On Writing a Very Effective Resume
Once upon a time, you applied for afterschool/weekend jobs at McDonald’s or the local Cinema and filled out an easy one-page sheet of past job addresses, references and dates. Times have changed! Now you are expected to fill in your roles, responsibilities and achievements at your past jobs. You’ll need to explain any absences or lapses in work. You need to pick and choose which stories to tell, worry about formatting, spell everything flawlessly and come up with a winning cover letter that best states your desires and your talents. Resume writing can be daunting, but you will need this skill when you apply for internship programs and entry level jobs. Here are some of the biggest pet peeves human resources managers have when it comes to resumes. If you avoid them and follow these great tips, you’ll be on your way to career path success!
John Logan is a human resources manager for the ZS Associates management-consulting firm in Princeton, N.J. and he shares some resume writing tips to help job seekers stand out from the pack. “I find that most resumes do not provide enough details for me to understand the scope of the candidate’s work,” Logan complains. He says that a good resume will detail specifics, such as the number of people supervised, the size of a project budget, sales figures or the estimated cost savings. “Anytime you can quantify your accomplishments, you give them more credibility,” explains Brian Howell from The QWorks Group. Some estimates say that at least 40% of your bullet points should have measurable metrics in them. Think in terms of comparative sales volume, the number of people you hired or led, the amount of money you saved, your success in completing projects based on goals, revenue-generating initiatives, process improvement and cost containment.
With so many job applicants these days, many larger corporations are running resumes through keyword-searchable computer databases to weed out some individuals. “Job-seekers should know the key skills and software packages and list them as appropriate,” says John Logan. However, he carefully adds that using the right keywords “will get a candidate into the search pool” but will not necessarily get them the job. “There is still some art in the employment process,” he says, adding that employers will personally go over their final applicant pool in some detail. In your resume writing, you should list computer programs, action words and nouns that are important to your industry. Often, reading job descriptions in your field for some time will give you a clue as to what employers are looking for. Ultimately, the entry level jobs will be given to those who know what employers want.
There are certain resume writing pet peeves in HR offices that, if found, will send your resume to the waste basket before your star achievements are even read. For starters, misspelled words, typos and poor grammar will kill any chance of getting the job. Secondly, staff managers do not want to see exhaustive paragraphs of text, so keep it in bullet format. Thirdly, do not use copious acronyms or industry-specific jargon that no one can decipher. Additionally, don’t use over-inflated “puffy” language, like saying you are “the winner of many awards” or an “inspirational leader.” Lastly, do not use first or third person in your writing; stick to omitted pronouns and active verbs instead. Whether you’re after a paid internship or full-time position, you’ll be able to get ahead using these resume tips.
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