By Dawn Warnaar
dwarnaar@warnaarwriting.com
January 24, 2008

So you’ve applied for a job with a great resume and you’re well qualified so you feel confident you will get a call back. Keep in mind that dozens, even hundreds, of other potentially equally qualified applicants have applied as well. A job search may take many months or even a year in the current job market. Don\’t be discouraged. Being prepared is the best way to land a great job. It\’s a tight job market out there. The unemployment rate is at an all time low. When you\’re applying for a job, you are doing nothing more than selling yourself on paper. Making your resume stand out in the sea of applicants is quite the challenge. Industry insiders estimate that 80% of job seekers do not have a resume and that the remaining 20% have ineffective resumes. Begin by reviewing your resume to ensure there are no spelling or grammar errors. Is it formatted in a manner that is eye-catching yet professional? If not, perhaps it is time to go back to the drawing board or hire a professional resume writer. As an HR Manager, I can tell you what to put in your resume…and what not to. Few resumes that come across my desk stand out and most are laced with errors. Some of the most common errors I see that create a negative impression right off the bat are: No cover letter or arguably worse, one that is only a few short lines. A cover letter gives the hiring manager some insight into your personality and work ethic. Sell yourself shamelessly but accurately. Give hard numbers that show that you get results! No body in the email of an electronically sent resume-just an attachment. This one drove me nuts! Don\’t bother sending your resume if you can\’t take the time to write in the body of the email. Cut and paste your cover letter into the body of the email at the very least. An un -customized cover letter. Even worse was when an applicant had left the cover letter addressed to the last place they applied to. Customizing the letter to the hiring manager with a specific name shows effort and that you care about how you come across. Try to include a bit of information in the cover letter that shows you did your homework on the company to which you are applying. Obvious spelling and/or grammar errors. Give it one more look over, just to be sure! A head shot picture on the resume (especially unprofessional ones). Unless you\’re an actor or a model just don’t do it. Trust me. Sending the resume from your current work email it just looks unprofessional. You would think this is common sense but NEVER apply for other jobs from your current work email. Use your personal one. If you don\’t have one, sign up for one it\’s free! No relevant work experience for the position for which the applicant is applying. Be realistic and don\’t waste you time or the employers by applying for a position for which you are not really qualified. Follow these tips and you\’ll greatly improve your chances in your job search. Be realistic, be prepared and be confident. Finally, if you do score an interview, follow-up with a thank you letter to the interviewer. Few people take this important extra step. It shows good follow-up skills and keeps you fresh in the employers mind. I was the only one of sixty people who took this step when I got my HR job. Good luck!

By Dawn Warnaar
dwarnaar@warnaarwriting.com
January 25, 2008

In college I had a professor who advised our class to go to the bank and open a “Go to Hell” account and save up at least six months salary in it. He said that if you ever came to a point in your life that you absolutely hated your job, you could simply tell your boss to go you know where and still have money to pay the bills (not that I am advocating this). In all seriousness, try to figure out why you hate your job. If it is something unchangeable and not temporary, begin the job search. I would never recommend quitting before you find a new job. No matter how much you hate your current job, do you really want the stress of not having enough money to pay the bills? Next, I would seriously consider having a professional write you a resume and cover letter. I guarantee it will shorten the amount of time it takes you to have interview offers. I own a resume writing service and a friend of mine recently came to me, frustrated that she hated her current job. After weeks of submitting resumes to no avail, she came to me for help. I wrote her a resume that highlighted her skills that came in handy to almost any industry she would apply to. Within a week she scored a great job in a completely different field and she loves it. Resume writers spend every day writing resumes and they are experts on what employers look for in a resume and cover letter. Their goal is to make you stand out and get you interviews. Most resume services offer to re-write your resume for free if you don\’t have job offers within a given length of time. I offer this to my clients but I have never had anyone request to have theirs re-written. In fact, most of my clients find jobs almost immediately. Think of it as an investment in your future. It\’s probably the most important document to your career. The key is actively job searching after you have the resume in hand. There are so many great job-search sites on the web today. Use it to your advantage and spend at least an hour a day searching and applying to positions you are interested in and qualified for. Being pro-active about finding a job you love will pay off in the end. Life is simply too short to spend your days working somewhere you hate.

By Derek Greene
June1, 2008

Is your resume good enough? Is it getting the response you want?

If you think the answer is “no”, you probably need to take a good hard look at it again. What seems to be the problem? Well, take the effort to sense your strengths and weaknesses by conducting a thorough assessment of your resume. To do this effectively, ask yourself in an honest way the following questions:

• Did you clearly express your personal brand? Clarity of thought is important. Since your resume goes to a review process along with probably over a dozen others, your aim is to flaunt your personal brand—that is, to effectively demonstrate that you are the best choice.

• Is your value proposition easy to read and understand even by just making a quick look at your resume? Making your message clear is just as significant as demonstrating your personal brand. Many human resource executives admit that they have read thousands of resumes but merely spend a maximum of 10-15 seconds each to be able to grab their attention. Even in just a short time, the resume instantly goes to the garbage heap if it is not worth the value.

• Do the qualifications indicated in your resume address the specific needs of your target employer? Can you make a difference? Employers are eager to find this out, whether you are applying for a managerial or an entry-level position. Remember that it pays to make a good impact that owes to your broad experience.

• Does your outlined accomplishment clearly show your abilities that makes a compelling impact? Like the point raised earlier, show how you have done something like that in the past. To illustrate how you can deliver a positive impact, discuss your accomplishments by stating the challenges you have faced, the actions employed, as well as the results garnered.

• Did you use an active voice? When crafting your resume, it must have a sense of action and movement. Prefer using action verbs whenever possible, especially when you start making each bullet point. This would liven up your resume.

• Is the resume design easy to the eyes and draws it to important data? A good resume design is as critically important as the key information being presented. Sometimes, the applicant disregards how the resume would look like. Remember that deciding, on the part of the hiring manager to interview you or not, merely takes a few seconds. Thus, make your resume easy to read without sacrificing your talents to craft it in a unique and interesting way.

• Are you impressed? Now, be brutally honest with yourself. Be tough. Pick up your resume. Play the role of a hiring manager then, read it carefully. If you don’t feel like hiring the person, perhaps no one else would. So the tip to remember is: write and revise your draft to come out with only the best.

• What do other people say about your resume? Ask for feedback from trusted people, but ensure that you ask those who have hiring experience. Don’t ask them what they think of it; instead ask the impression it gives about the person after reading it.

Derek Greene has 10 years of experience working as a workshop facilitator on subjects that include corporate staffing, career development, and human resources. He holds a master’s degree in economics.