Resume Tips | FreshGigs.ca - Part 2

Tag Archives: Resume Tips

How To Spruce Up Your Resume in 7 Minutes Flat

Resume-Make-Over-Tips

Okay, I lied, maybe not in 7 minutes. But you can still get some good pointers here on how to update your resume quickly, efficiently, and methodically, so that you can meet a deadline to apply to an exciting job opening you just saw in Freshgigs.ca.

Below is a checklist you should follow when updating your resume:

Most job applicants have a section right at the top of their resumes which succinctly describes their professional profile. It’s the first thing that employers zero-in on, and it is, in my opinion, a critical aspect of your resume because it encapsulates who you are as a job applicant, and what you offer to the employer. It’s your “calling card,” if you will.

1. Make sure you have updated your current title.

If you’ve recently had a change in job title, make sure you use your current title. You will also need to refer to your promotion: Under the resume heading of “job responsibilities,” you can state that you were promoted from one position (e.g. Sales Representative) to another (e.g. Regional Sales Manager). Indicate the date that you were promoted.

If you’ve had multiple promotions, you can set them out in this way:

Job Responsibilities:

  • Promoted from Sales Representative to Regional Sales Manager (Dec. 2013)
  • Promoted from Assistant Sales Representative to Senior Sales Representative (March 2010)

2. Make sure you have updated your current job responsibilities.

If your department has given you more job responsibilities and duties, ensure this is reflected in your resume. Delete job responsibilities that you no longer handle.

If you’ve had a promotion, list out your most current job responsibilities and duties, and remove the jobs that you used to do in your former position.

3. Add in any recent training, certifications, and degrees you may have attained.

Job applicants often forget to update their training and professional development in their resume. But these things are important because they contribute to your credentials and qualifications. Even weekend and evening courses and in-house training seminars are important, especially if they cover a subject that’s relevant to the prospective employer’s business. Continue reading →

5 Deadly Resume Pitfalls to Avoid

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There are more options than ever to make further your career via your online presence through social sites, professional site profiles and digital portfolios. But, don’t count out the good old resume as your most effective tool. It is the foundation, after all, of your career story. Well done, It can get your foot in the door for an interview.

Poorly done, however, and it gets thrown in the “circular file” without a second glance. Let’s take a look at some of the common issues discussed in 9 Glaring Resume Mistakes Not to Make that will earn your resume a trip to the recycle bin.

Leaving out clear dates is a red flag, no matter how you try to cover it up.

1. Grammar Errors and Typos

Employers do notice those your/you’re or there/their/they’re errors. They do notice when you choose to overuse commas or just forego punctuation almost entirely. They definitely notice when you misspell words.

“There’s no room for sloppiness. According to a 2013 CareerBuilder survey, 58% of employers identified resumes with typos as one of the top mistakes that led them to automatically dismiss a candidate,” says article author Christine Jyoti.

The best solution is to have someone go over your resume before you send it out. Spell check will not catch everything, so be sure to read over everything carefully.

2. Submitting Incorrect Information

It goes without saying that getting your own phone number wrong on your resume does not put you in a positive light. Wrong job titles, dates of employment or contact information is a red flag. At best, it makes you look sloppy. At worst, it might appear like you were intentionally trying to mislead employers. Continue reading →

Cover Letter Tips to Make You Shine

CV-Photo

Your CV is so much more than just a record of your work-related experience. It is the stepping stone to opportunity. According to Forbes.com contributor Kerry Hannon, in Want an Unbeatable Resume? Read These Tips From a Top Recruiter, the average resume is looked at for less than 10 seconds. Because of this, it has to really pack a punch on several levels. Natasha Le Moine, Researcher at Oasis HR sees hundreds or CVs every day and shared her tips to successfully promoting yourself in her article, 10 Top Tips for Successfully Selling yourself with your CV.

Resist the urge to exaggerate your experience or skills on your CV. Sure it might look good on paper, but what do you do if you get an actual interview?

Back to Basics

You’ve heard all of this before, but it can’t be stressed enough. You have seconds to make an impression and a cluttered CV full of errors is the nail in your job-hunt coffin. Here are a few tips:

  1. Using lists and bullet points to make it easy to identify key details. Check out How to Ensure A Recruiter Reads Your CV, for tips on how to present your information.
  2. Keep style (font, color, etc.) consistent and professional.

“Avoid the fancy-schmancy layout, font, and other special effects. Stick to traditional font of Times New Roman, 9 to 12 point size, and black type against a white paper. You might try a different type size for your name and the companies you have worked for, perhaps your title. But try to be consistent. Go easy on boldface type, italics and underlining,” says Hannon.

  1. Eliminate spelling and grammar errors. Don’t ruin your chances before you even get a foot in the door. Employers consider these errors as a sign of unprofessionalism.
  2. Don’t use a personal photo. Let your skills do the talking.
  3. Regularly update your CV. Make sure your most-recent achievements are telling your story.
  4. Save it as a PDF or word document only, according to Resume Tips from Recruiters.

Let your personality shine

Including relevant interests, certifications and hobbies gives recruiters an idea if you are right for the culture of a business or organization. Continue reading →

How To Transform Your Resume Into An Interview-Getting Machine

Resume-Writing

If you haven’t heard the inside story on hiring yet, you’re in for a couple of surprises. Ready for your first shock? Your resume is not about you – it’s about your prospective employer. Sounds crazy, right? Stick with me. I’ll explain what I mean and show you how to turn your resume into the interview-getting machine it should be.

Inside Information On The Hiring Process

Understanding what’s going on behind the scenes will explain why your resume may need a makeover. The job postings you see are the result of many hours, perhaps weeks, of deliberations by the employer. Do we really need to hire another person? Do we have enough work lined up so the department will hit its objectives even with the added cost of a new hire? Who will train the new person? Are there vacations or peak production times we need to avoid that will impact when the job ad is published?

The average time spent screening a resume is 5 to 7 seconds.

76% of resumes will be ignored when the email address is unprofessional.

The answers to their questions help them decide when to hire and they also lead directly into creating a list of skills the new hire needs to possess. It’s important for you to know that comparing this list of competencies with resumes as they come in will eliminate 80% to 90% of applicants. Here’s what that means for you: the degree to which your resume reflects the skills they’re looking for will determine whether your application goes in the maybe pile or the no-thank-you pile. Continue reading →

How to Get Hired (And How Not To)

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The job seeker and the hirer have common goals. One wants to gain employment; one has the ability to grant employment. In theory, the hiring transaction should go off without a hitch. In reality, however, even though the goals of both parties are the same there can be a disconnect.

Why? In this article, I find the fault mainly in the job seeker. The job seeker is the proactive party; the one expected to polish, approach, and convince the hirer that they’re the right candidate for the job. The hirer is simply expected to entertain and evaluate the job seeker.

Like speed dating or handing out business cards at a typical networking event, a lack of personal attention almost guarantees that a genuine connection won’t be made.

It stands to reason that the job seeker would put in a ton of effort in order to give themselves the best chance to get hired. In practice, however, this isn’t always the case.

The following are some of the most common, yet also most ineffective, approaches job seekers use in their quest to get hired.

Typical Ineffective Job Seeker Strategies

1. Blasting Out Applications in Bulk Continue reading →

Why a Resume Isn’t Enough Anymore and What To Do About It

Resume-Writing-Tips

Resumé: ‘a brief account of one’s professional or work experience and qualifications, often submitted with an employment application’

The resumé is an integral part of today’s business world and absolutely an expectation of anyone seeking employment. The resumé-writing industry itself is chock full of self-help books, interactive seminars, and courses in schools all over the world. A resumé is non-negotiable. But it wasn’t always this way, and I believe it won’t always be this way either.

From the days of Leonardo da Vinci to broadband Internet access today, the resumé has grown and evolved. With the new medium of the Internet, the resumé stands to change again.

From the days of Leonardo da Vinci to broadband Internet access today, the resumé has grown and evolved. With the new medium of the Internet, the resumé stands to change again.

A Brief History of the Resumé

  • Leonardo da Vinci wrote the first recorded resumé in 1482.
  • The word resumé was first used to describe a letter of introduction.
  • In the early 1900’s resumés were a very informal and non-required process.
  • In the 1940’s resumés included height, age, weight, marital status, and religion.
  • The 1950’s saw resumés become expected in the workplace.
  • The 1970’s saw more professionally designed and sales oriented resumés.
  • The 1990’s saw the Internet, Monster.com, and email change the resumé landscape.

Resumés are now flown around the world millions of times a day, delivered in mailboxes, inboxes, online job sites like FreshGigs.ca, company websites, and in person. Resumés are truly a staple of the job economy. Continue reading →

7 Ways To Make Your Resume Stand Out

One of the most important tools in any job hunter’s arsenal is his or her resume. An excellent resume can be your foot in the door to the opportunity you’ve been looking for. We’ll go over 7 ways you can make your resume stand out from the pack and get you the interview you deserve.

Keep It Short
Many people feel obligated to go on at great length about their accomplishments and experience in their resume. There’s nothing wrong with this, but bear in mind that your employer-to-be is likely reading many resumes like your own, and won’t spend much time with any. So keep it to one page. Move the margins out to .5″ on every side, leave as little white space as you can, and leave off any information that isn’t engaging.

Know Your Audience
Try not to have a generalized, catch-all resume. Create a template for yourself, and adapt to what the particular employer you’re sending it to might need to know. Remember, the resume isn’t intended to get you the job, just the interview. If some of your experience isn’t relevant to the employer who’s looking at it, replace it.

Emphasize Your Name
The title of a book is the biggest part of the cover. Your name is the title of your resume, and it should be the biggest part. Put it in 16 or 18 point font, and make it bold.

Use The Four-Section Rule
There are four general sections to a resume: education, experience, skills, and a section about you. There ought to be equal page space to devoted to each, and these can be broken into subsections. This leads into our next pointer.

Use Accurate Section Headings
Some creativity is called for here. For example, unless your entire employment history is on the resume, a section called “Work History” is misleading. Use something like “Relevant Professional Experience.” This logic applies to sections like “Skills” or “Abilities” as well.

Bullet Lists For Each Job
Bullet lists are an eye-catching way to display your work experiences. A great, easy formula is no more than 4 or 5 bullets for any given job, and each bullet should have 3 elements: a strong action verb, the name of the task itself, and specific details such as when, where, and who.

Compare Your Work
The best way to learn what works is to find out what others have done. Looking at a large, quality database of sample resumes, such as ResumeIndex.com, can teach you a lot about formatting and style.

If you use these simple tips, employers will swear your resume leaps out at them. You’ll see great results for not much work on your end!

—

Erik Lawson is a master’s level career counselor. He is internationally certified as a Career Management Practitioner (CMP) by the Institute for Career Certification International and has been recognized as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) through the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Your Years of Experience Don’t Matter Anymore?

How important is experience when you’re going after a job or landing a project?

Most employers ask that you have 3, 5, 7, 10 years of experience.

What if you only have 1 or 2 years? Should you still apply for the job?

According the book Rework (I’ll be sharing some interesting tid-bits from it) once someone has 6 months on the job they should have enough “experience” to understand what needs to be done.

After the 6 months, it’s not how much or how long they’ve worked that is important, but rather how good of a job they’re doing at it.

John has 10 years experience but he’s slow at his work and takes too many breaks.

Jen has a year of experience. She’s a real go-getter and works not just hard, but smart too.

Who do you want on your team?

What will it be?

Time in or Results out?