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Well, you are one of the many job seekers now that the recession is finally coming to an end. Now you’ll find yourself in competition with some of the real heavy hitters also seeking a better job. Here are a handful of tips to get you started on your introduction to the company you intend to apply with.
The first thing you want to be sure of is what the employer is really seeking. Your resume needs to be complete and not filled with a lot of useless information for the particular job you’re applying to. That is right; it is okay to have a different resume for each different job you apply for. There are a lot of people that can turn the same experiences into several different jobs.
For example; a waitress can be experienced at food or beverage service, but she is also a prime candidate for customer service jobs.
Never lie on your resume just implement the lesser known strategies you’ve perfected to add to your work experience.
Do not repeat yourself and especially if it is to add to the content of your resume. A great one page resume will capture the potential employer’s eye much quicker than a two or three page resume filled with the same thing over and over. They aren’t interested in padding either, just the facts.
Facts on your resume should be very short, clear and to the point. Don’t use lengthy sentences when half as many words will work just as well. Here is an example:
I spent 12 years as a waitress which gave me the opportunity to serve many different customers and it gave me the opportunity to learn to remain calm under pressure even if the customer was screaming and yelling..
WRONG!
Try this instead:
I have worked with a diverse group of people which has sharpened my customer service skills. I have learned to remain calm and professional in the most upsetting of circumstances.
This is a better way of showing and telling about your experience which also heightens your skills.
You want the message on your resume to stand out. This is why short clear sentences will work better. They are there and are little nuggets of information that the employer will retain in their memory a bit longer than the longer bits of information. Keeping paragraphs short and relevant is easier this way and gives the reader time to digest the information before they read the next paragraph.
You will also want to make the first paragraphs the most important, list your points in order of importance for the job. Grab the reader’s attention and you can usually hold it for the entire resume.
Adding sub headers is important to your resume. This is another break for the reader. Sub headers allow them to scan you resume to find the most relevant information to their situation.
You can break it up into many different categories: Experience, Education, References. You might even choose to highlight different employers you have had, making your past experiences easier to check.
On your resume you must list what the true outcome of the past job was. That is what the new, prospective employer wants to know. How did you successfully bring any job to its completion? They want to know what you did to improve your co-workers work environment; not just that you say you did.
The potential employee will also want to know what different ways you utilized and how many different ways did you make the improvements. How many improvements did you plan and then follow through with?
It is important to note if you saved the last company money or time; exactly how did you do this or how much money did you save?
Read the following differences in the examples:
I was totally responsible for saving my last boss his job and a lot of money for the company.
Not hardly!
I personally checked invoices daily on deliveries and saved my company approximately $200.00 per week on invoices that weren’t billed in the proper amounts.
This illustrates that you take the initiative by checking the invoices regularly and that you found true amount discrepancies.
Do not downplay your role at any previous job; highlight it. The potential new employer will want to know if they can delegate work to you and it get done. Were you a great team player or leader? Did you receive any recognition while working on a job? Let them know on your resume.
It is also important to let the next person checking out your resume have some sense of time. How long did you work on any given project? How many people did you work with and then supervise? How long did it take you to achieve the supervisory capacity on any particular job?
Maybe you see that there are flaws in the length of time you worked for certain persons. Don’t try to hide the fact that you were only there for a few months. Being made a team leader or given any management position will highlight the fact that it didn’t take you long to reach the top.
Include valuable experience even if it wasn’t on the job. Maybe you took extra night courses while working that are relevant to the position being offered. Maybe you were a volunteer in a capacity that is pertinent. Be sure to mention this.
Don’t forget to give specific examples to show your accomplishments instead of just telling about them.
One thing to avoid is sending copies of your certificates, writing samples, and no pictures. If the company wants to see any of these extra’s they will request them specifically.
Feel free to add an inclusive summary to highlight your experiences and their relevance to the job you’re applying for. This is not a place to repeat your facts; just add more important facts to sum it all up and tie up loose ends. You want it to provide an overview of your experience.
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