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Breaking Into the Hospitality Industry Requires the Right Resume

Administrator — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:07:34 +0000

The hospitality industry is wonderfully vast, providing interested job seekers a wide array of professional options. Whether you’re looking to be an executive chef or a hotel accountant, there is something for you to do that you’ll love.

Because there are so many opportunities for employment in hospitality, some think that it’s easier to enter this industry than others. In some respects, this may be true, depending on the field that’s being compared, but overall, you still have to work hard to get your foot in the door and should therefore know a few tricks to help get you started.

Get Ready to Sell Yourself

As an entry-level candidate, you’re competing against other candidates with varying levels of experience. You may be a recent college grad with a couple of summers of internships under your belt—and some wonderful volunteer positions as well.

But if you’re competing against a person who’s had four internships and a paid position during one school year, your competition now looks a bit steep. So how do you sell yourself?

Provide the best of your accomplishments and skills in your resume—while proving that you’re irrefutably dedicated to service. Also, use plenty of action keywords to show that you weren’t simply handed tasks to complete on your jobs. You actually initiated projects and accomplished your own goals, which surpassed the company’s expectations.

List awards you’ve won that prove you were appreciated for your work. And include testimonials from former employers and professors who can vouch for just how outstanding you were.

Don’t Be Ashamed to Start at the Bottom

It’s common in the hospitality industry, like many other fields, to get your start way down on the totem pole. If your goal is to be an executive accountant and you have your accounting degree, you still may end up starting in an entry-level position in accounts payable.

So if you find that you’re getting more employer interest at a lower level, go ahead and send more amazing resumes out at this level to get yourself a job. Be sure to have a resume packed with good qualifications that show that, while you’re not overqualified, you bring skills to the table that others you’re competing against may not yet have.

Then when you’re hired, you’ll be able to impress management with your high-level skills, encouraging them to help you work your way up the corporate ladder.

An exceptional resume authority, Jessica Hernandez and her team of credentialed writers partner with professional- and executive-level candidates to open doors to jobs at prestigious corporations, achieving over a 99% interview-winning success rate.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

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Addressing Gaps In Work Experience On A Job Resume

Administrator — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:02:28 +0000

By Dwight Moore

While many of us have long periods of employment, it is quite possible that those of us will face a situation where we will have to leave the workforce. This may be due to being made redundant, because of a disability, illness, maternity, education, or even a challenging job search. Naturally, this will result in gaps in work experience on a job resume. Anybody reading your work history will not have a way of knowing why there is a space in your professional experience just by reviewing your resume. Therefore you will need to give an explanation to why this is.

Tackling gaps in work experience on a job resume need not be considered as an obstacle in getting the position you want, if dealt with correctly and honestly. The first thing is to explain any unaccounted breaks in your work history. If you don't, it may lead the reader to believe that you have something to hide. Therefore, in order to gain the employer's trust it is very important to justify any gaps in your employment history.

When dealing with gaps in work experience on a job resume, any unaccounted period less than three months does not need to be clarified. A time period as short as this isn't seen as being too out of the ordinary, and often goes unnoticed within a resume. Anything longer than this should be addressed in a cover letter or e-mail. Regardless of what the reasons are for not working, long periods need to be accounted for so as to prevent employers drawing their own conclusions.

Life can be unexpected, and so there will be unavoidable situations where you may have extended absences from working life. Any potential employer will understand if you are honest about these gaps. Being straightforward reduces the likelihood of you having to worry about your references being verified, having background checks or being taken by surprise with certain interview questions.

Try to avoid the temptation to leave out months of your employment from your job details. It is far better to give an explanation when dealing with gaps in work experience on a job resume. Even if you've held jobs that you may consider aren't relevant to your desired career choice, include them anyway. In your cover letter, describe why you've taken on positions outside of your field to an employer. Whatever the reasons are for breaks the in your professional history, it's important that you convey a positive attitude in your cover letter and your resume. While you can't change your work history, always remain positive and demonstrate that you've never lost focus on your career.

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Forgotten Keys to Writing a Resume That Works

Administrator — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:27:16 +0000

By Kurt A Allan

Writing a readable, effective resume is an important first step in getting your next job. Your resume is often the first impression you get to make with a new or prospective employer. The right impression gets you the chance to interview and prove you're right for the job. Give the wrong impression and all you'll get is a rejection letter.

While there are many resume examples, guidance, and advice available in the internet, we wanted to cover just a few of the more forgotten keys to writing an great resume that works.

Highlight What You Want: Instead of having just one resume, you'll likely need several. It's important to customize your resume and cover letter to highlight certain qualifications and experiences that are particularly important to each opening. Instead of cramming every technical acronym, project, and training class into your resume, pick the most important and topical for that job. Highlight the experience and knowledge you have that you want to stand out when your resume is reviewed. Be sure to keep track of each resume to send out to employers so you can bring copies of that particular one with you to your interview.

Have Someone Objective Review: It really is surprising how many resumes have spelling errors, bad grammar, or obvious layout or presentation issues. The problem is that since you're the one who's spent all the time on it and are so close to the work that it's hard to sometimes find and see these types of errors. The easy resolution is to ask someone objective to take some time to do a thorough job of reviewing and critiquing your resume. Having someone spend a few minutes really can make a difference. Remember, your resume is telling them something about you and something about what type of work you will do. Many experienced recruiters cite these type of easy mistakes as the one of the top issues they see with prospective candidates.

Be Honest: While plenty of people try it (as recent news stories have highlighted), falsifying information, facts, or qualifications on your resume is a big mistake. Even if you somehow manage to get past the original screening and gain an interview, it's nearly certain that the people you meet and speak with will see the truth. Remember that the individuals receiving resumes at a company are accustomed to reviewing and screening them, and they will likely check with your references. Resumes with obvious enhancements usually end up being rejected. You'll be glad you represented yourself truthfully when you int he interview room ready and qualified for the job.

Spend just a few minutes to review and utilize these tips when putting together your resume. Take the time to tailor your resume as that first step towards your next job. Good Luck!

Kurt Allan publishes the Minnesota Job Bank HQ, and Unemployment MN to help in your Minnesota job search.

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Doing the Best Resume Writing

Administrator — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:52:25 +0000

By Tony Jacowski

Hiring organizations and human resources departments often receive hundreds of resumes before making any decision on who to hire. The time spent on the profile of a candidate could take less than 10 minutes or even seconds! The key to getting an employer's attention is through proper organization of information. Unorganized resumes tend to become a major mistake made by many job seekers.

On the internet, there are award-winning guides that teach how to write and format a resume and how to come up with one that would look like those written by a professional top-notch writer. It does not necessarily mean to follow every guideline out there such as sticking to one page only or abiding by a common and specific format.

The key to excellent resume writing is to create one that stands out and makes one look superior to other candidates. A well-written resume will eventually attract more prospective employers and invite a candidate to an actual Job Interview so that there is an actual chance to prove the skills written about in the resume. It goes without saying that an interesting job will attract hundreds or thousands of applicants, which translates into competition. A well-written resume will attract attention of the hiring organization or company within seconds. It is the key to get your foot into the door of any organization.

The right Resume will automatically be a 'winning' situation. The winning part is to get the actual interview. In other words, it is an Advertisement and nothing less or more. A candidate has to be convincing in the sense that he or she has everything it takes to be hired for the job when writing it. It should stimulate the reader's interest to want to meet with the candidate to learn more about him/her. The reader will become so interested about it that they might actually pick up the phone right away to ask the candidate for an Interview.

Make sure that it is interesting and attractive when it comes to personal qualifications such as the years of experience, level of education and past experiences. The Candidate has to present him or herself as the right candidate for the position as well as write well professionally, stay organized, show a good design and print on the best quality paper.

A resume is something that a candidate has to give to a potential employer; that can be used as additional information towards an application for a job or it can be an application as a College Graduate. Therefore, a candidate has to come to terms with the fact that a great Resume is the actual key to finding the right Job or Career Change.

Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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Power Verbs…

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:34:35 +0000

By D. Lawton of http://www.CareerConnected.com

When it’s time to assemble your resume or spruce up a cover letter to a potential employer consider adding a few words that will help to create an exciting image of your work experiences in the mind of a potential hiring manager. Don’t just become a needle in the hay stack enhance your presentation with a few the power verbs from the listings below.

A-B

accelerated acclimated accompanied accomplished achieved acquired acted activated actuated adapted added addressed adhered adjusted administered admitted adopted advanced advertised advised advocated aided aired affected allocated altered amended amplified analyzed answered anticipated appointed appraised approached approved arbitrated arranged ascertained asked assembled assigned assumed assessed assisted attained attracted audited augmented authored authorized automated awarded avail balanced bargained borrowed bought broadened budgeted built C

calculated canvassed capitalized captured carried out cast cataloged centralized challenged chaired changed channeled charted checked chose circulated clarified classified cleared closed co-authored cold called collaborated collected combined commissioned committed communicated compared compiled complied completed composed computed conceived conceptualized concluded condensed conducted conferred consolidated constructed consulted contracted contrasted contributed contrived controlled converted convinced coordinated corrected corresponded counseled counted created critiqued cultivated cut

debugged decided decentralized decreased deferred defined delegated delivered demonstrated depreciated described designated designed determined developed devised devoted diagrammed directed disclosed discounted discovered dispatched displayed dissembled distinguished distributed diversified divested documented doubled drafted

earned eased edited effected elected eliminated employed enabled encouraged endorsed enforced engaged engineered enhanced enlarged enriched entered entertained established estimated evaluated examined exceeded exchanged executed exempted exercised expanded expedited explained exposed extended extracted extrapolated

F-H

facilitated familiarized fashioned fielded figured financed fit focused forecasted formalized formed formulated fortified found founded framed fulfilled functioned furnished gained gathered gauged gave generated governed graded granted greeted grouped guided handled headed hired hosted

identified illustrated illuminated implemented improved improvised inaugurated indoctrinated increased incurred induced influenced informed initiated innovated inquired inspected inspired installed instigated instilled instituted instructed insured interfaced interpreted interviewed introduced invented inventoried invested investigated invited involved isolated issued

J-M

joined judged launched lectured led lightened liquidated litigated lobbied localized located maintained managed mapped marketed maximized measured mediated merchandised merged met minimized modeled moderated modernized modified monitored motivated moved multiplied

N-O

named narrated negotiated noticed nurtured observed obtained offered offset opened operated operationalized orchestrated ordered organized oriented originated overhauled oversaw

paid participated passed patterned penalized perceived performed permitted persuaded phased out pinpointed pioneered placed planned polled prepared presented preserved presided prevented priced printed prioritized probed processed procured produced profiled programmed projected promoted promoted prompted proposed proved provided publicized published purchased pursued

Q-R

quantified quoted raised ranked rated reacted read received recommended reconciled recorded recovered recruited rectified redesigned reduced referred refined regained regulated rehabilitated reinforced reinstated rejected related remedied remodeled renegotiated reorganized replaced repaired reported represented requested researched resolved responded restored restructured resulted retained retrieved revamped revealed reversed reviewed revised revitalized rewarded routed

safeguarded salvaged saved scheduled screened secured segmented selected sent separated served serviced settled shaped shortened showed shrank signed simplified sold solved spearheaded specified speculated spoke spread stabilized staffed staged standardized steered stimulated strategized streamlined strengthened stressed structured studied submitted substantiated substituted suggested summarized superseded supervised supplied supported surpassed surveyed synchronized synthesized systematized

T-W

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for a college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

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So … What Did You Actually Do?

Administrator — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:04:13 +0000

When I tell people that I’m a resume writer, some assume that I work with a lot of candidates who need assistance embellishing their resumes. In actuality, this is almost never the case. Many of our clients are highly educated professionals who have so much work experience that they can’t figure out where to start when it comes to writing their resumes. While this is definitely a good problem to have, I see experienced candidates make the same mistake again and again on their resumes. They get so caught up in describing all the facets of their jobs that they forget to explain one very important thing: What do they actually do?

No matter how far your career has progressed, you should be able to succinctly sum up what you do every day for anyone who asks. Furthermore, you should be able to summarize in a sentence or two every position you’ve ever held; and that information should be spelled out on your resume. The bullet points showing your achievements won’t impress anyone until they fundamentally understand the nature of the job you held.

For example, a CFO wouldn’t meet someone at a cocktail party and say, “I structure the overall budget for my company, oversee our compliance with SEC filings, manage the entire internal audit process, and ensure our stock continues to produce a profitable dividend for our shareholders.” He would simply say, “I manage all the financial operations for XYZ company.” Then, if it made sense in the context of the conversation, they would provide more details.

When writing your resume, diving right into the details without offering a summary is equally illogical. Therefore, as you’re outlining your previous history, make sure that you’re offering the reader a very broad summary of the nature and purpose of your position—before you start bombarding them with all your impressive accomplishments!

Jessica has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing.

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Job Search Resolutions

Administrator — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:06:37 +0000

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Every year, people make New Year's resolutions like setting the intention to lose weight or stop smoking. They may join a gym but often by the end of the month, the resolution has been broken and another year passes with little to show for their wish.

I want you to make job search resolutions and goals for yourself whether you are actively looking for a job or not. These goals will not take a lot of time (no more than 15 minutes each) but can pay huge dividends now and for years to come.

1. Every three months, write down what you did during the previous 3 months.

Take 10 minutes to write down what you did that quarter. Doing so will make updating your resume a breeze. It will also make preparing for your performance review easy in case that recently hired manager you now report to questions your accomplishments during the preceeding year.

2. Update your LinkedIn profile

Too often, people only update their LinkedIn profile when they decide to look for a job. But you may miss out on an opportunity because your profile is not up-to-date. Using the information you wrote down from my first resolution; take a few minutes every three months to update your profile. Recruiters are looking for people on LinkedIn aggressively. Make sure you make your role, responsibilities and accomplishments apparent to them by keeping your profile up-to-date.

3. Be nice to recruiters when they contact you.

Are you really that happy with your job that if someone offered you an opportunity to earn more money and do more interesting and challenging work you would treat them like a pariah?

I find it ridiculous that job hunters treat corporate and third party recruiters as poorly as they do.

If one of them reaches you at a bad time, all you have to say is, "This isn't a convenient time; would you call me at . . . and then offer a date and time where you can be available to speak.

4. Do a little networking

Reconnect with someone you've lost touch with or do something to stay in contact with people you know professionally.

Attend a trade conference, a business networking meeting, a trade group, a special interest group meeting . . . something.

Do something to extend your professional reach!

5. Think!

Take time every three months to actually think about how things are actually going and where you want to take yo9ur career.

And, if you are really feeling ambitious.

Take the information that you wrote down about what you did that quarter to update your actual resume so that when an opportunity presents itself, you are ready to submit your resume.

Statistics show that 50% of all positions are filled by individuals whose resumes arrive within the first two weeks of a position being listed. 75% are filled by people whose resumes are submitted in the first month.

You might not even hear about a job right away meaning firms are alrady evaluating a lot of potential employees while you are updating your resume.

Why lose an opportunity through lack of preparedness?

As you can see, almost all of these items require little time from you. More than anything, they require you to schedule an appointment with yourself to do these things.

Put them in your calendar for 2012 today.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been hunting down leaders and staff for organizations for 40 years. His website, www.JeffAltman.com, offers a lot of information about job hunting, tips, articles written for "No B.S. Job Search Advice Ezine, podcasts of his online radio show, "No B.S. Job Search Advice Radio", places to post your resume and more.

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Ideal Government Resumes

Administrator — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:42:06 +0000

By Jason Kay

Applying for a job with the government isn't like applying for a job in the private sector. Of course, there are areas where they cross over (certain requirements are necessary for both types of resumes), but there are certain things that need to be on government resumes in order to get noticed.

Below are the top five necessities that should be on a resume for a government position that must be included to get to the next level of consideration.

#1 - Beyond Personal Information

No...not things like height and weight, of course - but in addition to relevant personal contact information, such as full name, address, email, cell phone, etc., there should be additional information that would not be appropriate on a private sector resume. The applicable job number should be beneath the header, the applicant's country of citizenship, Social Security Number (or applicable identification number), and military status and rank (where applicable).

#2 - A Clear Objective

While it's nice to have an objective stated on a private sector resume, it is a necessity on government resumes. The objective should be written to state the reasons for the applicant's desire for the position, and what he or she would bring to the job in terms of benefits to the workplace. It shouldn't be longer than four sentences. Be concise but cover relevant details.

#3 - Government Experience

This would typically be included within the "job experience" portion of private sector resumes, but with government resumes, it should come before all relevant job experience. It should include the dates worked for the government, the proper department, the supervisor's name and phone number, and highest grade achieved. The rest can read similarly to the job or work experience section of the resume.

#4 - Beyond Work Experience

Most private sector resumes will have this information, but with government resumes, there is some extra information that needs to be included for consideration. The additional information that should be included are the average amount of hours worked per week (38 hours per week, etc.), and the supervisor's contact information.

#5 - References

While most private sector resume advice tells the applicant to simply state "references available upon request," that will not work for government resumes. For government resumes, it is expected that at least three references are included (but no more than five) at the end of the resume. References can be professors, former managers not listed previously, and the like. Include their phone numbers or email addresses for verification.

Naturally, a resume with this much detail (including all the information necessary that would be in a private sector resume) will be longer than one page. This is contrary to the advice given for private sector resumes, but with government ones, it is expected and will not count against the applicant. Including this information is a vital part in getting to the next round of government job considerations.

Jason Kay is a professional resume writer and recommends hiring a professional government resume writer at least once.

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How to Write a Razor-Edge Resume

Administrator — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:17:29 +0000

Job seekers should pay attention on making a resume that stands out over the others because it is your ticket to landing to a job.

By Neoli Marcos

Hmmm.. Razor-edge and résumé in the same sentence. Sounds promising eh?

But really, not too many people who apply for a job write résumés that really has the edge over the others. A résumé, after all, is your marketing device for yourself. It is your billboard in the busy highway of the online job market, lost in a flurry of many other rival-billboards hoping to catch the attention of hiring managers gone discriminating and choosy.

So it makes sense if your job résumé really hits them in the eye, makes them stop in their tracks, and forces them to declare to themselves, hmmm, this person is worth the try. Edgy is good, it stands out from the rest, and goes a stride closer to that golden job opportunity. Blunt and dull, well, they're bad. You do the math.

Ockham's Razor. No, we're not going to ask you to decorate your résumé with glitters or attach a musical greeting card in the interest of being edgy. We're talking Ockham's Razor-edgy here.

In science and philosophy, Ockham's Razor is a rule that can be summed up as “no multiplicity if not necessary.” This means that when there are two competing theories to a phenomenon, we should choose the simplest of the two, since the simplest solution is often the best one. No multiplicity if not necessary.

Okay, okay, before you cry bloody razor and yell what in edge's name has this got to do with a job résumé and job application, we are getting there. In writing that résumé, nothing beats simple. Short and simple is edgy. Razor-sharp, if you will. After all, if you're a hiring manager who has to sift through dozens and dozens of babbling job résumés declaring this and that skills and achievements, you will want something refreshing for a change. You want edgy.

Let's cut to the chase, shall we?

Use standard fonts. Like Arial, Times New Roman. No fancy fonts please. Don't worry about looking like everybody else's résumé. You can express your creativity through some other venue. Like your answers during the job interview. But that's for later.

Use keywords. Such as technologies you are fluent in like C++, Correl, Java, XML, Adobe, Flash, DreamWeaver. Hiring managers are on the lookout for keywords, so highlight and capitalise if you must--whatever makes your résumé easier to read in a glimpse.

List jobs in reverse chronological order. Starting from the most recent.

Use a formal-sounding email address. Preferably with your name in it. It's not reassuring for hiring managers to receive online job applications from emails like icybabylicious@yahoo.com, or imsuchahottie@gmail.com.

Try sending out your résumé to yourself first. Of course, you'll need another email address for this. Go send that job application to yourself. This is so that you'll have an idea of how your résumé will arrive at the hiring manager's inbox. This way, you can edit it again.

Don't send your résumé as an attachment. Instead, paste it on the email's body. You want the hiring manager to immediately see your résumé and give you that job opportunity. Spare them the trouble of downloading attachments.

Name-drop References. Of course, choose relevant people, like past co-employees or former bosses, who can vouch for you and your work attitudes. Sadly, this rules out people like neighbors, bowling buddies, cousins, your kid's friend's parent, etc, even if you're very good friends with them.

Lastly, whatever you do, don't send a résumé that you've created from one of those just-fill-in-the-blanks résumé template. Not only is it cheesy, but it sends a message to the company that you just don't care or have the time at all.

Of course, let's not get carried away with just the résumé. So what if you've got a razor-edge online job résumé. Sure, it's the first step, but certainly not the last in securing that online job opportunity. Your résumé is your ticket, so use it well later in the interview.

Don't just get a job in Australia; get a career opportunity! OzFreeOnline is your user-friendly free job classifieds where it's absolutely free to sign-up and post your resume. Browse all the great job opportunities in Australia and jumpstart your career! At http://jobs.OzFreeOnline.com , you're in demand!

Neoli Marcos is an article contributor for http://jobs.ozfreeonline.com

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44 Resume Writing Tips

Administrator — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:34:27 +0000

by Daniel Scocco

Having a solid and effective resume can greatly improve your chances of landing that dream job. That is beyond discussion. How does one make sure that his resume is top notch and bullet proof, however? There are several websites with tips around the web, but most bring just a handful of them. We wanted to put them all together in a single place, and that is what you will find below: 44 resume writing tips.

1. Know the purpose of your resume

Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look like desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).

2. Back up your qualities and strengths

Instead of creating a long (and boring) list with all your qualities (e.g., disciplined, creative, problem solver) try to connect them with real life and work experiences. In other words, you need to back these qualities and strengths up, else it will appear that you are just trying to inflate things.

3. Make sure to use the right keywords

Most companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital databases to search for candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t have the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts.

These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description and related job ads for a clue on what the employer might be looking for. You can read more about resume keywords on the article Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness.

4. Use effective titles

Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 5 seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will be the titles that you listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the attention. Try to be as descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of your past work experiences. For example:

Bad title: Accounting
Good title: Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping

5. Proofread it twice

It would be difficult to emphasize the importance of proofreading your resume. One small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip. Proofreading it once is not enough, so do it twice, three times or as many as necessary. If you don’t know how to proofread effectively, here are 8 tips that you can use.

6. Use bullet points

No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short sentences to describe your experiences, educational background and professional objectives.

7. Where are you going?

Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need to have a special section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic.

8. Put the most important information first

This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be the most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.

9. Attention to the typography

First of all make sure that your fonts are big enough. The smaller you should go is 11 points, but 12 is probably safer. Do not use capital letters all over the place, remember that your goal is to communicate a message as fast and as clearly as possible. Arial and Times are good choices.

10. Do not include “no kidding” information

There are many people that like to include statements like “Available for interview” or “References available upon request.” If you are sending a resume to a company, it should be a given that you are available for an interview and that you will provide references if requested. Just avoid items that will make the employer think “no kidding!”

11. Explain the benefits of your skills

Merely stating that you can do something will not catch the attention of the employer. If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company, and to connect it to tangible results, then you will greatly improve your chances.

12. Avoid negativity

Do not include information that might sound negative in the eyes of the employer. This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You don’t need to include, for instance, things that you hated about your last company.

13. Achievements instead of responsibilities

Resumes that include a long list of “responsibilities included…” are plain boring, and not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing responsibilities, therefore, describe your professional achievements.

14. No pictures

Sure, we know that you are good looking, but unless you are applying for a job where the physical traits are very important (e.g., modeling, acting and so on), and unless the employer specifically requested it, you should avoid attaching your picture to the resume.

15. Use numbers

This tip is a complement to the 13th one. If you are going to describe your past professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make them as solid as possible. Numbers are your friends here. Don’t merely mention that you increased the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased them by $100,000, by 78%, and so on.

16. One resume for each employer

One of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a standard resume and send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it will save you time, but it will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an interview (so in reality it could even represent a waste of time). Tailor your resume for each employer. The same point applies to your cover letters.

17. Identify the problems of the employer

A good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific employer is to identify what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to understand the market of the company you are applying for a job, and identify what kind of difficulties they might be going through. After that illustrate on your resume how you and your skills would help to solve those problems.

18. Avoid age discrimination

It is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but some employers do these considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble? Unless specifically requested, do not include your age on your resume.

19. You don’t need to list all your work experiences

If you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that are not relevant to the current opportunity, you should just omit them. Mentioning that you used to sell hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not going to help you land that executive position.

20. Go with what you got

If you never had any real working experience, just include your summer jobs or volunteer work. If you don’t have a degree yet, mention the title and the estimated date for completion. As long as those points are relevant to the job in question, it does not matter if they are official or not.

21. Sell your fish

Remember that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you don’t go over the edge, all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume (in its content, design, delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage over the other candidates.

22. Don’t include irrelevant information

Irrelevant information such as political affiliation, religion and sexual preference will not help you. In fact it might even hurt your chances of landing an interview. Just skip it.

23. Use Mr. and Ms. if appropriate

If you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to include the Mr. or Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your gender.

24. No lies, please

Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided. Apart from being wrong, most HR departments do background checks these days, and if you are buster it might ruin your credibility for good.

25. Keep the salary in mind

The image you will create with your resume must match the salary and responsibility level that you are aiming for.

26. Analyze job ads

You will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze no only the ad that you will be applying for, but also those from companies on the same segment or offering related positions. You should be able to identify what profile they are looking for and how the information should be presented.

27. Get someone else to review your resume

Even if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a good idea to get a second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind to our own mistakes or way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good position to evaluate the overall quality of your resume and make appropriate suggestions.

28. One or two pages

The ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most employers and recruiting specialists, however, say that it should contain one or two pages at maximum. Just keep in mind that, provided all the necessary information is there, the shorter your resume, the better.

29. Use action verbs

A very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But what are they? Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more easily, and that will clearly communicate what your experience or achievement were. Examples include managed, coached, enforced and planned. Here you can find a complete list of action verbs divided by skill category.

30. Use a good printer

If you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make sure to use a decent printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain white paper is the preferred one as well.

31. No hobbies

Unless you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy, avoid mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming team, but share it with your friends and not with potential employers.

32. Update your resume regularly

It is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new information that you think is relevant, as well as courses, training programs and other academic qualifications that you might receive along the way. This is the best way to keep track of everything and to make sure that you will not end up sending an obsolete document to the employer.

33. Mention who you worked with

If you have reported or worked with someone that is well known in your industry, it could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same thing applies to presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked executives, add it to the resume.

34. No scattered information

Your resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative impression if you mentioned that one year you were studying drama, and the next you were working as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will include will work towards a unified image. Employers like decided people.

35. Make the design flow with white space

Do not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should make your resume as short and concise as possible, but that refers to the overall amount of information and not to how much text you can pack in a single sheet of paper. White space between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve the legibility of your resume.

36. Lists all your positions

If you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10 years) it could be a good idea to list all the different positions and roles that you had during this time separately. You probably had different responsibilities and developed different skills on each role, so the employer will like to know it.

37. No jargon or slang

It should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang should never be present in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume that the employer will know what you are talking about. Even if you are sending your resume to a company in the same segment, the person who will read it for the first time might not have any technical expertise.

38. Careful with sample resume templates

There are many websites that offer free resume templates. While they can help you to get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy and paste one of the most used ones. You certainly don’t want to look just like any other candidate, do you?

39. Create an email proof formatting

It is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via email to most companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an attachment, you should also have a text version of your resume that does not look disfigured in the body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might get blocked by spam filters, and many people just prefer having the resume on the body of the email itself.

40. Remove your older work experiences

If you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need to have 2 pages of your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with the job at the local coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the last 15 years of your career are enough.

41. No fancy design details

Do not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your resume. Sure, you might think that the little flowers will cheer up the document, but other people might just throw it away at the sight.

42. No pronouns

You resume should not contain the pronouns “I” or “me.” That is how we normally structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about your person, using these pronouns is actually redundant.

43. Don’t forget the basics

The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one).

44. Consider getting professional help

If you are having a hard time to create your resume, or if you are receiving no response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring a professional resume writing service. There are both local and online options are available, and usually the investment will be worth the money.

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