February 10, 2009
Resumes
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The one overriding question any employer has when screening a resume is: Should I call this person for an interview? Keep in mind – Getting a call for an interview is the main goal of a resume. It is not to tell your life story or mention every great accomplishment you have ever achieved. The resume is a sales tool, you being the product, with a purpose of effectively representing your qualifications for the position you desire. Plus, it must be concise, as employers look at 120 resumes on average for each position filled in the US. The average resume is looked at for seven seconds.
In order to quickly answer the “big question”, employers usually look for a few answers to other important questions. Here are a few of the main questions a killer resume should address to help ensure a “Yes” response to the key question:
What have you done lately?
One of the main formatting issues with resumes is whether to use a chronological or functional style. The functional style emphasizes impacting positions and experiences while a chronological format lays out positions held, beginning with the most recent. Generally speaking, employers want to know what you have done lately as it is a good indication of your present capabilities. Thus, assuming you have been consistently employed, it is most often best to highlight selling points that maximize your most recent selling benefits.
Do you clearly meet the basic expectations of the position?
It is sad but true, because of the high number of resumes received for many positions, resume screeners are often looking for red flags or reasons to weed people out of the prospect pile. This means for you that one key of a good resume is avoid red flags and clearly demonstrate your basic qualifications for the position. Offering a summary of qualifications as the introduction section to a resume is often a great way to state in 2-3 sentences how your qualifications line up with the expectations of the position. This summary can then stand alone or give reason to the screener to keep reading. The killer cover letter should essentially carry forward with this summary of qualification.
What make you a leading candidate?
Getting a resume screener to consider this question usually relies on successful responses to the other questions mentioned. If you can intrigue the resume screener enough from the other features addressed that they skim through your experiences, you have already accomplished much. Now, you want to clearly show them, through accomplishment-driven selling points (measured if possible), who you are capable of performing the required tasks at a high level. If you do this, you are likely assured a phone call.
February 10, 2009
Resumes
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Most job seekers by now understand the necessity of a resume while conducting a job search. However, many do not realize how important a cover letter is to the process. How important is it? Many human resources professionals say the cover letter can have as much, if not more impact on whether or not a candidate is granted a job interview.
A cover letter is a job candidate’s opening to present his best marketing and sales pitch. Sure, a resume is vital and outlines your qualifications. A cover letter, though, is your chance to sell yourself on the most vital characteristics desired by the company and the position you seek. In essence, it is your statement as to why you must be concerned as a possible best match for the position.
The problem for many is that if a job posting does not specifically state that a cover letter is requested, they do not send one. This is a big mistake. In fact, at times, this is a test or prescreening step by the employer. There are many stories of people who have been told they either received or did not receive an interview based on their submission, or lack thereof, a cover letter.
Even people who do submit cover letters when requested by employers often fail to understand the seriousness of this personal sales tool. Some throw together a quick, meaningless paragraph. This not only does not make use of the cover letter opportunity, but often leaves the resume without review.
An effective cover letter must answer key questions that an employer asks him or herself before considering inviting you for a job interview. These include: Why are you interested in the position? Why are you a good fit for the position? Why is this position right for you? Why is now a good time for you to move into this position?
February 10, 2009
Resumes
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While many job seekers now understand the relevance of a good resume to the process of getting a job, there is still some uncertainty as to what exactly makes a good resume. The first basic thing people need to understand about a resume’s purpose is that it has one – to get you an interview.
The resume is a sales tool designed to sell your qualifications impressively enough to make a desired employer want to interview you. Thus, it is crucial that the resume be a concise, but high impact document with quality selling points. It does not and should not be used to say everything about you as that can become overwhelming to employers who are already overwhelmed by the average 120 resumes they see for each position.
So what makes a resume effective at accomplishing this purpose of helping you get the job interview? There are limitless details and fine points that could be mentioned, but for our purposes, let’s focus on a couple key factors that help a resume sell, but that are often misunderstood by job prospects:
1) A resume can only be one page – Do not misunderstand the point here. Concise resumes are required. However, in today’s human resources environment, it is perfectly acceptable for experienced or senior level job applicants to have a resume that extends to two pages. Using two pages is only recommended when the content fills two pages completely, and when it is impacting enough to justify a second page. It is certainly better to offer one high impact resume page than two mediocre pages. Also, keep in mind that while you might have two good pages, a quick resume screen may only allow an employer to skim through the first page. Therefore, make the first page the most recent and the most beneficial.
2) Presentation does matter – This is an extremely important point that is widely undervalued by job applicants, and often in resume service providers. The aesthetic appeal of your resume, including proper use of margins, white space, line spacing, and more, can make the difference between an effective resume sell and a resume that gets tossed. If a busy executive is sorting through a pile of resumes, one that has used brute force to cram tons of content into one page might be too overwhelming at first glance to even justify a read. Do not let your resume get thrown out because it is scary to look at!
