Job Application – Don’t Forget Critical Information
If you haven’t already been disappointed with the process of having to complete a job application after laboring for hours and weeks to develop the perfect resume, by reading this you are more than likely never to suffer this disappointment. Lucky you!
Legitimate Work at Home Jobs
Finding legitimate work from home or telecommuting jobs is on the increase and this means that chances are better than ever for landing a job that may allow occasional, partial or full-time telecommuting work from home. According to Microtrends authors Mark Penn and Kenny Zalesne, approximately 4.2 million Americans defined themselves as stay-at-home workers in 2000, up 23% as compared to 1990 and up 100% from 1980. It is noted that a staggering 20 million additional Americans work from the home some of the time. Employers benefit from furnishing fewer desks and accommodating fewer bodies, while employees benefit directly from savings in fuel and commute time.
How to Start Writing Your Resume: Ask the Right Questions
If you hire a professional resume writer to help you – and I’m not suggesting that you should. That would be far too self-serving, but you would probably come away with a document that can help you open doors. On the other hand, f you write it yourself, you could benefit from asking yourself some tough questions that may help you gain a better understanding of yourself and the role that a job plays in your life.
Write Yourself and Your Resume Will Shine
Like an aperitif before a gourmet meal, thoughtful preparation can guarantee a successful resume.
Your Resume Will Be Thrown in the Trash
Unless you know these insider tips, that is!
If you have been sending out your resume en masse and ending up with a massive headache instead – getting nowhere- you had better read on…
Your career just might depend on it.
It’s a sad fact, but true. In today’s competitive marketplace, a job candidate has exactly 10-15 seconds to make an impression. Most employers / recruiters are very busy people, reviewing literally hundreds to thousands of resumes (don’t forget cover letters!) per day. Unless your resume is well-targeted, expertly and flawlessly written and composed, and demonstrates within the first few seconds of review you have what the employer needs, it will most likely be indexed in the circular file.
A Sophisticated Marketing Tool.
Another sad but true fact is that most people don’t have a clue what an employer wants to see in a resume, even when they think they do. Many people equate a resume with a simple job application. An employer wants to know what you did while on the job, right?
Wrong! Well, partially. Most employers already know what you did on the job; after all, they are looking to hire you for that job, aren’t they?
What an employer really wants to know is how you excelled at that job. While the employer generally wants a brief description of your responsibilities, they mostly want to know what your achievements were. How do / did you stand out among others who have held the same job? Did you make or save the employer money? Did you initiate any new processes or procedures that improved or streamlined operations? Etc. etc.
Some people, realizing employers want both, still don’t know they have to separate the two to make the achievements stand out. Instead they lump them together. This is another common mistake job seekers make on their resumes.
A typical employer or recruiter, normally a very busy person, simply does not have the time or patience to wade through lots of text to pick out your achievements. You have to boldly present them!
The Dreaded 30 Second Resume Scan
I’m sure by now you’re aware of the 30-second resume scan. That’s the notion that no one really reads your resume all the way through (except maybe your mother), and the resume only gets, at the most a 30-second glance from recruiters and hiring directors. In some cases, it’s more like 15-seconds.
Your Resume is Outdated
It’s a fact. If you have not looked for a job in the last few years, and even if you have, you probably don’t know how to do it. So please read on. It could mean the difference between being called in for an interview and being passed over for a more savvy-and better prepared-job candidate.
Distributing Resume – The Right Way to Send Your Resume
Having a great resume is the first critical step in a successful job search. Unfortunately, most people don’t know the best ways to get that resume noticed. In today’s job market, where you are competing with hundreds of other resumes, knowing the right way to distribute your resume can make all the difference.
Five Tips For Your Exit Interview
Exit interviews are sometimes held at inopportune times, especially from the viewpoint of the employee when he or she is either laid off or fired. Nevertheless, they are a must for progressive companies that want to look inward for reasons for an employee’s exit.
Five Tips to a Successful Interview Follow Up Letter
The interview follow-up letter is the last of the essential tools in your job-hunting bag. This is for more than one reason. The two obvious ones are the thank you and follow-up, and the other important reason is to fill in any holes that you suspect that you left open during the interview.
Writing Your Cover Letter – You Really Can Do It
The dreaded cover letter. This is where you, the job candidate, have to convey all this important information as to why you’re the perfect person for the job. It shouldn’t be that difficult, right? For multiple reasons, however, it makes some job seekers procrastinate applying for jobs. Do you ever find yourself making the following excuses?
Using an Executive Summary on Your Resume
In the not-so-distant past, the resume objective section was widely used. The resume objective, simply put, is a 2-3 line statement summarizing the goals you have set for yourself and the position you seek.
The Write Way To Get The Job You Want
All job seekers ultimately ask one basic question – “Why do I need a good resume?” The answer is simple. You need a good resume to market yourself, have a written record of your skills and accomplishments and to sow the seeds of interest in the minds of recruiters and potential employers. In short, if you want a rewarding, fulfilling career, you need a good resume.
Formatting – You Aren’t Single Dimensional – So Why Is Your Resume?
Choosing a resume style is as difficult or easy as choosing the most suitable dress or suit for that all-important interview. It is all too simplistic to say that a one ‘jacket fits all’ strategy will work for everyone when deciding what resume style to use – still, most job seekers take this approach and use a functional resume, even when it may not be well suited to their specific situation. One appropriate alternative to the functional resume is the combination resume. You may wonder how this type of resume will work for you. What you need to understand is the fact that each person’s situation is different, and resume readers (your potential bosses) are different people with variable moods and different points of view.
15 Tips for Writing Winning Resumes
The thought of writing a resume intimidates almost anyone. It’s difficult to know where to start or what to include. It can seem like an insurmountable task. Here are 15 tips to help you not only tackle the task, but also write a winning resume.
Executive and Mid Management Resume Tips
Today’s marketplace is tough! Even the best and brightest need a powerful resume to achieve career success. With the unemployment rate dropping and the labor market tightening, that means JOBS are opening up. Now is the time to get your resume in tip-top shape.
Resume Formats – Choosing the Right One
When browsing the resume examples on the web and on this site, you will notice a large variation in resume styles and resume formats. So you ask yourself: How do I choose the resume formats that will work for me? Hopefully, I can give you some ideas on how to answer that question.
Lets start off with basics of resume formats. In one way or another, a resume is either going to be written in reverse-chronological or functional format. The reverse-chronological format includes an introduction followed by a listing/description of your work history starting with the most recent job in descending order. The functional format usually includes an abbreviated introduction followed by a list of job functions with descriptions, then simply lists work history with no descriptions. Examples of these two types of resume formats can be seen here:
High Power Jobs Don’t Come Without Consequences
Katie Couric’s recent announcement that she is leaving NBC’s “Today” to become the next anchor for CBS News is the dawn of a new era at the network and for television news as a whole. The move also shines the spotlight on the issue of women and their role in high-powered jobs.
Pharma Sales – Breaking into the Industry
Pharmaceuticals are always a hot consumer sector, and with the aging baby boomers coming online, it’s a sector sure to grow in the coming years. But gaining employment into the industry isn’t easy. Competition is fierce and companies can choose from the cream of the crop. So, how do you become part of that creamy crop?
College Graduates Wanted
There was a time when pharma reps completed their degrees in chemistry or biology and landed a well-paying job before the ink was dry on their diplomas. Not so, any more. Larger drug makers rarely, if ever, hire individuals who only have two-year degrees. Why? Because there are so many applicants with Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees, they don’t have to.
Pharmaceutical companies want the highest caliber representatives. These men and women are the face of the company — and a Master’s degree represents company quality better than an Associate’s in liberal arts. So, step one to breaking into this lucrative profession – get an education. Get lots of education. The more degrees you have the more desirable you become within this highly specialized industry.
Prospering When Your Many Predecessors Have Failed
It is perhaps one of the most challenging and exciting executive jobs to hold–filling a position where others have failed. How do you go about succeeding where your predecessors have failed? By applying some common sense, using effective communication techniques, and learning from past mistakes–both theirs and your own.
This blog's author, Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write, provides executive career services including resume and cover letter preparation, job search / interviewing strategies and professional branding including how to effectively use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media in your career.
Visit CareersDoneWrite.com to learn more about how we can put your career in gear with interview catching resumes and professionally written career documents.