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“Six Ways to Ruin Your Resume”

Article – Greg Schaffer, Computerworld

“…and less than half have made the cut. Although I rejected some candidates because of their lack of experience (or, rather, their lack of demonstrated required experience), others had errors in their application packages that lowered their ranking — errors that could have been easily corrected.”

The rest is at the link below and…

It is a resume writers “MUST READ” —> www.cio.com/article/print/489104

Ric orglearn cover letter resume form, free blank resume

Cover Letter, Career Advice and How To Write A Resume

Cover Letter, Career Advice and How To Write A Resume

New information regarding how and what to emphasize in your employment cover letter has been added to orglearn and new resume examples and information has also been added to the site. There is now additional career advice on management in the form of a series of short lessons/articles. The user interface has been further resourced with more tips on how to write a resume and useability has been expanded in that you can now join the resume form site and submit questions or make comments.

 

Ric-orglearn

Some Resume Screeners Comments on What They Look For

A) In screening the resume the points which I ‘take care of’ particularly would be:

1) Education qualification required for the job

2)Relevant experience [I  assume in line with ad specs]

3) Job stability – for me which is very important criteria

4) Location [particularly if there is no relocation package offered]

B) While screening resume, I look for three things – education, experience and age. In my view if these three parameters match with the requirment, you have a relevant candidate and you may go ahead and read the rest of resume for more details.

C) 1. The professional structure of the resume for the same reason that the candidate is not physically present and as such a resume is a proxy for him. The better the presentation the easier it is for me to have a glimpse into the candidate’s professionalism.

2. Secondly I would seek for an alignment between the job profile, the special and general skill set that is required for the best performance of the job offered.

3. The personal quallities of the candidate ie his enthusiasm and willing to go extra mile. Therein the “value-clarification” on the part of the candidate is something that will attract my attention. The more we are value-driven to do something the more we achieve in life.

And a current (1st qtr 09) concern…

D] “Unfortunately, the primary force that rules many employment decisions is the *fear of making a hiring mistake *.  In these tough economic times, that’s why so few in the hiring arena take a chance on somebody.  They believe if they don’t get everything right about a hire, then it’ll be their jobs on the line come next layoff.”

Ric-orglearn for a free blank resume, sample resume, resume template, resume form to fill in online with positive statement examples!

Resume Tip Fifteen – Avoid Hirer’s “Peeves”

Can I suggest you read “Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves of Hiring Decision-Makers” – by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D. before you use the free blank resume form at orglearn!

Some of the peeves are:

1. Resume has spelling errors, typos and grammatical flaws.

2. Resume is too long.

3. Resume is too wordy, contains too much information.

4. Resume is written in third-person.

5. Resume does not list phone number, only an e-mail address, or has inappropriate e-mail address.

6. Resume contains the personal pronoun “I.”

and more, well worth a read…

Link: http://www.quintcareers.com/executive_resume_pet-peeves.html

Remember you can go here for the free resume form

When times are tough your resume must be perfect! Ric

Resume Tip Fourteen – Have Someone Review Your Resume

Excerpt from a Questcareer article:

Ann Hackett
- “15 Tips for Writing Winning Resumes”

“14.Have someone else review your resume. Since you are so close to your situation, it can be difficult for you to hit all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments. Have someone review your job search objective, your resume, and listings of positions that interest you. Encourage them to ask questions. Their questions can help you to discover items you inadvertently left off your resume. Revise your resume to include these items. Their questions can also point to items on your resume that are confusing to the reader. Clarify your resume based on this input.”

Great article and worth a read: http://www.questcareer.com/tips.htm

Remember we are often blind to our own errors of judgment or how we are actually are ‘seen by others’, so a frank and honest review of what we have written my hurt… however it may help… a lot!

Blank Resume Form: you can fill in blank sections online to build an interview grabbing resume!

Resume Tip Ten – Don’t Boast or be Self-Centred

As you can see from the links listed on this blog I have a website with a free blank resume template. Many individuals send me their resume, I store it so, as recently happened, when they lose it I can on request send it back to the distressed resume writer

To digress for a moment. The thing about selling and buying is that many (all) of us will seek a third party opinion before buying anything. Just stand in the women’s department of a major store and see how many people ask the sales assistant, a friend or even a passer by “what do you think does this suit me” and you will see what I mean. Yes, men do it as well! 

So back to your resume

Here are a few statements from the last few I have received: 

I am hard working and fast learning – unsubstantiated claim and boastful

I do the best that I can – poor attempt at a boast verging on an excuse for past failings

I am able to troubleshoot and repair – hmm almost a boast

I am driven to pursue my ambitions and goals through relentless effort and experience [with] companies that will help me achieve my dreams – no one would want employ this person, he/she give the impression they are just in it for themselves

I [Mary1] have great customer service skills – same comment as the first example above

In a previous post I suggested you write without using personal pronouns as by doing this you give the impression of a to avoid a resume that is full of boasts and/or self centred statements.

Lets take the last one and fix it for Mary

Sales results testify to (2)  great customer skills… see it sounds more credible already. Add a proof statement and wow…

or (3) Excellent customer skills are reflected in the customer survey sheets received.

Or…

Positive staff appraisals comment as to (4) great customer skills.

You tell me, if you where culling sales rep resumes, which Mary would you choose to call in for an interview?

Oh no… while writing this I just received another one that started with… “I am a well qualified individual”… urrgh

Try the free blank resume – fill in the blank sections and build your resume using the online form at www.orglearn.org

Resume Tip Seven – Be Concise

Limit the more detailed information regarding your work history to what is pertinent to the job you are applying for – short is sweet.

The most important information (from the potential employer’s point of view) must come very early on in your resume. 

blank resume at http://www.orglearn.org

Resume Tip Six – General Presentation

Use ‘formal’ language and short crisp well structured sentences – easy to read absorb.

Use subheadings – they help the overworked hiring manger find what he/she is looking for quickly.

Use simple and clear typefaces – I think “Arial” is great.

Do not use jargon or abbreviations, check the spelling at least three times…. and have someone check your grammar.

free blank resume at http://www.orglearn.org you can fill in the resume form online

Resume Tip Five – Numbers and Statistics

Use statistics to quantify your responsibilities, job tasks and achievements. Examples: “managed a department of twelve people”, “was responsible for a sales budget of eight million dollars” or achieved production growth of 88%. Numbers will create vivid images in the reader’s mind that will be more likely stick.

Free information on blank resumes at orglearn and the resume form itself.

Resume Tip Four – Use the ‘Right’ Words

A well written ‘generic’ resume is a great start however when applying for a job interview you must use the appropriate words and statements. So how how do you find out which words will get the attention of your reader. This is easy… just use as many words and statements, in your introduction, from their ad as you can. Example if they say they are looking for a ‘hard working team player that enjoys a personal challenge’ you use “team player”, “hardworking” and “likes a personal challenge” in your statements about yourself.

Practice writing your resume at orglearn using the free blank resumes by using the free blank resume form

Ric orglearn