Career Flux - Resume

Make Your Resume Shine

When wanting to get your resume noticed, it is imperative that you put the right stuff in it to make it stand out against the rest. You are not submitting your resume so that it can be put in the pile with all the rest – you want it on the desk of the person making the hiring decisions. In order to accomplish this feat, there are a few things that you should do.

Layout

You do not want your resume to be full of too much information in a format that is difficult to read. A resume should be something that a prospective employer should be able to glance at and know whether or not they want more information. Also, make sure that the resume has a professional appearance with muted colors that are only used to enhance the look of the resume. When printing your resume, make sure to use good quality resume paper to show your professionalism.

Content

There needs to be enough information to make someone want to know more, but not so much that you tell everything. Proper grammar and punctuation is a must in your resume. Nothing will kill your validity faster than a misspelled word, improper use of a word or poor punctuation, so don’t do it. Have someone proofread your resume to make sure that this doesn’t happen. What sounds and looks good to you may not make sense to someone else.

Parts of the Resume

There are some basic parts of the resume that you must include in order to get your resume noticed.

1. Contact Information:

Your name should always be at the top of your resume. Your email and phone number can either be placed under your name on the top or put into the footer. There is no need to include your address unless you want to. Make sure that your name, email, and phone number are located on all pages.

2. Objective:

This will follow your name. It should be at least one sentence and not more than an additional sentence or two after that. An objective should be a statement of what you are looking for in an employment position as well as what you can offer.

3. Education:

Whether or not you have education outside of a high school diploma, you will need to list what you have. Here you should list what school you attended, what you studied, what year you received your diploma and your grade point average if it was acceptable. If you do not have extended education, now may be the right time to go back to school in order to enhance your resume as well as yourself.

4. Work History:

Here, you will list any and all employment with a brief description of what you did. Use key action words like implemented, managed, transitioned, organized, and the like when describing your work experience. If you have a gap in employment, make sure that you account for it by listing what you did. If you were simply unemployed, describe it as a sabbatical and list the things you did during that time like volunteer work, helping family members, or any other productive activity you were involved in.

5. Skills:

Take the opportunity to list out everything that you are skilled at, regardless of if it is applicable to the position you are applying for. This list of skills will tell the prospective employer that you are capable of becoming proficient at things.

6. Volunteer Work:

List out all volunteer work you have done, regardless of how menial the task may seem to you. This will show that you are able to put others before yourself.

7. References:

You can choose to provide these with your resume or simply state that they are available upon request. The choice is yours. Regardless of when you provide them, make sure that you include professional as well as personal references. Designate which are professional and which are personal and provide the references’ contact information as well as what their professional title is (even for personal) and how long you have known them.

Cover Letter

The cover letter is part of the resume and just as important. Make sure that it has a professional appearance, includes the name of the person making the hiring decisions, lists the position you are applying for and where you found out about the position. Give just enough information in the cover letter to make the person reading it want to read the resume as well.

Going above and beyond with your resume will surely get it from the “maybe” pile to the “must schedule an interview” pile. Pay attention to detail so that your resume will stand out from the rest. Remember that the goal to a resume is to get yourself an interview so that you can talk more about what your resume describes. Making your resume shine will surly get you that interview you desire.

Kelly Prachett is a career counselor and in her spare time she blogs for superscholar.org a site she often recommends to those who are trying to figure out which online colleges have the best online nursing programs. They have information on everything from the top online computer science programs to the best online MBA programs.

Job Search – The Perfect Appearance

By Alex Stanton Leave a Comment

Clothing

When you are searching for a job, or even a potential career, the way you dress and present yourself is very important. It is always best to wear professional clothing; this shows that you are serious about the job opportunity and you are, more than likely, experienced in that job field. You should always wear office attire when you’re on the hunt for a new job.

For women, a pant suit is a great option. You should always wear a nice blouse that isn’t low cut or too tight, or small for you because it is crucial not to offend anyone by what you are wearing. If you plan to wear heels when meeting potential employers, the heel of the shoe should stay at or below 2.5 to 3 inches. It is also more professional to wear closed toe shoes, rather than open ones.

Men should also wear either a suit or trousers with a long sleeved buttoned down, collared shirt. A nice tie will bring the outfit together; however you should wear a plain tie rather than one with a crazy pattern or design. A pair of dark colored men’s dress shoes will complete the professional appearance needed to get the potential employer’s attention.

Everyone who meets potential employers should look clean and confident. You should be shaved, clean cut, have tattoos covered, and have your hair and makeup done appropriately.

Materials

There are certain materials that are essential to a successful job search. For example, you must always carry two pens with you. You need a pen for filling out applications, writing down your contact information, and so on. The second pen is just a backup in case the first one dries out. This may sound silly to some of us, however, having a pen with you shows that you are prepared and organized.

You should always bring your Identification Card or Driver’s License along with your resume. These days, many employers ask to take a copy of your I.D. or Driver’s License, which is why you should always carry it with you. After filling out an application, it is best to hand in your resume with it. This allows the potential employer to see your extra skills and credentials that the application didn’t ask for.

Bringing your resume is also important because with the current technology existing in the world now, many applications are accepted online only. Therefore if you stop at a business that only allows you to complete it online, you can ask them to keep your resume on file to be attached to the application. This shows that you are very much prepared and serious about working with that company.

Information & Follow Up

Before leaving each company’s office, it is extremely crucial to get the manager’s or personnel manager’s information. Whether that means taking a business card, or asking them for it, you need to get their information. It is best to get the company name, the manager’s name, phone number, and email address, if possible. You will need this information so that you can follow up with the companies that you apply at.

Follow up is very important when you are searching for a job because it shows that you are serious, persistent, and want the job badly. It is best to follow up by phone 5 to 7 days after first applying. You don’t want to follow up too early; you have to remember that they are busy managing a company. Once you have called and asked about the status of your application, you can then follow up in-person after another week or so. Following up shows that you are committed, but you don’t want to bother the potential employer to the point of being a nuisance.

If you are on a job search, these tips will help you to have the perfect appearance and the best chances of getting an interview, or even getting the job.

Alex Stanton is an intern comparing different online mba degree programs to find the right one for him.

Filed Under: Guest Experts, Job Search Tagged With: Career, employers, job interview, Job Search, Resume

How to Make Yourself More Attractive to Prospective Employers

By Dawn Campbell 2 Comments

Finding employment can be a very stressful event for just about every job seeker. It is imperative that you do everything that you can to set yourself apart from the rest of your fellow applicants as well as to stand out enough to be able to be called in for an interview. Before putting your resume out there, you need to ensure that you have done what you can to present yourself in the highest standard of excellence.

The Resume

Before you even look for a job, you need to make sure that your resume is up to snuff. All too often, resumes are not up to date and do not tell the story potential employers want to hear. Take the time to make sure that you have accounted for all of your education, work experience, accreditations, certificates, skills, and volunteer work. Do not get caught up in too many details; however, make your resume something prospective employers want to know more about.

Where to Look

It can be tempting to send your resume out to anyone who is looking to hire someone. This may not be the best thing for your job search. This can create false leads, which can lead to discouragement. Becoming discouraged can then lead to taking the first job that you are offered, which is not always the best option for you. When looking for employment, you must ensure credibility.

One surefire way in which to create credibility is to use a high-quality employment agency. By using a firm that can pair you with the right employer, stress can be relieved from this daunting process. The right agency will have quality clients (your future employer) for you to be able to have your resume circulated to.

Following Up

Regardless of if you are using an agency or doing your own employment search, follow-up is crucial. Employers want to know that the applicants are serious about working for their company. You cannot leave it to chance that you will get a callback, regardless of how extraordinary your resume may be. When you submit your resume, include in your cover letter that you will be following up and let them know when. Do what you can to reach the decision maker or at least the person who is responsible for scheduling the interviews. Most importantly, do not forget to follow up when you say that you will as this speaks volumes for what kind of employee you will be. If you are using an agency, make sure to follow up with them on a regular basis.

References

Professional and personal references can accent your resume. Depending on the job you are applying for, you can submit your references with your resume; however you may want to wait to submit your references until the actual interview. Being able to leave the interviewer with more to consider can be a very effective action for the interview process. Your references can enhance your interview and give your prospective employer something additional to reflect upon other than the notes that were taken during the interview.

The objective to attaining employment is being able to set yourself apart from all of the other applicants. Remember that you are marketing yourself and what you are selling is your past experience. Be creative and follow through. Make yourself someone to remember so that when it comes time for your future employer to make a hiring decision, you are on the top of the list.

Dawn Campbell is a Human Resources Consultant and blogs for hirepulse.com.au a site where a contractor can find work from clients. You can also use their services to find contractors for all kinds of work from IT consulting to mining contractors!

Filed Under: Guest Experts, Job Search Tagged With: employers, employment, Interview, Job Search, job seeker, References, Resume

A Walk in the Park – Resumes Made Easy

By CareerAlley Leave a Comment

Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://CareerAlley.com

“Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.” – Author Unknown

When I’m hiring for a position, I like to read candidates’ resumes from the back page forward (assuming a chronological resume format). This allow me to get a feel for their education and progressive work experience. Of course, every hiring manager is different and may have different preferences in terms of format. Much of what (should) drive the use of a specific resume format is the person’s experience and type of job. There are four major basic formats (and probably hundreds of variations) – chronological, functional, combination, or targeted. The descriptions and potential uses are covered in the first bullet point below. In addition to format, content and writing style are important as well. More important than any of the items mentioned is that your resume be error free (misspellings, typos, etc.) and accurate (as in don’t try to “fudge” the dates, companies you worked for or period of time you worked). Putting all of this together into a resume that will get you hired can be a daunting task to say the least. Luckily, tons of resources (free as well as paid) are available on the internet to help you with this. A few of them are listed below.

Resume Formats:

Resume Types: Chronological, Functional, Combination, Targeted – This article is from About.com and provides descriptions of each of the four major resume formats along with details on when they are typically used. There is also a description of a “mini resume” and links to resume writing, resume examples and related articles.

What Resume Format is Best for You? – What exactly does “format” mean and what is the real purpose of a resume? This article, from Quintcareers.com, provides answers to those questions as well as key attributes of a resume. Also included is additional information on the various types of resumes and some discussion as to whether you should have more than one format/version.

Resume Templates and Support:

Resumesimo.com – This site is a resume service (free, by the way) that will help you create a professional resume quickly. The service is fairly simple to use – select a template, fill in your data and you are on your way. Click ‘Get Started’ and the rest is self explanatory.

Sample Resume – This site also provides free templates and a free resume builder. There are tabs at the top of the page for templates, builder, examples and samples. The left hand side of the page has links for samples by type of job, writing services as well as additional related links (like cover letters).

How to Write a Targeted Resume – So what, exactly, is a targeted resume? A targeted resume is designed for a specific job where you feel your skill set and experience is perfectly matched. This article by Alison Doyle and posted on About.com, explains how to write a targeted resume and provides an example. There are additional links for a targeted cover letter and other related services.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Filed Under: Guest Experts, Resume and Cover Letter Tagged With: hiring, hiring manager, Resume

Consider These 3 Tips When Writing Your Six-Figure Resume

By Jessica Hernandez Leave a Comment

Jessica Hernandez, expert resume writer, is a nationally-recognized resume authority and former HR Manager who has achieved over a 99% success rate securing interviews with prestigious organizations through exclusive, personal branding strategies.
Author Website: http://www.greatresumesfast.com

Once you reach the executive level and begin writing resumes for a six-figure salary, it becomes crucial that you go that extra mile to show you can provide the results a company is looking for. Your executive resume is beyond important in convincing an employer of this.

The problem many top-level professionals experience when writing resumes is they fail to show the depth of their experience. If you want hiring managers to absolutely believe you’re qualified, then you have to show your worth. Here are some tips to help push you toward your goal:

Know the Company

It’s difficult to determine how a company can benefit from hiring you without knowing what they need. Sure, you can find this out from the job posting. But it’s better to think from the perspective that you are already working for the company. This way, you can begin researching their needs, issues, etc. in depth.

Based upon what you’ve learned about them, what steps would you take to solve a specific problem for them? How would you handle some of their internal or external conflicts? How would you go about ramping up their business in your chosen department? These are questions you should already know the answers to as you cherry-pick the information you want to include about yourself in your resume.

Solidify Your Winning Qualities

In your resume, cover letter, and executive biography, it’s important to not just show a company who you are as an employee, but introduce it to your brand. You might be able to prove that you’ve been a great employee in the past, but showing that you are a staple in your field proves that you identify with it—and it identifies with you.

One way you can introduce your brand is by adding links to your resume, including your LinkedIn page, professional Web site or blog, a couple of publications you’ve been quoted or featured in, videos you’ve given speeches in, etc. Your commitment to your field can equate to a commitment to the company, which is why it’s good for them to get to know you beyond the past jobs you’ve worked.

Show Them Your ROI

Making a great return on investment (ROI) is always crucial for any company. As a prospective employee, you will be one of these investments that companies want to believe will bring in good returns. A great way to show that you’re a great ROI is by quantifying the results of your previous employment.

Count out how many people you’ve managed, how many times your department won awards, how much money your department made under your management, etc. This helps employers visualize the results that you could potentially provide for them.

Also, remember there can be no spelling or grammatical issues on your resume at all. It must be submitted in a perfect state to be taken seriously. If you remember these tips in the writing process, it should flow more smoothly than ever before.

For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow us on Twitter @GreatResume or visit our blog.