Writing Resumes without Mistakes

Resume and curriculum vitae act as entry tickets to a job. Today’s world is full of competition. A prospective employer is in search for a person who is active, productive, and skillful in nature and with a positive attitude. The resume should reflect the attitude and details of education, age, qualification, experience etc. The resume should be written with relevance to the particular job. Gone are the days where one resume was used for all the jobs. The resume should be attractive enough to catch the attention of the employer among the thousands of resumes. It is important that the resume should be free from any common mistakes.

Effective resume writing:

An effective resume should contain basic sections viz., complete and powerful contact information, headline of what is being offered by the employee to the employer, summary of skills – highlighting relevant skills will be an added advantage, professional experience which has to be relevant and last but not the least educational qualification- details of grades, year of passing etc. An effective resume will be free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. This shows the command over the language. Hence, it is very important to proof-read more than twice to avoid any mistakes in the resume.

Common mistakes in a resume:

The resume with irrelevant contents is a common mistake, like the information regarding the children, spouse, hobbies etc and also when applying for a computer job, it is irrelevant to show an experience of a position held as an accountant.

When using creative fonts, one has to be very careful. It might be easier to read on the computer of the person writing the resume, but not necessarily it can be readable in the employer’s computer. If the font is not found in the computer it will show bizarre information.

The resume should not be like a job application, the previous employer’s name, contact information of the previous employer; reasons for leaving the job are irrelevant in the resume.

Never get obsessed about the length of the resume but focus on the content. Also personal pronouns like “I”, “me” should be avoided, as it might pose you as an egoistic person.

When sending resumes to multiple recruiters never send it via one email, as personalized addressing is very important.

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Your Resume and What Employers Want to See

The recruiting industry has changed dramatically since the mid-90s when the Internet began to catch fire as a networking tool. Prior to the advent of online job boards such as CareerBuilder and Monster, your local newspaper had a monopoly on “help-wanted” advertising going back pre-Industrial Revolution (I remember a few years back being quoted $450 to run a 3-line ad over the weekend–for $50 more I could add a black border around it).

Resumes came to you via mail or fax and the ones that got your attention arrived on expensive paper with signed cover letters–the presentation gave you as much insight into the candidate as the resume itself did. As an independent recruiter you were only as good as your database of candidates (which for most recruiters consisted of a Rolodex of business cards or a drawer full of resumes). You actively sought out individuals to network with, collecting every resume thrown at you regardless of the positions you were working on at the time. “Got a cousin in advertising sales? Have him give me a call!”

I think employers were more willing to take risks with less qualified candidates then (let’s say, pre-1998) than they are now. Hiring managers and recruiters recognize that online resources can provide them with exponentially greater access to candidates today than in years past. It’s not that the talent pool is deeper, it’s just more accessible (and more public) than it’s ever been. So the same company that might have been willing to take a chance on a good candidate from a different industry ten years ago now wants someone whose experience matches their position as closely as possible.

I am a big believer that the best candidates for a particular position are the ones who would be taking a step up in their career by accepting. They are inherently motivated because they’re improving their pay, adding to their responsibilities and increasing their exposure. But today employers want over-qualified candidates; people who are actually taking steps down in their careers or at the very least, making lateral moves. Most employers will not admit to consciously doing this, mind you; but they do. They want to know with as much certainty as possible that the candidates have “been there and done that.” They want people with track records that mirror the exact challenges and expectations of their opening, particularly if they’re working with a third party recruiter to fill the position. The employer feels they’re paying big bucks for the recruiter to minimize their risk; therefore they should deliver candidates that are tailor-made for their role.

As an independent recruiter, it is my job to provide the client with the candidate solution they want. Every client knows the type of person they’re looking for, even if they’re not always able to describe them in great detail before we begin the search. They may need to evaluate a couple candidates before they can put into words their exact preferences, particularly when it’s a new position. Keep in mind the candidate solution our firm provides is the one defined by the client, and in my opinion it’s not always the one that may be the best long-term employment solution.

As I discussed in a previous article (Remember: You’re hiring them to work for you, not to date you), many hiring managers allow their own personal biases to influence they way they evaluate candidates (often referred to as “gut instincts”) resulting in bad hiring decisions. My job is to provide the client with candidates that have a documented track record of success. The majority of companies we work with want candidates either from their own industry or industries that are a close parallel. Drilling down even further, they want to know that the candidate’s daily, weekly and monthly activities overlap with the expectations of the new position. This is why having a thorough, well-defined resume is imperative for today’s job seeker looking to advance their career.

I believe the criticism that most resumes are long-winded, over-inflated exaggerations of unspectacular accomplishments is completely unwarranted. Coming from someone who looks at thousands of resumes a month, the average person is more likely to sell themselves short, thereby limiting their potential opportunities than they are to misrepresent themselves on paper.

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Free Resume Examples — Are You Getting The Most Out Of Them?

Are free resume examples the answer to the jobseeker’s dreams? You’d think so, by the number of books on the subject to be found online or at your local library or bookstore. Just imagine: resume samples for almost any industry or profession, ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions with critiques by professional resume writers … manna from heaven!

Well, up to a point. Many resume examples are excellent models of design, presentation and technique — and there’s a lot to be learned by seeing what has worked well for other job applicants. But like most good tools, it’s important to know how to use them well.

Most well-designed resumes are the result of many hours of development to create a profile which uniquely represents its subject. This usually involves:

* analysis of the industry or job-specific requirements

* appraisal of the applicant’s attributes and work history

* promotion of accomplishments and skills to match an employers’ needs.

But when a job applicant is faced with the challenge of producing a quality resume in a short space of time, their first recourse may be to look through some resume examples to find a style that appeals. The trouble is, creating your own resume by simply rehashing someone else’s is unlikely to result in a document that sells you to an employer on the basis of your individual qualities and achievements.

So how do you get the best out of resume examples?

One of the biggest advantages of sample resumes is that they help to imagine what it must be like to be a recruiter. Faced with dozens — if not hundreds — of resumes, you’re likely to scan each one to pick out the few that match what you’re looking for. So when you stand for a few moments in your ‘employer’s shoes’, you get to assess the impact of different presentation formats: what’s aesthetically pleasing, what layouts are best for reading quickly, how to pack a punch with powerful language.

But the savvy reader can get a lot more out of a sample resume than just an appreciation of its style. The real value comes when you take the time to peel back the layers of the resume ‘onion’ — for example:

* Does the resume show how the employer will benefit from hiring the applicant?

* Does it sell this benefit by highlighting the value the applicant added in previous positions?

It’s an example of the ‘hidden gold’ in sample resumes — and the secret to one of your most powerful techniques: the ability to create and influence your reader’s perception of who you are.

So be proactive and take the time to dig up the buried treasure in those resume examples. You’ll be learning to select appropriate aspects of your unique skill set and present them persuasively to your prospective employer — marketing yourself, in fact!

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Does Your Resume Writing Make The Grade?

When a job vacancy attracts a popular response, the recruiter simply may not have time to read each and every application in its entirety. That’s why it’s so important to have a resume that catches the reader’s immediate interest and gets your application the attention it deserves.

If you fail at this stage, you run the risk of having your resume consigned to the pile marked ‘regrets’. But because time is at a premium, it’s also difficult to get feedback about why your application didn’t make the shortlist.

So if your resume isn’t getting you through the interviewer’s door for the jobs you want, it’s time to re-think your strategy. Here are three questions to help you give your resume a quick assessment test:

1. Do you know enough about your prospective employer?

These days, it’s easy to find out details about almost any company by doing research online. Enter the name in the search engine of your choice and look for the company website. If they have a section devoted to press releases or other media information, you may find freshly updated news about recent developments.

You may also be able to obtain company brochures and reports. Check to see if these are available as PDF documents which you can download to your computer. This will be quicker than ordering them to be sent by mail.

You can also visit the websites of local or national newspapers to look for articles which refer to the company.

The information you find will help you to fine tune your resume and highlight your appropriate strengths and assets. It’s also very helpful to show your familiarity with the company in your cover letter, follow-up correspondence and interview discussion.

2. Have you written a summary statement or profile that is geared to the employer’s immediate requirements?

The beginning of your resume (under your contact information) is a great spot in which to put your most persuasive selling points. This is where you can mention your current job level and the field in which you’ve gained the bulk of your experience. Make sure to mention the results of your activities, not just a list of the duties your work comprises.

Analyze the job advertisement or description to find basic competencies that the employer wants and map your own skills against these requirements. Make sure to include appropriate keywords in this section that will help to score a match in resume scanning software.

3. Do you back up your claims with convincing evidence?

Avoid casting doubt on your attributes by being vague on key details. Measure your accomplishments wherever possible to validate your skills. You can use figures, percentages or other data to quantify aspects such as:

* numbers of personnel managed
* successes in financial or budgetary management
* achievements such as improved performance against targets or a time-scale

Avoid weakening your credibility by including anything in your resume that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny in an interview. Make sure you can justify every detail with solid evidence.

If your resume isn’t getting you results, maybe it’s time to redraft. A powerful summary backed up by persuasive evidence can help your resume to pass the ten second ’scan test’.

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Applying For Jobs Using An Unsolicited Resume

The job search can be more frustrating when you are forced to apply for jobs speculatively. But does it pay to apply directly, even when there is no job opening posted? What will employers do with such applications, if they are not expecting them in the first place?

Does It Make Sense to Apply

You can view this question from two angles. Applying directly without an ad being posted is broadly regarded as a speculative application, a tactic that is commonly employed by job seekers. You have to match your job need to availability, which means you can’t wait until a vacancy is advertised. Additionally, speculative applications are almost a certainty in all industries. After all, the purpose is to find a vacancy before it is advertised.

Another occasion when you might apply without an ad being posted includes when you have received a referral or tip from someone that you know who works with the company in question.

The bigger question is how recruiters and employees look at applications when they are not expecting them. Unsolicited resumes are never disregarded even though they may irritate a recruiter at the time. Employers file unsolicited resumes in their database for future use. These applications come in handy for companies who don’t advertise when they have a need, as a matter of policy.

A second aspect that is in your favor is when your application reaches an employer just when they are contemplating recruiting. Certain industries, such as service, advertising and marketing, and software engineering employ people for various positions on a continuous basis, as there is a high employee attrition rate in these industries.

How Do I Apply Directly

There are some simple steps that you should follow, which includes preparing a good resume and coverletter. The following points will help you prepare your speculative application.

– Direct or unsolicited applications should be specific to employers as you are offering your qualifications and skills to a particular industry. You can consider doing this in a marketing tone, for exploration.
– Try to include as much information as possible into your application as you are applying for a non-existent job whose requirements are not known to you. This is your insurance against failure due to a mismatch between the job requirement and your skill set.
– Take a paragraph or two to explain why you are interested in the organization and how you are planning to contribute to their success. Making concrete offers focusing specifically on ‘where and how’ of your contributions in one way or the other is crucial. This motivates employers, which is essential when there is no specific vacancy at that time.
– You need to justify your claims of contributing to their success by your qualifications and experiences. If you are applying for middle or higher positions, let your accomplishments speak for you.
– End the application with a thank you and reminding them that you wish to follow-up later. Then, do it!

Knowing how to apply using an unsolicited resume is important. You can locate company contact information from the telephone directory or from company websites.

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How to Write a Better Resume

You may be the best person for the job, but the fact is, you’ll never even get an interview in the first place, unless your resume is good.

You should tailor your resume to highlight the qualifications, work experience and any education that you’ve had that best represents the type of work you are applying for. You should also include any other work experience that you’ve had, as well as any accomplishments that you have made in your field.

There are many things that must not be included on your resume. Things that recruiters really don’t want to see. In fact if you make any of these mistakes, you probably won’t get any further. Don’t think that an interviewer won’t read through your resume, because they usually do!

* Summaries that are hard to follow and understand are annoying to recruiters. Keep your summary easy and brief.

* Needlessly adding objectives and introductions on your resume bores recruiters. They know what your objective is, and your resume is not meant to be a novel.

* Resumes that have too much detail when talking about your previous duties are a waste of your time. Duties are generally just sifted through. They are rarely given very much attention, just enough to give the recruiter an idea of what you have done in the past.

* Pictures and/or graphics on a resume is distracting to a recruiter. Things like that will likely get your resume tossed out without a glance.

* Lying or putting misleading information on your resume is a major no-no. There are always ways for a recruiter to check up on you and many do, so don’t lie. Getting caught in a lie on a resume just says that you can’t be trusted.

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Bad Resume Fever? Take the Alternative Non-Resume Cure!

Bad Resume Fever? Take the Alternative Non-Resume Cure!

Take the alternative non-resume cure! Say what?

Look. It’s no secret that we get in a fever when we think about changing jobs.

We’ve got to pull the old resume out and update it. It means going back over work history and getting all the dates and descriptions right. And then re-writing and tweaking it till it’s perfect. Because without a very good resume we’re not going to find a job.

And then, when we’ve finally got an award-winning resume we have to get it distributed. The wider the better. So we post it on some job websites and mail or email it to a bunch of companies. We answer plenty of job opening ads. And even contact some agencies and recruiters.

And then we wait for results. The resume fever has abated a little bit because we’ve done our work and the rest is up to the employers. The most we have to do at this point is wait for the phone to ring. Or an interview invitation to come in the mail.

If the invitations don’t come . . . it’s resume fever time again!

What if I told you there was a simple cure for resume fever? It’s called the “alternative non-resume” cure.

This amazing alternative non-resume strategy is based on a very simple principle. “No one is going to hire you on the basis of your resume!” I know that sounds heretical, but it’s true.

I mean, look at it from the perspective of the employer. What’re employers looking for in a job candidate? They want someone they feel good about, who can fit into the team, brings understanding about company goals, and has thought through how to solve problems. Oh, and, by the way, an employer wants to feels some kind of personal connection.

Face it, if you were an employer, isn’t that the kind of person who would light your candle? Of course. Now, there’s no way an employer is going to get that kind of important information and sense from a piece of paper. It will only come from a personal, face-to-face meeting.

So why not bypass all the resume hoopla and get right to the meat and potatoes of your job search success
. . . doing everything you can to learn about the company and the person who could be your next boss. And then using any of a dozen ways to get to meet with that person without having to worry about distributing your prize resume or all the competition it will generate!

That’s what the exciting alternative non-resume is all about . . . a carefully constructed job campaign plan that moves you step-by-step closer to achieving the most important goal of your job search: getting into a productive dialog with an prospective employer.

How hard is that to do?

Well, the alternative non-resume approach is a lot faster than the old-fashioned resume fever approach we described above. In fact, if you follow a remarkable program like The World’s Fastest Alternative Job Search System, you can be face-to face with your next boss in a matter of days. And you can be entertaining a job offer in as little as two weeks.

Maybe it’s time for you to take the cure!

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Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Find A Job In As Little As 14 Days!” Click on RSS for instant info! www.fastest-job-search.com

Why the Non-Resume Strategy Beats Out a Traditional Resume Every Time!

You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. You need a resume to find a job. Right?

Wrong! What you really need is a non-resume strategy. That’s right. A job search approach that doesn’t require you to focus all your attention on preparing and distributing a resume.

We discovered this fact of life many years ago when we realized that the job market follows the same marketing rules as the business market. That realization was the beginning of the alternative job search movement. And the first target of some serious re-thinking was the value (or lack of it) of the resume.

Traditional job search wisdom requires that your first step into the job market is to write a resume. Unfortunately that doesn’t square up with the way hiring decisions are made. No one is going to hire you based on a resume.

Ask any hiring decision-maker how he/she goes about the process of hiring. Ask them what, in the final analysis, goes into their decision to bring a certain job candidate on board. Very few will tell you that it’s based on a consideration of what the candidate used to do for someone else (as expressed in the resume).

More frequently they will tell you that they want someone they feel confident will fit into the team as a productive member. And how do they determine that? Most will tell you that they like the candidate and feel that they have good rapport and chemistry with him/her.

What builds this rapport and chemistry? Our studies have shown, hands down, that the most important thing a candidate has done to further his/her candidacy is to show that they’ve done their homework and learned about the goals of the organization as well as of the decision-maker.

So, what is the Non-Resume strategy?

Well, in place of spending countless hours, writing, rewriting, tweaking your resume and then mass distributing to job sites, job openings, a bunch of companies, agencies and recruiters, you spend your time doing the following:

1. Use Google and library resources to identify organizations that are consistent with your career choices.

2. Within those organizations, identify the decision-makers who would most likely have an interest in someone with your qualifications . . . in other words, the persons who could be your next boss.

3. Use various communication strategies to get an invitation to meet face-to-face with those decision-makers (not an interview). Among those communication strategies are referrals by people who know or have access to them, phone calls, letters of introduction, emails, or direct person-to-person contact.

The good news is that it takes less time and energy to implement a non-resume strategy than the weeks and months it takes of nervous waiting for the mail or the phone to ring . . . and then rehashing your resume campaign for the second, third or fourth time.

The other good news is that there’s a fabulous alternative job search system already in place that can walk you through this non-resume process step-by-step. What’s more, it can show you how you can be speaking with your next boss in a matter of days . . . and entertaining real job offers in as little as two weeks!

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Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Find A Job In As Little As 14 Days!” Click on RSS for instant info! www.fastest-job-search.com

I Don?t Need a New Resume? Get Real!

“Look, I depend on my resume to find me a job. So, I need a new resume if I’m starting a job search, right?” Wrong!

It’s a common mistake. We’ve been brainwashed to think that the very first thing we have to do when we’re looking for a job is to get our new resume up to speed. And then, when we’ve beefed it up to our satisfaction, we want to distribute it as widely as possible.

Get it on some job websites like Monster and HotJobs. Direct mail it to some organizations, the more the better. Of course, we respond to advertised job openings. And make sure we get our new resume to some agencies and recruiters. Then wait for the magic to happen.

Only it doesn’t! The phone doesn’t ring,. OK, you get a couple TNT letters (thanks-but-no-thanks). But after two or three weeks you’re getting nervous. So you repeat the process. Or you rewrite your resume, tweak it, fine tune it, wonder what you said in it that’s turning employers off.

All because you’ve been misled into thinking that your new resume is what’s going to get you a job.

Here are the straight facts why your new resume will NOT get you a job:

1. Your next boss is not the one who will be reading your resume. It will be reviewed by a personnel clerk or low level assistant.

2. You’re in competition with hundreds, maybe thousands, who have the same idea about getting a job as you do. The odds of your getting selected from this crowd are astronomical!

3. Employers want to know what you can do for them. Your resume tells them what you used to do for someone else.

4. Your carefully-crafted new resume will be scanned by the initial reader in less than 50 seconds. The vast majority of mass-mailed resumes wind up in the waste basket.

5. If by some chance you do get an interview, it will be with a lower level functionary who’s screening you without understanding what are the current needs or hot buttons of the hiring decision-maker.

It’s pretty discouraging, isn’t it? The bad news is that, since we don’t any better, we’re condemned to repeat the same process over and over. In the meantime we’re soaking up weeks and months of valuable time with little to show for it.

Often, at this point, if something does turn up, we snap it up under the impression that it’s all there is out there. I better grab it before someone else does. So, we wind up settling for our next job rather than being in a position to select it.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re willing to look at a simple, step-by-step alternative job search strategy you can dramatically move the odds in your favor! I’m talking about a plan that can have you in front of hiring decision-maker in a matter of days. And have you entertaining one or more job offers in as little as two weeks! Check it out!

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The Three Elements in a Winning Resume

As a recruiter, I’ve seen thousands of resumes ranging from very
qualified and capable candidates all over the nation. These candidates
span from every industry and from administrative professionals to C
level corporate executives. Each time I review a resume, I would review
it under the eyes of the hiring manager. Through their eyes, I tried to
get a sense of who the candidate is and how they are wired. The goal is
to see if the candidate (communicated through a resume) capabilities
will drive a degree of success in a particular capacity. Research has
shown that a typical hiring manager or recruiter will only look at a
resume for approximately 15 seconds so bearing that in mind, I perform
this resume critique under three basic guidelines. If you want to be
noticed and receive the proper consideration, following these
suggestions will help improve your chances of landing an interview.

Building Your Brand
This is your professional identity and perhaps the most important
element that most resumes fail to develop. You can establishing your
brand and increase your marketing collateral by ensuring that your
resume is concise, clearly identifying your professional traits and
demonstrate how you will fit into the position and the company corporate
culture, captivating, grammatically perfect and of course free of
spelling error. It needs to flow, easy to read and pact with rich
content organized in a format which screams “HIRE ME!” Succeed here and
your resume will be pushed forward in the process. Fail here and your
resume will be filed away.

Differentiate Yourself
Whatever you do, do not copy someone else’s objective statements. Write
them yourself or with the help of an expert. The more unique your
profile is, the higher the chances of a full review on your resume. An
effective profile should be brief and encapsulate your background while
highlighting your capabilities and accomplishments. Always tailor your
profile to fit the position so do not use the same profile for every
submitted resume.

Value
How will you add value to the position? This is the first question
hiring managers or recruiters look for in a candidate. After all, that’s
why they are hiring in the first place. You can demonstrate your value
buy quantifying results. Describe how you helped a company increased
revenue, lowered cost and increase productivity. Don’t be afraid to use
numbers even if they are not exact.

Conclusion
Maximizing your brand will help identify and articulate your
professional skills to the decision makers the immediate value and
benefit that you bring to the company. This is your chance for good
first impression and believe me, first impressions are everything during
your job search campaign. Differentiate yourself will give you a
competitive advantage so revise your profile to create a powerful
effective 15 second pitch. Finally, quantify your success and show
decision makers how you can contribute to the company’s bottom-line. If
you take the initiative to embrace these three essential elements in
defining your resume, you will recognize greater results in your search
efforts.

Have an expert put together an organized, engaging and compelling cover
letter that’s poised for high impact. An expert can tailor our message,
convincing the reader to proceed to review your resume. Sadly, first
impressions count so unless you have an effective cover letter, no
matter how stunning your resume is, it will not be considered. Work
one-on-one with an expert to determine the approach that will get you
the interview. An expert can help you identify your uniqueness, uncover your qualities and build your brand.

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