Resume Not Getting Results? Here Are A Few Common Mistakes

Resume tips for experienced professionals and new grads

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By Jaime A. Heidel

These days, the job market is incredibly competitive. Former managers with decades of experience are having just as much trouble being offered positions as recent college graduates. If your phone isn’t ringing maybe it’s time to revamp your resume.

Here are a few resume tips to help you stand out from the crowd whether you’re a seasoned professional trying to address being “overqualified” or a new grad just starting out.

Avoid These Common Resume Errors

You’ve spent hours crafting the perfect resume. You’ve formatted it, spell-checked it and even had a few friends give you tips on polishing it to perfection. It looks great! It lists all jobs you’ve had in the past ten years including supervisor names, contact information and duties.

So why isn’t your phone ringing off the hook with interview requests? You’re making one of the most common resume errors: Listing duties instead of accomplishments!

Kelly Donovan, Certified Resume Writer explains it this way:

“The most common problems I see are focusing on job duties instead of specific accomplishments, leaving out important keywords and making the resume too broad instead of targeting it.

A resume should highlight detailed examples of professional achievements, like improving efficiency 25 percent by streamlining a particular process. Most job seekers hesitate to identify specific accomplishments, usually out of modesty, and as a result, their resumes all sound the same as other applicants who have similar qualifications.”

So there you have it. Get specific and your resume will stand out on a desk (or email inbox) of hundreds!

Five Things to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Tailor It
Though it may be tempting in an exhaustive job search to type out one professionally-crafted resume and send it out to all prospective employers, it is very important to tailor your resume by making slight adjustments based on the position you’re applying for.

Focus on Your Accomplishments
As mentioned above, the most common mistake employers see on resumes is a focus on job duties, instead of specific accomplishments. Citing real numbers is a great way to impress a prospective employer and make your resume stand out. Now is not the time to be modest. If you saved the company $3,000 last quarter, mention it. If you devised a new way to improve customer service, let it be known on your resume. Even if you only managed a team of three, showcase these leadership skills.

Short and Concise
Don’t go back more than ten years on a resume. Most HR personnel have only five minutes at best to look skim your resume looking for relevant skills before moving on to the next. If they have to weed through more than one or two pages, they’ll set it down and move on. Be sure to note relevant skills and accomplishments in no more than a few short, easy-to-read sentences.

Good Format
You may think pink resume paper and a fancy font is the best way to capture the attention of a prospective employer. It’s not. Instead, use traditional white or cream-colored resume paper and familiar, easy-to-read font such as Arial or Times New Roman. Double-space between jobs and bold job titles to make skimming easier. If you’re sending your resume in an email, these same rules apply.

Proper Spelling and Grammar
Hitting spell-check is not always the way to ensure your resume is error-free. There are certain words and sentences that won’t be picked by editing software. That’s why it’s important to look it over carefully before submitting or you may end up boasting to the hiring manager that you’re a “1-year-old Marketing Executive” or a “Rabid Typist”. To read more funny examples of resume mistakes, click here. (Just be sure your resume never ends up among them.)

Dressing the Part at Job Fairs

01/15/2013

Curtis Burk -- Job fairs can be your first opportunity to interact one-on-one with employers. But in order to be perceived as a potential job prospect, you need to look and act the part.

Here's what to wear:
Your guide to job fair preparation

Job fairs are a wonderful place to make contact with a multitude of industry professionals. You can meet members of prominent government offices at a DC fair, for example. But in order to be perceived as a potential job prospect, you need to look and act the part. The following is a guide to dressing the part at fairs.

The blazer
While they impart a sense of authority and responsibility in a way that no other article of clothing can batch, wearing a blazer can, unfortunately, be subject to the temperature. If you are attending a Boston fair in January, a blazer is definitely a viable option. And even if you are attending an LA job fair in August, there's always the chance that the venue is well air-conditioned. But nobody likes a sweaty job applicant, so if you feel remotely uncomfortable wearing a blazer, you shouldn't feel bad about taking it off to maintain a polished appearance. Just make sure the rest of your ensemble "works" without the blazer.

The top
Women have a lot more leeway when it comes to clothing in general, so it comes as no surprise that women can wear a number of different tops... underneath a blazer. If, as mentioned above, a blazer is impractical, women will need to try a little harder. Even LA fair attendees shouldn't wear a camisole to a fair. A button-down top is always an option, as is a modest blouse in a neutral color. Men, of course, have it easy -- just wear an ironed button-down top and a conservative tie. Make sure all clothing fits properly, even if this means visiting a tailor before a job. Baggy clothes look sloppy and tight clothes are inappropriate for most professional environments.

The bottom
Men can wear slacks in black or another dark, neutral color. Women may wear trousers or skirts in a neutral color. Make sure skirts are not too short -- they should hit around the knee. If you are attending a Boston fair during the colder months, make sure you wear stockings so you legs don't freeze between your car and the career fair.

The shoes
Wear shoes that are polished and completely unscuffed. Women should limit heel heights to one or two inches.

The extras
Bring several copies of your résumé, carried either in a briefcase or a folder. Bring a legal pad to take notes. And smile -- likeability can go a long way toward getting your foot in the door.

Attend United Career Fairs and meet with hiring companies and their decision makers in a Boston job fair. We are also provide DC job fairs and LA job fairs for job seekers. Set yourself apart from other candidates and enjoy the career of your dreams.
© 2013 Curtis Burk

By the Book By: Joshua Casto

It's important for employees to respect the rules that govern employment, but employers must also do their part by having sensible, clear, and updated polices.

What's it cost? A 2011 Cisco survey showed that 70% of employees broke company IT rules. One third said they didn't understand the rules. Another fifth of them said they expected no consequences or rewards for breaking or following the rules.

There are valid reasons behind your rules and policies. Establish respect for them. Here are a few steps you can use to get your employees to conduct themselves "by the book":

1. Clarify the expectations up front. Introduce the rules in the hiring phase. For existing employees, announce rules and consequences in company meetings. Creating a new rule or enforcing an old one, especially one that's been abused for some time, starts with clarity.

2. Establish the rules' relevance. Explain the reasoning behind your rule, and be prepared to back it up statistically or, at least, anecdotally. Show how the rules are not just arbitrary, but help the company maintain its profits and its brand as well as fairness among employees.

3. Mentor employees throughout the process. The more you explain, illustrate, demonstrate, and model compliance with the rules, the more likely employees are to adhere to them. If you just hand them a document with the rules, they will likely apply their own interpretation to which are necessary and which aren't.

4. Reward Compliance. Your policies should cover the consequences for breaking the rules. But you should be equally prepared to reward compliance. Acknowledge an individual's respect for the rules by thanking him or rewarding him. On a grander scale, you could create positive peer compliance by scheduling celebrations for periods without an infraction and providing doughnuts, pizza, etc.

(Hint: Be sure to use the "platinum" rule for #4. Instead of rewarding others as YOU would want to be rewarded, reward others as THEY would want to be rewarded. A gift card to a coffee shop is useless to someone who doesn't drink coffee. And pizza won't be much good to someone who is on a diet. Know what motivates and is appreciated by those you work with. This will help your acknowledgements go much further.)

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Employers should expect employees to follow the rules. Employees should expect that rules and consequences be clear, relevant, and sensible. Employees also deserve to have the rules explained and modeled by their supervisors.

Someone once said... "We have the means to change the laws we find unjust or onerous. We cannot, as citizens, pick and choose the laws we will or will not obey." - Ronald Regan

___________________________________________________________________________________ The Center for Work Ethic Development 2525 16th Street, Suite 214 Denver, Colorado 80211 United States (303) 433-3243