s competitive job market, a resume must effectively and efficiently sell a job candidate’s value to employers. Don’t let a poorly written resume hold YOU back from opening the door to a new career!
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.
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.
The Internet has definitely transformed how jobseekers contact hiring companies. Most company’s now have an option on their website to submit resumes, which makes it much easier and more convenient. You don’t have to spend hours printing and mailing or faxing resumes to countless recipients.
Because of this convenience a breeding ground for scam artists continues to grow each year as well. Identity thefts have increased to an overwhelming 10 million cases per year, and many of them are the result of phishing and the employment industry is under attack as well.
Phishing is an attempt to extract personal information through what appears to be authentic emails. You may get emails from a recruiter that looks legitimate but may not be. Knowing what to look for and how to spot fraud (or potential areas for abuse) can be the best way to ensuring you have a safe experience while conducting your job search.
Be careful of invitations to submit your resume. Scammers and spammers follow the same patterns. Mass emails are sent to a lot of people at once. Receiving an email from a recruiter who sends you an email to the effect: “We saw your resume on the Internet and we find your skill set to be perfect for one of our clients. Please complete our online application through the link below. Be very careful and think before you respond. Did you send your resume to this recruiter? Do not click on the link in the email, instead visit their website from a new browser window. Make sure everything looks right first. Always proceed with caution when you receive a cold-contact email from someone.
Do not give out personal information unless you know for sure the email is legitimate. Reputable companies will not ask for personal information via email.
Don’t just give your information freely. If a job application wants more information than you’re willing to provide, be very careful. With safe online practices, you’ll get the best return from your job-search efforts instead of filing a police report and/or calling credit bureaus and credit card companies.
