Tuesday, May 12, 2015


 

1.       DON’T lie on your resume

Many people try to hide employment gaps by changing their true employment dates or they add false educational degrees on their resumes. Prior to the internet age, background checks were more difficult to perform and many companies did not put a good effort in a detail background check. Today with the internet and many companies who offer and specialize in background check services, most companies hiring do background checks. If you lie you risk that job offer; nobody wants a dishonest person working on their team.

2.       DO have your name, address, cell number, and email address

                                  

JAMES “BUTCH” REISER
Atlanta, GA 30519 ♦ Cell (404) 333-9616 ♦ Butch@AllProInterviews.com

 

3.       DON’T use cute/random/shared email addresses

Your email address says a lot about you and sets a stage for your first impression, don’t use non-professional email addresses. I have seen too many email addresses which gives the wrong impression i.e.; “BigMomma@====.com” “BarbiMom@===.com” “DrinkingBud@===.Com”. You get the picture, don’t use these types of email addresses. Today, there are many services that give you free email accounts and unlimited email addresses. You should have a separate email address for your job search so this email box only contains your resume and job search emails. The email address should reflect your name, and if that is taken add your zip code or area code to get unused email address i.e.; “JohnDoe@===.com” “Jdoe@===.com” “JohnDoe11717@===.com”.


4.       DON’T start your resume with an objective paragraph.

Your objective is to get a job!  Not…. “I want to work for a growing financial company as an accountant, that I can grow and ……..”  Start with a Profile Summary of your skills, responsibilities, and accomplishments.

5.       DO use keywords in your resume and cover letter

Keywords are the heart of electronic resumes and job banks. Many employers and recruiters use keywords to search resume databases. The more keywords that you have to match the company’s keyword search the better odds your resume will be viewed. A keyword search will look for words of; skills, knowledge, abilities, personal traits, work experiences and academic requirements. When writing your resume, it is a good idea to precede your key words with an action verb and end each statement with specific facts and figures. Your base resume should contain as many keywords for the position/career you’re looking for as possible. We recommend reviewing about 10 job postings for your position and make a keyword (nuggets) list from each and then you can compile a solid list of words you need to include.


6.       DO list your responsibilities, accomplishments & volunteer work

Write a few sentences for what you were responsible for at each job.  Hint, you can use your old job description or a similar one. For each job include bullet points of successes and accomplishments you achieved on your own or as part of a team.

What were you responsible for and what were the results?

§  Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]

In other words, start each bullet point with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal.

 

 

December 05-January 13: Region Human Resources Manager, Penske Truck Leasing- Responsible for over 2,000 employees and 165 locations, across seven states.  Managed two direct reports, the day to day field HR operations, and a $10k recruiting budget.

·         Delivered 80% positive employee engagement surveys implementing team meetings and shift huddles.

·         Delivered a comprehensive HR training program to educate District Staff on Management 101.

·         Achieved over $1M in savings by successfully collaborating on over 10 Collective Bargaining Agreements.

·         Achieved zero union campaigns while leading the SE Region.

 7.       DO use the present tense of verbs to describe responsibilities in your current job or internship

Use the past tense when describing responsibilities from previous jobs or internships. If you’re unemployed then all your jobs need to be written in past tense.

*Effective Sentence Openers: Achieved, Delivered, Reduced, Saved, Grew, Enhanced, Consolidated, Executed, Managed, Raised, Resolved, Created, Designed, Generated,  Improved, Expanded, Launched, Revised


8.       DON’T use months on your employment dates if you have been out of work a long time.

Keep your resume simple and only use the years that you worked. 2013 – 2014

 9.       DON’T include reasons you left any employment

You will be surprised how many people include on their resume or cover letter reasons why they left or were let go from their jobs. This topic has no place on your resume or cover letter, this only needs to be part of an interview and only when you are asked.


10.       DON’T include on your age on your resume

Height, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, gender, weight, health, race/ethnicity, and social security number. Don’t include information that could be perceived as controversial such as sexual orientation, religion, church affiliations, or political affiliations.

*Facebook- hiring managers will search you on the internet.

*LinkedIn Profile

1.       DON’T include your salary history in your resume or cover letter, unless you are asked to include it in your cover letter

Salary history should only be spoken about if the hiring company brings it up for discussion.

* He/she who mentions a number first loses.  Always ask for the salary range!

 
11.       DO proofread your resume

It can’t be emphasized enough that you need to proofread your resume several times. Spell check is a great tool but many times it autocorrects misspelled words to incorrect words. Read your resume out loud to yourself; even have someone else proofread after you. A hiring manager receiving a resume with typos, misspelled or misused words will most likely place your resume in the no file. You also need to check that your dates and timelines are consistent.

* Read your resume backwards

·         Keep an updated “Career Management Document”. Every 6 months update your responsibilities and accomplishments.

 
12.       DO have a 1 Page Resume

 Times New Roman, 10 point

Why a 1 page resume?

·          All companies look for candidates who can communicate effectively and succinctly.

 The one page resume demonstrates that you can communicate your most important accomplishment this way.

·         No hiring manager wants to wade through 2 pages of “fluff” before he gets to the part he’s looking for: what you’ve done and how well you did it.

·         Your resume is a like an “executive summary”.  The highlights of your career.  It is designed to start a conversation, not finish one. You don’t need to include everything; you’ll be discussing the details in the interview.

 13.       DO use personalized file names

When you save your resume on your PC make sure you name the file with a name that identifies you. For example save your resume in some form with your name and company that you applied to “ResumeJohnDoe.UPS.doc” or “JohnDoeResume.UPS.doc”. This is a professional method and when the recipient receives your resume and saves it in their system they can locate it quickly. You also might want to save it with your name, position title, and company especially if you have several versions of your resume “JohnDoeSalesMgr.UPS”
14.       DO change your Voice Mail Greeting

 Change your voice mail greeting. Make sure it is a greeting in your own voice, short and professional. Again this will help with building a positive impression of you.

*Don’t list your home phone number on your resume.

 
15.       DO tell stories during the interview

 An experienced interviewer will go through your resume line by line.  Be prepared to tell a story about each of your bullet points on your resume. Use “I accomplished…. Instead of we…”

STAR

Situation or Task


Action 


Result

 

 

 

 

 

 

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