As a recruiting firm, we have seen many different styles of resumes over the years. Some are beautiful and even works of art. Still others appear as if they have been put together in the briefest of time with little or no concern for appearance. Regardless of what your resume looks like, I think it beneficial to share my thoughts about how you can improve it to better present yourself for that "perfect job," for which, you are a perfect fit.
To begin, and maybe most importantly, beauty is not better when it comes to resumes. Beauty contests, yes; resumes, no. Don't make your potential employer or a recruiter wonder if this is a resume or a greeting card.
Most companies and recruiters use software to store or archive resumes and in doing so, rely upon "software parsing" to upload data from resumes. If you get too fancy, the parsing devices don't work properly. They may put your address where your name should be and the employer or recruiter has to manually make the correction of sometimes they overlook the error and save the data that is incorrectly entered. With your address as your name and your last employer as your education you have just lost any chance of getting that job because your data will be saved incorrectly and not likely to ever be recovered.
The first thing an employer or recruiter should see is your Name, Address, Telephone Number, and Email Address, in that order, at the top and in the middle of the page.
Frequently, people will follow their name and contact information with what I believe to be a useless and time- consuming paragraph they often call "Objective." Personally, I find a verbose statement about the reason you have sent the resume somewhat insulting. When an applicant attempts to tell the reader, in detail, why they have prepared this document it appears somewhat redundant, since everyone knows it is to get the job. My advice is to leave it out, totally.
Next, share your experience in a clear way, beginning with your current position and the exact (month and year) dates of employment, followed by a 3-5 sentence description about the industry, in which you worked, the position you last held, whether you supervised others or not, and finally why you are looking for something else. Clarity and brevity are important here.
Follow that with your past experience, exact dates of employment and a 3-5 sentence description about the industry, your position and why you left.
Do not be verbose in this part. If the employer or recruiter wants more they will ask and that is good because it give you an opportunity to sell yourself.
Next, there should be a brief description, no more than a half-dozen bullet points highlighting any special skills or important certifications.
Follow that with another bullet point list of the professional organizations you belong to. Employer and recruiters like to see candidates that are connected professionally.
Next, list your formal education. If you received a degree state it in the briefest way. If you did not get a degree do not give the name to the college or university and the school with no degree. If you did not get a degree say so. Honesty is a good policy.
Finally, as a footer, relist your name, address, telephone number and Email address. There is nothing more aggravating to an employer or recruiter than to have a suitable candidate but have to work at finding the contact information.
There you have it-The Perfect Resume. Write us to request a sample to the "Perfect Resume."
Stephen J. Blakesley, Managing Partner, GMS Talent L P is an Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, and Radio Show Host. His radio show Entrepreneurs R Us ( http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sjb340 ), airs every Tuesday, live from studios in Spring, TX.
His recently authored and released Ebook titled Guaranteed Success-Steps to a Successful Business Start-up is rapidly becoming a handbook for Entrepreneurs. Get your copy, today: http://www.gmstalent.com/bookstore. His latest book; "The Entrepreneur Next Door" is now available in the bookstore.
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