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Articles on
Resumes & Cover Letters |
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RESUME: WRITING one that Really
Shows Who You Are
A resume that
gets results doesn't cover up and doesn't use self-descriptives like highly
professional and results-oriented. Instead, it proves that you
have the skills and experience the employer needs.
Writing a POWERFUL RESUME SUMMARY
Your
summary needs to position you quickly in the employers' eyes with name
dropping - name dropping of specific customers,
processes, and
industries.
How a
RECRUITER READS A RESUME
This
behind-the-office-door look at how a retained executive recruiter reads
your resume will probably surprise you.
Skip
the SELF PRAISE! Don't Say It, Prove It on Your Resume
Most resumes
are filled with self praise:
"power" descriptors like spirited,
dynamic,
driven,
adept,
proven
performer, highly skilled, or innovative that
resume books and professional resume writers urge job hunters to use to
perk up their resumes. Only an idiot believes any of this horse
magoosh, and most employers aren't idiots (and if the employer is an
idiot, do you want to work for them?) ...
FORMAT YOUR RESUME So It Can Be Read On a Computer Screen
Resumes often open on an
employer's screen at 200% magnification, making them difficult to read.
You need to format them so they can be easily read.
Resume:
Make it VISUALLY APPEALING
Your resume
needs to lead the reader's eye directly to your top selling features.
Most don't.
COVER LETTERS
WITH HOOKS Catch Employers
You have five
seconds to hook the reader with your cover letter, or he or she will
stop reading. Here's how to hook 'em.
The START OFF WITH
AN UNRELATED INSPRING QUOTE Cover Letter - Why?
One
of the resume mailing mills encourages its customers to send only a
one-page letter, without a resume, that starts off with an inspiring
quote from Winston Churchill, John Kennedy (or perhaps Groucho Marx?),
or another comment designed to demonstrate that the sender has
tremendous insight. It doesn't.
Include the EARLY PARTS OF YOUR CAREER on Your Resume
A lot of the
resume books and supposed resume experts will tell you that only the
latest part of your career is relevant, so you should leave off the
early parts. Employers and recruiters do look at the early parts
of your career, and leaving this off can hide experience you have that
is a critical requirement for the job.
WORDS NOT TO
USE on your Resume
Here's a long list of words that are commonly found on resumes that add
nothing, such as enthusiastic,
aggressive, consistent, organized and successful. Scan your resume to ensure that
you're not using these, and replace them with concrete accomplishments
instead.
Avoid the JOB
DESCRIPTION Resume
Many resumes
surprisingly read like job
descriptions, listing only duties, and making it impossible to
distinguish the candidate from anyone else with the same title.
The FUNCTIONAL RESUME:
Don't Do It!
Why
functional resumes so often wind up in the wastebasket.
This GIMMICK BOMBED
A gimmicky cover
letter made this skilled exec look insipid and insensitive.
FAKING DEGREES: It's Easy,
& Nobody Checks Anyway, Right?
You might get
away with it, but even
if you do, you'll be miserable. And if you get caught, boy
will
you regret that incomplete in Organic Chemistry.
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