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At the left are
resource and reference pages useful as good resume guides. A successful
resume takes thought time and effort in the employment process. Each job
opportunity requires a customized resume tailored to that job’s specific
requirements. A one-size-fits-all resume just won’t fit every job. Attention to
detail and presentation is essential. The resume may be the only contact you
have prior to an interview invitation. It should present some compelling
reason for a company to hire you. Remember, every
resume you write must be tailored to the specific requirements of each job
opportunity, so carefully read the job posting; specially the requirements
section. The material at
the right will assist you in being an effective resume writer. External WEB References |
Professional Resume Writer Secrets Easy Format Tips to a One-Page Resume Make Your Past Make You Look Better Quantify Your Accomplishments for
Greater Impact Useless Words vs Eye-catching Words Make Life Easier with a Master Resume What Happens After You Submit Resume You CAN Apply for the Same Job Twice, If You’re Careful Resume templates: Click here and Click again
Link future Cover letter templates: Click here Link future |
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Resume Writing
Questions |
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by Kim Isaacs Adapted from: Top 10 Questions About Writing a Resume |
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Here
are 10 common resume questions and suggestions on how to handle each: What are the different resume styles?. Here's
a definition of the most common styles: Reverse Chronological:
Focus on work history, leads with education or work history and provides
comprehensive employment history information. This is best suited those with
a steady work history who are not changing careers. Functional: Functional
resumes often are used by job seekers with issues such as job-hopping,
extended employment gaps and career changing. Dynamic:
A good choice for most job seekers, because a qualifications summary at the
top of the page provides a quick sell enticing managers to continue reading. Should I keep my
resume to one page? Not necessarily. The one-page resume "rule"
no longer applies. New graduates with limited experience might only require
one page, but experienced professionals often need two pages or more. For a
two-page resume, make sure your strongest credentials are presented at the
top of the first page. Which font should I use? For
resumes in electronic format that will be emailed, select a standard font on
computer systems. Good choices: Arial, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Verdana. What tense should I write my resume in?
Write
previous jobs in past tense. For your current job, write accomplishments in
past tense and job responsibilities in present tense. Should I include
salary information on my resume? No, your salary history or requirements
could eliminate you from consideration |
If
salary requirements are requested, acknowledge it in your cover letter with a line
like: "I would be happy to discuss my salary requirements after mutual
interest has been established." If you are pressed for a number, provide
a range to give room for negotiations. Consider a separate document that
outlines your earnings history. Do I need to send a cover letter with
my resume? Yes.
A well-written cover letter markets your credentials and your
professionalism. How do I include accomplishments when I
don't have any? Consider
what makes your work performance valuable to a potential employer. Ask
coworkers or supervisors about your performance, and review your written
evaluations. You'll probably find strong accomplishments you can mention. Do I need an objective section? Your
resume must focus on a career goal so hiring managers immediately understand
your job objective. You don't necessarily need to include a formal Objective
section. Instead, incorporate your goal into a qualifications summary. How can I hide gaps in my work history? Most
employers prefer applicants with no employment gaps, very few job seekers
offer a perfectly steady work history. You can't change the past, so focus
your resume on what you offer. If you have activities such as volunteer work,
self-study or formal training while out of work, include them on your resume.
If long-term gaps are an issue, consider a functional resume style,
emphasizing relevant skills without dates. How do I write a resume to change
careers? Your career-change resume should highlight
your qualifications that are most relevant to your new career goal. You may
have transferable skills, training, hobbies or other important credentials
that will interest hiring managers. A good starting point is to research jobs
and look for qualifications frequently mentioned in ads. Write down your
matching qualifications, and work them into your resume. |
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Tips for a Perfect Resume |
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Three
kinds of resumes to consider: Chronological
(inappropriate for older people, it easily displays your approximate age). Summary
(good for projecting your expertise and career accomplishments). Combination
of chronological and summary resumes, (format the Church frequently
recommends). Resume format and content tips: Include
your name at the top of the resume, larger than normal: bold 28 pt. or more Resumes
get read in 8 seconds or less. That's why the top 1/3 of the first page must
be perfect in its layout and content. It has to be camera perfect layout with
a dynamic statement of name, address, phone number, e-mail/web addresses. In
addition, must have 9 to 12 specialized skills in a three-column format below
the 3 to 5 line statements of what you do and who
you are professionally Three
font sizes are the maximum: Name (28 pt or larger),
Job title (14 pt) and content (12 or 11pt.) Put
Education last or on the next page For
the resumes given personally, use underline on hyperlinks, it will print in
black and not hazy. For resumes posted on the Internet or e-mail, use
hyperlink tools as usual. Resumes
designed for Internet use can be longer than one page, you want
"key" words included because the resumes will be scanned for
"key" job words. Hence, the more words the chances of scoring a
higher score via the scan is possible. |
Nobody likes to read across the page. Don't have
too many full width lines. Indent bullets. Try to have phrases rather than
long sentences except for the career statement at the top of the resume. Each job to have 3-5 bullets of special
responsibilities or on-the-job achievements Most important job listing is the job title it
could be larger size type (14 pt.) and bold. Job company should be normal 12
pt. Dates, if included, should be right justified. Don't over bold the page. Resume doesn't need to be only 1 page. Its layout
is equally as important as the content. Use only the last 10 or 15 years of employment
history even if one has more professional employment. Avoid
common resume pitfalls Eliminate typographical or grammatical errors,
have reviews by several different people Be sure to include sufficient information Avoid including too much information, provide
enough for readers interest or curiosity List all important achievements, quantify
successes with dollar amounts or percentages Work from a dynamic resume template |
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Avoid These 10 Mistakes |
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By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer Full article http://careers.ashford.edu/thp10resumemistakes.phpe |
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It's easy to make resume
mistakes and exceptionally difficult to recover once it’s submitted.
Prevention is critical, avoid these common pitfalls and avoid them Typos and Grammatical Errors Your resume needs to be
grammatically perfect. If it isn't, employers will draw conclusions about
you, like: "This person can't write," or " obviously doesn't
care." Lack of Specifics Employers need to understand
what you've done and accomplished. For example, Attempting One Size Fits All Don’t develop a one-size-fits-all
resume. Employers want a resume specifically for them. They expect you to
clearly show why you fit the position in the organization. Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments Don’t simply start listing
job duties on your resume. For example: Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short There are no real rules governing the length of your resume. Human beings,
with |
their
preferences and expectations, will be reading it. Generally, you usually need
to limit yourself to a maximum of two pages. But don't feel you have to use
two pages if one will do. Don't cut the meat out to make it conform to an
arbitrary standard. A Bad Objective Employers
do read your resume's objective statement, but too often they plow through
pufferies like, "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional
growth." Give employers something specific and, something that focuses
on their needs as well as your own. Example: "A challenging entry-level
marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience in
fund-raising for nonprofits." No Action Verbs Avoid
using phrases like "responsible for." Instead, use action verbs:
"Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000
students and staff." Leaving
Off Important Information You may be tempted, to eliminate the jobs you've taken
to earn money for school. Typically, however, the soft skills you've gained
from these experiences (e.g., work ethic, time management) are more important
to employers than you might think. Visually Too Busy A
resume of wall-to-wall text featuring five different fonts, it will most likely
give the employer a headache. Show your resume to several other people before
sending it out. Do they find it visually attractive? If what you have is hard
on the eyes, revise Incorrect Contact Information Double-check even the most minute,
taken-for-granted details like phone numbers and e-mail address-- sooner
rather than later. |
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Professional Resume Writer Secrets |
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Leslie Stevens-Huffman http://insights.dice.com/2017/06/20/trade-secrets-professional-resume-writers/ |
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Professionals have developed a relatively
simple but effective formula for eliciting the right details about education,
skills and work experience from tech pros and turning it all into impressive
dossiers that increase the chances of landing an interview. Jot Down Your Accomplishments First Your achievements serve as the
foundation for your brand, your résumé’s narrative, and your personal value proposition
– which conveys why you’re the right person for the job. It’s easy to start
writing a résumé and end up jotting down a huge list of tasks and
responsibilities; instead, concentrate on a list of “primary” achievements
for each position. Focus on the results of your work and
the impact of projects — not duties, don’t start writing a résumé until
identifying what makes you qualified, unique and distinctive Identify Targets Speaking in the language of tech
managers, HR recruiters and applicant tracking systems is one of the most
important and challenging tasks that all résumé writers face. To make sure
that your résumé appeals to multiple reviewers, review several job postings
for the type of positions and companies you want to work for. Next, use the job postings as a
reference to identify and align your action verbs, job titles,
accomplishments, skills and keywords to the position you want. If you’re
looking to move into a management role, don’t say that you implemented a
solution; say that you drove implementation. If you want to move into
consulting, talk about what you did for clients in your previous position. If
managing budgets and schedules is a top requirement for a job you want, work
those examples into your résumé. And be sure to use your target company’s job
titles—for instance, don’t say “desktop manager” if your target company uses
“manager of desktop support.” This step will also help you decide
what information is relevant and what is not. You should brainstorm and
figure out what you want to say and the data you want to |
include. Professional writers get their
ideas in order before creating their first draft. Write from the Bottom Up Once you’ve developed a theme and
gathered up documentation, make the writing process easier by installing the
“backbone” of your résumé. Start at the bottom of the document and work your
way up. A bottom-up writing approach ensures that the body of your résumé
supports the all-important opening summary or profile section. List the factual data first, put in
your education, technical skills and awards, then enter your job titles,
dates, company names and any descriptions into your work history, and
instantly, the outline is there.” Riggs also likes to enter sub-section
headings under each position in a professional’s work history. Clustering
accomplishments under sub-headings, such as transformational leadership or
business process automation, helps with organization, makes a résumé easier
to read, and supports the branding process. Be disciplined as you fill in the
blanks in your work history and project experience sections, sticking with
brief examples of achievements that match the position’s key requirements,
core skills and your value proposition. If you feel compelled to add more,
create an addendum and bring it to the interview. Create the Opening Profile and Line Edits Now you’re ready to craft a headline
and either a paragraph-style or bullet-style opening section that explains
why you are uniquely qualified and the best person for the job. Edit, read,
and then edit some more as you fine-tune adjectives, verbs, keywords and
text. Professional résumé writers manage to get their point across in about
two pages. Use as few words as possible, you can expand on your
accomplishments and skills once you get to the interview. |
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Easy Format Tips to a
One-Page Resume |
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By Cathy Eng, Resume
Rocketeer, Inc Oct 1st, 2010 www.employmentdigest.net/2010/10/five-easy-ways-to-get-your-resume-back-onto-one-page |
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Length Does
your resume “bleed” onto two or three pages and you can’t quite figure out
how to eliminate those few extra lines to bring it back onto one page or two?
There are several tricks to get rid of wasted space and make your resume
appear more sharp and concise (and more likely to be read). Minimize the contact information. You
don’t need to list your address, three phone numbers, your fax, and an email
address. Now that almost everyone has an email and cell phone, there is no
need to bombard employers with so many ways to reach you. Employers want one
to two simple ways to get a hold of you. You can even get away with the
following: Ed Smith New York, NY 212.555.1234 email@address Find danglers Bring
“danglers” up to the previous line (by that, I mean any line that only
contains one to three words). Edit down your content by removing unnecessary
words (e.g. “very” and “that” are often arbitrary and waste space) to bring
that line up. Reduce your margins. It
is acceptable to set your margins as low as.5 inches, and your resume will
still be scannable (most large companies scan in resumes received). This will
help to minimize “dead space” on your resume. However, be sure to change your
tabs to match up with the margins. |
Reduce your font size. For
a hiring manager, receiving a resume with 12-point font or larger says “I
don’t have much to say, so I’ll just make my words bigger to fill space”. An
11-point font is easiest to read and is most aesthetically pleasing. This
small change will make a big difference. References Remove
“References available upon request” Or
even “Addendum available upon request”. These statements go without saying
these days. Finally Your
resume is one of the most important documents you will have in your
professional life, so it is important that you pay attention to every detail
to make it a perfect representation of you. This includes using every trick
in the book to present your resume as succinct and aesthetically pleasing as
possible |
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Ways to Target Your Resume |
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By
Jessica Holbrook Beyond.com 5/17/2011 http://www.beyond.com/articles/5-key-questions-to-ask-when-writing-your-resume-5130-article.html |
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Are
you in the middle of writing your resume but are having a difficult time finding
the right information to include? Well, some of it is self-explanatory
(education, job history, etc.), but sometimes it’s hard to decide which
skills to include as well as which accomplishments within your work history
to note. If
you’re feeling stuck, it’s good to ask yourself some questions in order to
get yourself moving. Here are five to consider while writing your resume: Why
am I applying for this job? One
thing you should explore is why you’re applying for the job. By looking at
what you want from the company aside from money (e.g., more skills,
opportunity to grow in your field), you can reference these ideas as you
write. Which
of your past accomplishments match the company’s expectations? It’s
also a good idea to look at which of your past accomplishments and skills
match what the company is looking for in the position. Don’t just list the
skills they say they want; really take a look at the job description and how
they hope the position can help the company as a whole. Then think about what
you’ve accomplished and how you can meet the company’s expectations. How
will taking this step further my career? Also,
take time to think about whether this job is a building block on your career
path. If you’re just making lateral moves—hopping from job to job—rather than
building a career, you may want to rethink applying for this particular
position and look for one that falls more in line with your interests. |
What
do I want to contribute to the company and position? In
addition to exploring whether your accomplishments match the company’s
expectations, it’s good to think about what you can contribute outside of
their expectations. This may take a little bit of research to find out how
the company wants to excel in the field—and how your position can help it get
there. Am
I the best fit for this position? Finally,
it’s important to know whether you honestly believe you’re the best fit for
the position. If you write your resume with an attitude that you’re not a
winner, it could be hard for you to include in your resume all of the great
reasons why you should be hired. It’s always a good idea to really explore
the reasons you’re applying for a job as you write your resume. This way,
it’s easier to answer the questions that employers are likely asking while
they are reading it. |
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Make Your Past Make You Look Better |
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By Curt Rosengren US News and World Report-Money |
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There are skills checklists asking you to tick off
every skill that sounds like you. When telling your story to an employer,
it’s one-dimensional. There’s nothing to back it up. If
you want to talk about your skills in a compelling way, you have to go deeper
than that. A way to do this is to forget the checklist and take a longer,
more fruitful approach to your skills. Potential employers aren’t interested
in your skills; they’re interested in how those skills meet their needs. The
following can make your story more compelling. Reverse
engineer to find your skills You
need to identify your skills with reverse engineering. You will look at three
things: ·
Your big picture responsibilities ·
The tasks you had to
perform
to fulfill those responsibilities ·
The skills
you needed to successfully perform those tasks Start
by making a list of the big picture responsibilities you had in your last
job; for example, marketing planning, or coordinating teams, or fundraising.
Once you have your big picture list, take each of those and start to reverse
engineer them. Ask, “What tasks did I perform in order to fulfill that
responsibility?” If the responsibility was marketing planning, maybe you say,
“I researched the market, identified the opportunities and needs, and created
a budget.” After
you identify the tasks, you ask, “What skills did each of those tasks
require?” Researching might have taken an ability to identify the relevant
information, to find the information, and to compile and organize the
information. Depending on the answers, you may find you need to go down more
than just three levels to get to the detailed skills. Example, if the task of
finding the relevant information was actually broken up into finding the
information online, in the media, and from people with subject expertise,
those might be three different tasks requiring different skill sets. It’s
the same with the individual skills you identify. They may yield even more
detailed insights if you dig a little deeper. Look at the skill of being able
to compile and organize |
relevant
information. Realize it boils down to
analytical ability, to see connections in disparate pieces of information,
and distill volumes of information into its essence. Why reverse
engineer? Because now you have a list of skills (which is likely
to be more comprehensive than if you had simply come up with a list off the
top of your head), you also have a deep picture of how each of those skills
relate to the big picture. More importantly, you have a direct picture of how
each of those skills contributed to the benefit you created (and making it
easier to demonstrate benefits to a future employer). Remember you’re not selling your skills, you’re
selling how your skills can benefit the organization. With a clear picture of
how your skills have contributed to organizations in the past, you can convey
their benefit your prospective employer. It’s all about being able to tell your story, clearly,
concisely and convincingly. In this case, the story is about the skills you
have, how they have applied in the past, and how you can apply them to
benefit a new organization. Create Skill
Story snapshots To make it easy to be clear, concise and convincing,
take each skill and create a snapshot using the following elements: ·
Skill: State the
skill with an example of how you used that skill. ·
Result: Give an
example of the result of using that skill. ·
Benefit: Explain the
benefit when you put that skill to use. By creating these
snapshots, you have stories ready to tell about what makes you a great
candidate. When you deeply understand what you have to offer and how it has
been put to positive use in the past, you no longer have to grapple with
words to convey what you bring to the table. You have the snapshots already
prepared. And by having a better perspective on what you offer and how it
applies to the big picture, it’s easier to recognize and express how those
skills can be applied in the new situation |
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Quantify Your
Accomplishments for Greater Impact |
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Utilize Numbers to Create an Accomplishment-Based Resume Jessica Holbrook on Beyond.com 5/24/2011 www.beyond.com/articles/how-to-utilize-numbers-to-create-an-5134-article.html |
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When
writing a resume, one of your biggest challenges is figuring out how to get
the message across that you’re a results-maker. One
of the best ways to get this done is by using numbers. Quantifying what
you’ve accomplished helps the hiring manager envision what you can get done
at a new company. Want to know how to get it done? Here are some tips to
consider. Look
at the amount of what you’ve accomplished A
great way to get started in using numbers is looking at amounts associated
with what you’ve accomplished. This means you will bypass simply jotting down
your responsibilities and take a deeper look into what you really pulled off
at previous employers. For
each job you’ve worked, you can list how many items you’ve sold, how many
people you’ve managed, how many projects you initiated, how many times you
were voted team lead, etc. The numbers give perspective to your
accomplishments, which is what you need when applying for a job. Jot
down money earned If
you’ve earned money for a company, it’s a good idea to list as many dollar
amounts as possible. For instance, if you were a member of your sales team
and in the months of January, April and May 2010, you won salesperson of the
month because you surpassed $10,000 in sales, you need to write those numbers
down. Doing so gives a clear picture of what you’re capable of earning. |
Note time-frames for accomplishing
goals While
busy quantifying your results, it’s good to include time-frames for
accomplishing your goals. So in the previous
example, in addition to noting how much money you earned, you could mention
that you actually hit the $10,000 in 16 work days rather than standard 20-22
days in a work month. As
a candidate, it is imperative that you that you utilize the most high-impact
and relevant information in your resume to win over the person who is reading
it. The more meaningful, and impactful numbers you add to your resume, the
greater your odds will be of getting called in for an interview. |
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Most Searched Keywords |
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by Thad Peterson Adapted from: Monster.com’ Keywords Recruiters Use to Find You’ |
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Automated
Searching Just
as you use keywords to search for jobs on an employer web site, recruiters
and hiring managers use them to identify qualified candidates who match their
available positions searching the Web, databases such as Monster.com,
emails and online applications. Knowing
which keywords appear most frequently in recruiters' searches can help you
use the right words and terms in your resume. But remember: While it makes
sense to use these keywords in your resume if they pertain to you, littering
your resume with irrelevant words can backfire. "For
the astute recruiter, it's going to come across as spam," says Felix
Heimberg, a Dallas-based recruiter. "We become very good at spotting
something that looks contrived." One
Hundred Most Popular Keywords What
are recruiters and hiring managers searching for? Here is a list of the top
100 resume keyword search phrases used by recruiters and hiring managers on
Monster (use these to identify similar keywords within your career and skill
set, use them in your resume) Develop
Your Appropriate Keywords In
your searching for jobs, save copies of job listings that you would like and
are qualified for. Review these copies and develop a list of the keywords
used in the job postings. When applying for a job with a resume or an online
application always use the words listed in the posting (provided they apply
to your experience) as part of your submission. |
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Useless Words vs Eye-catching Words |
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Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder |
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"Generic
hyperbole belongs on cereal boxes, not on résumés," says Duncan
Mathison, a career consultant and co-author of "Unlock the Hidden Job Market:
6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough." "If it
does not pass the 'So what, anybody can make that claim' test, leave it
off." Instead
of being another candidate professing to be a "hard worker,"
revitalize your application with a little seek-and-replace exercise. Scan
your résumé for empty, overused words such as the following:
"Watch
out for words that are unsupported claims of greatness," Mathison says.
Adds David Couper, a career coach and author of "Outsiders on the
Inside: How to Create a Winning Career ... Even When You Don't Fit In,"
"If you call yourself an 'excellent manager,' how do we know?" The
nouns following those subjective adjectives can be equally meaningless.
Anyone who has ever had a co-worker can claim to be a "team
player." "Do not say you're a 'good communicator' or have
'excellent communication skills.' Who doesn't have these?" says Susan
Ach, a career counselor at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. A
better route to take is describing accomplishments and letting the hirer make
his own judgment. Give specific (preferably quantifiable) accounts of what you've
done that makes you an "outstanding salesperson." Likewise, peruse
performance reviews for quotable material from supervisors that demonstrates
why they consider you a "strong leader." Listing awards or other
forms of recognition also can be used as support. |
Some
words should be avoided because they convey traits that employers consider
standard for anybody who wants to be hired. "You're motivated? Hope so. A
good worker? So happy to hear that; I didn't want to hire a bad worker,"
Couper says. Don't take up precious résumé space with unnecessary items. Also
on the "don't" side: Words that seek to overcome what you might
think are your shortcomings. "Using 'seasoned' for 'over 50' or
'energetic' for 'inexperienced' looks like spin,"Keep
the focus on what makes you right for the job. Certain words can make hiring managers do
a double-take. Light up their eyes with these 10 words:
"We
suggest that résumé writers include action words to describe their
jobs," Ach says. Verbs project the image of someone who has the
background and initiative to get things done. Employers can clearly
comprehend what you've accomplished in the past and can use that as a basis
for envisioning future success with their company. Think about it: If you
were hiring, would you rather take on someone who calls himself a "productive
manager" or somebody who states that at his last job he "increased
company profit by 3 percent," "reduced employee turnover in his
department to the best level in five years," and "improved brand
awareness by implementing a new social media strategy"? Lastly, it can be beneficial to use verbs and
nouns that are common to your specific industry. This shows your familiarity
with the language of your field and optimizes the chances of getting past an
automatic scan for keywords. But remember, too, that all companies tend to
speak a universal language: money. "Terms such as 'on-time' and
'under-budget' are often good. Hiring managers want to know you can get
things done with minimum fuss," Mathison says. |
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Action Words that POP |
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Posted
By: Jessica Holbrook On: 12/9/2011 9:11:04 AM In:
Job Seeker http://www.businessworkforce.com/articles/have-you-mastered-your-master-resume-5380-article.html |
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One
of the great organizational tools of resume creation is the master resume.
Although it’s considered an optional tool designed to ease the writing
process, for those who use it, the benefits are enormous. If
you have created your own master resume, you may have quickly realized that
the greatest benefits come when you put more effort into making this document
serve its intended purpose. If you utilize it as intended, you can indeed
create great submission resumes that do a good job of snagging interviews. The Purpose The
purpose of a master resume is to organize your entire career into one
document that you can later extract from when submitting individual,
customized resumes. The need for this type of document arose once it became
apparent that submitting the same resume to multiple companies (minus a few
subtle changes) was no longer appropriate. Job
seekers often experience the best results from submitting unique resumes that
are tailored to a specific company’s mission and the position for which
they’re hiring. In writing your resume, this could mean you will have to
continually recall specific instances in your work history that match the job
you’re applying for. To
avoid the hassle associated with this enormous feat, experts have started
recommending master resumes. The master resume is never to be
submitted. It is a resource to draw
on. Instead,
it allows you to add all of your education, work history, career goals, etc.
to one document so that you can locate these items quickly when tailoring a
resume to a specific position. Draw from the master the more appropriate
portions for the job. |
Why
Organization Is Crucial to Mastering Your Master Resume In order to say you’ve mastered your master resume,
organization is of upmost importance. You will need to clearly define various
sections that could be utilized in submission resumes, then appropriately
list your skills, accomplishments, and work history based on those sections
you’ve created. The best time to work on your master resume is while
you’re still employed and in the process of acquiring new qualifications;
this is because your contributions and their impact are still fresh in your
mind. But even if you’re between jobs, you can add details to the resume as
you remember them. Keep in mind that your master resume does not have
to stop at a certain length. Make it as long and detailed as possible. And if
you have two career tracks, you may want to create two master resumes to
better organize your history. An
On-going Effort The great thing about a master resume is that you
don’t have to worry about meeting a deadline to get it done. You can work on
it until you decide you’re no longer interested in looking for work. As you
submit resumes keep an entry of each tailored statement; it is easier to
delete entries that do not apply to the specific position than to re-invent
them under pressure of a deadline. By mastering your master resume, you are more likely
to create in-depth submission resumes that catch the attention of managers
hoping to hire someone just like you. |
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Posted By: Jessica Holbrook In: Job Seeker – Resume www.beyond.com/articles/arti cle.asp?id=5152 |
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Have
you ever wondered what happens to your resume after you submit it? Many job
seekers spend hours every day shipping resumes off to prospective employers
without an idea of what happens after they've hit the send button. Knowing
what your resume goes through after it has been submitted is a mystery to
many job seekers. A recent CNN Money article explored the process at one
major company; let's look at the steps involved after a resume leaves your
hands. Stage 1: Making it past technology Whether
you've submitted your resume to a recruiter or directly to an employer, it
will likely face some form of technology before it is thoroughly reviewed by
a human's eyes. The technology typically uses a variety of criteria to help
filter candidates. For
instance, a company might want resumes from people who have five to eight
years of experience with public relations management. If this key phrase
isn't on a person's resume, the computer system will not rank it high or it
could simply immediately reject it. Keep
this in mind as you filter out which information to include in your resume
and personalize it for each position. The best way to ensure you don't miss
this boat is to search for keywords like this in the job posting and include
them in your resume. Stage 2: Initial human confirmation If
your resume makes it through the technological test, then you may receive
some form of human confirmation. In the CNN article, the confirmation came in
the form of a phone call meant to ensure that the information posted on the
resume was accurate. As a former recruiter, I call this the prescreen
interview. During
the call, the representative also gets a feel for whether the candidate seems
to be a good fit for the company by exploring salary expectations, relocation
willingness and job travel capabilities or whatever may be information that
could |
weed
out the candidate to
narrow down the recruiter's search results. The
candidate could also expect this communication to come in the form of an
e-mail. I always loved communication via e-mail; if someone had a really
standout resume, then I would just e-mail the candidate to set up a time to
either: a) chat over the phone, or b) schedule the initial in-person
interview. Stage 3: Moving higher up If
you seem to be a good fit for the company initially, the recruiter or other
company representative will likely send your resume to the hiring manager or
other person in charge of making the ultimate decision. At this point, the
resume is placed in the interview pile for the person's supervisor or the key
hiring manager and the interviewing process begins. What If I don't get a call? If
you don't receive a call or e-mail beyond the thank you for applying
communication, it's possible that the company decided at some point during
the resume's journey that you are not a good match. That may have been a
result of your not having the appropriate keywords contained in the resume
for the computer scan to rank your resume high enough to warrant a review, or
it could be that the first human eye giving it a scan couldn't find what they
wanted. It could also perhaps be that someone thought the resume was a mess.
It's also possible, with thousands of people applying, that you just got
misplaced in the shuffle. Some companies are likely to keep your resume in
its database in case you're a good fit for another position down the line.
However, if you know that your skills, qualifications, experience,
accomplishments, etc. are a perfect fit for a position (a 100% match) and you
didn't receive a call, I encourage you to take extra steps to be noticed. The
CNN Money article revealed that companies also spend a lot of time on
LinkedIn, sifting through candidates in hopes of finding individuals they
would like to recruit, even if they aren't looking for work. This is another
critically important reason why if you're not on LinkedIn, for some
employers, you just don't exist |
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You CAN Apply for the Same Job Twice, If You're Careful |
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By Elisabeth Greenbaum Kasson Jun 6, 2011 Posted In Job News |
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A
boo and a hiss for the online job application, a necessary irritant that most
of the time you can’t avoid. Of course you wonder:
Do those resumes actually get read? Do you have any options after you hit
send? What can you do if you get some inside tip about the position — after
you’ve submitted your materials? Your
best bet is to contact the recruiter or hiring manager directly. But that’s
not always a possibility. In that case, you may gain traction by resubmitting
your resume, giving yourself a second chance by revising your cover letter
and application to show a more perfect fit. Larger companies tend to rely on recruiting software to
screen incoming applications, so if you don’t meet a job’s basic criteria,
the system has probably spit you out without anyone seeing your resume. If
they did, HR or the hiring manager may have found some aspects of your
application problematic, even it you were a good
fit for the position. For example, what if your salary requirement was too
high? If you become aware of any issues like that, resubmitting may put you
back in the game. Remember,
though, that there are potential negatives to applying for the same job
twice. What you think is a lengthy wait to hear back is a mere minute in the
eyes of HR. So, if you dip twice, you could be seen as a pest. And, if you
substantially change your resume and cover letter they may perceive you as
desperate, which could undervalue your professional worth. Still,
if you’re aware of the risks and really want a shot at the job, go for it.
After all, what are they going to do? Not hire you? |
COMMENTS : BY
Mike says: Years
ago I applied, several times, for a position that
frequently appeared in the “help wanted” section. I applied because I knew
the OS in use, and several programming languages, but not the two programming
languages in use. I finally was contacted for an interview. I was offered the
job. But that was all in the past, prior to the onset of online applications,
etc. BY
M. Jones says: ....
The use of resume scanning software in this day and age is ridiculous. A lot
of resumes get over looked because of this, and a lot of these software keep
a record of potential candidates, so if you’ve applied somewhere and your
resume was rejected, it will more than likely be rejected again when you
apply at any company employing such software (based on your name alone). It
is a form of judgment and discrimination that needs to be removed from the
already troubling job market. The
problem with the job market, and most companies, is they assume someone is a
pest, based on their consistency. The bottom line is this, everyone wants to
work, everyone is desperate for a job. These companies have made it this way.
A lot of talented people are being over-looked because of cut rate HR
practices |
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