seems like good advice regarding our resume thread.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 15 Items for Your "To Do" List
Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 00:49:02 -0400
From: TheLadders.com <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
<http://www.FinanceLadder.com/job/email?cr=891781&sign=y&et_id=311897916>
*15 Items for Your Resume "To Do" List*
/By Barbara Safani/
Do you want to create a more "user friendly" resume to submit to
recruiters and hiring authorities? Here are 15 suggestions for composing
more compelling and targeted resumes.
1. *Create a resume headline*. Headlines sell newspapers. They can also
sell job search candidates. Hiring managers don't really read resumes,
but rather scan them to determine the candidate's fit for the job. Help
make that fit more obvious by creating a resume headline that tells the
reader your strengths such as /Award Winning Television Executive
Producer, Entry Level Public Relations Assistant, or Information
Technology Product Developer/.
2. *Create a profile section*. Hiring managers tend to focus on the top
third of the first page of the resume. They may only read on if your
profile grasps their attention quickly. Communicate your value-add in
the profile section. List powerful and consistent examples of how you
help the companies you support make money, save money, save time, grow
the business, and maintain the business.
3. *List core competencies*. One of the first things hiring managers
will be looking for is an indication that you have the skill set
necessary to do the job. Your areas of expertise should be displayed
prominently and early on in the resume. Try to use the keywords or
phrases that are important to your job function and industry. If you are
not sure what the appropriate keywords are, look for consistent wording
and phrases on job postings for positions in your field to better align
your qualifications with potential job specifications.
4. *Include brief descriptions of the companies you have worked for*.
For each organization you were part of, include information on the
company including the industry the company represents, size, and
revenues if publicly-held. The company description is particularly
important if you have worked for new, small, or lesser-known firms.
Refer to the company's website and "about us" page to secure additional
data for your description.
5. *Discuss operating budgets and staff size*. Include information on
budget and staff size to help your reader gain a better understanding of
the scope of your responsibilities.
6. *Minimize descriptions of job tasks*. While it's important to convey
a brief overview of job tasks, this information does little to
differentiate candidates. Many candidates have experience doing similar
tasks. What makes them unique and memorable is the accomplishment within
the task. Spend no more than 3-6 lines discussing the job tasks
associated with each position and save space for more valuable
accomplishment-focused information.
7. *Maximize use of accomplishments*. Employers are interested in
reading about your accomplishments. Past accomplishments are a better
predictor of success than a discussion of job tasks. Accomplishment
statements are those that clearly indicate how you help the companies
you support make money, save money, save time, grow the business, and
maintain the business.
8. *Group like accomplishments into categories*. After you develop your
accomplishment statements, look for trends within your achievements. Do
some accomplishments represent increases in sales while others represent
decreases in costs or process improvements? By grouping accomplishments
by theme, and creating category headings within the chronology for each
position, you can better communicate your personal brand and make it
easier for your reader to follow the accomplishments achieved within
each key critical competency.
9. *List appropriate hobbies*. Only include hobbies when they are
relevant to your job search or in sync with you target audience. For
example, an IT technician might mention his knack for fixing up old cars
and an event planner might mention her involvement in community theater.
Hobbies can also be used effectively to counter potential age bias. For
example, the over 50 candidate might mention that she is a marathon
runner to imply overall stamina, health, and fitness and to dissuade any
bias that as an older worker the candidate lacks the necessary energy to
do the job.
10. *Include appropriate volunteer experience*. Again, include what is
relevant and discuss the competencies gained from the volunteer
experience that elevate your candidacy. For example, a career changer
seeking an entrée into the healthcare field might discuss the volunteer
work she did in a hospital or a technology professional might mention
teaching computer skills to disadvantaged youths.
11. *List relevant professional affiliations*. Include relevant and
recent professional affiliations and make special mention of any
leadership roles held within these organizations.
12. *Report employment history by years*. Hiring managers generally
expect to see the years you were employed by a company, not the months
and years. Exceptions to this rule include candidates who have less than
one year of tenure in a position or students reporting on summer
employment or internships.
13. *Focus on the past 10-15 years of employment*. Generally, hiring
authorities are more interested in recent accomplishments than those
achieved over a decade ago. Weight information on your documents towards
the past 10-15 years and minimize the amount of space dedicated to
earlier work experience.
14. *Include graduation dates*. Sometimes job seekers omit their
graduation date on their resume to mitigate the potential for age
discrimination. But by omitting the date, you may actually be calling
more attention to the very issue you're trying to hide. They may even
assume that you are older than you actually are.
15. *Omit "references available upon request"*. It is understood that
candidates will provide references when asked. Save this space for more
compelling, accomplishment-driven information.
Barbara Safani
<http://www.FinanceLadder.com/rds?src=311897916-BD&dest=http://www.careersolvers.com>,
owner of Career Solvers
<http://www.FinanceLadder.com/rds?src=311897916-BD&dest=http://www.careersolvers.com>,
has over ten years of experience in career management, recruiting,
executive coaching, and organizational development. She is a triple
certified resume writer and frequent contributor to numerous
career-related publications.
*
*
**
--
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Brian Lehrhoff, EA ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Messaging Consultant 201-913-4506
Upgrade your Quickbooks for 20% off at http://ea.brianlehrhoff.com
Circular 230 Notice is located at http://ea.brianlehrhoff.com/230notice.html
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
...
Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>,
<JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC>
Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS
REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
