What Recruiters Hate About Resumes And Cover Letters
Today, I'm going to share with you the awful truth about resumes and cover letters. Here it is: Most of them stink. That's not just my opinion, although I've read nearly 15,000 resumes and cover letters over the years and found glaring mistakes in about 85-90% of them. It's also the opinion of most of the hiring professionals I've spoken to over the years. Where do most resumes and cover letters go wrong? And how can you avoid the typical mistakes that most job seekers make? To find answers, I spoke with two experienced recruiters. Their candid advice can help you avoid typical pitfalls, and get hired faster Here it is ... 1) Don't Use The Same Resume For Every Job Would you grab any old suit off the rack and rush off to church to get married? No. First, you get the suit tailored, so it fits. That way, you won't look ridiculous. Unfortunately, job seekers can look ridiculous when they rush to apply for jobs without tailoring their resumes. It's a real pet peeve of most hiring professionals, including Larry Harris, a Minneapolis-based recruiter and President of American Consulting (americanconsultingcompany.com) "Why don't candidates customize every resume they send out, to fit the job they're applying for? That makes my job a lot easier when I forward that resume to my client, the hiring manager." According to Tony Haley, Director of UK-based Fenton Chase International (fentonchase.com), most resumes come across as generic, with no consideration about a particular position or company. "The most surprising group of candidates who do this is Sales Managers and Sales Directors. These people spend their days reviewing resumes from candidates and yet when it comes to their own, they cannot sell themselves," says Haley. Solution? Customize, customize, customize. Every company, every position, every manager reading your resume -- they're all different. So tailor your resume for every position you apply for. Bring out the details of your experience that are most relevant to each opportunity and company. 2) Don't Be Boring One of the worst sins you can commit with a resume is to be boring. The rule of thumb is simple: If they snooze, you lose (because your resume will go in the trash). Resumes get boring when you fill them full of jargon, or dry job descriptions, or a lack of specific results, according to Haley. "Consider the reader. Remember, the people reading your resume might not be that proficient at it. If they cannot see what they are looking for almost immediately, they might reject it, and if it's full of technical jargon, they might not understand it," says Haley. Solution? An easy way to eliminate dull wording from a resume is to read it aloud to 2-3 friends. If eyes glaze over or brows furrow, you've likely lost your audience. Revise the resume until it holds your friends' attention all the way through. Haley offers another way to create a compelling resume: "Use the 'So, what?' test. Any sentence on a resume that causes a reader to think 'So, what?' probably means it's waffle. Reword it or take it off." 3) Don't Forget The Cover Letter You wouldn't want to alienate anyone who could help you get a job, would you? Yet, that's just what you do when you forget to send a cover letter with your resume. Because a missing cover letter creates extra work for busy hiring professionals, as they try to figure out what job you're applying for and how you heard about it. Solution? Write and include a cover letter with every resume, including those you send by email. Even a one-line cover letter in an email is better than nothing, according to Larry Harris: "You could simply write, 'I'm applying for your telemarketing software sales position. I spent five years doing that exact job. I'd be perfect for it!" Here's hoping these tirades and tips from hiring professionals will help you write a better resume and cover letter next time you apply for that dream job. Now, go out and make your own luck! Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others. As a reader of this publication, you're eligible for a special offer. Get your Free Job Search Kit ($25.00 value) at the Guaranteed Resumes Web site - http://www.gresumes.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The 10 Second Window of Opportunity, Resume Hour Glass
Do you know that a hiring manager just spends 10 second with your resume before deciding to forward or junk it? Ten seconds is all you got, to impress that person to get to the next step of the hiring process - "interviews". I have seen many folks who can easily market themselves in person but they are poor at condensing them in a piece of electronic paper. This article helps you focus on beating the "Resume Hour Glass".
Telephone Job Interview Preparation Tips
TELEPHONE INTERVIEW BACKGROUND
Think Twice Before You Change Jobs
You've got the itch to change jobs. This might be a good time to make the move.
Federal Job Search Strategies: 7 Tips to Help You Succeed
Despite constant calls by politicians and policy makers to reign in government spending, the federal government remains the largest employer in the United States. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, there are currently more than 2,700,000 employees working for the federal government in civil service positions. For nearly every federal job vacancy, the number of applicants exceeds the number of available positions by at least tenfold.
Booster & Drainers
Like huge anchors on cruise ships, other people can hold you down. Not intentionally, but their negativity impacts you. It's hard to be winning at working when you're anchored in place. It's hard to see the next great idea and enthusiastically embrace it, when you're feeling a sticky heaviness. And it's hard to think creativity when you're feeling empty.
Like a balloon with air pouring out, deflated and flat at the end, I hung up the phone, drained. For the most part I'd offered a supportive ear with occasional contributions of asked for advice. Several days in a row, he called or stopped by my office, with a second, and a third, and a fourth verse of the same song. After each encounter, my energy felt zapped. It got to the point where Jay's presence alone started my energy leaving, replaced with an empty heaviness as if his negative energy was seeping into me.
It took me awhile to figure it out, but Jay was an energy drainer. I've learned over the years, if I spend too much time around people with negative energy to share, my optimism, and enthusiasm for work (or life) are adversely affected.
You may know people in your own work life who hold you down, zap your enthusiasm, cheer you into self-destruction, and occupy so much of your time and energy that you can't offer the best you to anyone, including yourself. And you know people who do the opposite.
My solution? Use that feedback. Spend less work time with the drainers, and more time with people who offer you an energy boost. Once you've identified how it feels to be around energy boosters, look to fill gaps, especially on work teams, with people who bring positive energy to a meeting, who are fun to be around, whose enthusiasm and positive approach lifts your spirits, enhances your creativity, and adds to your work life. Find and stay close to these energy boosters.
I use a simple measurement to identify energy drainers and energy boosters: the laugh factor. The more laughter I find in the process of doing business, the more energy I know is in the room. The more energy in the room, the more gets done. I look for people I can laugh with, have fun with and share ideas with. My work results are better when I'm around people who make me feel energized when I leave them. Yours can be, too.
(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
Are You Making These Common Job Interview Mistakes?
Going to an interview without a plan of action is like going out on a football field without a game plan. Total disaster! Suppose I were to ask you right now.
Phone Interviews: Prepare to Ace Them!
More companies are saving time and effort by doing initial telephone interviews before committing themselves to hours of time assessing and evaluating applicants. They are doing this because, frankly, it's a good way to save a team's time from interviewing obviously unqualified people. From your standpoint, this means that you need to develop an additional interview skill.
Conduct An Informational Interview
Informational interviews are designed to get as much information as you can about the industry and career you're seeking a job in from people who are already in that career.
Avoid Mistakes and Gaffes in Your Job Resume
Having mistakes and gaffes in your job resume spell disaster for your job search. The last thing an employer needs is to look at a poorly written resume. The employer is looking at possibly dozens of resumes a day, and if yours is not up to par, don't expect to hear from him/her.
Job Search: Time Management
There is an old adage that "Looking for a job is harder than working." How true! The rigors of job search are magnified by the turmoil we experience: lack of self-confidence, humiliation, financial pressure, and the undercurrent of emotions that color all we do: fear, anger, depression, anxiety, loss.
Using Freelance Websites to Telecommute
How is your job hunting going? Have you had problems finding legitimate jobs? I don't know if you've ever thought about using freelance websites to obtain work at home, but this should be something you look into. It might not be for you, but you never know until you try.
Changing Careers? How to Get Around the Three Major Mental Roadblocks to Success
A part of you can't wait to dive into your new career -- but you're also smart enough to know that you can expect a few bumps along the road to success. By far, the biggest roadblocks exist between your own two ears!
Listening for Interview Success
Yes I know that we usually think of interviews as us doing all the talking, but the reality is different. At least 40% of the time we should be listening, and what we hear will have an enormous effect on what we say.
Benefits of Maintaining a Career Portfolio
Have you ever tried to contact a past employer only to discover they are no longer in existence or your former manager has moved on and been replaced by someone else? Of course, if you are an avid networker this shouldn't be much of a problem when it comes time to provide proof of your experience, education and accomplishments. A portfolio of your career should be developed and maintained using all documentation of your career history in order to overcome any problems that could arise in proving any aspects of your career. It should also include your most up-to-date resume which will be based on the contents of your portfolio.
Include documents pertaining to your education including continuing education such as diplomas and certifications. Have any of your past managers sent memos or emails to you or your colleagues mentioning any of your accomplishments? Were your accomplishments published in the company newsletter, local newspaper or a trade magazine? Annual reviews, award certificates, and documents or articles recognizing your contributions to projects and/or business growth are proof of your accomplishments and major contributions. Be sure to clip the articles, print the emails, save the memos and add them to your portfolio.
Document volunteer experience you have gained. Although you didn't receive compensation from volunteer experience, you gained some kind of experience and maybe even recognition for your efforts. Were you able to help an organization overcome a major hurdle that hampered their mission? Did you provide assistance to the members of an organization? Were you instrumental in developing new marketing methods to spread news about the mission? Were you instrumental in the expansion of the organization?
Anything that can document your career history could prove to be valuable in your career advancement or job search. In the event you are unable to make contact with a former manager or provide up-to-date contact information to a potential employer, your career portfolio could serve as a means of proving your value to the potential employer. Don't take your career lightly. Document your career and maintain your portfolio. Your children and children's children will also thank you in years to come because they will have proof of your accomplishments and the mark you made in history, too.
When and How to Say I Just Cant Do It!
We naturally hesitate to tell our boss when we can't do something or are feeling overwhelmed in our job. Bosses don't want to hear that, right? Well, it depends.
In many situations, your boss is so busy that he/she doesn't keep track of how much work you're doing. When your boss gives you a new project, he's not thinking about all the other projects you're already working on.
And here's the kicker -- unless you speak up and tell your boss that you can't handle the workload he's giving you, he'll assume everything is fine.
This can have bad consequences for you AND your boss. You know what will happen. Eventually things will start falling through the cracks or you'll rush through tasks and start making mistakes.
You can only do so much in a day, and deadlines will be missed. While you're stressing out, work that your boss needs you to do is NOT being done.
When this happens, your boss will not appreciate your excuse: "But I had too much to do, I was overloaded with work!" Saying that AFTER the fact will be much worse than telling your boss up front -- before mistakes occur or deadlines are missed -- that you're having trouble with your workload.
It is your responsibility to tell your boss when you are overwhelmed, and there's nothing wrong with doing this.
Of course, you don't want to tell your boss, "I can't do that; I'm too busy." But you can say, "I'll be happy to take that on, but I need your help with prioritizing the other projects you've already given me. Which jobs can I put on hold or delegate to someone else while I work on this new one?"
That's way better than keeping your mouth shut, trying to do too much, and failing miserably.
My Career is in the Doldrums - Do I Need a Coach or a Therapist?
Is Monday the worst day of your week? Can you hardly remember when you enjoyed going to work? Do friends ask why you seem so down? Maybe this has been going on awhile, and you're realizing it's time to do something. But where do you turn? At one moment you tell yourself "It's just my career?Change that, and everything will be OK". Another moment, you acknowledge you're living under a cloud and a lot of old emotional ghosts are returning. Your friend who's recommending you consult her therapist may be right.
Manage Your Boss - And Get Ahead!
It's clear there are a number of common issues faced by business people across totally unrelated industries and environments. This series was created to provide some perspective and guidance to executives as they negotiate their way up the corporate ladder.
5 Simple Rules for A Great Job Interview
Many years ago, when I was a young job-searching greenhorn, I ventured to New York City to take a bite out of the big apple of opportunity.
I Quit!
More and more people are calling it quits to successful careers to create some personal leisure time or to pursue another career. This trend is becoming more popular and common. Years ago few people voluntarily quit a job midway through their careers, no matter how unhappy they were. It was not acceptable to leave one job without having another job to go to. There was a stigma present that you were damaged goods if you did so.
Job Interviews -- The Real Reasons Why You Need to Follow Up
Effective follow-up after a job interview is often a key reason why someone gets a job, even though there are other equally qualified candidates. Many candidates treat follow up as an optional add-on to their job search. That's just not the case.
|
