Resume Pages

 

 

 

At the left are resource and reference pages useful as good resume guides.

 

A successful resume takes thought time and effort in the employment process. Each job opportunity requires a customized resume tailored to that job’s specific requirements. A one-size-fits-all resume just won’t fit every job.

 

Attention to detail and presentation is essential. The resume may be the only contact you have prior to an interview invitation. It should present some compelling reason for a company to hire you.

 

Remember, every resume you write must be tailored to the specific requirements of each job opportunity, so carefully read the job posting; specially the requirements section.

 

The material at the right will assist you in being an effective resume writer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

External WEB References

 

YouTube Examples of Dynamic Resumes

 

Resume Writing Questions

 

Tips for a Perfect Resume

 

Avoid These 10 Mistakes

 

Professional Resume Writer Secrets

 

Easy Format Tips to a One-Page Resume

 

Ways to Target Your Resume

 

Make Your Past Make You Look Better

 

Quantify Your Accomplishments for Greater Impact

 

Most Searched Keywords

 

Useless Words vs Eye-catching Words

 

Action Words That Pop !

 

Make Life Easier with a Master Resume

 

What Happens After You Submit Resume

 

You CAN Apply for the Same Job Twice, If You’re Careful

 

Resume templates:  Click here and Click again    Link future

 

Cover letter templates:  Click here    Link future

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Resume Writing Questions

by Kim Isaacs

Adapted from: Top 10 Questions About Writing a Resume

 

Here are 10 common resume questions and suggestions on how to handle each:

 

What are the different resume styles?.

Here's a definition of the most common styles:

 

Reverse Chronological: Focus on work history, leads with education or work history and provides comprehensive employment history information. This is best suited those with a steady work history who are not changing careers.

 

Functional: Functional resumes often are used by job seekers with issues such as job-hopping, extended employment gaps and career changing.

 

Dynamic: A good choice for most job seekers, because a qualifications summary at the top of the page provides a quick sell enticing managers to continue reading.

 

Should I keep my resume to one page?

Not necessarily. The one-page resume "rule" no longer applies. New graduates with limited experience might only require one page, but experienced professionals often need two pages or more. For a two-page resume, make sure your strongest credentials are presented at the top of the first page.

 

Which font should I use?

For resumes in electronic format that will be emailed, select a standard font on computer systems. Good choices: Arial, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Verdana.

 

What tense should I write my resume in?

Write previous jobs in past tense. For your current job, write accomplishments in past tense and job responsibilities in present tense.

 

Should I include salary information on my resume?

 No, your salary history or requirements could eliminate you from consideration

 

If salary requirements are requested, acknowledge it  in your cover letter with a line like: "I would be happy to discuss my salary requirements after mutual interest has been established." If you are pressed for a number, provide a range to give room for negotiations. Consider a separate document that outlines your earnings history.

 

Do I need to send a cover letter with my resume?

Yes. A well-written cover letter markets your credentials and your professionalism.

 

How do I include accomplishments when I don't have any?

Consider what makes your work performance valuable to a potential employer. Ask coworkers or supervisors about your performance, and review your written evaluations. You'll probably find strong accomplishments you can mention.

 

Do I need an objective section?

Your resume must focus on a career goal so hiring managers immediately understand your job objective. You don't necessarily need to include a formal Objective section. Instead, incorporate your goal into a qualifications summary.

 

How can I hide gaps in my work history?

Most employers prefer applicants with no employment gaps, very few job seekers offer a perfectly steady work history. You can't change the past, so focus your resume on what you offer. If you have activities such as volunteer work, self-study or formal training while out of work, include them on your resume. If long-term gaps are an issue, consider a functional resume style, emphasizing relevant skills without dates.

 

How do I write a resume to change careers?

Your career-change resume should highlight your qualifications that are most relevant to your new career goal. You may have transferable skills, training, hobbies or other important credentials that will interest hiring managers. A good starting point is to research jobs and look for qualifications frequently mentioned in ads. Write down your matching qualifications, and work them into your resume.

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Tips for a Perfect Resume

 

 

Three kinds of resumes to consider:

 

Chronological (inappropriate for older people, it easily displays your approximate age).

 

Summary (good for projecting your expertise and career accomplishments).

 

Combination of chronological and summary resumes, (format the Church frequently recommends).

 

Resume format and content tips:

 

Include your name at the top of the resume, larger than normal: bold 28 pt. or more

 

Resumes get read in 8 seconds or less. That's why the top 1/3 of the first page must be perfect in its layout and content. It has to be camera perfect layout with a dynamic statement of name, address, phone number, e-mail/web addresses. In addition, must have 9 to 12 specialized skills in a three-column format below the 3 to 5 line statements of what you do and who you are professionally

 

Three font sizes are the maximum: Name (28 pt or larger), Job title (14 pt) and content (12 or 11pt.)

 

Put Education last or on the next page

 

For the resumes given personally, use underline on hyperlinks, it will print in black and not hazy. For resumes posted on the Internet or e-mail, use hyperlink tools as usual.

 

Resumes designed for Internet use can be longer than one page, you want "key" words included because the resumes will be scanned for "key" job words. Hence, the more words the chances of scoring a higher score via the scan is possible.

 

Nobody likes to read across the page. Don't have too many full width lines. Indent bullets. Try to have phrases rather than long sentences except for the career statement at the top of the resume.

 

Each job to have 3-5 bullets of special responsibilities or on-the-job achievements

 

Most important job listing is the job title it could be larger size type (14 pt.) and bold. Job company should be normal 12 pt. Dates, if included, should be right justified.

 

Don't over bold the page.

 

Resume doesn't need to be only 1 page. Its layout is equally as important as the content.

 

Use only the last 10 or 15 years of employment history even if one has more professional employment.

 

Avoid common resume pitfalls

 

Eliminate typographical or grammatical errors, have reviews by several different people

 

Be sure to include sufficient information

 

Avoid including too much information, provide enough for readers interest or curiosity

 

List all important achievements, quantify successes with dollar amounts or percentages

 

Work from a dynamic resume template

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Avoid These 10 Mistakes

By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

Full article http://careers.ashford.edu/thp10resumemistakes.phpe

 

It's easy to make resume mistakes and exceptionally difficult to recover once it’s submitted. Prevention is critical, avoid these common pitfalls and avoid them

 

Typos and Grammatical Errors

 

Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect. If it isn't, employers will draw conclusions about you, like: "This person can't write," or " obviously doesn't care."

 

Lack of Specifics

 

Employers need to understand what you've done and accomplished. For example,
      Worked with employees in a restaurant setting
      Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant
      with $2 million in annual sales.
Both phrases describe the same person, but specific details will likely grab attention.

 

Attempting One Size Fits All

 

Don’t develop a one-size-fits-all resume. Employers want a resume specifically for them. They expect you to clearly show why you fit the position in the organization.

 

Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments

 

Don’t simply start listing job duties on your resume. For example:
      Worked with children in a day-care setting
It’s not about what you've done as what you've accomplished in your various activities. They're looking for statements more like:
      Developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for
      a 10-minute holiday program performance.

 

Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short

 

There are no real rules governing the length of your resume. Human beings, with

 

their preferences and expectations, will be reading it. Generally, you usually need to limit yourself to a maximum of two pages. But don't feel you have to use two pages if one will do. Don't cut the meat out to make it conform to an arbitrary standard.

 

A Bad Objective

 

Employers do read your resume's objective statement, but too often they plow through pufferies like, "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth." Give employers something specific and, something that focuses on their needs as well as your own. Example: "A challenging entry-level marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience in fund-raising for nonprofits."

 

No Action Verbs

 

Avoid using phrases like "responsible for." Instead, use action verbs: "Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000 students and staff."

 

Leaving Off Important Information

 

You may be tempted, to eliminate the jobs you've taken to earn money for school. Typically, however, the soft skills you've gained from these experiences (e.g., work ethic, time management) are more important to employers than you might think.

 

Visually Too Busy

 

A resume of wall-to-wall text featuring five different fonts, it will most likely give the employer a headache. Show your resume to several other people before sending it out. Do they find it visually attractive? If what you have is hard on the eyes, revise

 

Incorrect Contact Information

 

Double-check even the most minute, taken-for-granted details like phone numbers and e-mail address-- sooner rather than later.

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Professional Resume Writer Secrets

Leslie Stevens-Huffman

http://insights.dice.com/2017/06/20/trade-secrets-professional-resume-writers/

 

Professionals have developed a relatively simple but effective formula for eliciting the right details about education, skills and work experience from tech pros and turning it all into impressive dossiers that increase the chances of landing an interview.

 

Jot Down Your Accomplishments First

 

Your achievements serve as the foundation for your brand, your résumé’s narrative, and your personal value proposition – which conveys why you’re the right person for the job. It’s easy to start writing a résumé and end up jotting down a huge list of tasks and responsibilities; instead, concentrate on a list of “primary” achievements for each position.

 

Focus on the results of your work and the impact of projects — not duties, don’t start writing a résumé until identifying what makes you qualified, unique and distinctive

 

Identify Targets

 

Speaking in the language of tech managers, HR recruiters and applicant tracking systems is one of the most important and challenging tasks that all résumé writers face. To make sure that your résumé appeals to multiple reviewers, review several job postings for the type of positions and companies you want to work for.

 

Next, use the job postings as a reference to identify and align your action verbs, job titles, accomplishments, skills and keywords to the position you want. If you’re looking to move into a management role, don’t say that you implemented a solution; say that you drove implementation. If you want to move into consulting, talk about what you did for clients in your previous position. If managing budgets and schedules is a top requirement for a job you want, work those examples into your résumé. And be sure to use your target company’s job titles—for instance, don’t say “desktop manager” if your target company uses “manager of desktop support.”

 

This step will also help you decide what information is relevant and what is not. You should brainstorm and figure out what you want to say and the data you want to

 

include. Professional writers get their ideas in order before creating their first draft.

 

Write from the Bottom Up

 

Once you’ve developed a theme and gathered up documentation, make the writing process easier by installing the “backbone” of your résumé. Start at the bottom of the document and work your way up. A bottom-up writing approach ensures that the body of your résumé supports the all-important opening summary or profile section.

 

List the factual data first, put in your education, technical skills and awards, then enter your job titles, dates, company names and any descriptions into your work history, and instantly, the outline is there.”

 

Riggs also likes to enter sub-section headings under each position in a professional’s work history. Clustering accomplishments under sub-headings, such as transformational leadership or business process automation, helps with organization, makes a résumé easier to read, and supports the branding process.

 

Be disciplined as you fill in the blanks in your work history and project experience sections, sticking with brief examples of achievements that match the position’s key requirements, core skills and your value proposition. If you feel compelled to add more, create an addendum and bring it to the interview.

 

Create the Opening Profile and Line Edits

 

Now you’re ready to craft a headline and either a paragraph-style or bullet-style opening section that explains why you are uniquely qualified and the best person for the job. Edit, read, and then edit some more as you fine-tune adjectives, verbs, keywords and text. Professional résumé writers manage to get their point across in about two pages. Use as few words as possible, you can expand on your accomplishments and skills once you get to the interview.

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Easy Format Tips to a One-Page Resume

By Cathy Eng, Resume Rocketeer, Inc Oct 1st, 2010

www.employmentdigest.net/2010/10/five-easy-ways-to-get-your-resume-back-onto-one-page

 

Length

 

Does your resume “bleed” onto two or three pages and you can’t quite figure out how to eliminate those few extra lines to bring it back onto one page or two? There are several tricks to get rid of wasted space and make your resume appear more sharp and concise (and more likely to be read).

 

Minimize the contact information.

 

You don’t need to list your address, three phone numbers, your fax, and an email address. Now that almost everyone has an email and cell phone, there is no need to bombard employers with so many ways to reach you. Employers want one to two simple ways to get a hold of you. You can even get away with the following:

Ed Smith New York, NY 212.555.1234 email@address

 

Find danglers

 

Bring “danglers” up to the previous line (by that, I mean any line that only contains one to three words). Edit down your content by removing unnecessary words (e.g. “very” and “that” are often arbitrary and waste space) to bring that line up.

 

Reduce your margins.

 

It is acceptable to set your margins as low as.5 inches, and your resume will still be scannable (most large companies scan in resumes received). This will help to minimize “dead space” on your resume. However, be sure to change your tabs to match up with the margins.

 

Reduce your font size.

 

For a hiring manager, receiving a resume with 12-point font or larger says “I don’t have much to say, so I’ll just make my words bigger to fill space”. An 11-point font is easiest to read and is most aesthetically pleasing. This small change will make a big difference.

 

References

 

Remove “References available upon request”

Or even “Addendum available upon request”. These statements go without saying these days.

 

Finally

 

Your resume is one of the most important documents you will have in your professional life, so it is important that you pay attention to every detail to make it a perfect representation of you. This includes using every trick in the book to present your resume as succinct and aesthetically pleasing as possible

 

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Ways to Target Your Resume

By Jessica Holbrook Beyond.com 5/17/2011

http://www.beyond.com/articles/5-key-questions-to-ask-when-writing-your-resume-5130-article.html

 

Are you in the middle of writing your resume but are having a difficult time finding the right information to include? Well, some of it is self-explanatory (education, job history, etc.), but sometimes it’s hard to decide which skills to include as well as which accomplishments within your work history to note.

 

If you’re feeling stuck, it’s good to ask yourself some questions in order to get yourself moving. Here are five to consider while writing your resume:

 

Why am I applying for this job?

 

One thing you should explore is why you’re applying for the job. By looking at what you want from the company aside from money (e.g., more skills, opportunity to grow in your field), you can reference these ideas as you write.

 

Which of your past accomplishments match the company’s expectations?

 

It’s also a good idea to look at which of your past accomplishments and skills match what the company is looking for in the position. Don’t just list the skills they say they want; really take a look at the job description and how they hope the position can help the company as a whole. Then think about what you’ve accomplished and how you can meet the company’s expectations.

 

How will taking this step further my career?

 

Also, take time to think about whether this job is a building block on your career path. If you’re just making lateral moves—hopping from job to job—rather than building a career, you may want to rethink applying for this particular position and look for one that falls more in line with your interests.

 

 

What do I want to contribute to the company and position?

 

In addition to exploring whether your accomplishments match the company’s expectations, it’s good to think about what you can contribute outside of their expectations. This may take a little bit of research to find out how the company wants to excel in the field—and how your position can help it get there.

 

Am I the best fit for this position?

 

Finally, it’s important to know whether you honestly believe you’re the best fit for the position. If you write your resume with an attitude that you’re not a winner, it could be hard for you to include in your resume all of the great reasons why you should be hired. It’s always a good idea to really explore the reasons you’re applying for a job as you write your resume. This way, it’s easier to answer the questions that employers are likely asking while they are reading it.

 

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Make Your Past Make You Look Better

By Curt Rosengren US News and World Report-Money

www.money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/04/21/how-to-market-your-skills-in-your-job-search

 

There are skills checklists asking you to tick off every skill that sounds like you. When telling your story to an employer, it’s one-dimensional. There’s nothing to back it up.

 

If you want to talk about your skills in a compelling way, you have to go deeper than that. A way to do this is to forget the checklist and take a longer, more fruitful approach to your skills. Potential employers aren’t interested in your skills; they’re interested in how those skills meet their needs. The following can make your story more compelling.

 

Reverse engineer to find your skills

 

You need to identify your skills with reverse engineering. You will look at three things:

·             Your big picture responsibilities

·             The tasks you had to perform to fulfill those responsibilities

·             The skills you needed to successfully perform those tasks

 

Start by making a list of the big picture responsibilities you had in your last job; for example, marketing planning, or coordinating teams, or fundraising. Once you have your big picture list, take each of those and start to reverse engineer them. Ask, “What tasks did I perform in order to fulfill that responsibility?” If the responsibility was marketing planning, maybe you say, “I researched the market, identified the opportunities and needs, and created a budget.”

 

After you identify the tasks, you ask, “What skills did each of those tasks require?” Researching might have taken an ability to identify the relevant information, to find the information, and to compile and organize the information. Depending on the answers, you may find you need to go down more than just three levels to get to the detailed skills. Example, if the task of finding the relevant information was actually broken up into finding the information online, in the media, and from people with subject expertise, those might be three different tasks requiring different skill sets.

 

It’s the same with the individual skills you identify. They may yield even more detailed insights if you dig a little deeper. Look at the skill of being able to compile and organize

 

relevant information. Realize it boils down to analytical ability, to see connections in disparate pieces of information, and distill volumes of information into its essence.

 

Why reverse engineer?

 

Because now you have a list of skills (which is likely to be more comprehensive than if you had simply come up with a list off the top of your head), you also have a deep picture of how each of those skills relate to the big picture. More importantly, you have a direct picture of how each of those skills contributed to the benefit you created (and making it easier to demonstrate benefits to a future employer).

Remember you’re not selling your skills, you’re selling how your skills can benefit the organization. With a clear picture of how your skills have contributed to organizations in the past, you can convey their benefit your prospective employer.

It’s all about being able to tell your story, clearly, concisely and convincingly. In this case, the story is about the skills you have, how they have applied in the past, and how you can apply them to benefit a new organization.

 

Create Skill Story snapshots

 

To make it easy to be clear, concise and convincing, take each skill and create a snapshot using the following elements:

·             Skill: State the skill with an example of how you used that skill.

·             Result: Give an example of the result of using that skill.

·             Benefit: Explain the benefit when you put that skill to use.

 

By creating these snapshots, you have stories ready to tell about what makes you a great candidate. When you deeply understand what you have to offer and how it has been put to positive use in the past, you no longer have to grapple with words to convey what you bring to the table. You have the snapshots already prepared. And by having a better perspective on what you offer and how it applies to the big picture, it’s easier to recognize and express how those skills can be applied in the new situation

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Quantify Your Accomplishments for Greater Impact

Utilize Numbers to Create an Accomplishment-Based Resume Jessica Holbrook on Beyond.com 5/24/2011

www.beyond.com/articles/how-to-utilize-numbers-to-create-an-5134-article.html

 

When writing a resume, one of your biggest challenges is figuring out how to get the message across that you’re a results-maker.

 

One of the best ways to get this done is by using numbers. Quantifying what you’ve accomplished helps the hiring manager envision what you can get done at a new company. Want to know how to get it done? Here are some tips to consider.

 

Look at the amount of what you’ve accomplished

 

A great way to get started in using numbers is looking at amounts associated with what you’ve accomplished. This means you will bypass simply jotting down your responsibilities and take a deeper look into what you really pulled off at previous employers.

 

For each job you’ve worked, you can list how many items you’ve sold, how many people you’ve managed, how many projects you initiated, how many times you were voted team lead, etc. The numbers give perspective to your accomplishments, which is what you need when applying for a job.

 

Jot down money earned

 

If you’ve earned money for a company, it’s a good idea to list as many dollar amounts as possible. For instance, if you were a member of your sales team and in the months of January, April and May 2010, you won salesperson of the month because you surpassed $10,000 in sales, you need to write those numbers down. Doing so gives a clear picture of what you’re capable of earning.

 

 

Note time-frames for accomplishing goals

 

While busy quantifying your results, it’s good to include time-frames for accomplishing your goals. So in the previous example, in addition to noting how much money you earned, you could mention that you actually hit the $10,000 in 16 work days rather than standard 20-22 days in a work month.

 

As a candidate, it is imperative that you that you utilize the most high-impact and relevant information in your resume to win over the person who is reading it. The more meaningful, and impactful numbers you add to your resume, the greater your odds will be of getting called in for an interview.

 

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Most Searched Keywords

by Thad Peterson

Adapted from: Monster.com’ Keywords Recruiters Use to Find You’

 

Automated Searching

 

Just as you use keywords to search for jobs on an employer web site, recruiters and hiring managers use them to identify qualified candidates who match their available positions searching the Web, databases such as Monster.com, emails and online applications.

 

Knowing which keywords appear most frequently in recruiters' searches can help you use the right words and terms in your resume. But remember: While it makes sense to use these keywords in your resume if they pertain to you, littering your resume with irrelevant words can backfire.

 

"For the astute recruiter, it's going to come across as spam," says Felix Heimberg, a Dallas-based recruiter. "We become very good at spotting something that looks contrived."

 

One Hundred Most Popular Keywords

 

What are recruiters and hiring managers searching for? Here is a list of the top 100 resume keyword search phrases used by recruiters and hiring managers on Monster (use these to identify similar keywords within your career and skill set, use them in your resume)

 

Develop Your Appropriate Keywords

 

In your searching for jobs, save copies of job listings that you would like and are qualified for. Review these copies and develop a list of the keywords used in the job postings. When applying for a job with a resume or an online application always use the words listed in the posting (provided they apply to your experience) as part of your submission.

 

 

 

Sales

Engineer

Retail

Recruiter

Controller

Legal secretary

Entry Level

Financial analyst

Customer service

Accountant

Project manager

Call center

Entry Level

Financial analyst

Customer service

Receptionist

Marketing

Outside sales

CPA

C#

Bookkeeper

Customer service

.net

Inside Sales

Accounting

Project manager

Auditor

Java

J2EE

AutoCAD

Mortgage

Oracle

Tax

Manager

Construction

Registered Nurse

Executive Assistant

Warehouse

Buyer

Human Resources

Inside sales

C

Pharmacist

Business analyst

Spanish

Accounts Payable

Paralegal

Japanese

Insurance

RN

Underwriter

Payroll

Financial analyst

Sales

Staff accountant

Data entry

Account executive

Audit

Nurse

Technical writer

Physical therapist

PeopleSoft

Medical

Outside sales

Restaurant Manager

CNC

SAP

Loan officer

Finance

Business analyst

Staffing

Staff accountant

Collections

Telemarketing

Civil engineer

Administrative Assistant

 

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Useless Words vs Eye-catching Words

Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-2379-Resumes-Cover-Letters-10-useless-r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9-words-and-10-eye-catching-ones/

 

"Generic hyperbole belongs on cereal boxes, not on résumés," says Duncan Mathison, a career consultant and co-author of "Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough." "If it does not pass the 'So what, anybody can make that claim' test, leave it off."

 

Instead of being another candidate professing to be a "hard worker," revitalize your application with a little seek-and-replace exercise. Scan your résumé for empty, overused words such as the following:

 

Outstanding  

Excellent

Effective   

Driven

Strong     

Motivated

Exceptional

Seasoned

Good      

Energetic

 

"Watch out for words that are unsupported claims of greatness," Mathison says. Adds David Couper, a career coach and author of "Outsiders on the Inside: How to Create a Winning Career ... Even When You Don't Fit In," "If you call yourself an 'excellent manager,' how do we know?"

 

The nouns following those subjective adjectives can be equally meaningless. Anyone who has ever had a co-worker can claim to be a "team player." "Do not say you're a 'good communicator' or have 'excellent communication skills.' Who doesn't have these?" says Susan Ach, a career counselor at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.

 

A better route to take is describing accomplishments and letting the hirer make his own judgment. Give specific (preferably quantifiable) accounts of what you've done that makes you an "outstanding salesperson." Likewise, peruse performance reviews for quotable material from supervisors that demonstrates why they consider you a "strong leader." Listing awards or other forms of recognition also can be used as support.

 

Some words should be avoided because they convey traits that employers consider standard for anybody who wants to be hired. "You're motivated? Hope so. A good worker? So happy to hear that; I didn't want to hire a bad worker," Couper says. Don't take up precious résumé space with unnecessary items.

 

Also on the "don't" side: Words that seek to overcome what you might think are your shortcomings. "Using 'seasoned' for 'over 50' or 'energetic' for 'inexperienced' looks like spin,"Keep the focus on what makes you right for the job.   Certain words can make hiring managers do a double-take. Light up their eyes with these 10 words:

 

Created

Researched

Increased

Accomplished

Reduced

Won

Improved

On-time

Developed

Under-budget

 

"We suggest that résumé writers include action words to describe their jobs," Ach says. Verbs project the image of someone who has the background and initiative to get things done. Employers can clearly comprehend what you've accomplished in the past and can use that as a basis for envisioning future success with their company. Think about it: If you were hiring, would you rather take on someone who calls himself a "productive manager" or somebody who states that at his last job he "increased company profit by 3 percent," "reduced employee turnover in his department to the best level in five years," and "improved brand awareness by implementing a new social media strategy"?

 

Lastly, it can be beneficial to use verbs and nouns that are common to your specific industry. This shows your familiarity with the language of your field and optimizes the chances of getting past an automatic scan for keywords. But remember, too, that all companies tend to speak a universal language: money. "Terms such as 'on-time' and 'under-budget' are often good. Hiring managers want to know you can get things done with minimum fuss," Mathison says.  

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Personal Attributes

Experience

Adaptable

Diplomatic

Frank

Persistent

Successful

Account

Copy Editor

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Make Life Easier with a Master Resume

Posted By: Jessica Holbrook On: 12/9/2011 9:11:04 AM In: Job Seeker

http://www.businessworkforce.com/articles/have-you-mastered-your-master-resume-5380-article.html

 

One of the great organizational tools of resume creation is the master resume. Although it’s considered an optional tool designed to ease the writing process, for those who use it, the benefits are enormous.

 

If you have created your own master resume, you may have quickly realized that the greatest benefits come when you put more effort into making this document serve its intended purpose. If you utilize it as intended, you can indeed create great submission resumes that do a good job of snagging interviews.

 

The Purpose

 

The purpose of a master resume is to organize your entire career into one document that you can later extract from when submitting individual, customized resumes. The need for this type of document arose once it became apparent that submitting the same resume to multiple companies (minus a few subtle changes) was no longer appropriate.

 

Job seekers often experience the best results from submitting unique resumes that are tailored to a specific company’s mission and the position for which they’re hiring. In writing your resume, this could mean you will have to continually recall specific instances in your work history that match the job you’re applying for.

 

To avoid the hassle associated with this enormous feat, experts have started recommending master resumes.

 

      The master resume is never to be submitted.  It is a resource to draw on.

 

Instead, it allows you to add all of your education, work history, career goals, etc. to one document so that you can locate these items quickly when tailoring a resume to a specific position. Draw from the master the more appropriate portions for the job.

 

Why Organization Is Crucial to Mastering Your Master Resume

 

In order to say you’ve mastered your master resume, organization is of upmost importance. You will need to clearly define various sections that could be utilized in submission resumes, then appropriately list your skills, accomplishments, and work history based on those sections you’ve created.

 

The best time to work on your master resume is while you’re still employed and in the process of acquiring new qualifications; this is because your contributions and their impact are still fresh in your mind. But even if you’re between jobs, you can add details to the resume as you remember them.

 

Keep in mind that your master resume does not have to stop at a certain length. Make it as long and detailed as possible. And if you have two career tracks, you may want to create two master resumes to better organize your history.

 

An On-going Effort

 

The great thing about a master resume is that you don’t have to worry about meeting a deadline to get it done. You can work on it until you decide you’re no longer interested in looking for work. As you submit resumes keep an entry of each tailored statement; it is easier to delete entries that do not apply to the specific position than to re-invent them under pressure of a deadline.

 

By mastering your master resume, you are more likely to create in-depth submission resumes that catch the attention of managers hoping to hire someone just like you.

 

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What Happens After You Submit Your Resume

Posted By: Jessica Holbrook In: Job Seeker Resume

www.beyond.com/articles/arti cle.asp?id=5152

 

Have you ever wondered what happens to your resume after you submit it? Many job seekers spend hours every day shipping resumes off to prospective employers without an idea of what happens after they've hit the send button.

 

Knowing what your resume goes through after it has been submitted is a mystery to many job seekers. A recent CNN Money article explored the process at one major company; let's look at the steps involved after a resume leaves your hands.

 

Stage 1: Making it past technology

 

Whether you've submitted your resume to a recruiter or directly to an employer, it will likely face some form of technology before it is thoroughly reviewed by a human's eyes. The technology typically uses a variety of criteria to help filter candidates.

For instance, a company might want resumes from people who have five to eight years of experience with public relations management. If this key phrase isn't on a person's resume, the computer system will not rank it high or it could simply immediately reject it.

 

Keep this in mind as you filter out which information to include in your resume and personalize it for each position. The best way to ensure you don't miss this boat is to search for keywords like this in the job posting and include them in your resume.

 

Stage 2: Initial human confirmation

 

If your resume makes it through the technological test, then you may receive some form of human confirmation. In the CNN article, the confirmation came in the form of a phone call meant to ensure that the information posted on the resume was accurate. As a former recruiter, I call this the prescreen interview.

 

During the call, the representative also gets a feel for whether the candidate seems to be a good fit for the company by exploring salary expectations, relocation willingness and job travel capabilities or whatever may be information that could

 

weed out the candidate to narrow down the recruiter's search results.

The candidate could also expect this communication to come in the form of an e-mail. I always loved communication via e-mail; if someone had a really standout resume, then I would just e-mail the candidate to set up a time to either: a) chat over the phone, or b) schedule the initial in-person interview.

 

Stage 3: Moving higher up

 

If you seem to be a good fit for the company initially, the recruiter or other company representative will likely send your resume to the hiring manager or other person in charge of making the ultimate decision. At this point, the resume is placed in the interview pile for the person's supervisor or the key hiring manager and the interviewing process begins.

 

What If I don't get a call?

 

If you don't receive a call or e-mail beyond the thank you for applying communication, it's possible that the company decided at some point during the resume's journey that you are not a good match. That may have been a result of your not having the appropriate keywords contained in the resume for the computer scan to rank your resume high enough to warrant a review, or it could be that the first human eye giving it a scan couldn't find what they wanted. It could also perhaps be that someone thought the resume was a mess. It's also possible, with thousands of people applying, that you just got misplaced in the shuffle. Some companies are likely to keep your resume in its database in case you're a good fit for another position down the line. However, if you know that your skills, qualifications, experience, accomplishments, etc. are a perfect fit for a position (a 100% match) and you didn't receive a call, I encourage you to take extra steps to be noticed.

 

The CNN Money article revealed that companies also spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, sifting through candidates in hopes of finding individuals they would like to recruit, even if they aren't looking for work. This is another critically important reason why if you're not on LinkedIn, for some employers, you just don't exist

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You CAN Apply for the Same Job Twice, If You're Careful

By Elisabeth Greenbaum Kasson Jun 6, 2011 Posted In Job News

http://news.dice.com/2011/06/06/you-can-apply-for-the-same-job-twice-so-long-as-youre-careful/?cmpid=268

 

A boo and a hiss for the online job application, a necessary irritant that most of the time you can’t avoid. Of course you wonder: Do those resumes actually get read? Do you have any options after you hit send? What can you do if you get some inside tip about the position — after you’ve submitted your materials?

 

Your best bet is to contact the recruiter or hiring manager directly. But that’s not always a possibility. In that case, you may gain traction by resubmitting your resume, giving yourself a second chance by revising your cover letter and application to show a more perfect fit.

 

Larger companies tend to rely on recruiting software to screen incoming applications, so if you don’t meet a job’s basic criteria, the system has probably spit you out without anyone seeing your resume. If they did, HR or the hiring manager may have found some aspects of your application problematic, even it you were a good fit for the position. For example, what if your salary requirement was too high? If you become aware of any issues like that, resubmitting may put you back in the game.

 

Remember, though, that there are potential negatives to applying for the same job twice. What you think is a lengthy wait to hear back is a mere minute in the eyes of HR. So, if you dip twice, you could be seen as a pest. And, if you substantially change your resume and cover letter they may perceive you as desperate, which could undervalue your professional worth.

 

Still, if you’re aware of the risks and really want a shot at the job, go for it. After all, what are they going to do? Not hire you?

 

 

COMMENTS :

 

BY Mike says:

 

Years ago I applied, several times, for a position that frequently appeared in the “help wanted” section. I applied because I knew the OS in use, and several programming languages, but not the two programming languages in use. I finally was contacted for an interview. I was offered the job. But that was all in the past, prior to the onset of online applications, etc.

 

BY M. Jones says:

 

.... The use of resume scanning software in this day and age is ridiculous. A lot of resumes get over looked because of this, and a lot of these software keep a record of potential candidates, so if you’ve applied somewhere and your resume was rejected, it will more than likely be rejected again when you apply at any company employing such software (based on your name alone). It is a form of judgment and discrimination that needs to be removed from the already troubling job market.

 

The problem with the job market, and most companies, is they assume someone is a pest, based on their consistency. The bottom line is this, everyone wants to work, everyone is desperate for a job. These companies have made it this way. A lot of talented people are being over-looked because of cut rate HR practices

 

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