Resume & Cover Letter Writing: Biggest

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9/3/11

4 Biggest Resume Killers (and How to Avoid Them)

Developing an effective resume can be a daunting task. How do you summarize the most relevant aspects of your career within 1-2 pages? Which details should be included and which saved for the interview? How do you know if your document is really working or getting rejected out-of-hand? The following 4 "Resume Killers" are common mistakes I've encountered in working with clients as a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW). If your resume suffers from one of the following, I'd recommend a re-write before continuing with your job search:

1) LACK OF RELEVANCY

Some jobseekers are so eager to demonstrate what makes them unique they forget a resume's chief purpose: to underline your SUITABILITY for a particular position. Read through job postings you're interested in submitting to. Which skills pop up time and time again? Which of these have you excelled at? These attributes should be the "theme" of your resume, touched upon in an opening paragraph and expanded upon within your work history. Above all, keep this in mind: the resume is where you demonstrate what a good fit you are for a particular job. The interview is where you demonstrate what sets you apart from the competition.

2) MISSING CAREER INFORMATION

The work history section of your resume needs to be structured in reverse chronological format, starting with your most recent position and working backwards in time to least. While it's perfectly acceptable to consolidate older positions (those dating past 12-15 years) within an "Additional Experience" or similar section, leaving off crucial information for more recent positions sends up a big red flag in the eyes of recruiters and hiring agents.

Be sure every position detailed in your resume includes the following:

-Company name and location
-Exact Job Title Held
-Dates worked

While it's perfectly okay to include a brief "Career Note" within your work history that addresses a time gap, fudging employment dates is not an acceptable substitute. Career Notes should be succinct and focus on positive results, such as any additional training you may have taken, etc.

3) LACK OF QUANTIFIABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

While it's easy to tout skills, actually backing them up with quantifiable accomplishments is another matter entirely. However, the latter is the SINGLE MOST POWERFUL STRATEGY you can use to get that phone ringing. Take the extra time to dig up career successes, checking documentation and reports, conferring with past colleagues, and even contacting previous employers if it's acceptable. Now create a "Key Accomplishments" section following every job listing them (in bullets).

4) FLASHY RESUME FORMATTING

Be conservative when it comes to formatting your resume, steering clear of fancy logos, templates, and colors. While these tricks do call attention to a candidate's resume, they do so for all the wrong reasons, and constitute easy grounds for a rejection. Remember that a resume lives and dies on the strength of its CONTENT. Choose a simple layout and a standard font such as Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial.

Anish Majumdar is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Owner at Resume Orbit. 95% of clients report a significant increase in interviews within 30 days, and all work comes backed by a 100% Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantee (in writing).

Please submit your existing resume for a FREE CRITIQUE spanning structure, language, and content.

8/16/11

How to Avoid the Biggest Resume Mistake You Can Make

When you're in the midst of a job search, a resume can often feel like a constant work-in-progress. You're submitting to positions, sometimes receiving feedback on things to change, trying all the while to give potential employers the magic combination of information and accomplishments to garner an interview. Here's the one thing you NEED TO KNOW in order to successfully land a new position:

A RESUME MUST STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN COMMUNICATING WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT AND WHAT AN EMPLOYER NEEDS

Sounds pretty simple, right? Think it over. If all you're doing is tailoring each resume you send out to echo what's requested on a job posting, it MOST PROBABLY WON'T WORK. Why? Because hiring agents aren't looking for resumes that regurgitate job postings- they're looking to find a candidate who's particularly well-suited for the job. Someone who's demonstrated, time and time again, expertise in the field and can point to quantifiable accomplishments as proof.

Don't get me wrong. Tailoring a resume is definitely important in a successful job search, especially in terms of making sure relevant keywords are integrated. But here are the areas you need to focus on to ensure your resume STANDS OUT from the competition and starts landing you a steady stream of interviews:

1) A PERSONALIZED OPENING

Begin the resume with a brief paragraph, no more than 3-5 lines, describing your personal areas of expertise. Make sure they're skills which are in-line with the type of position you're seeking. For example, an IT Project Manager could talk about his/her ability to guide cross-functional teams, rigorously control costs, and maintain top-tier Quality standards. Don't be afraid to highlight a few soft skills here! For example, if you're particularly proud of your ability to strengthen communication channels or liaise with external agencies, SAY SO!

2) A WORK HISTORY THAT EXPANDS ON IDEAS BROACHED IN THE OPENING

Look over the jobs listed in your work history. How are responsibilities tackled? Instead of a random laundry list of tasks, think in terms of expanding on the ideas touched upon in the opening section. So, using the example above, an IT Project Manager could start by delving into the specifics of how he built/trained project teams, how he managed budgets and identified cost efficiencies, and how he improved Quality standards. Doing this CONSISTENTLY establishes a kind of personal theme for your resume and communicates what you're all about.

3) ADD LINKS TO RELEVANT SOCIAL MEDIA AT THE TAIL END OF THE RESUME

The name of the game here is RELEVANT. Don't just add in links to sites you don't frequently visit or utilize. However, if you've got a great LinkedIn profile with recommendations or contribute articles to a site like EzineArticles, by all means include it! This again helps to differentiate you from the competition and shows, in a concrete way, why you're deserving of a closer look.

Please submit your existing resume for a FREE CRITIQUE spanning structure, language, and content.

7/27/11

The main problem that many people face when it comes to writing their resume is that they are not prepared to do this. Not being prepared is always a mistake that needs to be overcome, or you will end up with a resume that is not good or professional.

Writing a resume is just like everything else in life. You have to be prepared to tackle it or it will end up a disaster. In order to overcome this problem, you have to plan ahead, give it some thought and prepare all you are able to.

There is no reason that you have to spend days doing this, but you still have to spend at least 15 minutes or more on it. There are some important things that you need to do that will help you prepare for writing your own resume easily.

The first thing to do is to make plans on the information that you will add to it. Start by putting down the job title that you will be applying for. Then put down why you want to be hired for this job. Your reason can be as simple as making money for your family.

The next step is to write down why you believe you are qualified for the job. After this has been done, it is a smart idea to study the requirements need for the job. Check out the advertisement for the job and check for any specific requirements that it asks for, like the skills or years of experience needed.

Then write them down so you will be able to find them so you can make sure that this information is put on to your resume. Before you start writing your resume, take a look at all of the information you have wrote down about it to make sure that you really have what is needed to be hired for that particular job.

The next step is to write down any of your accomplishments, which means the biggest things you have done. By writing all of this information down, you will have started a profile that you can use to ensure that every piece of important information gets added to your resume.

Now that you have made notes on what needs to be added to the resume, writing it will be much simpler. You won't have to scramble to figure out what should go on it because you have already made sure that you know exactly what to add.

Learning how to write a resume is not hard to and overcoming the main problem of not being prepared to write it is not difficult either. It just takes a little time and planning and before you know it, you will have a resume that gives all of the important information and that also looks professional.