Resume Mistakes: Four Things That Can Send Your Resume into the Trash | Monster
Resume Mistakes: Four Things That Can Send Your Resume into the Trash | Monster:
You may be the perfect fit for a job -- but a hiring manager is never going to find that out if he trashes your resume after a mere glance. Even in this age of online professional networking, a great resume is still the foundation of a successful job search.
It's common knowledge that spelling errors and grammatical bloopers are trash triggers (and these simple mistakes top many recruiters’ lists of resume pet peeves). But is there anything else that job seekers are unwittingly doing wrong? We asked some recruiting managers and career experts about the resume errors that cause them to crumple and toss a resume at first look -- and some of their answers may surprise you.
1. Your Resume Is Badly Formatted
Looks matter. Career expert Abby Kohut lists misaligned indentations and double spaces as a couple of the things that make a resume start to look like it belongs in the garbage. The fix? Use tabs for indents, and search your document for stray double spaces.
Also beware of being too creative. "I don't like it when I receive resumes with funky fonts," says Mona Abdel-Halim, co-founder of the Web-based resume tool Resunate, who echoed other experts we spoke to. "It is not professional and it makes the resume harder to read." When choosing resume fonts, opt ones that are widely used and readable, such as Calibri or Arial, and use no more than two fonts with their associated bold and italic styles.
2. Your Resume Is Immature
Other hiring managers we talked to said they had immediately trashed resumes with pictures on them -- for example, of cartoon character Bart Simpson (in the case of one applicant for a technical writing job) or of a kitten (an applicant for a customer service job). Cute resume additions like these are for kids -- not professionals.
3. Your Resume Is Too Templated
Longtime recruiter Mike Monroe says that unaltered, familiar resume templates from word-processing programs annoy him. "This won't automatically put you in the trash, but it tells me that you have put less thought into your resume than your competition," he says.
Jessica Campbell, an HR manager for talent agency Voices.com, says one of her pet peeves is "when a candidate has used a template resume," but hasn't updated it before sending it. (And if you use Word's Track Changes feature to edit your resume, make sure to accept all changes in the final version before submitting it.)
To prevent your resume from ending up in the trash for this reason, customize your resume for each job you apply for using the language of the job ad and highlighting your most relevant experience.
"When the resume is not tailored to the position, it shows you don't really understand what the employer is looking for and are just hoping your resume fits some of the criteria,” says career expert Heather Huhman, author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle. “To avoid this mistake, show the employer how you fit those [criteria] through your previous experience, skills and expertise."
4. Your Resume Is Sneaky
Kohut says she immediately distrusts people whose resumes have no dates on them. “Gaps are not a problem,” she says. “The problem is when you try to be deceptive."
David S. Williams, founder and CEO of salary consultancy SpringRaise, agrees, saying that if you are or have been unemployed, don’t try to hide it. “You may be doing yourself a disservice because you may be a strong candidate for a position, but you tried to hide your current status," he says.
A better tactic is to be straightforward on your resume, and then use your cover letter to tell the story of your career's progress -- including information about how you maximized your time away from the 9-to-5 routine. And do remember to write a cover letter -- not doing so is another guaranteed way to get your resume thrown into the trash, according to the experts.
Four Things That Can Send Your Resume into the Trash
By Charles Purdy, Monster Senior EditorYou may be the perfect fit for a job -- but a hiring manager is never going to find that out if he trashes your resume after a mere glance. Even in this age of online professional networking, a great resume is still the foundation of a successful job search.
1. Your Resume Is Badly Formatted
Looks matter. Career expert Abby Kohut lists misaligned indentations and double spaces as a couple of the things that make a resume start to look like it belongs in the garbage. The fix? Use tabs for indents, and search your document for stray double spaces.
Also beware of being too creative. "I don't like it when I receive resumes with funky fonts," says Mona Abdel-Halim, co-founder of the Web-based resume tool Resunate, who echoed other experts we spoke to. "It is not professional and it makes the resume harder to read." When choosing resume fonts, opt ones that are widely used and readable, such as Calibri or Arial, and use no more than two fonts with their associated bold and italic styles.
2. Your Resume Is Immature
Other hiring managers we talked to said they had immediately trashed resumes with pictures on them -- for example, of cartoon character Bart Simpson (in the case of one applicant for a technical writing job) or of a kitten (an applicant for a customer service job). Cute resume additions like these are for kids -- not professionals.
3. Your Resume Is Too Templated
Longtime recruiter Mike Monroe says that unaltered, familiar resume templates from word-processing programs annoy him. "This won't automatically put you in the trash, but it tells me that you have put less thought into your resume than your competition," he says.
Jessica Campbell, an HR manager for talent agency Voices.com, says one of her pet peeves is "when a candidate has used a template resume," but hasn't updated it before sending it. (And if you use Word's Track Changes feature to edit your resume, make sure to accept all changes in the final version before submitting it.)
To prevent your resume from ending up in the trash for this reason, customize your resume for each job you apply for using the language of the job ad and highlighting your most relevant experience.
"When the resume is not tailored to the position, it shows you don't really understand what the employer is looking for and are just hoping your resume fits some of the criteria,” says career expert Heather Huhman, author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle. “To avoid this mistake, show the employer how you fit those [criteria] through your previous experience, skills and expertise."
4. Your Resume Is Sneaky
Kohut says she immediately distrusts people whose resumes have no dates on them. “Gaps are not a problem,” she says. “The problem is when you try to be deceptive."
David S. Williams, founder and CEO of salary consultancy SpringRaise, agrees, saying that if you are or have been unemployed, don’t try to hide it. “You may be doing yourself a disservice because you may be a strong candidate for a position, but you tried to hide your current status," he says.
A better tactic is to be straightforward on your resume, and then use your cover letter to tell the story of your career's progress -- including information about how you maximized your time away from the 9-to-5 routine. And do remember to write a cover letter -- not doing so is another guaranteed way to get your resume thrown into the trash, according to the experts.
Key Elements of a Successful IT Executive Resume - Job-Hunt.org
Key Elements of a Successful IT Executive Resume - Job-Hunt.org
Did you understand what the organization needed?
As you move up the IT management ladder, you transition from being a technical overseer to more of a business driver.
Sure you have to make sure the IT initiatives are well-executed, but at the very top, you are the company’s expert on how to get the most out of technology. That makes you both a business strategist and technology-focused change agent.
To do this effectively, you need to know the business and its core business levers.
That means that your IT Executive resume should showcase how you partnered with executives and line managers to understand the markets, competition, opportunities, and threats as well as the internal business work and data flows.
Armed with this expert knowledge, you would go on to show how you improved the company’s performance through the evangelization and savvy use of technology.
How did you improve the technology landscape?
Once you’ve shown that you can identify the areas where technology would be valuable, now you have to show how you managed its use.
Talk to a company’s managers about their technology wish lists and you will have a rather long list. Now you have to have the business processes in place to organize that list.
- Did you establish a business case justification process that measures the ROI from IT investments?
- Have you been part of committees that help business units quantify and understand the impact of technical initiatives in a consistent manner?
- Importantly, do you have the interpersonal skills and talent to drive stakeholder consensus and buy-in when there are disparate opinions?
- Have you diplomatically managed relationships with frustrated user communities whose initiatives did not make the cut?
Your ability to build these business partner relationships with your stakeholders is critical to your effectiveness (and success) so prepare to highlight your talent in this area.
How did you implement solutions?
So far, you have shown how you have been instrumental in defining and prioritizing your firm’s key initiatives and their expected return.
Now you have to show on your resume why the next employer should have confidence in your ability to implement these solutions. This is important because the majority of projects and large scale programs are still over budget and not meeting their timelines.
Yes, you can highlight specific initiatives like ERP installations, virtualization, and green programs, but that doesn’t really answer the question.
Here you want to speak to proven, best-in-class processes and methodologies.
- Did you setup or improve a PMO?
- What effect did that have on cycle times, quality, and internal/external customer satisfaction?
- Did you introduce Agile/Scrum or other new tools and methodologies into the mix?
- Did you shorten learning curves through strong change management?
- Did you establish a consistent, secure and scalable architecture?
Here you have to give your next employer the confidence that you will improve the delivery of solutions. Of course, you should quantify as much as possible the impact of such efforts, proving that the expected ROI was realized.
Validate your story
Now that you have shown that you have the talent, prove it by highlighting some key initiatives.
Here it is important to remember your audience, the executive decision maker and what is important to them.
A migration from Vista to Windows 7 is lovely but is that a strategic initiative that supports your theme?
Think in terms of the CEO’s key goals: sales, profits, market share, and risk management, and speak to those goals.
In this economy employers want to know how you increased sales or saved money through reduction in actual costs and productivity improvements.
- Did you improve customer engagement on the web sites that translated to sales increases?
- Did you help marketing break through into new markets through localization or new systems?
- Did you establish safe and brand-supportive practices for using social media?
- Are you effectively protecting the company’s data?
Bottom Line
Compare this to most IT executive resumes that start by stating I am a great manager (aren’t we all?) and then lists major projects. Take the next leap up and make your resume showcase your skills along these lines and you will see a dramatic improvement in your job search results.
: The Social Job Seeker
Jobvite Infographic: The Social Job Seeker | Jobvite Blog - StumbleUpon:
10 Winning Strategies for Recruitment Success in 2012
January is often sparked with new budgets and company growth forecasts, which means more open positions. Planning for the year ahead is key. A good recruiting strategy is a continual process, leveraging best practices, new technology and, of course, social media!
Jobvite has recently published the 2012 Social Recruiting Playbook – 10 Winning Strategies, a comprehensive guide for corporate recruiters to keep up with industry growth, standards and technology.
Make 2012 the year that you rev up your recruiting strategy and take a healthy look at the tools, resources and objectives your HR department has, and analyze the gaps and opportunities.
In our new playbook, you will learn ten proven strategies for recruitment success with each play broken down by:What it is and is not
- How you can benefit and optimize each point
- Where to start applying it in your company
- Who’s doing it well
When looking at all the moving parts of your 2012 recruiting strategy, remember that technology continues to play an ever-growing role in how we recruit; and with new media and methodology in social recruiting, software becomes instrumental in finding, engaging and hiring the best talent for your teams.
Plan 2012 the right way, and develop a recruiting strategy that resonates with the candidates you want to engage and hire.
Professional resume writing companies - find the best one here | Resume Writing Service Blog | Resume CV Service
Professional resume writing companies - find the best one here | Resume Writing Service Blog | Resume CV Service
Professional resume writing companies
Some tips to make you a better judge
1 The first thing to do is to take a look at the range of services that the firm offers
2 If the firm does not offer many services, check the date of its conception
3 Based on the age of the firm, you should be able to see many samples
4 Go through the quality of the samples and make sure that the CVs they have are good
5 Look at the language, sequential presentation and the overall look of the resume
6 Make sure that the resume fits the spec that is given in the sample
7 Look for the testimonials of satisfied customers or go through some reviews
8 Take a look at the turnover time that the writers take to submit a good resume
9 Check for plagiarism – running a free copy check will suffice
10 Finally take a look at the price – should not be too cheap or two costly
If you have the time to run through these ten points as quickly as possible, there is every possibility that you can identify aprofessional resume writing company. Though there is every chance that you might be misguided; it is certainly worth a try and you don’t lose a thing.
10 tips in Selecting a Resume Service
Selecting a Resume Writing Service
You need to be very careful when choosing a resume writing service as anyone can put up a sign that they write resumes. In fact some companies are now tricking the public by ranking themselves “#1” in fake Top 10 Resume Writing Service lists. They then send the resumes overseas to be written and produce very bad, broken English resumes. Other firms deliver nothing more than a prettier format of what you have.
So here’s how the industry works and what you should look for when selecting a resume writing service.
- Avoid the Scams. Unfortunately, there are a number of scams out there. No one has ever reviewed resume writing services so avoid those who have Top 10 or Top 7 Resume Writing lists. These are generally companies overseas who have ranked their own site as #1 in resume writing to trick you into thinking they are the top site. Another list showing the "Top 7 sites" are sites that are owned by the same fellow.
Other sites charge folks like me to be listed and I can get a great rating on their list if I am willing to pay them a few hundred dollars a month.
A newer form are those sites that guarantee a job or they will not only refund your monies, but give you $50 money back as well. Sounds great, but if you check out the terms and conditions, you will not be able to comply. - Unless you think you are like everyone else, avoid the factories and low-end providers. One way to identify a factory or low-end company is by their very low prices as no one can make any money in this business charging less than $200 unless they have a production line setup.
Some factories will be “partners” with job boards (e.g. CareerBuilder) which is nothing more than a royalty they pay for every sale. Factories often use cookie cutter templates to produce a resume, so unless you are comfortable with that, find someone who will spend the time to understand how you are unique.
It is now so easy to build a website that there has been an in-flux of new low-end providers offering resumes at $99 or less. Their writers will have to write 4-6 resumes per day to make money and that means they are using templates and rushing through the process. Your resume is THE MOST IMPORTANT document in your career and should not be rushed. Another sign of this is 24-48 hour turnaround times as good resumes take more than a couple of days to prepare.
To be on the safe side, identify who the President or Executive Director of the firm is and what their accomplishments are as you will want to work with someone who has stood out in the field as opposed to a nameless company that just makes bold claims about "being the best". Be careful if they don't mention anyone as they are then just one of the many companies that are trying to do high-volume resumes. - How does the web site look? If they cannot organize their web site and make it look attractive, then they can’t do that for your resume. However, this is not the only criteria to use. I know a company with mediocre writers that is successful solely because they have an attractive web site.
- The resume writing firm should have some credentials. The most common one is the Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) designation that indicates they have at least passed some level of competency.
That being said, look for credentials beyond the CPRW designation. Do the people have impressive backgrounds? Many sites won’t tell you anything beyond their CPRW designation. Great writers have great accomplishments so look to see if they have been published in books and, most importantly, find out about their business background. Did they attend a good school – did they rise through the business ranks? Being in HR is good and being an executive is even better as they have been the decision makers behind the hiring process and have demonstrated the skills to excel.
Also ask who writes the resume. Just because you are a brain surgeon, that doesn’t mean you have to have a brain surgeon write your resume. Look for people with deep experience writing resumes for your trade and ask about their success rate in securing interviews. Many of the nation’s best writers will have trained an elite staff in their style and quality standards and that is fine as long as the chief writer also reviews and stands behind the work.
To be on the safe side, ask if they guarantee your satisfaction with the end-product and how many revisions you are allowed. Some companies charge after 2 revisions while others will continue to revise it until you are delighted. - Look at their samples. If you don’t like their samples, you surely won’t like their work. Look to see if they are focusing on skills and accomplishments as opposed to producing pretty resumes that just list job duties.
- Check out their resume writing process and make sure you get to speak to someone. A good resume cannot be written just from a questionnaire, and a good resume writing firm will insist on speaking to you. This way they can ask you insightful questions that highlight the skills and achievements that impress an employer. If they don’t interview you, this means that their writers are not strong enough to have an intelligent conversation with you.
The best resume writing firms will use both a questionnaire and a phone interview. The questionnaire will jog your memory and make you think a bit about things that you haven’t thought about in a while. In fact, it not only helps you get a better resume, it helps you prepare for a job interview. High level executives would insist on a questionnaire and a phone interview and there is no reason that you shouldn’t be able to get the same VIP treatment. - Get a free resume evaluation. If they don’t offer one, then they are probably too weak to provide a good critique, or they rely on high volume and are one of the “factories” that use templates.
Then notice if they call you or send you an email evaluation. Email evaluations are usually standard templates with a few words changed and anyone can produce them. The Ladders and JobFox are notorious for emailing a lengthy, well-written evaluation that is 99% canned with a couple of sentences added. A really good company is not afraid to talk to you to understand your needs and indicate how they could help. - Call the company. Do you speak to a sales person or a resume writer? If you are speaking to a sales person, then they probably are more of a factory that does big volume and uses “cookie-cutter” templates.
- Do they offer a guarantee? A good service will stand behind their work and offer to revise your resume for free if it is not working. You’ll want to choose a resume writing service that stands behind their product.
Again, we suggest you look for the BBB Online Reliability seal that shows they are a safe and reliable site and check out their track record. - Ask about the price. Yes, the price is important but not as important as getting a resume that works.The difference between a mediocre resume and a great one can be as little as $100 (the cost of a night out).
Remember: This is the most important document in your career, so it makes sense to spend what it takes to get a resume that you know will work.
The Internet is a wonderful thing, but it has allowed anyone to offer resume writing services, regardless of their background. Use this 10-point checklist and you will be guaranteed to choose the right resume writing service for you.
The Importance of The Resume
How important is the resume in today's job-market? The first impression on paper for most employers is the resume. However, the average resume is homemade at best. The need for a professional resume is at the utmost importance. This is particularly true at the upper-level positions. Who is really equipped to develop a competitive resume?
The advent of our military veterans are returning to the workforce and the competitions of new college graduates will make the resume the first line of application. What are the key elements to tell ones qualifications?
The most effective resumes tell a story of achievement and success. To engage a professional is most advantageous for ones brand of employment opportunity. These issues are important to consider, especially if you have not had the response you both need and desire. The Executive Resume Service has information that may help.
http://theexecutiveresume.blogspot.com/
The advent of our military veterans are returning to the workforce and the competitions of new college graduates will make the resume the first line of application. What are the key elements to tell ones qualifications?
The most effective resumes tell a story of achievement and success. To engage a professional is most advantageous for ones brand of employment opportunity. These issues are important to consider, especially if you have not had the response you both need and desire. The Executive Resume Service has information that may help.
http://theexecutiveresume.blogspot.com/
Above All Else, Your Personal Brand Is a Story | TheLadders
Above All Else, Your Personal Brand Is a Story | TheLadders
Above All Else, Your Personal Brand Is a Story
6 essential elements to make yours memorable.
JANUARY 24, 2012
Reposted with permission from Personal Branding Blog
People love stories.
Humans learn most effectively through stories.
Friends are made by sharing stories.
Sales are closed through stories.
You are missing out on the value of your personal brand if it isn’t a story.
Stories are one of the most effective forms of social currency. They build powerful connections between ideas, people and action. They give context and robust understanding to information. They generate urgency and motivation. And, most importantly, stories create value — a lot of it.
And, to be most effective, your personal brand needs to be a story. But, not just any story, it needs to be a succinct, powerful, captivating story. It needs to make you relevant, make you powerful and inspire your audience to act. No small order.
To accomplish these lofty goals, your personal branding story needs to achieve these six things. It must:
Describe the future
Your story shouldn’t focus on your history, rather it is a story about your future impact. It emphasizes where you are going and why you are the person who will successfully get there.
Convey relevance
Your story isn’t really about you. It's about how you are going to help them (or someone). The best stories make the audience’s benefit amazingly clear.
Lead people through a thought process
Your story walks people through a learning curve, where they find out the most important pieces of information and develop an understanding of how that will impact them.
Create an emotional connection
Beyond educating, the best stories forge a bond between the story-teller and her audience. Whether through vulnerability, candor or shared experience, stories where the audience walks away with heightened emotional intimacy are the stories that win.
Differentiate You
No matter what you are selling — service, products or yourself! — chances are there are 1, 5 or 500 competitors who are also “qualified.” Personal brand stories that differentiate, that explain exactly why you are best choice out there, are the ones that are remembered. Your personal brand story changes your personal brand from history and information into a powerful unifying force for the future. It helps people understand how and why you can impact them and motivates them to action.
What is your personal brand story?
How to Assess Your Resume | Best 10 Resume Writers - Top Professional Resume Writing Campanies
How to Assess Your Resume | Best 10 Resume Writers - Top Professional Resume Writing Campanies
How to Assess Your Resume
By Derek Greene
June1, 2008
Is your resume good enough? Is it getting the response you want?
If you think the answer is “no”, you probably need to take a good hard look at it again. What seems to be the problem? Well, take the effort to sense your strengths and weaknesses by conducting a thorough assessment of your resume. To do this effectively, ask yourself in an honest way the following questions:
- Did you clearly express your personal brand? Clarity of thought is important. Since your resume goes to a review process along with probably over a dozen others, your aim is to flaunt your personal brand—that is, to effectively demonstrate that you are the best choice.
- Is your value proposition easy to read and understand even by just making a quick look at your resume? Making your message clear is just as significant as demonstrating your personal brand. Many human resource executives admit that they have read thousands of resumes but merely spend a maximum of 10-15 seconds each to be able to grab their attention. Even in just a short time, the resume instantly goes to the garbage heap if it is not worth the value.
- Do the qualifications indicated in your resume address the specific needs of your target employer? Can you make a difference? Employers are eager to find this out, whether you are applying for a managerial or an entry-level position. Remember that it pays to make a good impact that owes to your broad experience.
- Does your outlined accomplishment clearly show your abilities that makes a compelling impact?Like the point raised earlier, show how you have done something like that in the past. To illustrate how you can deliver a positive impact, discuss your accomplishments by stating the challenges you have faced, the actions employed, as well as the results garnered.
- Did you use an active voice? When crafting your resume, it must have a sense of action and movement. Prefer using action verbs whenever possible, especially when you start making each bullet point. This would liven up your resume.
- Is the resume design easy to the eyes and draws it to important data? A good resume design is as critically important as the key information being presented. Sometimes, the applicant disregards how the resume would look like. Remember that deciding, on the part of the hiring manager to interview you or not, merely takes a few seconds. Thus, make your resume easy to read without sacrificing your talents to craft it in a unique and interesting way.
- Are you impressed? Now, be brutally honest with yourself. Be tough. Pick up your resume. Play the role of a hiring manager then, read it carefully. If you don’t feel like hiring the person, perhaps no one else would. So the tip to remember is: write and revise your draft to come out with only the best.
- What do other people say about your resume? Ask for feedback from trusted people, but ensure that you ask those who have hiring experience. Don’t ask them what they think of it; instead ask the impression it gives about the person after reading it.
Derek Greene has 10 years of experience working as a workshop facilitator on subjects that include corporate staffing, career development, and human resources. He holds a master’s degree in economics.
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