Tag Archives: resume

The Same Resume Advice I Always Give

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Sure, if you’re my buddy and you’re looking for a new job, I’m happy to take a look at your resume. I’m good at this stuff, and I’ve been told I give good advice. And I kinda like it. So, as long as you aren’t scared by lots of “track changes” (my equivalent of red ink), then send it along.

But before you do, I’m going to tell you the advice I’m going to end up giving you. So, consider saving us some time and do these things first before sending it to me?

1. Tell me a little bit about the kinds of jobs you are looking for, and in layman’s terms what you actually do. Just so I have some context. And remember, the person who may be sifting through resumes may not be the person who would be your boss. Think of me when you write.  (Oh, and read that post of mine. It’s a good one!)

2. Remember that your resume is a marketing document. It’s goal is to get you the interview, not the job. It’s meant to showcase you in a positive light. This is not a legal document. You do not have to list every job you’ve had since “ice cream scooper.”  Avoid large gaps in employment, but don’t go back to your babysitting days if you are nearing 30.

3. Don’t list your job responsibilities and tasks. The employer is going to assume that a cashier “handled financial transactions” and that an agency exec “created presentations for clients.”  Instead, tell me why YOU were the best at the job. How many clients did you win with your presentations? Did you handle so many financial transactions that you won Employee of the Month?

Manage a team? Tell me how many! Increased revenue? Tell me by how much. Give me something to measure, something you delivered, something only you can do that makes me want to put you on my team!

4. Read through your dream job descriptions. Even if they have already been filled. Keep careful note of how they phrase the kinds of things they want done. Keep seeing the words “cross-functional” or “multi-disciplinary?” Does “energetic” or “dedicated” pop up more?  Do they refer to some industry term in a specific way? See how many of those keywords you can (reasonably) mirror in your resume and cover letter.

5. If you aren’t going within the same industry, then drop the industry terms. For example, I spend a few years working in mortgages, but since I’m not going anywhere near the mortgage industry again, you won’t see terms like LTV or HUD-1 anywhere on my resume. “Financial documents” is good enough!

6. Read this blog. And buy this book! Seriously. Whatever you are asking me, I’ve probably cribbed off of Ask A Manager. And I’ve recommended her e-book countless times. It’s seriously worth it. I’m going to end up giving you the link anyway. Save us the time! (Full disclosure: that’s an affiliate link for the e-book).

Write Your Resume By Thinking About … Hypothetical Me

I have a bit of a reputation as a resume polisher-upper. I think I was always a decent writer and editor, but it wasn’t until I started having to read resumes and consider candidates on my own that I became a really good resume editor. The trick to writing a great resume is to think about what the person who is reading it wants to see. This could get tricky, of course – because so much relies on personal preference, and there are a few people who could be reading your resume, depending on the size of the company (HR, recruiter, hiring manager, etc.)

There are tons, tons of resources out there to give you advice on format, explain how to fill in the gaps in employment history, and reminding you that you should have different resumes depending on the job you are applying for.  I won’t go into all that here. I will share a link about your resume not showing your age. What I will also talk about are the same things I say to almost every single person who has asked me to look over their resume.

  • Explain stuff to me, the reader. Are you applying for a job in the same field? This is easier, because they will be familiar with your crazy mortgage software, or know about HIPAA regulations or whatever industry-specific terms you use. But if you are taking your crazy industry-specific knowledge and applying for a job doing the same thing, but not necessarily for the same industry? Don’t use acronyms. And don’t take for granted that I know what that stuff means. Maybe you do “inventory” and that would elicit knowing nods from all your co-workers, because they know it means overnight shifts cataloging all the merchandise in the store, and it’s an important measure to stop loss and get merchandising budgets improved. Tell me something like that. Don’t use shorthand.
  • Don’t treat your reader like a dummy who can’t see through your fancy trumped-up book-learnin’ talk. If you were a cashier, don’t tell me about your “successful completion of financial transactions.” I get it – you were a cashier. It’s practically in the name. Tell me something about how your register was never short, and you were able to increase checkout time by 5 percent? But don’t BS me. If you didn’t accomplish a hell of a lot, it’s okay – you were a cashier at Target. I’m gonna get that it was a summer/part-time job. Just list it, mention any accolades and move on.
  • Please, impress me. You were responsible for training new people. Great! How many new people? Was there high turnover? Did you develop new training methods? Did you have to go through management training to do that? Tell me that stuff!
  • If you tell me you are hard-working, dependable and all that other awesomesauce, you better show me how or why in that resume. Otherwise, it’s just your random platitudes, and it’s taking up valuable space on the document that’s supposed to get your foot in the door.

Other Stuff

Yeah, I’m on to your crazy large/super small font. I know your references are upon request and your objective is to get the exact job I listed in my job description. Leave it off.  If your resume is two pages and you aren’t a big player in your industry, then you most likely don’t know how to edit. And if I catch a typo, I am going to assume you either have no friends who are willing to help you out, or you don’t know enough to ask for help in proofreading.

Remember Me

Just stop getting so caught up in the idea that this is a resume and has to hit all sorts of notes, and remember that barring all sorts of crazy recruiting software stuff looking for keywords, an actual human will have to read this thing. You want to explain what it is you do, and what you can for them. Show results. Stand out. Everyone is going to tell me they are dependable, a team player but also self motivated and is detail oriented. Show me that you really are, and make me want to go through the hassle of giving you a call to come in and learn more.

Resume Resources and Tips

After writing this post about applying for a job, I have been meaning to write more about how to stand out, mistakes to avoid and tips for the person who has to sludge through all of the submissions.  And of course, the internet and blogosphere usually get to it before I do. I will still be adding some tips and tricks I have learned along the way, but for now – I just want to share some articles that I would have written myself, if I wasn’t so lazy.

I agree with most of what she has to say here – really focusing on giving a recruiter what they want and personalization. The two nitpicks I have are professional resume writers (send it around to enough friends, especially friends who have been put in the position of hiring people before, and you should be okay) and to send your information as two .pdf files.  While a back-up cover letter as a PDF may not be a bad idea, I really believe that your cover letter should be in the body of your email. Give them a reason to click! Also, make sure to check and see what the description specified. If they only want .doc files, your .pdf could be discarded without a click.

I can’t believe some of the things people send in resumes. Unsolicited writing samples, pictures, art portfolios in deviantART for a clerical position. I would also add “interests” here. Unless you have something that you think would stand out and get your foot in the door (having a hard time thinking of an example…) do not tell me you are into “hanging out”, “dancing”, “movies” or “clubbing”. I swear these are real-life examples.

Also, the forgetting fancy formatting is good advice, unless you are applying for a creative-y type job. Just, don’t go overboard.

The proofreading here is really important. There is nothing worse then telling a prospective employer that you are detial oriented. I may just be super-picky, but I know that whenever I have had to sift through resumes, the most basic sorting I did was get rid of anything with typos (after getting rid of anyone who didn’t follow any instructions I put in the job description). If the minor typo is in the obviously specfically crafted cover letter, and the rest of the resume was great – you may get a pass. But at the bare minimum, I want to hire someone who, before they send out a resume to every potential employer on the planet, knows enough to spellcheck, proofread and get a competent person’s opinion on their calling card. Believe me, after I get rid of all that junk, I still have plenty to look through. Don’t take yourself out of the running early because you made a silly mistake.

Beating the Odds on the Job Search

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but the economy stinks right now. The layoffs are happening left and right, and it’s just plain scary if you have a job, and must feel desperate if you don’t. The Consumerist has a story about a posting for a part-time receptionist on Craigslist netted at least 3520 inquiries in less than a day. That’s just scary.

So – how do you get a job when there doesn’t seem any way to stick out?

I have a few suggestions that may help you get your foot in the door.

  • Read the instructions on the posting. Seriously. If you have any chance of getting through who or whatever is filtering the thousands of resumes they are bound to receive, you need to at least show that you can follow instructions. If they ask for an attached resume as a .pdf, that’s how you should send it. And always put your cover letter in the body of the email, and as an attachment if that’s what they request. Give them a reason to make the extra click. If the posting requests a certain phrase or word in the subject line – use it. They are probably using it to route to a folder, and using something else may just annoy them. (Although, sending your resume twice – once following subject line rules, and once with something witty will either annoy someone, or catch someone’s eye in the good, intended way. Attempt at your own peril.) If they request to not be called, don’t call them. And don’t call them to see if they received your resume – no one is falling for that, and it makes you look like a paranoid freak who doesn’t understand the concept of email.
  • A resume is good, but a cover letter may be what really counts. This may be controversial advice, but I think that it’s worth taking a risk on cover letters. You are of course crafting a different letter for each place you apply (and not just “I believe I would be an excellent fit for [Your Company Name Here]“) so get crazy. Tell a story that connects you to the company, or anything to make you stand out. It isn’t always possible, but I know that personally I have gotten some great responses to cover letters because it was obvious that I was paying attention and really thought about it. I find that quoting Elvis helps. But that’s just general good life advice.
  • Look for jobs on places other than Monster, Craigslist and CareerBuilder. Is there a cause that is near and dear to your heart? Find jobs relating to that cause (idealist.org, jobsforgood.com, ecojobs.com, etc.) Find out if any professional or alumni organizations that you belong to have job postings.
  • Go straight to the source. Think of companies that you think would be great to work for, or you know have offices in your area. Apply right through their website.
  • See if wherever you are looking for job posts has an RSS feed that you can subscribe to. You will be one of the first ones to know about a new posting.
  • Social Networking. This could be a whole post on it’s own, but make sure your personal brand is clean. Google yourself and see what shows up. Remove what shouldn’t. Don’t just join Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. – participate.
  • Tell people you are looking for a job. Don’t just tell them that you are unemployed, but let them know you are looking. Even better, let them know what you are good at and what kinds of jobs would be appropriate.
  • I really believe that people want to help. So, don’t just tell people you are unemployed, ask them for their help. Saying “I am looking for work” is different from “Hey, I am looking for work and could use a hand. Will you keep in mind for anything you hear?” I almost guarantee that people will start remembering something, or specifically recall your request when something does pop up.

Stay tuned for posts about things that drive me nuts when I am reading through people’s resumes (also known as do’s and don’ts) and advice for the poor sap who has to sort through thousands of resumes or finding a good candidate in general.

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