Posted in Career Advice Economic Crisis Job Hunting Recommended Resources Resumes on February 20, 2009 at 12:30 am
It’s Friday! Today I’m happy to share a guest post from Lauren Randa Hasson, better known as the Résumé Girl. Lauren has great energy, great tips and a great blog. If you’re a college student or recent grad looking for resume help, check out her services. (She even offers a free initial consultation. Take advantage!)
After writing a recent post about resumes, I wanted to share advice from an expert on the topic. Lauren was gracious enough to provide a guest post with 10 tips designed to help you improve your resume — a crucial element of finding a job in the current economy. Over to you, Lauren…
Resume Tips for a Bad Economy
Résumé writing in a bad economy means taking extra steps to make sure you get noticed. Sending out more résumés does not necessarily improve your chances. But submitting résumés that are well written could mean the difference between getting the job or not. Here are The Résumé Girl’s top ten tips for résumé writing in a bad economy:
Tip #1: Include a List of Your Qualifications Right Up Front
Tell the reader who you are and what you want right away. Don’t make them search your résumé for this information because, unfortunately, they won’t. They’ll move on to the next. In the first section of your résumé, reiterate the key points in your cover letter. Be specific as to the kind of position you’re looking for. After all, they will only spend a few seconds with your résumé. Do them a favor and give them a cheat sheet.
Tip #2: Customize Your Section Headings for the Position
It might sound tedious, but customizing the section headings of your résumé is a great way to highlight the relevance of your résumé for the reader. For example, instead of writing “Work Experience,” tailor it to the job you’re applying for by highlighting the type of experience it is, like “Public Relations Experience.” If you do, even the busiest reader will take notice! You can also use this method to highlight your different levels of relevant experience. For example, you can list your “In-House Experience” separately from your “Agency Experience.”
Tip #3: List Your Most Relevant Qualifications First
Many jobseekers believe that their work experience needs to be listed in chronological order. However, listing your most relevant qualifications first will keep the reader from getting bogged down with filler information that doesn’t apply to the position and catch their eye. If you don’t have any relevant experience, put your education immediately following your summary of qualifications.
Tip #4: Include Only Your Most Relevant Experiences
Depending on the position you’re looking for, you probably have past work experience that doesn’t apply to the targeted position. It’s tempting to include all of your work experience, whether it’s relevant or not. But including only your most relevant work experience shows the reader that you’re clearly qualified for the position. You only need to include irrelevant work experience if it’s the only experience you have.
Tip #5: Consider Emphasizing the Position Title Instead of the Organization
Big name organizations look great on a résumé and are sure to impress any reader. But if you’ve had a great, relevant position at an organization that’s a little more obscure, consider highlighting the position rather than the company name. After all, you can develop fantastic skills without working at a Fortune 500 company. However, if you have worked for a high profile firm or organization, definitely list the company name before the position title.
Tip #6: Describe the Experiences that are Most Relevant to the Targeted Position
You might think that you need to devote the majority of your résumé to the experience where you spent most of your time. However, this is yet another résumé myth. When writing a résumé in a bad economy, I recommend using the 80/20 rule: if 20% of your experience is relevant to the desired position, use 80% of your résumé to discuss it. Even if it was for only a short time, describe your relevant experience in detail. Use the majority of your résumé space to paint a picture of that experience for your reader.
Tip #7: Use Action Verbs to Describe Your Experience in Detail
Using action verbs to describe your experience will show the reader just how skilled you really are. For example, instead of writing, “responsible for” certain duties, explain exactly what those duties were. “Organized, planned, and coordinated corporate events and conventions,” for example, gives the reader a clear idea of how you spent your time in this position and enables them to ask you specific, targeted questions in an interview.
Tip #8: Sell the Résumé in a Custom Cover Letter
The cover letter is your chance to shine and tell the reader about yourself. It’s also the place to explain why and how you are perfect for that specific position. Use the cover letter as an opportunity to tailor your application to the individual organization and position. Tell them why you want to work for them and what you can bring to the table in a way that’s direct and concise.
Tip #9: Send the Résumé and Cover Letter in Separate PDF Files
Sending the résumé and cover letter in separate PDF files accomplishes two important things. When the two items are in separate documents, the reader won’t have to scroll through your résumé or cover letter to find the information they are looking for. It will save them time and hold their interest. Also, the vast majority of résumés have formatting issues and highlighted misspellings. A PDF file will ensure that your résumé functions properly without software or translation issues.
Tip #10: Consider Investing in the Services of a Professional Résumé Writer
In this competitive market, your résumé needs to be in top shape. Because you can’t go back in time and change your experience, education or skills, you need to highlight the best of your abilities in your résumé. A professional résumé writer knows how to do just that. They can emphasize your best assets quickly and clearly in your résumé and their objective perception of your skills and background are also beneficial in describing your strengths with more clarity.
Most of all, a professional résumé writer can help you get the job fast which means money in the bank. The money invested in a professional résumé writer can get you closer to a regular paycheck.
The job market is tougher than ever. But all is not lost. With a few skillful tweaks to your résumé and cover letter with the help of a professional résumé writer, you can find professional success and beat the odds in this challenging economy.
Click here to visit the Résumé Girl blog.
Tags: Career Advice, Job Hunting, job search, resume
You really hit just about everything in your wonderful post.
The one thing I’d add would be . . .
Tip #11: Carefully research the employer and the position before submitting your resume. Do everything you can to figure out exactly what they’re looking for the position to accomplish. Then, once you’re sure of the 3 – 5 most important goals they have for the position, tailor your resume to show that you’ve already accomplished those goals in your past positions.
If you haven’t met those precise goals at previous companies, select similar accomplishments and highlight those. The employer needs to believe that you have what it takes to meet their needs. You’ve got to show them you can meet those needs, so research your butt off to figure out what those needs are.
Good luck!
[...] From The Resume Girl, on Lindsay Pollak’s blog – Resume Tips for a Bad Economy [...]
Customization of resume is an art that does not come easily to every jobseeker.
Then there is a science of customization which converts a plain text resume into
8 graphs, online / automatically / instantly.
If the main goal of a resume is to capture the attention of the recruiters and it’s
secondary goal is to motivate the recruiters to read it long enough to interpret the
jobseeker’s story, then you will appreciate what http://www.CustomizeResume.com can
do for your career.
To impress the recruiters, what you need is a graphical / visual / analytical presentation.
Regards
Hemen parekh
hcp@recruitguru.com
Mumbai – India
I enjoyed your article and agree with all of the items, however the last one (10) was the most important one. Most of the people we work with at CAUM here in Chicago have abysmally horrid resumes and some look like a 5th grader wrote them.
More and more companies are getting more and more web savvy and using blogs and social networking more and more. People should go out to their networking sites and make sure their content posted is appropriate and professional. We had a couple of people that had their job offers rescinded after the HR department found some unfavorable content on both Facebook and My Space.
The one you should have added I think is BLOGS! Blogs can be great exposure for virtually anyone, yet certain careers are more blog inclined than others.
For most traditional jobs (engineer, accountant, attorney, etc.) there is no substitute for a traditional resume.
Our non-profit organization recommends people get a “real” resume to augment their blog or website.
Our non-profit organization uses a great service that also sets people up with their own blog for promotion. This is not advertised on their website, yet this is a service they do for us and I think they do it for anyone asking for it. We thought this was very original, as none of the resume services we had contracted with in the past have offered any blog assistance.
For info on getting a traditional resume and your own custom blog, go to Career Path Resume.
Please mention that you heard about them from the Community For Advancing Urban Minorities (CAUM).
Excellent post you have here Lindsey! I’d never thought you would add item #10 but yes a professional resume writer does give a job seeker that significant advantage. And especially in this times of economic downturn, the job market has been more competitive than ever and investing in a resume writer is a worthwhile move.
Hi, that is a very information article, and a lovely read, I have shared it on my forums for my users too, so thanks alot. I have also written an article with 102 tips for a good resume, although its not resume specific, I think it will be of great help too!
http://www.australiaworks.com.au/resume-tips/102-steps-to-the-perfect-resume-995/
Hi,
A very smart and diplomatic answer. It is really appreciable and generous
Gracia
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[...] From The Resume Girl, on Lindsay Pollak’s blog – Resume Tips for a Bad Economy [...]
[...] Guest Post: Résumé Tips for a Bad Economy | Lindsey Pollak Blog [...]
Common Sense Career Advice: Update Your Resume Just In Case…
By
Ramon Greenwood
Those who are committed to achieving career success know that it is a good idea to maintain an up to date resume.
There are at least four benefits to be gained by following this practice.
1. Maintaining your resume on a continuing basis means you can work free of undue pressure to produce the best possible, most persuasive documents that the facts justify and your ambitions require.
The same goes for a letter to present your resume to prospective employers.
Anticipating your need for a presentation package, you will have time to get someone you trust to review these documents for content and typos and errors.
2. Such documents provide an opportunity to revisit the career goals you have, so you can determine if the career path you are on will satisfy your ambitions?
You will be enabled to answer such questions as these: Are you in a job that allows you to maximize your skills and reach your career goals? Is the outlook healthy for your employer and the industry in which it is engaged?
3. You will have a clear picture of your accomplishments. This can be a source of satisfaction. At the same time, this document highlights the improvements you need to make to achieve your goals.
4. You will be able to spring into action if you are put out of a job, or if an opportunity comes your way.
While you are at it, study the fit between your qualifications and the requirements of the job market. Is there a demand for what you have to offer? If not, what market can you serve?
Take advantage of any and all opportunities to improve your skills and knowledge in a world that is experiencing unprecedented changes.
Review your list of contacts, where you work and in the outside world, who might be helpful it you are thrown back into the job market or want to pursue a new opportunity. Touch bases with them. Be visible.
Prepare a “gap plan.” That is, set a goal of where you would like to be on your career path five years from now. Inventory your assets (position, performance record, skills and contacts). If you are ambitious there will be a “gap” between where you are and where you want to be. This exercise will enable you to determine what assets you will need and what actions you must take to reach your career goals.
Review your finances. Establish a budget that you can sustain for at least six months of unemployment.
This is not negative thinking. Instead, it is preparing you to deal with reality in a changing, challenging world of work where hazards and opportunities evolve day by day.
For free career coaching click here: http://www.commonsenseatwork.com. You’ll receive The Career Accelerator, Ramon Greenwood’s semi-monthly newsletter. You can also participate in his Your Blog For Career Advice via this route. Both are free. No cost/no obligation. Greenwood’s career advice comes from a world of experience, including serving as Senior Vice President of American Express, an entrepreneur, professional director, career coach and author.
[...] Guest Post: Résumé Tips for a Bad Economy | Lindsey Pollak Blog [...]
Career Advice: Stick To The Truth In Your Resume
By
Ramon Greenwood
No doubt about it. These are tough times. Jobs are hard to come by and to hold. It is not surprising, then, that job seekers may be tempted to pad their resumes. That is, be less than truthful about their skills, experience, even their references.
Don’t, don’t do it; stick to the facts. There may appear to be benefits to lying on your resume in the short term, but in the longer view it threatens ultimate career rewards.
While only 8 percent of applicants admit to fibbing about their career path in their resumes according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com, nearly half of hiring managers surveyed say they have caught candidates lying on their resumes.
Those who make hiring decisions are more apt than ever before to check references. The smart applicants get the approval of references and make sure they will be positive before including them in their resumes and covering letters.
Human resources people are better equipped and more alert than ever to spot transgressions such as grossly inflating accomplishments, positions and salary to the extent they don’t jibe with age and education/training; being inaccurate about dates to cover gaps in a career path; overstating compensation.
At the same time, they are flooded with a growing number of applications for a shrinking number of openings, so they have less time to review resumes…sometimes only minutes for each. Therefore, even the hint of lies and exaggerations is enough to consign an application to the trashcan. Nearly six out of ten in the survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com said they automatically dismissed the application.
Even if a dishonest resume leads to a job, the fact that it exists will be a source of stress and distraction. Worse case, it can still come back to haunt you if the truth comes out, as is likely currently or in the future. Overstating experience can also lead to failure by putting an applicant in a job he can’t handle.
Hiring managers expect applicants to put the best face on their resumes and covering letters. At the same time, they demand facts to support claims. This leaves plenty of opportunity to make the case for getting hired with a concise resume that reflects an understanding of the employer’s needs and showing a convincing story of how one’s qualifications serve those needs.
“The vast majority of people facing career changes are immensely better qualified than their self-written resumes”, says Bryan Newman, Certified Professional Resume Writer.
“…a successful resume (tells) the reader what you have accomplished that makes you a better candidate for the job than others in the field. Recruiters look for candidates whose resumes are crafted around a solid list of career achievements.”
By the way, the fact is that some employers may lie also, promising opportunities and rewards they can’t deliver. (But that doesn’t excuse your falsifying your career path.) Check them out before spending time and effort in making applications.
For free career coaching click here: http://www.commonsenseatwork.com. You’ll receive The Career Accelerator, Ramon Greenwood’s semi-monthly newsletter. You can also participate in his Your Blog For Career Advice via this route. Both are free. No cost/no obligation. Greenwood’s career advice comes from a world of experience, including serving as Senior Vice President of American Express, an entrepreneur, professional director, career coach and author.
Wow! Times like these, this post is very illuminating. I have read another blog with pretty nice and out of the box tips when writing resumes.. it’s in http://www.integritycareertransitions.com/blog sorry if this kinda looks like an ad. =/ Props to you, this post and this whole blog. =)
Really good information! While writing that perfect resume, a ‘not-to-do’ list should also be watched. There are a lot of jobs advertised on various job portals but sending your CV does not guarantee getting the job unless you have to offer something impressive to the employers.
Great post! This turns the traditional resume writing concept upside down – genius!
Important tips to remember – thanks Lindsey and Lauren. As a career coach, I often get asked about resume writing services and how to choose one that works. Any advice on knowing the quality of a resume writer BEFORE you contract their services?
I think all the tips are great. I took a resume writing class the other day though and something to add: I was told that a lot of times people pay most attention to the first and last bullet in each category so try to put your best bullet first and then put second best last.