If you are one of thousands of job seekers considering spending your last bit of cash on a professional resume preparer - don't open your wallet just yet. If you don't have the cash, consider a few quick changes that will improve your resume - fast.
1 - Objectives and mission statements are passé. Besides, they all tend to read exactly alike. Most candidates are either looking to utilize their skills or to advance within a company... Get rid of those statements. Save the space for more details on your accomplishments.
2 - Include dates. Don’t try to sugar coat the fact that you were only employed with a company for a few months by only listing the year. This is a trick that most recruiters know. You may not know the exact date, but definitely use the month and year.
3 - Did you tell them that references are available upon request? Really? Did you think you were going to get the job without reference checks? Most employers won’t hire you without checking references. You don’t need to state the obvious.
4 - Don’t get too personnel. Hiring managers don’t need to know how many children you have or your favorite pastimes. It’s a j-o-b, not an application for parent of the year.
5 - Make sure your contact information is up-to-date. Thousands of people lose out on jobs because the phone listed on their resume is not working or the e-mail address is no longer valid. Recruiters are not going to wait for you. They are not going to do a lot of work trying to reach you. Non-working contact information is just your way of saying to the next applicant, “that’s ok, you take this one.”
Here is one bonus tip – Read the job announcement carefully. If the vast majority of your experience is working at Bell’s House o’ Pancakes, and you don’t have a college degree – you are not going to get that job as Director of Financial Services because you run a cash register.
Simple quick changes can make a big difference in your job search.
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