May 2023 - Page 6 of 12

How To Format Your Resume For Internet Job Searching

Email resumes…Web resumes…HTML resumes…Scannable resumes… Keyword resumes…Text resumes…ASCII resumes…PDF resumes…Word resumes…Traditional resumes…

A resume is a resume, right? But then, what are all these different types of resumes you keep hearing about? If you are confused and not quite sure what is being referred to when you hear all these different names for resumes, you are certainly not alone!

Over the past decade, the most common resume-related questions asked by job hunters have progressively shifted. While still of major importance, the majority of queries are no longer about functional versus chronological resume styles, whether to keep or remove experience from twenty-five years ago, or whether to include dates of education. With the advent and subsequent explosive increase in the use of the Internet during the job search, questions have turned overwhelmingly to issues of electronic resume creation and transmission.

What are the different types of electronic resumes?

What are the differences between an e-mail resume, a scannable resume, and a web resume?

How do I know which resume format to use?

How do I format my electronic resume to ensure that the recipient can read it?

No wonder there is so much confusion! In just a few short years, there has been a complete revolution in the tools and techniques of job hunting. As applicant tracking technologies have come into common use among headhunter firms, large corporations, and even mid-size and small businesses, recommended resume formats and methods of transmission have rapidly evolved with the advancing technologies. Further complicating things, have been the increasing availability of personal web space for online resume portfolios and biographies.

What does this mean for today’s job hunter? While the Internet has opened unprecedented doors of opportunity in the job search process, for those who have not taken the time to learn and apply the rules it can mean disaster!

While few job hunters have time to spend months studying the most recent technologies and recommendations for the creation of electronic resumes, before venturing onto the Internet with your resume it is critical that you take the time to learn and understand a few simple concepts. Knowing your audience and the formats most acceptable by those audiences are essential pieces of knowledge for the Internet job hunter.

The human reader – The traditional, printed, hard copy resume (yes, it does still have a primary place in job hunting!) is created to attract the human eye and attention. With the advantages of word processing applications, sophisticated formatting is possible and should be applied strategically to create eye-appeal and draw the readers’ attention to key qualifications.

The computer reader – The electronic or computer-optimized resume is designed, first and foremost, to be readable by the computer. There are several types of electronic resumes, but the common element of all is the ability to be searched by keyword. Of course, once your resume has been tagged as matching a keyword search, it will be reviewed by a human. So compelling, easy-to-read content is just as important in the electronic resume as in the traditional resume.

Miss these points and the effects could be devastating…you might send out hundreds of resumes only to sit at home and wonder why nobody, not even one company or headhunter, has called you for an interview. There are fundamental formatting differences between traditional and electronic resumes. If you do not understand these differences, your resume will make it into very few – if any – resume databases.

RESUME FORMATS

What are the differences between keyword, scannable, web, traditional, and text resumes?

Traditional resumes are designed, as already noted, to compel the human reader, through persuasive language and design, to take further action and call you for an interview. Layout and page design are critical and should be planned strategically to draw the eye to areas of emphasis. The most effective traditional resumes are focused on achievements and written in powerful, active language that captures and holds the attention of the reader.

Scannable resumes — also a printed, hardcopy format — are designed primarily for accurate scanning into a computer. Captured as an image, scannable resumes are fed through OCR (optical character recognition) software that reads and extracts the text. The extracted text is databased for storage and later recalled by keyword from an applicant tracking system. Scannable resumes are very rarely requested any more. If you are asked for a scannable resume, the most efficient option is to email the requestor your plain ASCII text resume (described next).

Text resumes (also referred to as ASCII resumes) are just what the name implies, an ASCII-formatted version of either your traditional or scannable resume. Text resumes are universally readable on all computer systems and platforms and are the preferred format when you are emailing your resume. An ASCII resume received in email can be entered directly into an applicant tracking system without the added step of needing to scan it. Entry into the system is fast, easy, and accurate and so many employers and recruiters prefer this format.

The phrase “keyword resume,” as it was first used, referred most often to either a scannable or text resume that incorporated a focus on nouns and phrases that employers were likely to use when searching for an applicant. Sometimes the keyword resume had a section at the beginning or end that listed the keywords separated by commas or periods. Today, there is no need to maintain both a keyword and a non-keyword resume. Keywords have become such an essential element in resumes that you should ensure that every version of your resume, whether meant for the human or the computer reader, incorporates the keywords most important in your field or industry.

Still confused? My recommendation is to simply maintain two separate versions of your resume:

Traditional resume – If you wish to send a hardcopy, paper version of your resume you should send your traditional resume. Traditional resumes are most often stored on your computer as a computer file and printed on an as-needed basis. For example, you will want to print at least several copies of your resume to carry with you and hand out at interviews. You may also be asked to send your traditional resume via email to a recruiter or employer. In these cases, you should have your traditional resume saved in the two most commonly asked for file formats: MS Word and Adobe PDF. You can then attach the requested file or files to an email message and send it to the requestor to be printed on the receiving end.

By far, you’ll find that the most requested format for your traditional resume is MS Word. If you comply with the request, be aware that your formatting may be incompatible with the recipient’s system. While usually still readable, fonts and bullet sizes and styles may be different from what you intended. These problems can be minimized, although not always eliminated, by embedding the fonts into the document. This is a simple process, and the MS Word help files will guide you through it. You should also take care, while writing and designing your resume, to use design elements that are default and standard on most systems. For example, it is not wise to use a fancy, custom font on your resume that you know will be emailed. Default fonts such as Garamond, Helvetica, Book Antiqua, or Verdana are better choices.

To eliminate issues with compatibility, if the recipient has the free Adobe Reader installed, Adobe PDF is the best format in which to send your traditional resume. The PDF version of your resume will appear on the recipient’s system precisely the way it appeared on your system. For this reason, if given the choice of sending an MS Word file and Adobe PDF file, always opt for Adobe PDF. However, many recruiters and employers still prefer the MS Word file format, because this is the format they are most familiar with.

ASCII text resume – If you conduct any portion of your job search on the Internet, ASCII-formatted resumes are critically important tools. Always have an up-to-date ASCII text version of your resume on your computer. This is the fastest way to contact potential employers and to apply for jobs advertised online. You must also have a text version of your resume if you wish to post in online resume databanks.

As previously noted, employers rarely request scannable resumes anymore. If they utilize an applicant tracking system, they will likely request that your resume be e-mailed, either as ASCII text or as an attachment. E-mail allows the recipient to enter your resume directly into the database, eliminating the extra steps of scanning and OCR.

How do you use these file formats and transit them to recipients via email? My recommendation is to actually attach the MS Word or Adobe PDF file to the email in its native file format. Then, ALSO copy and paste the text of your ASCII text resume into the body of your email (where you would normally type a message), along with a letter of introduction or other note explaining why you are sending the resume.

A final type of electronic resume is the web resume, also known as the online resume. Created using HTML, your web resume may be uploaded to space provided by a web-hosting provider. Eliminating the compatibility problems associated with word-processed resumes sent as e-mail attachments, web resumes offer the advantage of maintaining layout and design on the systems of anyone with a web browser. Available for viewing around the clock, conveying a technology-savvy image, and allowing the ability to add supporting content to your resume (effectively creating an online portfolio promoting your qualifications), web resumes are becoming a progressively important tool in the job search. The creation of a web resume or resume portfolio is far beyond the scope of this article, but if web resumes are an electronic format that interest you, be aware that many service providers have begun offering web resume design and hosting at affordable prices.

Preparing Internet Resumes

What do I need to know about writing keyword resumes?

Remember – it is absolutely essential that you create resume content that is keyword rich regardless of the file format. It is not necessary that you maintain a separate keyword version of your resume. ALL resumes must include a heavy emphasis on keywords. Keywords are generally defined as nouns or phrases that an employer will use when searching for an applicant with your skill set. To maximize the recall of your resume in a search, you will want to use as many keywords in your resume as possible.

1. Keywords should focus on technical and professional areas of expertise, industry-related jargon, and your work history. Also, include the names of associations and organizations of which you are a member.

2. Whenever possible, use synonyms of keywords in different parts of your resume and if you use initials for a term in one section, spell the term out in another.

3. Always be specific. For example, while it may be fine to include the phrase “computer literate,” you will also want to list the specific software that you are proficient in using.

This is one of the most common areas of confusion, so I’ll state it once again…the content of a keyword resume does not need to differ from the content of your traditional resume. With careful attention to rhythm and flow, it is possible to prepare a resume that is keyword optimized, but that also includes the powerful, compelling, active language of a traditional resume. Not only will this simplify your resume preparation, but it will ensure that the content of all versions of your resume will be optimized for both the computer and the human reader. Furthermore, if you incorporate a professional summary and bulleted list of qualifications in the text of your resume, there is little if any need to prepare a separate keyword summary.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to recommend a specific list of the best keywords to use in your resume, as the “best” keywords are different for every individual and depend mainly on your unique career objective and background. What is certain, however, is that a well-prepared keyword resume is so critical to your success in a job market that largely relies on electronic applicant tracking systems, if you have any doubts at all you should consult with a professional resume writer.

How do I prepare an ASCII text version of my resume?

Preparing the all-important ASCII text version of your resume is not difficult, but it does require a learning curve. Once converted to ASCII format, you will be able to email your resume in response to an ad or paste it directly into web-based forms and submit it to Internet resume databanks. The specific directions will vary depending on the software you have installed on your computer. But, in general, to prepare your ASCII resumes properly, follow these simple steps:

1. Using your word processing program, open your word-processed resume and use the “Save As” function to save a copy as a “Text Only” or “ASCII (DOS)” document. Title your document with an easily distinguishable name; perhaps “resume_internet.txt”

2. Close your word processing program and re-open the ASCII file. You will not be able to see your changes until you have done this. Note that it has been stripped of virtually all original formatting.

3. Go through your new ASCII document line-by-line. Align all text flush to the left-hand margin.

4. Remove all “centering,” “right hand margin,” and “justification” alignments.

5. Although you should no longer see them, if visible, remove all graphics, artwork, and special character formatting.

6. Remove all tab characters.

7. Remove all columns.

8. Replace bullets with a simple ASCII asterisk (*).

9. Carefully check the spelling and the accuracy of your data.

10. If you wish, use ASCII characters to enhance the appearance of your resume. Asterisks, plus signs, or other keyboard characters can be used to create visual lines that separate sections of your resume and make it easier to read.
The above steps convert your resume to ASCII without line breaks. When pasted into a web-based form or email message, your resume will automatically wrap to the size of the window.

Your new ASCII resume will be universally readable, no matter what computer system the recipient uses. It will also be easy to manipulate for entry into applicant tracking databases, eliminating the inherent difficulties of scanning and converting your paper resume with OCR systems.

There is no denying that the Internet has caused what was once a straightforward process to become complex and confusing to many job hunters. Yet, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Like never before, as a job seeker you have immediate access to announcements and advertisements of openings around the globe. You have the ability to conduct detailed research on companies of interest. And you have unprecedented opportunity to cost effectively promote your qualifications to hundreds or even thousands of hiring authorities of just a tiny fraction of the cost of doing so through traditional methods. While the new skills you must learn may seem daunting at first, by understanding the concepts and creating your electronic resumes, you are well on your way to an efficient, effective Internet job search.

Tips to Write a Good CV for Your Dream Job

Introduction: Occasionally, you may find yourself wanting to apply for a job, but the question you should ask yourself is, does my CV provide all the required information? Probably your CV has been doing you a disservice because it is shallow and the only question ringing in your mind is ‘How to write a good CV?’ Well, worry no more as I take you step by step and giving you some tips that will add some spice to your CV. These tips will make potential employers impressed and they will take note of your CV. You should keep in mind that your CV is your first line of defense when it comes to employment, therefore, you should take ample time to write down your CV to perfection.

Attributes of a Good CV: Before I talk about how to use the correct format, it is important that you note your CV should be able to sell your strong attributes. Therefore, as you put down your information make sure you know your strengths and use them to your advantage. Some good pointers that indicate a good CV include:

Accuracy
Truthfulness
It should be concise

The Format and Layout: First of all, you start by writing your name. Below your name write your email address which should be professional, avoid nicknames. Note that an email address should not have capitalized letters. Once you are done with this step you can start entering your personal information. Such information will include:

Your ID number
Date of Birth
Nationality
Language(s)
Drivers’ license code

Next, step involves giving your CV an objective. This will enable a reader to Know exactly what you are looking for and if you are a good candidate for the position being advertised.

Once this is done you can then proceed to step number four. This is where you shall offer information on your educational background. It is Important that you indicate all your educational achievements. You will be required to fill in all the names of the institutions you have attended alongside with the years. Another important point to note is that, as you write down your educational background, write it in an ascending order. Start with the lowest to the highest.

For example:

Primary School
High school
University
Postgraduate studies

You could also note any other relevant information regarding your educational background.

In step five, you will give all the relevant information pertaining to your previous work experience. You will give the job title as well as the period you did a particular job. You should also offer information on what your roles were and the skills you are perfected at your previous job. You can also list a number of accomplishments you achieved at your previous workplace. Remember to also give the name of your previous employer and where the firm you worked for is located. It is the most important section of a good CV.

In step six, you can go ahead and illustrate that you are up to the task for the job being advertised. Demonstrate that you understand the job you have applied for and justify why you should get that job. You can talk about your leadership skills, computer skills as well as any information regarding community involvement. You can list any community projects you have been involved in.

In step seven, you can talk about your conference papers and presentation as well as any publications that you may have, However, it is of great importance that you distinguish any published work from your presentations and conference papers. This step only applies where it is necessary.

In step eight, talk about your interests. This step solely depends on your preferences. However, do not overdo it. Just give a few points.

In step nine, this being your final step, offer a list of three people at most that will act as your referees. Before naming anyone to make sure to get their consent to use them as your referees. Your referees will provide reference letters. These letters will accompany your application.

Conclusion: Once you have followed these vital steps and points you will be able to come up with a formidable CV. You will be able to eliminate common mistakes that tarnish your CV. You will finally be able to answer that ringing question in your mind on,’How to write a good CV?’ Remember to take your time, do not rush. If you rush the more mistakes you are prone to make.

Make Your Federal Resume Stand Out

Making your Federal resume stand out is of utmost importance if you are hoping to land that Federal position you have your eye on. It is not enough to just turn in a Federal resume in the proper format any more, though that does help. In order for a Federal resume to be useful it must be concise, clear, to the point, and most of all relevant to the position you are applying for.

You have to understand that there will be many, possibly hundreds, of other applicants and without a Federal resume that really pops you probably won’t make it very far in the eyes of the reviewers. Here are some ways that you can really make your Federal resume stand out from the rest that will be on the pile:

o Be Truthful: While you never want to lie on any resume you especially don’t want to lie on a government resume; it is the government for crying out loud. Their resources are vast and your information will be checked so be honest with yourself and if you are not qualified for a position, then don’t apply.

o Be Relevant: You may have all sorts of great information that you can out on your Federal resume, but if it is not relevant to the job posting, then leave it out. It doesn’t matter what information you give, it needs to be relevant as irrelevant information will see your government resume hit the bottom of the trash can fast.

o Be Concise: Yes you certainly want to stand out but if you use too many big words and phrases you may come off as a bit of a show off or know it all. This has a tendency to annoy the reviewers and if you do that your chances of landing your dream Federal job are going to be very slim.

o Mold and Create: A Federal government resume is not like a regular resume in that there is no ‘one size fits all.’ With Federal resumes you have to create and mold the resume to be all about the job posting you are applying for. Instead of thinking of your government resume in a cookie cutter approach, think of it in a custom made approach.

o Mention all Strengths: No matter how much relevance you may think you have included in your resume, try to find some more. You have to look beyond schooling as everyone applying will have similar qualifications in this area. What makes you stand out? Perhaps some relevant volunteer work? Whenever you get the chance to mention a strength that is relevant to the posting you should take full advantage and do so.

o Use Proper Formatting: Remember that this is a Federal resume and is going to require a unique format that will not be the same as your standard resume. Be sure that you are turning in your resume in the proper format so that your resume has a fair chance of being viewed.

Now more than ever, the Federal resume is lending a lot of weight as to who gets a Federal job and who gets left out in the cold. Be sure that your Federal resume is done right and that it really pops in order to give yourself the best possible chance of landing that Federal position that you have always wanted.

Using Free Resume Writing Software to Build a Resume From Scratch

You’re looking at a blank page trying to write a resume, and are questioning whether you have enough information to fill a single sheet of paper to list your skills and experience. Does this scenario sound familiar? If so, you are not alone. Writing about your professional work experience is one of the most important tools in your job search. However, writing a resume from scratch can be a time consuming and frustrating activity. There are many resources available to help simplify the process of building a summary of your academic and work history. These include professional writing services. Though they can be very effective, these services can also be quite expensive. For individuals who are inexperienced or haven’t created a summary of their work history in a long time, a cost effective alternative may be using free resume writing software.

Free resume writing software is a great solution if you’re a “do-it-your-self” type of person, can’t afford to hire a professional writing service or have less than perfect writing skills. In most cases, these applications can either be installed on your computer, be web-based and come with a selection of templates to help you write a summary of your academic and work history from construction to completion. Furthermore, these solutions can help highlight your strongest assets, make improvements or updates where necessary.

There are many providers who offer this type of software, however in most cases their applications will be shareware or trial-ware designed to help write and edit traditional, web-based and electronic resumes. There are some vendors such as The Resume Builder.com who provide a free resume writing software service where you can create your work history online. However, if you like it and want to be able to use it, you’ll need to get a membership which costs $14.95. This does though give you one year unlimited access including hosting of your work details on the web. Further to that, if you do creating anything, your work is kept on their servers for 14 days if you decide you want to become a member.

Most free resume writing software will typically allow you to build a summary of your professional work history in minutes with the use of an easy to use interface or wizard. This enables you to enter all your career information step-by-step which is ideal for beginners. Additionally, many applications have been designed to be fully customizable and allow you to construct something that is professional and tailor-made.

If you do opt for using free resume writing software to build a resume from scratch, always ask someone else to review your work and give you feedback. Though this software will help make the whole creation process easier and quicker, it won’t prevent you from making spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Having a second pair eyes to read over your work will help bring to attention anything that appears unclear or confusing.

Resume Writing For Teachers – A Teachable Moment

A teacher recently contacted me about resume writing for teachers. When I asked how her job hunt was going she related the following story.

“I thought I had a great teacher resume,” she told me. “After sending out over 319 resumes for full time elementary positions I finally got two interviews. The first one called me in, interviewed me, and then sent me an email telling me I was over qualified. The interviewer was a member of the school board and though I was seeking a full time elementary teaching position, he said because of my lack of skills he would only consider me to start as a substitute with a minimum one day a week guarantee. If a substitute was not needed any particular week I could help in the high school library. “

“I was shocked,” she added. “I had been worried about being overqualified for the position and had ‘dumbed down’ my resume. I left off my teaching credentials for science and two workshop certificates for social skills development at the elementary level. I tried to explain that I had these certificates but the gentleman looked skeptical. Then he told me he wished I had included that on my resume because he would be submitting recommended applicant resumes at a board meeting later that day. Needless to say I never heard from him.”

“Do you have any ideas,” she asked.

“Have you considered writing two teacher resumes?” I responded.

“Wouldn’t that be contradictory?” she queried.

Resume writing for teachers often requires listing more credentials and skills than some other types of resumes. Write two resumes. Create a teacher resume that is as relevant as possible to the job and school where you are applying. Tailor the resume as much as possible for the position. Get inside information if possible. Contact the hiring manager or another teacher at the school and ask questions about the school. Get any information you can about the position. Then if you feel you have more to offer that could over qualify create a second resume wit all of your qualifications and have a copy handy when you go to interviews. Make sure the second resume is not contradictory but contains your additional credentials and skills. When you need to hand this resume to an interviewer you will appear prepared and have back up for your claims.

Resume Writing: What Makes Your Resume Appear Over Qualified and What You Can Do

Resumes are all about perception and appearance. During a down turn in the economy or in a career change situation many people are forced to seek jobs for which they are overqualified. Understanding what can make you appear overqualified on your resume can help you make adjustments in your resume writing. You need to minimize your chances of being labeled so you can get interviews.

If you are shopping for an economical entry level vehicle and a salesperson directs you to a luxury car the first thing that comes to mind is price. You immediately equate the luxury or overqualified vehicle as being more expensive. This is the same conclusion employers draw about employees.

If you are ready to buy your dream car loaded with options that costs $50,000 and you found a band new one for sale for only $21,000 you would no doubt be suspect and wonder what is wrong with that car. This same suspicion arises when an obviously overqualified person applies for a job that pays far beneath their abilities and experience. The employer wonders what is wrong and how long the candidate would stay working for lower pay. In addition these candidates can often be set in their ways or think they know better and be more difficult to train.

What can make you appear overqualified? You might generally be considered so on your resume or cover letter because:

of your position titles.
your education is far beyond the position requirements.
the position is under management and your experience is in upper management.
the position is entry level and you have several years or more experience.
the job posting clearly states a level of experience required and you have considerably more.
your salary history or requirement is much higher than the position pay range.

Position Titles

Matching position titles between your resume and job postings can be critical for obtaining interviews. Position titles can make you overqualified even though employers might be comparing apples and oranges. For instance if you have been working as a VP at a small business with 6 employees, your responsibilities and duties might not be much different than a middle management employee at a larger company. Yet because there might be several thousand employees at the larger company and a Vice President is considered at the top of the food chain with considerably higher pay than managers, you might be seen as overqualified.

Your job title can also make you appear as competition for a hiring decision maker. When a department head sees you have more education or experience than he or she does, you might get ruled out because of their personal fear. In this case you will never know why they did not call you.

What You Can Do:

While position titles can often be adjusted, be careful not to distribute or post your resumes with widely varying titles. This can appear deceitful if your resumes are ever compared. Be sure that you have approval from your previous employer and warn them about any slight title flexibility. Title flexibility means making small title changes that still describe the position. For example, a Vice President of a small company could be a VP of Management, Manager, or Managing Officer, or you could leave titles off.

Amount or Type of Experience

Because an amount of experience is a measurable factor how much experience you have is easy to recognize on your resume. When an employer requires a minimum of 5 years of experience, having 7 or 10 years of experience is usually not going to make you overqualified. In that case, if your experience is more than five years than the minimum, you could be seen as overqualified. If you have five years experience and are seeking a position that advertises entry level or one year of experience, you stand a good chance of appearing overqualified. This can all be compounded by your past job titles and education.

What You Can Do

When a position is described as entry level, employers might want a candidate they can train or mold to adhere to their environment and they often budget entry level equivalent pay. If you have extensive experience in the field you can play this down on your resume by using a skills or functional format and being prepared to offer explanations at an interview.

Make Your Skills Work in Your Favor

Focus on your skills that are relevant to the available position you are seeking. An employer might be looking for an entry level candidate, just like you might shop for a low price economy car. That does not always mean they only want entry level skills. You want to pay the lowest price possible but hey, if you can get that same car with premium alloy wheels, a GPS, leather seats, or upgraded sound package for the same price, are you going to turn it down?

Look for any extras or features on the employer’s wish list. These are the bells and whistles that can push the employer off the fence about your resume and make them call you for an interview. What is great is employers frequently tell you their bells and whistles wish list in their job postings. These skills are associated with what I call the wish list words. These are words such as helpful, knowledge of, plus, huge plus, desired, beneficial, useful, familiar with, familiarity with, and more.

For example:

experience with Quickbooks software helpful
knowledge of labor law a plus
HTML skills desired
business degree beneficial
experience using truck scale useful
familiarity with electronic schematics desirable

I have also seen the words advantageous and favorable in job postings. If you have a skill or special knowledge the employer has listed as advantageous, desirable, or favorable you have a golden ticket! Who doesn’t want to be advantageous, desirable, or favorable in the job hunting arena?

These are not required knowledge, skills, and abilities but desired. If you meet the employer’s basic requirements, possessing one of these wish list items can be the hot button or deciding factor that gets you in. Make sure they know you have these features. Work these items into your resume at the top under a Skills Summary section and in your cover letter!

Amount or Type of Education

Sometimes the lack of available jobs in a particular field or another reason might require you to search for a position beneath your education. If the position necessitates a bachelor degree and you have a PhD, you will be seen as educationally overqualified by many employers. If you are applying for a job as a health aid and you are a registered nurse you can have the same issue.

What You Can Do

After all the hard work and cost, education is not something most people want to hide. If you are grossly overqualified by your education, omitting your schooling is an option, though you might consider a brief line of explanation in your cover letters instead. Explain that you are seeking the position and an appropriate pay and why. Offer assurance of continued employment and whether you are interested in advancement opportunities within the company when and if they become available.

Jumpstart Your Job Hunt With a Quality Resume – Ultimate Resume Writing Dos and Don’ts

After years of working in the executive staffing and recruiting industry, collaborating with countless hiring managers and human resource administrators across various industries, I acquired a thorough understanding of what these individuals were looking for in potential job candidates. I began to see patterns, consistencies, universal tendencies, and I began to see just how important a good resume really is.

As a point of fact, hiring managers only spend around 15 seconds perusing over a new resume and they are really only looking for a couple of things when they do. They’re on autopilot, for the most part. They want to know:

1) Who have you worked for?
2) Have you had steady employment?
3) What notable achievements and recognitions have you had throughout your career?
4) What do you have to offer which will meet with their specific needs?

An effective resume will answer those questions with a minimal amount of effort and, as with any effective marketing tool, it will also leave the reader wanting to know more. You want to give them just enough info to prompt them into action. That’s when they pick up the phone and call you for an interview!

So your resume is your professional introduction. It’s your only chance to make a memorable first impression and I can tell you right now that if you do not take your resume seriously, then your resume will never be TAKEN seriously. It really is that simple.

Now, if you feel you are capable and qualified to write a compelling and dynamic resume, then by all means give it a shot. However, if you’re not extremely confident in your skills as a writer and/or marketer, I would sincerely recommend you hook up with a professional resume writer to help you craft the perfect resume for you. A seasoned veteran in these matters can be an invaluable resource. After all, I trust my mechanic to work on my car because he works on cars all day, every day. Well there are people out there who work on resumes all day, every day…so trust us!

For those who are convinced they have what it takes, this article should help you with some of the finer points. Although job markets and technologies are always changing, there are some things which are fairly universal and constitute the basic principles of a winning resume. To guide you along, I have compiled a comprehensive list of resume writing Do’s and Don’ts, complete with secret tricks of the trade as well as a collection of common mistakes people make. So pay close attention, take my advice into consideration, and you’ll be on your way to landing that dream job in no time!

DON’T

Misrepresent the Truth – Lying on your resume is never a good idea. You don’t want to start a professional relationship based on the misrepresentation of facts. Just as you would hope the employer is not lying to you about the job requirements, salary, etc, they expect you are not lying to them about your background and/or skill sets. It’s the decent and respectable way to conduct yourself and there is no room for dishonesty in the workplace because, sooner or later, these things always have a tendency to come to the surface. Remember: The truth shall set you free!

Use Slang or Jargon – You need to be as professional as possible in the context of your resume if you expect to be taken seriously as a professional. For this reason, you should avoid using familiar lingo, slang, or jargon in your resume. The exception to this rule is when using very industry-specific terminology to describe your particular skills. This can actually help to lend you credit as a knowledgeable individual and an expert in your field, but your such terms wisely and tactfully.

Include a Picture – Unless you’re a model or in a professional dependent on physical attributes, I always advise against putting your picture on your resume. In my experience, it can do more harm than good. So keep the formatting of the resume simple and let the hiring manager use their imagination until they call you in for an interview. Plus, your looks should have nothing to do with your professionalism or the credentials qualifying you for the position. In the business world (even legally), your appearance should have no value as a selling point for you as a competent job candidate.

Include Irrelevant Info (AKA “Fluff”) – If it’s not important, don’t add it to your resume. If you were a cook 10 years ago but now you’re looking for a job in retail management, don’t clutter up your resume with irrelevancy. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and ask yourself what they would see as important. How does your background correspond with their needs as an employer? Anything else is fluff. Don’t add your hobbies to your resume. Don’t add your references (if they want them, they’ll ask at the appropriate time). And don’t include your high school education either. Finally, don’t be redundant and repeat yourself throughout the context of your resume. It’s OK to reinforce themes, but don’t push it. If your title has been Branch Manager at each of your past three companies, find a way to differentiate each of these positions and highlight your most notable accomplishments. Don’t just copy and paste the line “Managed a team of branch employees” three times. That will get you nowhere.

Include a Core Competencies Section – I find Core Competency sections to be fairly worthless in a professional resume and I’ll tell you why: It doesn’t matter if you’re a waitress, an administrative assistant, a nurse, a teacher, or a sales executive – it doesn’t matter what kind of background you have – anyone can describe themselves as “Self-Motivated”. Anyone can say they are “Goal Oriented” and “Results-Driven” and everyone has “Strong Verbal and Written Skills” when they’re applying for a job. I can say with some degree of certainty that the majority of hiring managers and HR administrators skip right past a Core Competencies section and with good reason. The key to a successful resume is in SHOWING a manager how you are “Results-Driven” and “Goal Oriented” instead of just TELLING them! Your accomplishments speak volumes, let them do the talking. If you are going to include a Core Competencies section, make sure it’s unique and adds value. Again, vagueness will often work against you here because it cheapens the experience of reading your resume.

Rely on Templates or Sample Resumes – If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions. Because when it comes right down to it, different styles of resumes should be employed in different industries. By way of illustration, a computer programmer’s resume will vary greatly from that of a sushi chef. They both have very different skill sets which need to be highlighted in very different ways in order to be effective. If both those individuals tried to write their resumes in the same format, it would be a disaster. Hiring authorities, respectively, each have their own expectations and some resume formats are better than others at addressing those individual expectations.

Write a Novel and Call it a Resume – I repeat: Do NOT write a novel and call it a resume. Too many people make this mistake. They want to write this wordy, drawn-out thesis outlining their life story and their career aspirations. They have all these skills and accomplishments and they want to include them all in there somewhere, but the problem is most people just don’t know when to stop. Don’t be afraid to leave out some of the details and explore those further in the interview process. My advice is to highlight only those aspects of your background which are most applicable for the job, or types of jobs, you are planning to apply for.

Limit Yourself to One Page – In contrast to the last point, you may not want to limit yourself to a 1-page resume. A common misconception is that a professional resume HAS to be one page. However, that’s not really the case these days. I while back, before the miracles of technology, I may have agreed. But now that most resumes are being read on a computer screen versus on paper, there’s no need to limit yourself in such a way. Those who try to cram all their info on 1-page resume usually resort to smaller font and zero spacing. When viewed on screen, this is not an attractive format and it’s hard to read. Now, I’m not saying you should write a 20-page catalogue of your experiences, nor am I advocating the use of size 20 font. Instead, I would say 12-14 size font should suffice and I recommend you keep it at two pages. That leaves plenty of room to say what needs to be said. Of course, if you have limited experience then a 1-page resume will do just fine.

Use Bullet Points – When it comes time to explain your experiences in your resume, use bullet points to outline your accomplishments. It is much easier to read and even easier to skim, which is what hiring managers are doing most of the time anyways. Bullet points draw attention to important information. They are also visually appealing and make the information seem more accessible to the reader. So keep them short and meaningful. Some people opt for a short paragraph explaining their duties and responsibilities, followed by bullet points highlighting their most notable achievements. This too is acceptable, just make sure to keep that paragraph very succinct and avoid any redundancies as well.

Have a Strong Objective Statement – Although this is a matter of some debate these days, I firmly believe a strong, concise Objective Statement can go a long way. First off, it immediately tells the reader what job you are applying for. That can be a big deal when you’re submitting your resume to a HR representative who has their hands full with many different job openings. Recruiters as well. And if you’re a senior manager, you don’t want to get thrown in the pile with the mail clerks, right? Not only that, but an effective Objective Statement will briefly summarize your qualifications so a hiring manager can make an instantaneous decision whether or not to keep reading. They do that anyways, so why not address their needs in the intro and add value by showing them what you have to offer right off the bat. Remember, I’m only talking about one sentence here. One sentence to market yourself. Once sentence to spark their interest. You don’t want to give the reader too much to think about, rather you want them to proceed on and read the rest of your resume. So grab their attention, establish your professional identity, show them your value, and let them move on to the good stuff!

Choose the Right Format – One thing you need to remember is that there is not one universal formatting methodology because, in truth, there is no cookie-cutter way of writing a resume. What works best for one person may not be best for another. Some people will benefit from a Chronological resume whereas that format may be detrimental to someone who has jumped around a lot in their career. The only thing I can suggest is that you do your homework. Know the different types of resumes (Chronological, Functional, Targeted, and Combination) and know the distinct merits of each. Then make an informed decision as to which style is best for you. If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions.

Cut to the Chase – Don’t waste time…get to the good stuff. As I said before, a hiring manager will most often skim, scan, and glance over a resume. Keep in mind that they have specific questions in mind when they review a resume for the first time and they expect specific answers. One of the most important questions they are asking is: “Who has this person worked for in the past?” For this reason, I always suggest that serious job seekers highlight their experiences first and foremost. Right below your one-sentence Objective Statement you should transition into and Experience section. In this section you should list your past employers, the years you worked for them, your job titles, and a brief description of your duties there. Of course, this may not be the best approach for some people. If your background is heavily dependent on your academic experience, then you may want to jump into that first.

Focus on Your Target – My reasons for saying this are as follows: An unfocused resume sends a very clear message that you are unfocused about your career. And a hiring authority doesn’t want to see that. They want to see that you have career goals and that those aspirations correspond with their needs as an employer. So keep in mind that a customized resume, modified for a specific position, is always preferable to a generalized and vague resume. If you’re serious enough about a job then you should take the extra time and effort to tailor a resume to that job’s requirements. I assure you your efforts will not go unnoticed.

Be Articulate and Grammatically Exact – In my humble opinion, it’s of the utmost importance to be eloquent within the context of your resume and to make sure you’re using proper grammar and syntax. For your current job description, use the present tense. For past jobs, use past tense. This seems like a no-brainer, but again you’d be surprised at how many people make this mistake. Being articulate can go a long way as well. Most hiring managers will consider it a plus if you can convey your level of intelligence in your written communications. So don’t be afraid to break out the thesaurus and make sure you have someone else edit your resume before you send it out to potential employers. That’s imperative!

K.I.S.S. – A wiser man than me once made this bold statement and it’s extremely applicable when writing your resume: Keep It Simple, Stupid! Too many people make too much of an effort to “stand out from the pack” and in doing so they may unwittingly be hurting themselves. In some professions, such as the creative design field, it may be advantageous to show your originality and imagination, but in other business fields this kind of flamboyancy in a resume is unnecessary and can actually be injurious to your cause. In terms of formatting, the same holds true. I have found that people tend to have much more success when they opt for an uncomplicated formatting style. Some people still want to get all jazzed up with pictures and text boxes and funky font, but that’s just fluff. It’s noise. It is irrelevant to the purpose of your resume, which is to sell yourself through highlighting your skills and accomplishments. And hiring managers see right through that!

Take Your Resume Seriously – As previously stated, if you don’t take your resume seriously then your resume will not be TAKEN seriously. If you choose not to work with a professional, then at the very least have an impartial third-party edit it for you and give you some constructive feedback. This is for your own sake. What happens when you accidentally type “Manger” instead of “Manager”? Do you think Spell Check is going to bail you out? Whatever you do, don’t send it out to potential employers without having someone else look it over. Some people just need to swallow their pride because when it comes right down to it, you may be the best at what you do, but if you don’t write resumes for a living then chances are there’s someone out there more qualified to write your resume than you are. Please consider that if you’re serious about being taken seriously!

So there it is…everything you need to know about writing your resume. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and feel free to contact me if you ever need any assistance. I’m here to help!

Write a Standout Resume Without Resorting to Common Lies

When J. Terrence Lanni resigned from MGM Mirage in the fall of 2008, he became the tenth in that year’s string of major CEOs felled by “little white lies” on their resumes. The former industry titan never completed his MBA, but listed it on his resume, anyway. Over the past few years, leaders at Radio Shack and MCG Capital surrendered their jobs after failing fact checks. Despite the risk of ruining otherwise successful careers, some aspiring leaders still stretch the truth when submitting job applications.

According to many personnel managers, using a fib to land a job often requires maintaining that lie for years. When confronted, some professionals report blurred memories of their early careers. Others freely admit to lying, using the challenges of the job market to justify their actions. Although some headhunters once recommended creative resume writing as a method to get your foot in the door, today’s business world traditionally rewards integrity over invention.

Common Resume Lies Can Hold You Back

It can be tempting to “pad your resume,” exaggerating some of your real-life experiences to make yourself more attractive to hiring managers. According to recent surveys of HR professionals, some of the most common resume lies include:

o Inflating job titles or responsibilities at past employers

o Replacing a gap on your resume with an invented job at a company you claim has now closed

o Claiming to have earned a degree you didn’t complete

o Claiming to have earned a different degree to make you more attractive to a prospective employer

o Adopting the alma mater of a hiring manager to help build rapport

o Reporting a different reason for leaving a past position

Solid Resumes Exhibit Honesty, Clarity, and Focus

Recent regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have forced employers to examine job applicants more closely. Many recruiters and hiring managers at large firms rely on third-party investigators to verify resumes, often before applicants reach the interview phase. Small businesses can use the Internet to track down inaccuracies by requesting college transcripts or researching employment history. Even an online search for different versions of your resume can result in questions about edits and changes over time.

Surveys conducted over the past five years reflect the concern and confusion about fabricated resumes. Respondents to one recent poll suggest that about one in twenty resumes contains the kind of lie that could cause embarrassment or even financial penalties for employers. In another survey, HR specialist reported that about half of all resumes include at least one lie. Today’s most successful resumes should emphasize hard facts, provide clear timelines, and offer accessible references. Crisp language underscores your respect for executives’ time.

Making Your Resume Stand Out

Instead of inflating your experiences, career counselors now recommend improving the quality of your presentation. Using inexpensive software or word processing templates, you can craft a highly polished resume that fits on a single page. Sacrificing some flowery language for the sake of white space should attract the eye of most hiring managers. A professional layout, free of typos, demonstrates one of the most sought-after skills in today’s job market: powerful communication. Paring down your resume has a powerful side benefit, as well. HR databases often strip formatting from electronic resumes, filtering submissions by keyword. Automated recruiting tools that hunt for specific job titles or action words favor sparse resumes.

In an economy where job hunters battle each other to get ten minutes of face time at hiring events, it can seem counterintuitive to dial back your resume. However, the buyer’s market for talent and the scrutiny of independent investors have rewritten the rules of getting hired in America. Professional presentation of action oriented facts will get you farther today than any puffed-up resume would in the past.

How to Write a Compelling Email

Today’s business person will spend hours at the tailor crafting a fine business suit, hours at a power lunch sweet talking their next big client and hours pouring over proposals or negotiations to try to get every last penny they can, and then spend 30 seconds banging out an important email that will single handedly cost them a dozen more potential clients. While grammar and spelling aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, knowing basic email rules is an absolute must in this day and age where email has taken over as the primary form of communication used in today’s business world. Here are a few simple tips.

Let your email utilities work for you

The world of email has come a long way since Outlook Express. Today’s email clients are quite sophisticated and come with all sorts of bells and whistles that can make sending an email easier. It used to be that email spell checkers were absolutely horrible, but they have been vastly improved and most use the same spell check library as Microsoft Word. If your email client is old and doesn’t have a grammar or spell checker, upgrade now, or simply type your emails in Microsoft Word and copy/paste. Make sure you check how the format looks before you do by sending yourself an email.

Use a template

If you have trouble setting up the formal date/address/body/signature form in every one of your emails, than simply write one and save it as a template that you can go back and use again and again. You can even have multiple templates ready to go for clients you email on a frequent basis; that way, much of the hard work is done before you even get started.

Avoid being overly casual

Since most people still view email as a casual way to communicate, the one problem that costs more businesses clients more than any other is the urge to be overly friendly and casual when communicating with current clients or future clients. When writing a professional email, it is always better to sound formal and stilted than casual and overly friendly. If you have trouble coming up with the proper vocabulary, have a dictionary and a thesaurus on your desk that you can flip through to come up with better verbiage. You can even use websites like Dictionary.com or similar sites to help increase your vocabulary so you don’t sound unprofessional in your correspondence.

If all else fails, ask for help

We all know that many competitive office environments will take asking for help as a sign of weakness, but if you want to get the process of writing compelling emails down, there is no shame in asking for an occasional email to be proofread by someone else in the office who has an English background. Most bosses will take asking for help as a sign of maturity, and before you know it, you’ll be a master of the formal email.

Many people think that if you can write a compelling letter then you can automatically write a compelling email. The truth is that writing a compelling email is a learned skill that takes practice.

Sample Hardship Letters Helping to Save Your Home

A foreclosure for anyone can be devastating financially, emotionally and psychologically. Your family is forced to physically move away from friends, family and neighbors that they have come to love and lean on. As if that is not enough, you have to face incessant calls from bill collectors and explain to them that you are still unable to pay your bills.

The foreclosure process is not only lengthy it can be humiliating. As soon as a homeowner realizes that they are in over their heads, a financial hardship letter becomes a way out, or light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Written properly, a financial hardship letter can result in a positive outcome for all parties involved.

Contrary to popular opinion, lenders do not relish the idea of losing money in a soft market due to foreclosures. They have to look at the loss of income due to an empty property and the expensive legal fees that it costs them to actually precede with a foreclosure.

Lenders are also not realtors. It is not their job to try to sell your home and as a result, they are inadequate at it. They must now finance the maintenance, insurance, security and marketing of a home that they know very little about. They may have the black and white facts about it, but they know nothing about details of selling your home. The simple writing of a financial hardship letter can help to avert this fate for both you and the lender. Federal funds have been put in place that will help the lender, through the loss mitigator, give the homeowner options to avoid a foreclosure.

Loan modification is dependent solely on the initial submission of a financial hardship letter. This gives the lender a written decree of reasons that the homeowner has fallen behind on payments. This letter gives the loss mitigator a glimpse into the financial and personal reasons of the homeowner’s hardship. It also gives the lender personal reasons to help the homeowner try to salvage the mortgage with either a short sale or loan modification.

The lender will want to know as much information as possible about why the homeowner has fallen behind. The financial hardship letter gives the lender this information in a clear and concise manner. They need this information to be able to refinance or offer a short sale.

The lender will need to know the following details in your financial hardship letter:

1. Is this an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)?

2. Has the borrower been convicted of a crime that may cause prison time?

3. What is the current state of the borrower’s income?

4. Has there been some catastrophic illness in the family?

5. Has their been a layoff or job loss?

6. Is the borrower having to commute a long distance to survive?

7. Has their been a business failure?

8. Has their been a death in the family effecting contributions to the mortgage?

9. Is the primary borrower divorcing?

10. Is the borrower out for a military post?

11. Has their been significant damage to the home due to weather or fire?

A financial hardship sample letter is the key to a homeowner getting a timely answer to their request for loan modification. This sample letter will make sure that you have all the necessary information that a loss mitigator will need to help you as soon as possible to avoid foreclosure on your home.