Archive for category Resumes

Are You Letting “Too Much Information” Ruin Your Resume?

Sep 8

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC – GetInterviews.com

Project Finance Analyst, New York, NY

Market Research Analyst, Philadelphia, PA

Junior Trader, Chicago, IL

Chief Operation Officer, Washington, DC

Investment Banking Analyst, Boston, MA

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True or false? Including everything on your resume an employer will need to know about you will help facilitate the hiring process.

While it may sound like a helpful hint, the correct answer is false. In fact, including certain details on your resume can seriously damage your job search. From decreasing your chances of landing an interview to influencing potential salary, “too much information” on a resume can be detrimental for any candidate.

If your resume contains any of the following, you are putting yourself at a major disadvantage right from the beginning:

References

Your professional references should be always be listed in a separate document and provided when requested – and that usually doesn’t happen before the interview. Since the primary function of a resume is to land the interview, sending your references as part of your resume is premature.

Some jobseekers think this is a good way to take advantage of networking opportunities by dropping the name of a reference or two to impress a prospective employer. Your resume is still not the right place to accomplish this. To emphasize your relationship with a professional contact, simply mention it in the cover letter. (Be sure to do so subtly, however. For example, “My former colleague from XYZ Company, Jack Smith, suggested I contact you directly because he felt my skills would be a perfect fit for your organization.”)

Salary History & Requirements

The dinner table isn’t the only place where talking about money is considered rude. A resume should not indicate compensation requirements or salary history. Aside from etiquette, doing so could literally cost you.

If you disclose your bottom line and it’s less than what an employer was willing — or even expecting — to pay you, you’ve just inadvertently volunteered for a pay cut.

Unless a salary requirement is mandatory to apply for a position, do not surrender this important information, or you will risk compromising any leverage you may have in future salary negotiations. When a concrete figure is required to be considered for an opening, this information should be incorporated in your cover letter, not your resume.

If salary history is requested, it typically comes later in the process and should be prepared in a separate document.

Hobbies

Whether you spend your weekends as a Cub Scout Leader or enjoy skydiving in your spare time, extracurricular activities are almost always irrelevant to one’s career, and therefore, do not belong on a resume. Since your resume is a professional piece of communication, reserve the limited space to present only information related to your professional qualifications, and keep leisure activities separate.

There are exceptions, particularly for professionals who engage in outside activities directly related to their jobs. An accountant who serves as treasurer for a local charity, an aspiring gym teacher who volunteers as a soccer coach, and a construction worker who donates his time and skills to building houses for the poor are good examples. When in doubt, if an activity or affiliation doesn’t support your career objective, leave it out. Most employers are only interested in their employees’ after-hours activities when they need staff to work overtime.

Educational Details

For mid- and senior-level professionals, detailed information related to your college years is not necessary. Unless you are a recent college graduate with little career history to offer, keep the emphasis on your professional achievements and the tone at a higher level. Your grade point average and past extracurricular affiliations are far less important than your recent work highlights.

Also be sure to omit your year of graduation unless you finished school in the past 5 years. Though age discrimination is certainly prohibited by law, volunteering your age can never help you.

Reasons for Leaving

Whether your former boss threw you a going away party or had security escort you from the premises, your reasons for leaving any job should be reserved for a job application. They simply don’t belong on your resume regardless of the circumstances. If you wish to have an opportunity to explain a sticky situation like being fired, wait until at least the first interview so you’ve had a chance to make an unbiased first impression.

Overall Content

The most important issue to consider regarding the quantity of information is overall content. Employers do indeed want to know about important work you’ve done throughout your career – but they do not need or even want to know every detail. Summarize your best assets rather than inundating the reader with minutiae. You have literally under a minute to make an impression on a prospective employer, so you must be very careful choosing what content to emphasize.

Nothing will help land your resume in a “no” pile faster than making it too long, too cluttered, and too cumbersome to read.


About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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The Best Resume for a Bad Economy

Aug 25

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

M&A Analyst, New York, NY
Business Associate, Palo Alto, CA
Research & Trading Associate, Cambridge, MA
Business Development Director, Newark, NJ
Associate Analyst, Chicago, IL

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With unemployment at its highest level in more than 25 years, many professionals are out of work for the first time in their careers. Things may look bleak, but for those worrying they will have to go from earning six figures to minimum wage, take heart. Though no one wants to settle for a job that is far below one’s worth, there is good news.

There are some creative strategies a job seeker may consider that will not adversely impact his or her long-term career outlook. In fact, just a few small strategic changes to your resume can instantly increase your job-hunting prospects even in these rough economic times.

Broaden Your Scope

You may have spent your entire career in one industry, but it may be time to also look around for positions in related fields. If you not are willing to settle for anything less than your dream job, go for it — but be willing to wait. For most, especially those already out of work, finding a job as soon as possible is important. That doesn’t necessarily mean you must settle or take a step down. All that’s required is an open mind to consider a comprehensive range of lateral possibilities.

For example, a human resources professional who specializes in recruitment may now branch out into related functions such as employee relations, benefits administration or even generalist positions. A laid-off newspaper copy editor could move away from the struggling newspaper industry and apply his or her skills for technical writing or public relations roles. A real estate sales representative can look into sales positions for other industries by emphasizing his or her transferable skills.

To compete with others who may have had more direct experience, you can level the playing field by highlighting valuable transferable skills on your resume rather than focusing just on specialized experience.

Don’t Get Hung Up on Titles

Instead of seeking out positions based on job title, it may be time to adjust your strategy or you risk limiting your prospects. Concentrate on job descriptions rather than titles. This doesn’t only apply when looking through postings, but also when it comes to branding yourself correctly on a resume.

Rather than listing a very specific job title as your objective, indicate something more general. A more general objective will broaden your appeal to recruiters and hiring managers weeding through resumes.

Don’t Fall Into The Overqualified Pile

You may have far more experience for a position than required, but you still want to be considered for the role. Downplaying your achievements is never advisable, but if you are a job seeker with “too much” experience, simply avoid going back too far on your resume. After all, highlighting accomplishments from 1976 will usually not help you anyway since it is from so long ago. Employers are most interested in your recent experience.

As a bonus, you will avoid another pitfall in the process. Discrimination of any kind is, of course, illegal, but unfortunately, it does happen. As a general rule, there is usually no compelling reason to go beyond 20 years on your resume.

Don’t Agonize Over Employment Gaps

It wasn’t too long ago when a resume reflecting any gaps in employment was taboo. It was thought to raise glaring red flags, implying something amiss in your job history. In a robust economy, it’s understandable for an employer to question why a jobseeker didn’t work for a long stretch of time. But in times like these, an abundance of well-qualified people are out of work through no fault of their own. It is simply reflective of our times.

That’s why there’s really no reason to be overly concerned about gaps in a resume — within reason. If you haven’t worked for six months, it doesn’t really require an explanation these days. If you’ve been out of work three years, that’s a different story. In such cases, it’s usually best to tactfully indicate the reason right on the resume to prevent an employer from speculating.

Minimize “Job Hopping”

In tough economic times, many jobseekers accept temporary assignments or perform consulting work as they search for permanent positions. Such experience is valuable because it not only helps pay the bills, but also demonstrates a strong work ethic and shows you are keeping your skills sharp. However, listing a series of several jobs over a short period of time on your resume could project an inaccurate image of a job hopper to an employer who is just giving your resume a preliminary glance. The best way to present this on your resume is to group consulting work together so you showcase your contributions without giving it too much valuable space, adversely impacting your overall presentation.

There’s little we can do to change the economy, but with the right strategy, your resume can help show your true worth — even in today’s tough job market.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Is Your Resume a Dinosaur?

Aug 11

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Analyst, New York, NY
Marketing Director, Mid Atlantic States
Investment Banking / Private Equity Analyst, New York, NY
Manager – Strategy & Business Development, Washington, DC
Junior Analyst, West Conshohocken, PA

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Think your resume has what it takes to land that dream job? Even if it did 10 years, five years, or even two years ago, think again. As fast as the applicant pool has grown in this fierce job market, the rules of the job hunting game have been transformed.

With many more applicants out there than there are jobs, you not only need to be on par with the competition, you need to stand out in the pack. Setting yourself apart from other qualified applicants is only part of the answer. It’s important that you stand out in a good way.

One of the most valuable ways you can accomplish this is to make sure your resume is fresh and modern. After all, a job hunter’s worst fear is looking like a proverbial dinosaur to prospective employers and recruiters. Since your resume is a representation of you to a recruiter or prospective employer, you certainly don’t want to make a first impression that resonates old-fashioned and outdated.

There are dozens of strategies today’s job seeker must know in order to build a winning resume from scratch, but here are five of the biggest red flags that will instantly make your resume appear antiquated:

1. Obeying a One-Page “Rule”

Many job applicants spend countless hours trying to squeeze a decade or two of valuable experience onto a single sheet of paper. (Sure, you can squeeze more text onto the page by shrinking the font. Would you really want to strain the eyes of the person who holds your resume – and your fate – in his or her hands?)

The trade-off for avoiding the so-called second-page stigma is sacrificing content regarding valuable experience, compromising the overall quality of the resume.

The good news is that the one-page resume no longer rules, as today’s hiring manager is more likely to be scrolling down on a screen than flipping to the next page.

In fact, for experienced professionals a two-page resume is the most common format. There are obvious exceptions, such as recent graduates and entry-level applicants who can easily fit all of their experience on one page without sacrifice. For seasoned pros, however, even three- and four-page resumes are not uncommon and are acceptable today.

Enjoy the flexibility, but still proceed with caution. Keeping content concise is still extremely important and making the right choices about what facts to include and which to leave out still needs to be a key part of your overall strategy.

2. Overstating Your Objective

“Objective: To obtain a position utilizing my skills and background in [fill in your field here]…”

If your resume starts out like this, it’s definitely time for a change! Today’s resumes are much more savvy. Rather than preparing a few mundane lines to express your goal, your objective can be clearly stated in a word or two. All you need to state is the title you are seeking, and let it stand on its own. This not only enhances your presentation, but it makes it easier for recruiters and HR managers to quickly see what position you are targeting.

As a bonus, the space you save can now be applied towards a hard-hitting summary about you to generate a more powerful impact and to showcase what makes you unique. The summary has evolved into a crucial component of the modern resume, so be sure not to neglect this integral section.

3. Skipping the Keyword Section

Keywords are not just recommended; they can make or break your resume, which is why a keyword section (aka the core competency section) is an absolute must. Typically found on the top half of the first page, employers have come to expect to see a list of your areas of expertise.

This not only conveys your skills at a glance to an employer reading it, but it also serves another important function. In today’s technology age, it’s often impossible for prospective employers and human resources personnel to read through hundreds (if not thousands) of resumes in order to weed out the ones they don’t want. Many rely on technology to do it for them, and this is where datamining comes into play.

An increasing number of companies are using computer programs to scan through resumes for preset keywords in order to narrow down the applicant pool. Even if you are qualified for a position, if those all-important keywords are not contained in your resume, you are going to land in the “no” pile before a human being ever lays eyes on it.

Including a keyword section helps optimize your resume for such searches, but that’s only half the battle. Knowing what buzzwords relate to your profession and industry requires research, so be sure to do your homework.

4. Unnecessarily Stating Computer Skills

There are several instances where listing computer skills is absolutely vital. If you are an IT professional, by all means go ahead and include them. If you are applying for a position that involves heavy data entry or specialized computer skills, please list them.

If not, however, there is such a thing as too much information, particularly when it comes to computer skills. Many applicants are under the false notion that listing universal software programs such as Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer is a crucial part of their backgrounds. However, this simply isn’t the case. In fact, Microsoft applications are so universal, listing them is more often than not a waste of space.

For upper-level applicants, it is already inferred that you possess the entry-level technical skills that were needed to successfully rise through the ranks. Listing them would unnecessarily lend your overall presentation a lower-level feel, which you would obviously want to avoid.

5. Referencing References

Just as fairytales conclude with “the end,” resumes at one time had their own last words. You guessed it: “References available upon request.”

Common sense regarding references has prevailed. After all, shouldn’t it go without saying that you are going to provide references if a prospective employer you want to hire you requests them?

Just for the record, references themselves should always be prepared as a separate document. They do not – and never did – belong on the resume itself. Remember, the primary function of a resume is to land an interview, so references are typically not even needed until a later stage in the interviewing process.

Don’t Forget Some of the Classics

Modernizing your resume will show an employer you are a cutting-edge professional as long as you don’t forget two important basics. Top-notch writing and a polished, professional format will forever remain timeless.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Doostang News July 26: How Transferable Skills Acquired in the Classroom can be Valuable to Your Resume

Jul 25

Posted by doostangkaitlin in Advice & Tips, Doostang News, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

Investment Analyst, New York, NY
Director of Technology Services, Nationwide
Associate, San Francisco, CA
Marketing Operations Analyst, Boston, MA
Analyst, Los Angeles, CA

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One of the challenges recent graduates often face is that they have very little work experience.  They leave college armed with all the knowledge and enthusiasm vital to the workplace, but have a much harder time filling up their resume.  The solution?  Focus on transferable skills acquired from the classroom that can be applied to the workplace:

Communication

Classrooms are rife with opportunities for communication.  Any time students collaborate on a project, share their views on an article, or review and peer edit papers, they are engaging in prime communication skills that are ideally suited for the workplace.

Meeting Deadlines

Deadlines are one of the main tenets of college education, and though many college students spend a good chunk of their academic careers procrastinating, the ability to ultimately get things done on time is a sign of a valuable employee.

Multi-tasking

Students may not feel it, but they are excellent multi-taskers.  Any individual who can juggle several classes, sports, activities, and a social life is a person who can bring an equal sense of balance to their busy life in the workplace.

Research

It often seems that the majority of what a student does in college is research.  All of those long hours spent in the library prepare you for research you may have to do on the job.  More than this, the research skills of a recent graduate are probably much more fresh than those of a seasoned employee who hasn’t stepped into the reference section of a library in years.

Adaptability

College years are some of the most shifting, unpredictable years of an individual’s life.  First, that person is uprooted from their home, then they are placed into a foreign environment with many unfamiliar people and are left to fend for themselves, often for the first time in their lives.  Someone who is able to successfully make it out of this situation unscathed can certainly take on the corporate world, learn to adapt to a new office environment and work with peers.


While listing the transferable skills that you acquired at college may not seem as convincing as listing job experience on a resume, hiring managers understand that you are young and haven’t had as much time out in the workforce.  Moreover, they also know that college, in and of itself, is practically a full-time job.  Always remember to focus on what you know and what you’re good at, and take pride in the fact that as an individual new to the working world, you have a fresh, creative, unbiased outlook on the market because that is often what a company is looking for.

Until next time,

The Doostang Team

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Words that Sabotage Your Resume

Jul 21

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Investment Banking Analyst, Los Angeles, CA
Real Estate Analyst, New York, NY
Quantitative Equity Analyst, Boston, MA
Consultant. London, UK
Private Equity Consulting Associate, San Francisco, CA

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Creating a winning executive resume is a feat of strategy involving focus, wording, design, and content selection. To achieve a career marketing document that wins interviews, all areas of the strategy must be on-target and consciously used in the most effective manner. One of the most common mistakes job candidates make when writing their resumes is the mistake of not paying attention to strategy and word selection.

There are actually words that are commonly used on resumes that can have a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of the resume. When most job candidates write their own resumes, they don’t consider word choice because they are primarily worried about getting down the basic information. Verbiage is critical and the wrong word choice can sabotage your resume.

When writing your resume, it is important to consider your audience. The average recruiter and/or hiring manager sees hundreds of resumes from qualified candidates. Resumes begin to look and sound the same to them. Using run-of-the-mill wording only hurts your candidacy because it causes your resume to fade into the pile of hundreds of others rather than standing out. Here are some words and phrases to avoid:

Soft-skill Descriptions

Job seekers feel they need to communicate their soft-skills to the employer because they believe they are the traits that make them unique. There is nothing further from the truth. Soft-skills are claimed by nearly all job candidates and are so common that hiring managers pay no attention to them.

Soft-skill phrases to avoid or severely limit:

  • Excellent communication skills
  • Goal-driven
  • Strong work ethic
  • Multi-tasker
  • Personable presenter
  • Goal-oriented
  • Detail-oriented

Do not bore the reader to tears with these trite, overused and tired phrases. After all no one will write that he/she takes long lunches, is lazy, and argues a lot with peers. Hence, it is much more effective to write description that is action-based and demonstrates these abilities rather than just laying claim to them. For example, rather than just stating you are an “excellent presenter,” you could say something like “Developed and presented 50+ multi-media presentations to C-level prospects resulting in 35 new accounts totaling $300,000 in new revenues.”

Age, Health, Appearance

Many executives have not had to write a resume in years since they’ve either been promoted progressively from within or have been headhunted aggressively by other companies. Now they are facing that scary time warp known as pre-retirement and fear age discrimination. They feel they can counter this perceived hurdle by giving description of their age or health to “prove” they are not ready for the nursing home! Such description can be death to a resume because rather than helping, it significantly hurts. Not only are you playing fast and loose with hiring laws but you just make the issue you are trying to hide stand out in neon letters.

Age, health, appearance phrases to avoid:

  • Young
  • Energetic
  • Youthful
  • Athletic
  • Fit
  • Healthy
  • Professional appearance
  • Mature

I recently saw the following on a resume “Healthy, young-at-heart executive ready to make a difference rather than play golf all day. Trim, fit marathon runner seeks position as National Sales Director.” This person might as well have written “57 year old male terrified of age discrimination and worried that he’ll be passed over for a younger candidate”.

Passive Voice

Many people write in passive voice because that is how we’ve been taught to write “formally” in high school composition and then in freshman college English. It is habit and as a result of the habit, the passive voice is prevalent in self-written resumes. The problem with passive voice, however, is that it is just that – passive! A resume needs to have punch and sparkle and communicate an active, aggressive candidate. Passive voice does not accomplish that.

Indicators of the passive voice:

  • Responsible for
  • Duties included
  • Served as
  • Actions encompassed

Rather than saying “Responsible for management of three direct reports” change it up to “Managed 3 direct reports.” It is a shorter, more direct mode of writing and adds impact to the way the resume reads.

On the flip side, while action verbs are great, don’t overdo it.  Ack! I have actually seen:

  • Smashed numbers through the roof
  • Electrified sales team to produce
  • Pushed close rate by 10%

Myers-Briggs, DISC and other profiles

Many job seekers have gone through personality and style profiles such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the DISC Profile. While the results from these evaluations can be invaluable to the job seeker for evaluating an opportunity in terms of “fit”, employers and recruiters are more interested in performance results. Do not inadvertently “pigeon-hole” yourself by including your profile results in the resume.

Consider your word choice in a resume. A resume is a marketing document for your career just as a brochure is a marketing document for a product or service. Companies put careful thought and consideration into each and every word that goes into marketing copy and you should do the same in your resume. These words stand in your place with the recruiter and need to showcase you in a powerful way.  In a perfect world, these things would not matter, but in the reality of job search today, they matter a great deal.  Be wise — stop and give some thought to the words you choose.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Resume Strategies for Career Changers

Jul 7

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Analyst, New York, NY
Marketing Director, Mid Atlantic States
Investment Banking / Private Equity Analyst, New York, NY
Manager – Strategy & Business Development, Washington, DC
Junior Analyst, West Conshohocken, PA

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Are you considering a change in direction in your career? If so, you are not alone. Economic downturns often result in consideration of new, more lucrative career directions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American will change jobs at least ten times over his/her lifetime and will make a complete career change three times. A thirty-year career with one or two companies is no longer the norm. People move, change jobs, change companies, and change their minds on a regular basis about what they want to do with their working life. Handling that change on the resume can pose a challenge to job seekers.

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen many people who have lost their careers due to the economic situation. Mortgage, real estate, and construction industries have dried up from underneath the professionals who worked in them. As a result, these individuals and professionals in other distressed industries are often seeking to return to a career field in which they previously worked, posing a resume challenge.

Returning to a prior career field creates an organizational problem with the resume, especially if the most recent career field is not well-related to the earlier one. How can you show the employer you have good experience in business analysis, for instance, if the first thing they see on the resume is your experience in mortgage sales? The challenge faced is establishing the focus of the resume from the start. That means a powerful summary and core competencies section right at the top.

A summary is the most important part of the resume. It has to establish the focus of the job search, show how you are qualified for that focus, and engage the reader to read further into the resume. If the summary does not engage the interest of the reader, he/she will not give the rest of the resume the attention needed to clinch the call for an interview. In a career change situation, the summary is even more important because it has to do double duty – persuade the reader to continue reading and set the idea in the mind of the reader the job seeker has the right qualifications, even if they are not exemplified in the most recent employment experience.

The wording of a career-change resume is crucial. Most career fields have similar base functions – customer service, team work, project work, or business sense. Some have similar skills such as sales and customer service; business analysis and financial analysis; or operations and project management. Other career fields are very dissimilar or require licenses, certifications, or specialized training. Regardless whether where you are going is similar to where you are now, the wording of the resume in terms of similar functions, common duties, and supportive accomplishments can help you make that switch.

Additionally, selection of information can make a significant impact on the effectiveness of the career-change resume. Often, the most important factor in information selection is what is excluded from the resume. When making a career change, it is very tempting to “throw in every fact” in hope that it will have some kind of impact in the mind of the reader. Unfortunately, the result tends to be opposite. Too much information overwhelms important facts and the reader has trouble seeing the real qualifications in the “static”.  When constructing the career-change resume, consider information presented to the reader very carefully. You have a limited amount of space to make your argument and you don’t want to waste it with irrelevant information that does not support your goal.

It’s not just what you’ve done in your career; it’s what you’ve achieved. When making a career shift, showing good performance can help you make the jump, even if the performance is not in your new career field. Skills will take you only so far and then it’s more a matter of attitude, drive, and willingness to learn. You can show those traits by demonstrating how you’ve performed well in your career to-date. Employers are more likely to give an opportunity to someone who shows drive than someone who just shows skills on the resume.

Career-change resumes can be challenging to construct. Make sure you understand clearly what the requirements of your target job will be in terms of both hard skills and soft skills. Look at your experience clearly to identify what will transfer well. Identify points of achievement that demonstrate an attitude of ambition. Coalesce all this into a document that sells your performance while showing your transferable skills and you will have a winning career-change resume.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Six Ways You May Be Hurting Your Resume’s Impact

Jun 22

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Hedge Fund Analyst, New York, NY
Consulting Associate, San Francisco, CA
Intern – Private Equity, London, UK
Manager, Los Angeles, CA
Portfolio Analyst – Municipal Bonds, Jersey City, New Jersey

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Scenario: You are unemployed, concerned about paying the mortgage, and trying to find a job. You’ve written your resume and cover letter, spent hours trying to capture what makes you unique. The problem is – it’s not working. You are not getting calls. Perhaps it is time to drop back and examine your resume for some of these common mistakes people make when constructing their own resumes.

  1. You skim the top of information, giving only general ideas of your career roles. You figure a hiring manager reading your resume will know what past jobs entailed simply by reading job titles, right? Wrong! Job titles are not standardized and can vary widely from company to company and even industry to industry. Don’t assume the hiring manager will figure out your past roles. The hiring manager is not going to do any work on your behalf! There are too many applicants in the market to waste time on “maybe” candidates. Give specific details about your roles, quantifying wherever possible. Concentrate on high-level skills and unique experience that will be valuable to the reader.
  2. You fudge details. When nothing is happening for you in your job search, you may be tempted to fudge on your resume to seem more qualified than you really are. Don’t do it! Employers will find out and then you are in even more of a pickle. If you claim a certain skill on your resume, the employer will ask behavioral questions in the interview to elicit the depth of your knowledge. It will be very apparent that you are clueless or don’t have the skill level you claim. Not only will you be eliminated immediately, but you have burned that bridge forever for any possible employment. Don’t lie on your resume – you will be found out.
  3. You don’t proofread. Spell-check is not the end all and certainly does not catch everything wrong in spelling, grammar or formatting. Have someone proofread your resume for you. After spending hours working on the document, you simply will not see your errors.
  4. You give irrelevant information in the resume. Trust me – employers are not interested in the fact you like to fish, read, listen to music, or play hopscotch. Employers are concerned about information related to your experience, your skills, and your ability to do the job. Employers don’t need anything to “break the ice” in an interview. They know how to ease into an interview without having to rely on hobbies or interests from your resume.
  5. You take your work history all the way back to the 70’s. Employers are interested primarily in the most recent ten years experience because that is what is most relevant to their needs today. Detailing your work history for many years longer than the past decade hurts you because the information is not relevant and it can also put an “age stamp” on you.
  6. You don’t include a summary at the beginning. Just like the back of a book cover, the summary tells the reader what is coming and entices him/her to read further into the resume. Leave out the summary and you miss the opportunity to interest the employer.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Doostang News May 31 – What NOT to Include in Your Resume

May 30

Posted by doostangkaitlin in Advice & Tips, Doostang News, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

what-not-to-include-in-a-resume

Analyst / Associate, New York, NY
Business Analyst, SF Bay Area, CA
Private Equity Intern, Chicago, IL
Events Director, Washington, DC
Investment Banking Associate, London, UK

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Putting together a great resume is time consuming, so once you finally send your masterpiece to the company hiring manager, you’d like to think that the little beauty will make it past the resume pile. Fair or unfair, such is not always the case, even if you’ve followed all the rules. Now imagine that your resume violates any of the delicate tenets of acceptable resume writing, and you’ll be out of there before you’ve even had a chance to unwind from hitting the ’send’ button. Read on for a list of things to keep off of the old CV:

Irrelevant Job Experience

It’s difficult to trim great experience that doesn’t necessarily pertain to the job you’re currently applying for.  For one thing, this experience shaped who you are today and you acquired some great skills along the way.  But if there aren’t any transferable skills present, cut it.  It only clutters the resume and makes the valuable stuff harder to find.

Your Entire Work History

You may be proud of the fact that you’ve managed to hold various jobs since the day you turned 16.  While this displays a fabulous work ethic, it clutters your resume yet again.  Your ability to hold a job all through high school and still maintain straight A’s may have impressed the college admissions office, but it’s going to annoy the HR associate reviewing your resume.

Dishonesty

It’s never a good idea to lie about work experience, where you went to school, degrees you have attained, etc., because even though you may feel you’d be able to pull a fast one on the hiring manager, they’ll find out somehow. Believe in yourself and your merits enough to tell the truth and score the job because you actually deserve it.

Photograph

When you are applying to jobs overseas, the policy on including photographs on your resume can differ; but in general it’s wise not to include a head shot, glamour shot, or otherwise.  First of all, companies cannot legally decide to interview or hire a person based on appearance; second of all, many will move past resumes that do include photographs in order to stay on the safe side.  So just don’t do it – if anything, it takes up valuable space that you could be using for something else.

Attitude

It’s reasonable to assume that humor, sarcasm, or some other in-your-face attitude will gain recognition and a second look – heck, maybe you’re such a comedian that they’ll want to bring you in for an interview so that they can meet you face to face!  Wrong.  Businesses are running a serious operation when they’re searching to bring someone else on.  Most won’t have time for your silly jokes.  Instead, save your winning personality for the interview.


Deciding what to put on a resume can be tricky, especially when you’re only allotted a page or two and about 20 seconds of a hiring manager’s time.  Keep it short, succinct, and professional, and you’ll be well on your way to an interview!

Until next time,

The Doostang Team

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Make Your Resume Stand Out in a Crowd

May 5

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

resume-that-stands-outPrivate Equity Analyst, San Francisco, CA
Product Management Analyst, Chicago, IL
Hedge Fund Summer Intern, New York, NY
Business Analyst, Los Angeles, CA
Investment Research Associate, Cambridge, MA

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Everyone knows the economic recession has caused record levels of competition for open positions. Employers are inundated with applications within hours of posting a new job advertisement. When competing against several hundred other applicants, you need to make your resume stand out in the crowd. Consider the following techniques for making that happen.

Avoid resume templates. A resume template is a preset form into which you input information. Using a template means your resume will look like about a million other resumes in the market. Templates also typically use tables to achieve that preset formatting; tables cause significant problems for resume databases and applicant tracking systems when your resume is uploaded. Often, information in the table cannot be read or searched by the database so it is rendered useless. Finally, using a template is like trying to fit a size 12 foot into a size 10 shoe. It can be done but it’s not very useful or effective.

Keep it conservative. You may think a conservative visual style would make your resume blend but that is not true. It makes it more user-friendly. A resume with lots of bells and whistles such as fancy fonts, clip art, highly graphic design, or embedded objects are difficult for employers and hiring managers to manage. You can make your resume distinctive simply by making it look organized, clean, and logical in design.

Bring forth your accomplishments. Most people prepare their resumes without including their achievements. They write down their job responsibilities, get the basic facts of education down, and think those are enough. The resumes that stand out will be those showing accomplishments, achievements, metrics, or results in a prominent manner. Don’t just talk about what you did, but detail what your actions meant to the company or how they were performance highlights.

Don’t reach for just “anything”. It may be tempting to apply for any job you see in the hope of finding any kind of employment. That is a bad strategy. You should be qualified for the positions you are targeting. If you are applying for “anything”, not only are you wasting your time, but also the time of the employer. Employers are looking for well-qualified applicants, and with so many job seekers in the market, they are able to find candidates with excellent qualifications. Employers are wading through hundreds of resumes; it is an overwhelming task for them and generally they are not contacting “maybe” candidates. If you send your resume for any job that catches your fancy, you just add to the “static” in the job market and it accomplishes nothing for you.

Highlight your unique qualities. Everyone has something that makes them uniquely qualified. Sometimes it is a second language or a particular skill. Maybe it is an advanced degree or a special certification. Find what makes you unique and bring that forward. It may be just the “edge” you need to get a bit ahead of the competition. What is not unique are common attributes such as “excellent communication skills” or “detail-oriented”. Every job seeker in the market, all 10 million of them, claims these “soft” skills.

Pay attention to keywords and buzzwords. Regardless to whom you send your resume, it will end up in a database to be stored and searched. For your resume to rank high in resume database searches, it needs to have correct keywords and buzzwords for your industry and function. Resumes with strong content will naturally have these words included as part of the description. If you find few strong keywords in your resume, there is a good chance your resume is weak and won’t perform well in the market.

Your resume and cover letter are your primary marketing methods for finding your next job. They should be as strong and effective as possible. Work to make your resume stand out by paying attention to design, content, and strategy. Your efforts will pay off!

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer

Apr 21

Posted by doostang in Advice & Tips, Job Search, Resumes | View Comments

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

professional-resume-writerInvestment Associate, San Francisco, CA
Compensation Consulting Intern, Boston, MA
M&A Analyst, New York, NY
Business Architect, Los Angeles, CA
Head of Equity Analytics, Hong Kong, China

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One of the most frequent comments we receive from clients is “I haven’t had to write a resume in years”. It’s really not surprising. How many times do you have to conduct an aggressive job search over the course of your lifetime? Not very often. Writing your resume is not something you do everyday like writing emails or memos. It’s a different kind of writing project with specific requirements and a definite sales and marketing twist. Want to know some secrets from a professional resume writer who writes resumes every single day? Read on!

Focus, focus, focus. A great resume is written to position the job seeker for a specific career focus or goal. “Shotgun resumes” – resumes general enough to hit lots of job targets – simply do not work. Employers don’t hire generalists; they hire specialists, especially in a tight economy. Establish your job search focus before beginning the resume. Once you have a clear focus in mind you can decide how to construct the organization of the resume, deducing what information is relevant. Skills, experience, and achievements that support your focus should get highest priority.

Cut until it bleeds. A resume is not a life history; it doesn’t need to be. Employers and recruiters do not want to read about your hobbies, why you left your previous job, or what you did twenty years ago as a young pup. They don’t want to read about the minutia of your day–to–day work like “attended meetings” or “made phone calls”. They will not wade through pages and pages of information that describes every detail and action of your entire career. One of the most important tasks when developing the strategy of a resume is knowing what to exclude in terms of information. Identifying irrelevant information can be very difficult, especially if you are writing about yourself.

Common sense over ego. What are the highlights of your career as you see them? Many people have earned high degrees or industry accolades that don’t really apply for the goal they are seeking. For example, a client has earned a PhD but is currently seeking an interim medical transcription job in order to afford time to care for an aging parent. The PhD is definitely NOT a requirement for medical transcription and may very well scare off potential employers. The smart strategy would be to leave off the high degree and instead focus on her coding training. It is very difficult, however, for that job seeker to “let go” of her doctoral degree emotionally. She worked so hard to attain it! Exercise common sense over emotions when evaluating what to bring forward in the resume.

Stay current. Resume formats, techniques, and strategies change over time. Professional resume writers are constantly upgrading their skills, gaining continuing education, and attending conferences in order to stay on the bleeding edge of their craft. Know what works and what has gone by the wayside when constructing the resume. Understand the impact of technology on the resume and job search.

Get fresh eyes. If you rely on spell–check to proofread your documents, you are relying on a flawed piece of technology for a very important task. The professional writer knows the value of an objective proofreader and will have a “fresh set of eyes” review the document. You should do the same. It is very easy to miss errors spell–check doesn’t find.

Think achievements. Most people can itemize their job duties – things they are “responsible for”. Recognizing their achievements, however, is something different. What makes an employer pick one well-qualified applicant over the next well-qualified applicant? Achievements! How you have succeeded, made a difference, had a positive influence, or changed things for the better are achievements. These things show you are not only a qualified candidate, but you have a track record of good performance.

Highlight a hidden asset. Competition is very tough these days. Is there one thing that could give you an edge? Maybe it is a second language or an unusual skill. A professional resume writer will dig to find that hidden asset in a client’s background. And don’t think “good communication skills” are an asset! Everyone claims to have them not to mention being “detail–oriented”, “energetic”, and “goal–driven”. Steer clear of those trite, overused phrases unless you want to blend into the crowd.


The definition of a professional is “a person who earns a living in an occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs”.  We are all professionals in different things – accounting, social work, technology, etc. The learning curve for writing an effective resume can be pretty steep and often comes at a time when you least expect it – when you are unemployed. These techniques gleaned from the repertoire of a professional resume writer may be helpful. And if you don’t want an amateur writing your resume, seek professional help!

About the Author:


Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 100,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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