[jsfg_cinti] Career Resource: 12 Ways Job Seekers Botch Their Resumes'

In line with and complementing what we heard this morning you may find these
points interesting...

Paul Bergé



http://www.jmwanes.com/jmwanesnew.asp?cat=articles&type=master&node=Article-
  10-09-02b

  '12 Ways Job Seekers Botch Their Resumes'
  By Joe Hodowanes, Career Strategy Advisor of J.M. Wanes & Associates


  Successful people are frequently good at many things, but few are
  experienced at writing an effective resume. As a result, the general
  standard of resumes ranges from poor to lousy. Simply by avoiding these
  common pitfalls, you will be well ahead of the pack.
  Impossible to read in 30 seconds: Most resume readers make their first
  "trash can" decision after 30 seconds. By this point, if they haven't been
  able to figure out basically what you are, expect to find yourself in the
  round file. Poor organization, typeface and layout often contribute to
this
  problem. Including a summary, or leading with your most relevant skill are
  good solutions.


  Too vague: Far too many resume fail by making claims that are vague to the
  point of banality. Examples include "good interpersonal skills," "fast
  learner," and "conscientious." If your resume reads like a politician's
  stump speech or a beauty pageant interview, start over.


  No Specialty: Mr. Jones is good at consumer marketing and Internet
  start-ups. Ms. Clark is a quality specialist and a PR whiz. The trouble
is,
  few people are looking for these exact combinations; they tend to want one
  thing or the other. You also make yourself needlessly hard to categorize
in
  a compartmentalized world of job titles and job functions. The solution is
  to lead with the expertise most relevant for the type of position you are
  now seeking, while treating the rest as "additional experience."


  Too short: You won't win any prizes for droning on and on, but you are no
  longer required to cram your accomplishments onto a single sheet of paper.
  Excessive editing of a resume tends to cut into muscle: you are left with
  company names and job titles, but nothing about what you actually did.


  Job seekers should write their resume with a human reader in mind: It is
  unwise to distort the creation of your "business stories" by skewing the
  language to pass muster with computer scanners and databases.
Nevertheless,
  once you have finalized your basic resume package, it is wise these days
to
  be aware that resumes frequently are scanned. Fortunately, most of the
  stylistic advice for a "scanner-friendly" resume is consistent with good
  resume style in general. Yes, document scanning is a fact of life these
  days, but it's not a reason to revamp your resume. Write your resume for a
  human reader and then check it to make sure it is intelligible to a
machine.
  Beyond that, don't worry.


  Write your accomplishments with the employer's bottom-line in mind: Take a
  look at your resume from the employer's perspective: "I'm the company and
I'
  m spending 'X' on you. What is my return on my investment? How can you
make
  the company more profitable? That is what your resume should scream to the
  reader. Particularly your accomplishments, which should address how a
  previous employer's bottom-line benefited from your employment. When
writing
  your accomplishments you want to answer the question for the resume
reader:
  Why me? Why will they select me, and not one of the other 150 people whose
  resume are sitting on the employer's desk?


  Lack of numbers: Accomplishments need to be quantified whenever possible.
As
  the Wall Street Journal shows, numbers are the language of commerce. Try
  dollars, ratios, and percentages, whatever - but do use numbers. If your
  resume doesn't have them, readers will simply assume that you didn't
  accomplish anything. Here's a brief example of a quantifiable
  accomplishment: Designed and installed over a 3 month period, a PC based
  human resources information system, which reduced recruiting costs by
  $85,000 per year.


  Edit and proof, proof: Ask any novelist or screenplay writer and they'll
say
  the same thing: a great piece of writing is 10% creation and 90% editing.
  Expect to rework your resume extensively. Think of it as a living
document,
  continually being polished and "spun" for its next outing. Proof your work
  obsessively. Get someone else with fresh eyes to proof it too. Use your
PC's
  spell-checker but don't rely on it alone.


  To avoid being rejected on account of weak or no formal education, utilize
a
  tone-down formal schooling approach: Education is less important for mid
to
  senior level positions than for entry level. If your educational
background
  is limited, simply keep it very brief at the end of your resume. Ensure
that
  your employment experience more than makes up for it. Absent full degrees,
  list seminars and certifications. For incomplete degrees, say "graduate
  studies in." or "studies in." Do not fabricate or even stretch the truth
  about your education. It is the easiest, and thus first, item checked.


  Write with your reader in mind: Generic resumes don't work at the
mid-senior
  level. Whether you are applying for a particular job as Vice President of
  Marketing in hi-tech, or mailing your resume to recruiters who specialize
in
  senior technology marketing positions, your resume must show that you have
  the exact skill-set required to be a hero at this job, even if you are
  coming out of Business Development. Some executives customize their
resumes
  from a single "core" skeleton, while others maintain a few different
  "starting point" versions.


  Essentially, employers look for what you can do for them: This will not
  sound flattering to most job seekers, but candidly, you are a product that
  you're selling and marketing to the resume reader. The ego needs to take a
  back seat during a job search. Just like in any other sales situation, you
  sell the sizzle, not the steak. The mindset is not to inform, but to sell,
  market, showcase your skills and results, highlight what you've done for
  former employers, and emphasize what you can do for a new company. This is
  where most people miss the mark tremendously.


  Make your resume a visually appealing document: How your resume looks is
an
  important as the words it contains. That's why you should be very careful
  over the appearance of your resume. As many as a quarter of otherwise
  excellent resumes ruin their chances with bad layout. The phrase "you
never
  get a second chance to make a first impression" applies in resumes just as
  much as in dating. Just as you wouldn't dream of going to a big interview
in
  anything other than your best suit and polished shoes, your resume should
  score a "10" for how it looks. After all, your resume is the ambassador,
  your packaging, an extension of yourself. Give it the Brooks Brothers
  treatment - conservative and immaculate - and you can't go wrong.




  ________________________________________
  David Teten
  Nitron Advisors, LLC
  Investment banking and strategy consulting services
  website: www.NitronAdvisors.com
  email: DTeten@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  ________________________________________
  New York, NY  / Boston, MA  USA
  ________________________________________
  Sign up for our free mailing lists!

  POST-MBA JOBS: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NitronJobsList
  BRAIN FOOD FOR YOUR CAREER: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NitronIdeas
  NEW YORK EVENTS: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NitronNewYorkEvents


        Yahoo! Groups Sponsor



  To Post a message, send it to:   ierg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: ierg-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.


You can unsubscribe from the list by sending email to 
jsfg_cinti-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. 

Web archive: http://www.freelists.org/archives/jsfg_cinti 

Questions to:  jsfg@xxxxxxxx

Other related posts:

  • » [jsfg_cinti] Career Resource: 12 Ways Job Seekers Botch Their Resumes'