You may be wondering what is the best format to send your resume. I.e. do you send your CV/Resume via snail mail i.e. postal service or via email?

1. What are the pros and cons of doing so?
2. How do I avoid being filtered as spam!

Employers will have different preferences with regards to this so if in doubt simply call them up and ask. But remember to print out a copy for yourself to take with you to the interview regardless of what the desired format is by the employer. If you are not able to find out what they prefer then always forward it by post. After forwarding an email resume always call and ask if it was received safely. If it was not then forward a hard copy. You may wish to do this anyway as an extra precaution.

Pros and cons of sending via the post

The cons of course are the time and cost concerned, in that you need paper, ink, printer, envelopes (A4) staple gun and postage and then of course a trip to the post office. Make sure if sending CVs this way that you are prepared and have all these items handy and ready to go when you need to send out that application. The pros’ of sending a hard copy CV is that for the recruiting employer they are much easier to read and refer to than email ones.

Pros and cons of sending email resume/cv

You can forward CVs in bulk from the comfort of your own home in minutes! It doesn’t cost you anything in paper, ink, envelopes or postage! On the downside the CV/resume is hard to read, the employer may forget it exists and worse it may be filtered out as spam!

To avoid Spam filters you should do the following:

• Avoid sending bulk messages. It is better to add some customizing to each CV rather than making it clear to the employer you are just doing a mass mail out and really have no great interest in their company! Additionally your ISP may identify a bulk mail out as Spam.
• Put something simple in the subject line and do not use punctuation, numbers, and monetary signs and do not capitalize words or swear though this is highly unlikely when sending a CV!
• Don't use the words used by Spam sites such as ‘free’ etc.
• Send a plain text" e-mail as often as possible with few links. Plain text means that you do not add colours or change the font etc.
• Using words in your CV that relate to monetary figures and symbols may trigger Spam filters so perhaps write those figures out full in words rather than using £/$ signs and numbers.
• Don't attach your resume to your e-mail unless requested to do so by the employer. Instead copy and paste your resume in plain text into the body of the email.
• Make a follow up phone call to ensure that the employer rec’d it.

Note: These tips may help reduce the problem but there is still no guarantee that even after following the rules that your email will get through. As spammers find ways around the Spam filters so do filters change and update to find ways around the Spam. So while these tips may help they by no means guarantee success.

Read More...

Although faxing your resume may seem like a good choice since it will reach the recruiter fast, the quality and neatness of your resume will be compromised. For this reason, you should only consider faxing your resume and cover letter when:

• The employer requests it in the advertisement.
• When you have to meet a deadline for an application.
• When you have already spoken to the recruiter or employer and informed him that you will fax it and will send or deliver a hard copy of the resume at a certain date.

Disadvantages of faxing your resume

• Besides the poor quality of faxes, most employers regard unsolicited faxes as rude. Their first impression of you when you send a fax without prior arrangement is that you are unconsidered of their resources and ignorant about business ethics.
• Your privacy can be compromised when faxing your resume since several employees may share the same fax facility and may read your resume.
• Your fax can get misplaced.
  

Things to do when faxing your resume

• Always mail or deliver the original CV or resume after sending the fax.
• Make use of a good quality fax facility that provides a record of when the fax is received and that indicates how many pages have been transmitted.
• Call the recruiter or employer to confirm that the fax has been received and is eligible.
• Include a cover page that includes your contact information, purpose of the fax, recipient details and your cover letter.
• Use black ink or font color on white bond paper. If your font color is blue or another color on the original resume or CV, the fax will not be legible for the employer.
• Never use color paper.
• Don't use too small fonts but remember that your font size may not exceed more than 20 points. The font size must be no smaller than 12 points. Many employers may wish to scan a copy and thus need a larger font.
• If your original resume has a lot of dark borders, you should first make a print without the borders. Too much black lines will appear untidy.
• First print a copy to make sure that it is legible before faxing your CV from your computer.
• Set the fax machine to fine mode to ensure high quality transmission.
• Include a header with your name and contact details on every page.
• Don't condense your letters; rather use normal spacing or an extra point apart between two letters to make the resume more readable.

Read More...

Do you prefer hand made china or the mass produced kind? There is something about individual items that gives them an edge over mass produced products, isn't there? Most of the time, even the best resume software cannot replace the individual touch that a real person can give to a resume.

A resume program cannot read the job advert and tune the resume to the job requirements. Resume software cannot actually show that you increased newspaper readership by 15% once your ideas were implemented. It is better to use a professional resume writing service where you deal with real people, or even better, write it yourself. Sometimes, the writing style of a professional writer will give the impression that you are a much better writer than you really are, leading to expectations from the employer that you simply cannot meet.

Employers & recruiters receive thousands of resumes and they are used to seeing resumes created by programs. The candidate is immediately labelled as non- creative and dependent on templates, something that does not reflect well when it comes to attitude and work ethic. Keep your resume based on recent accomplishments related to the job you are applying for. Give real numbers and facts to back your claims.

Resume Software Overuses Resume action verbs and keywords. These words are important in your resume - they give the whole resume a 'do it' attitude. Your resume, needs a 'raison d'etre' so your interviewer can justify your employment. Creating the resume yourself gives you the advantage of knowing exactly what is in it. This may sound obvious but in your interview you need to expand and give more details about your previous jobs and achievements.

When creating your resume, you are your best resource!

Read More...

The same rules for a cover letter or a resume apply to an Email. You have limited time in which to grab the reader's attention. In order to have served its purpose, a response to a job advertisement has to be: opened, read and saved.

Some important resume sending tips:

• Include a relevant subject that describes the email.
• If the email is unsolicited than include, looking for x position.
• It is a good idea to include both your resume and cover letter in the email, In the body of the email include your full personal profile.

A cover letter has to be customized for the company you are applying for. A 'general' resume and a general 'cover letter' are not effective. Try to find out the name of the HR manager and do some general research in view of getting the job. Find out more about the company. The more knowledge you have, the better equipped you are to get the job.

Your text resume has to be in the body of the email. If you attach your resume, chances are the potential employer won't even open it. Send your resume to yourself to see how the text version of your resume is modified by the email software.

If you are applying responding to a specific job advert, read the application instructions and follow them! A surprising number of candidates do not.

Read More...

The financial value of your resume is defined as the increased income that a well written resume can provide. This can also be measured in the time it takes for you to get a job - time is money and every day without a job is lost revenue. Without a properly crafted resume, it will have taken you far longer to land a job. Most job candidates never understand the true value of a well written resume. A good resume is one that will generate far more interest from interviews than an average resume ever would.

Careless job seekers that do not put enough time and energy into writing their resumes will experience the following:

• More time out of a job leading to loss of income.
• Stress due to rejections.
• More time available to be looking for work.
• Possibly loss of confidence in your resume.
  

These should be enough to motivate you to make more effort when creating a resume.

Realise that your resume is not the only tool in your job search the Cover Letter ↦ Interview are equally important.

Express the same confidence during your interview as you express through your resume. A more confident job seeker will relax. Rejections will affect you less and employers will offer you higher salaries.

Read More...

As in our post on resume advertising, we strongly suggest you send your resume to the most reputable resume databases first as these will have the highest number of employers subscribed to their services.

This way you will be able to retain control of your resume which means you'll be able to remove it from the database whenever you wish. If you post your resume on twenty databases it will be far more difficult to ensure it's removed from all of them.

The privacy policy on the website you post your resume will affect how the resume is handled and to whom it might be distributed. Some resume databases reserve the right to sell your personal information to third parties. Always check this.

Resume blasting is when certain companies post and send your resume to thousands of resume databases and potential employers. This is never a good idea as you would have no control over where and to whom you resume is sent. Once a resume blast has been made, it's impossible to undo.

Limiting the number of contact details on your resume is another factor that can help you improve your privacy.

Create a specific email address for the individual job hunt. Include the job hunt email address as the only method of contact change the names of specific employers to generic employer descriptions

Resume databases sort on a number of variables including the posting date so it's worthwhile posting your resume once a month.

When you find a job, remove your resume from all databases. If your resume is still on certain databases, your new employer could find it and believe you are still looking for a job a situation that could lead to disaster.

Read More...

In order to get the kind of exposure you need, it's important you post your resume to a variety of resume databases. This has two major effects - your private details will be open to recruiters and employers/employment agencies will be able to access it.

It is important to post your resume to recruiters and other employers but careful not to reach spamming levels. Posting your resume too often won't be beneficial to your job search. Employers looking for jobseekers will quickly notice that you've posted your resume 'everywhere' and may mark you a spammer to be 'removed' or 'banned'. Keep a list of where you have posted your resume and any passwords and user names used. Post your resume on the busiest job sites first and then move on to the smaller services.

Read More...

This kind of resume is especially useful for contractors resume or self employed resume. People who work on a project by project basis usually upload their resume as part of their website to enable their clients to learn more about them. Another area where a html resume is useful is when some of your work is online and you would like to include links to it in your resume.

Building your html resume is not as difficult as it sounds. HTML is relatively easy to understand and there are lots of very cheap software programmes available to help you. You can use tables, bold, italics in the HTML version of your resume, just like in your printable version. The same rules for resume building apply - keep it short. However, in an online resume you do not have space limitations - you can be creative and create a non-standard resume where each section has links to more details on that section.

Keep your resume as professional as possible. Even if it is tempting to link to your personal website, this will reduce the professional appeal of your HTML resume.

Read More...

Several online recruitment websites have forms that allow you to build your resume automatically. Resume experts do not recommend the use of this type of service.

Why Not? :

• You cannot use a spell checker.
• Your cannot choose your resume style.
• You cannot review it easily.
• It's time consuming to do this for every job recruitment site.

As an alternative to using their 'piece by piece' resume forms, career websites generally allow you to enter your resume in text format. This is where you'll find it handy to have such a format at hand.

To create a text only resume, open your document editor (example : Microsoft Word).
1) Click on the file menu,
2) Choose the save as type option and
3) Choose the plain text version.

After you have created the initial draft of your text resume, open notepad and edit your text resume.

Text Resume Tips :

• Use capital letters instead of bold fonts.
• Use the * symbol instead of bullet points.
• Avoid using curly brackets - use single or double quotes instead.
• Omit all hard returns. This has to be done throughout your entire CV or Resume. Do not use hard returns in the middle of a paragraph. This means do not press the enter key unless you have finished typing the paragraph. To help you with you this, choose the menu format and the option 'word wrap'.
• Send the resume by email to yourself before sending it to a potential employer. That way you can see how the email software will display it and you'll have the chance to improve any mistakes.

Read More...

There are two ways to go about searching for a new job. You can either look for employers who have job vacancies or you can make it easier for employers to find you. To do this you need to post your resume on the web. The best place to start is on job sites that are directly related to your field of employment as that's where employers are most likely to start their search for potential candidates.

• Job Banks
• Specific Job Banks
• Recruiters
• Employment Agencies

There are several types of recruitment and employment agencies: regional, local and those specific to particular careers. It is important to make a list of where you have posted your resume along with any login names and passwords you have used. However, before posting your resume online, consider the following two issues: Your present employer can discover you are looking for a new job, and people will have access to personal details that can be used in identity theft and similar.

It's best to have your resume available in different formats such as pdf and html.

When posting your resumes on the internet, your standard MS Word formatted resume will not suffice. You will also need your resume formatted as a pdf file, a html file and have a text version available. Although this is not vital for your job search, it will certainly help you reach a wider audience, become more organized, give a more professional impression with your resume, get an edge over the other candidates, and prospective employers will immediately notice they are dealing with an organised, professional person.

You need these formats mainly when looking for jobs on the internet. If you are doing your job search the 'old fashioned way', your word formatted resume will probably be enough.

What type of resume do you need ?

• You will need a resume that can easily be printed and used to send via snail mail. This version can contain any formatting that will make your resume more easily read, such as the use of bold fonts, italics and similar.
• Resumes are sometimes directly scanned into a database - it's therefore important you have a version that can easily be scanned. This would be the same as the print formatted resume but without the use of bold, italics and similar. These databases are used to match employees with job candidate. Learn more about scannable CV's and resume keywords.
• A text version. A text version is very hard when you need to post your resume in online forms.
• A modified text version that is used to send emails

These different formats of your resume are all the same but saved in different formats.

Read More...

What is a Spam filter ?

Spam filter is software that decides if an email is a Spam email or a genuine email. Spam is email that is sent by people trying to sell all kinds of things. Without the authorisation of the recipients.

How will this affect you in your job hunt ?

If you apply for a job and send a CV or resume by email. This email has to pass through the spam filters, which can decide that your application is spam email.

You will never know that an email you sent was classified as Spam email. So All you do is follow these brief tips and contact the recipient of your email to check if the email has arrived safely. You could also send the resume via snail mail.

How can you avoid your resume to be classified as spam ?

In the Message Subject line

• Avoid punctuation
• Avoid the word free
• Avoid all caps

In the Message Body

• Avoid the usual subjects of spam mail which include pharmaceuticals , mortgages
• Includes the text '4176'
• Avoid HTML Format
• Avoid Colour HTML Format
• Do not send your resume as an attachment
• Do not send your resume as a zipped attachment
• Send your resume in text format

Avoid the phrases

• list
• removal unsubscribe
• click here / now / below
• million dollars
• money back guarantee
• while supplies last
• while you sleep
• compliance with Spam regulations or with US Senate Bill 1618 or House Bill
• free

Read More...

A properly written resume can help you get the right job. Your resume should create interest in the reader. Your resume should make prospective employers eager to meet you Instead of making your resume a long and boring account of your job history, paint the right picture of you as a person who can be trusted and who can contribute in different ways to the growth of the company. The resume must entice prospective employers to pick the phone and call the candidate for an interview.

Be sure where you can fit in though, before you start writing a resume. Adopt a simple, but effective style. To make your resume stand out and be counted, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Pen Down Your Thoughts: Before you start writing your resume, jot down your thoughts, specific job needs and your job skills. A clerical job would require that you are good at typing, computer and communication skills (Soft Skills) in order to effectively carry out day-to-day office administration. A clerical job would also involve scanning, faxing and filing documents.

Now that you know, what the job requires and your specific job skills it has to be written down in a proper format to catch the employer's attention.

Contact Details: Your name, phone number and permanent address must be written right on top. Don't forget to mention your email ID too.(Personal Information)

• 1. Mention your full name
• 2. Permanent address
• 3. Contact telephone number
• 4. Your email ID.

Education: Starting from your latest qualification, state your degrees, certificates and added qualifications clearly. (Education)

• 1. List all your degrees
• 2. Mention the date and year of graduation clearly
• 3. Mention all additional certificates
• 4. Mention special courses and skills

Highlight Special Skills: Don't forget to highlight any special skills that you have learnt. It may be a computer program or a new language. Specials skills come in handy. For example, an office with clients and customers in Europe may need people who are good in one or two European languages. A computer software program you are familiar with may add value to your resume. Specify these.

Objective: Although a clerical job deals with specific day-to-day office administration, you must make your objective very clear. Tell the employer why you think you fit into the company and how you can contribute to the company and gain from the experience as well. This will give the employer an idea of your personal profile. In order to understand more about how to write your personal profile.

Job Experience: Start with your most recent job details. Give details regarding your previous employer, his name and location. State all your previous job responsibilities. Don't forget to highlight the role you played in the company. Get down to specific details and elaborate how a particular duty you performed added value to the company. Write in terms of volume of sales, growth and other achievements.

Other Interests and Hobbies: In order to give the right picture of what you are all about, specify your other interests. Highlight the role you played in various club activities, campus functions or community activities. Use interesting and catchy verbs. Some catchy verbs you could use are:

Action Verbs Organize plan involve initiate conduct carry out achieve deliver assist delegate act perform prepare expedite train test demonstrate show conduct participate supervise manage reorganize restructure schedule draft support maintain teach present

Most Important Tips:

In order to get a good clerical job, you must keep these points in mind:

• Highlight your greatest skills first. Prioritize and list your marketing, coordinating and customer service skills first. Then move on to other skills like typing, answering phones, photocopying and so on.
• Impress with details and numbers. Write in terms of how many customers you handled, the volume of transactions. Highlight statistics like the number of employees, sales persons and customers that came under your purview. The amount of cash involved in cash transactions and disbursements.
• Highlight any special job duties that you performed other than your normal clerical duties. This may increase your career prospects as you can add value to the company and its growth.

Read More...

Are your preparing your first resume? If so, remember that it needs to be checked for grammatical errors, proof read and honed for the job you are applying for. Employers nowadays are literally flooded with thousands of CVs and Resumes from graduates.

The first obvious problems that will show will be your lack of attention to detail, your lack of writing skills and your poor language skills.

Be mindful of the spell checker. Do not just accept the first alternative that shows up as this can have a completely different meaning to what you intended. Just look at the following sentence: 'Wood ewe like to parse in the dessert?' Does it actually make any sense? No. But a spell checker would accept each word as being correct even though many are the wrong choice.

If you have a guidance or career counselor at your university, do not hesitate to contact him or her. Counselors can offer valuable and friendly advice.

'COVER LETTER: When providing childcare for clients, I fed the children and changed nappies.'
'QUALIFICATIONS: Computer literate and excellent experience in operating Windows.'
'PERSONAL: Former surfer turned receptionist.'
'PERSONAL: 6 feet. 4 inches tall.'
'EXPERIENCE: Only employee of a small distribution company.'
'COVER LETTER: I am very interested in the newspaper add for the accounting position.'
'EXPERIENCE: I'm a hard worker, etc.'
'LANGUAGES: Speak English and Spinach.'
'RESPONSIBILITIES: Helping people with their clothes, greeting people, ringing people out.'
'EXPERIENCE: I am a very capable proofreader.'

Read More...

You MBA resume is your first impression to a prospective employer. Your resume highlights your skills, competencies and experiences. MBA resumes are different from normal resumes. The target audience and what they are looking for are different than those of a standard resume. Most recruiters know that an MBA is a significant achievement but are not aware of all the details behind it.

The Basics of an MBA resume

• The business school where you studied
• Specialisation (finance, eCommerce)
• MBA courses specifically relevant to your targeted job. If you are applying for an Business Development position, mention specific units in the course which are relevant.
  

If you come from a technical background, or are applying for a technical MBA position, it is important not to be too technical in your resume. Identify skills in your past job that are transferable to your new role. Do not stuff your resume with jargon - your resume has to be understood by the layman as well as by the professional.

If on top of your resume you have several years of business experience consider writing an executive resume.

Your personal objective has to be business oriented rather than technical.

Read More...

Your resume is a basic document from which you can build a resume that's honed to the specific position you're applying for. You cannot have one generic resume that you send to any employer and as a respond to all job adverts you see.

If you are applying for a position as IT support personnel but have never had any direct experience, your resume has to be modified to bring out the skills used in other jobs that relate directly to support personnel. Do not mis-interpret this as lying in your resume. Lying on your resume is never a good idea.

A good technique to see your resume 'the way an employer does', is to hold out your resume at arms length and then open your eyes slightly. That way, you can see the things that 'jump out' of your resume'. Make sure these noticeable points address the requirements of the position you are applying for.

Skills that are not directly related to the position should be at the 'background'.

Be sure to consider both a chronological resume or a functional resume to get this effect.

Read More...

Who needs an executive resume?

• Executive
• Senior manager,
• Senior professional with over five years experience,
• Academic

Executive resume formats can be used by any job seeker, but are most useful to those who have a high-powered career in one field perhaps 20yrs management experience and they want to emphasise many aspects of that career and their achievements. Alternatively they may have numerous academic accomplishments and seek a more comprehensive approach to their academic/employment history.

Vacancies for the above posts are likely to be swamped with applications so your resume needs to be outstanding. You need to show the employer that you are the executive who can get results, accept responsibility and be accountable. The resume should look as professional as possible to represent you, the ultimate professional.

Your resume should cover your skills, abilities, personal attributes and achievements. The personal statement should have maximum impact preferably highlighting your major accomplishments throughout your career. Money is all-important so emphasise areas where you generated significant revenue, reduced costs, improved production or service quality etc. Detail how you contributed to your previous employers success.

Executive Resume formats are generally written using Times New Roman font. Due to the need to cover an expansive work history the executive summary is likely to be longer than 2 pages so keep it concise and leave out unnecessary filler words or useless adjectives.

In an Executive resume achievements are detailed near the top of the first page. Additionally, you should include professional memberships, voluntary work, teaching experience, presentations and recognitions etc.

When writing your executive resume you should:

• Write it using Time New roman font
• Include as much detail as is necessary to demonstrate the breadth of your experience and accomplishments
• Research your employer and address the problems being faced by the particular industry.
• A personal profile should be more geared towards an executive summary rather than a normal profile.
• The executive resume is about your experiences and what you have learned and applied from them.
• You do not need to list all previous responsibilities but rather your ability to effectively solve problems.
• Tell the executive resume reader what did you do rather than what you had to do (the job description).
• Your career experiences from ten years previous should be selectively listed. If an experience from the distant past adds value to your executive resume then by all means list it.

Read More...

When employers are looking for a senior executive, they are looking for a person with creative qualities. What, then, are the action verbs and keywords that need to be used in an executive resume? These words are there to show you what you need to show potential employers.

• Integrity, consistency, upstanding character, forward thinking, company oriented.
• Leadership and Charisma - the ability to have other follow directions and reach objectives. Charisma is the ability to make other like you.
• Emotional discipline: Complete control over your emotions.
• Reacts according to environment changes in order to keep the company profitable.
• Visionary - a person that can see the business future of a company and capitalize on it. Having ideas is not enough - employees will need good ideas that will help increase market shares and anticipate market demands whilst thinking in terms of strategic company objectives.

Think about the fundaments of an executive position. Does your resume answer all the qualities of leadership, cost cutting, and increasing income? Keep asking these questions after every revision you make. When you think you have arrived to the ideal executive resume, give it a rest and re-read it after a couple of days. Would you be convinced to hire you?

Read More...

There is a major difference between executive and normal or standard resumes. Executive resumes are defined as: 'a document which introduces yourself and your ability to lead and influence others, listing your influence on the direction and profitability of a company.'

Your executive resume has to touch on the following issues:

• New products
• Profitability of new products
• New Markets
• Income & Product diversification
• Internal reorganisations
• Outsourcing
  

Hard facts are important. One or two lines on how you either increased profits or reduced costs will put you ahead of the competition. From the information already given you can see than mile stones and accomplishments are more central to an executive resume than is the case with a standard resume.

The executive work market is highly competitive and many good candidates are overlooked through not paying enough attention to writing a good executive resume. Remember, your resume has to convince the recruiter / interview to dial your number without any hesitation.

Accomplishments are the fundaments of a resume. Positive accomplishments that is! But accomplishments alone cannot convince a selection committee so 'soft skills' also need to be mentioned. How they were applied in particular situations should also be added.

Read More...

Achieved Addressed Advocated Allocated Analyced Anticipated Appraised Approved Arbitrated Arranged Assembled Assessed Attained Audited Authored Balanced Budgeted Built Calculated Catalogued Chaired Clarified Classified Coached Collaborated Collected Compiled Computed Conceptualiced Consolidated Consulted Contracted Convinced

Coordinated Corresponded Counseled Created Critiqued Customised Delegated Demonstrated Designed Developed Diagnosed Directed Drafted Edited Engineered Enlisted Established Evaluated Examined Executed Expedited Fabricated Facilitated Forecasted Formulated Founded Generated Guided Handled Identified Illustrated Implemented Improved Increased

Influenced Informed Initiated Inspected Instituted Integrated Interpreted Interviewed Introduced Invented Investigated Lectured Led Listened Litigated Maintained Marketed Mediated Moderated Motivated Negotiated Operated Organised Originated Overhauled Oversaw Performed Persuaded Pioneered Planned Presented Prioritised Produced Programmed Projected

Promoted Publicised Recommended Recruited Reduced Referred Rehabilitated Remolded Repaired Reported Represented Researched Resolved Review Reviewed Revitalised Scheduled Shaped Solved Spearheaded Spoke Strengthened Summarised Supervised Systematised Taught Trained Translated Upgrades Wrote

Read More...

Recruiters and Employers store resumes that have been posted by job candidates in databases. When they look for a person , they look by keywords. Keywords would be the essential requirements for the role this person will occupy. The search programs matches the keywords with text in the CV or resume together with the search criteria.

This shows the importance that core keywords for the jobs you would like to be considered for, are in your resume. You can find these keywords by researching job adverts in your industry, the company website and professional associations.

Your resume is divided into several sections. You can include the essential keywords in your career objective or achievements summary or professional summary. Include the keywords & action verbs in your job descriptions & your responsibilities as well.

The 'resume keywords technique' can be used both in chronological & functional resume styles.

Read More...

• Employer & University Names. - Use the official University and Employer Name.
• Websites - Listing inappropriate URL's such as your personal website.
• Fonts - Using small fonts to save space.
• Lying on your resume - Careful the risks are too high.
• Sending your graduate resume - After some years of job experience your resume has to be re-written.
• No cover letter - Not sending a cover letter with your resume.
• Non-professional email address - Your student email address does not give that professional image required when applying for a job.
• Resume Keywords - Not including keywords in your resume.
• Not proof-reading your resume - Always proof read your resume before sending.
• Industy jargon - Do not assume that whoever reads your resume will know all the industry jargon.
• Resume Format Use the right format depending on the situation

Read More...

If you have some job experience and you still send your graduate resume to potential employers, you should consider a resume makeover.

Job Experience not education

Your new resume's strong point should be experience rather than education. Job candidates with two to five years of experience should place their job experience first in their resume.

Skills summary not objective

In a graduate resume, you probably started with a career objective. This focused on yourself rather than the employer. Which for a graduate is OK, but an experienced professional seeking a higher income has to concentrate on what he or she can do for the employer.

Accomplishments not Responsibilities

If you have included college responsibilities, such as organising events in your resume, it is time to replace those by quantifiable achievements you have achieved from your previous employment.

Professional & Relevant Activities not hobbies

Are your working as a volunteer but in a professional capacity? Have you recently joined the organisation or certified sales man? List them in your resume instead of your hobbies. Include also any further education you are pursuing.

Read More...

Employers receive 100's of resumes in reply to job adverts. So how much time do you think an over worked HR officer or a busy business man, will dedicate to reading your resume?

10 Seconds

A few guidelines on how to convince your potential employer you are the ideal job candidate in 10 seconds:

• Make sure the aspects of your career that qualify for this job are on top.
• Keep a simple design - Visual appeal.
• Bold style 3 or 4 key phrases in your resume to highlights your strengths
• Your resume should fit on one page.
• Keep it simple .
• Choose wisely between a chronological or a functional resume.
• This will impact the order of your resume sections.
• No errors - proofread your resume and avoid common resume mistakes.
• Include clear and up to date contact information.

Keep in mind that the reason you are sending your resume is to get an interview. Nothing else. So design your resume with this fact in mind.

Read More...

A career objective is generally used in graduate resumes more experienced job seekers use a professional objective.

The resume objective should be

• Clear and concise.
• Contains resume action verbs.
• Contains job & skill related keywords.
• Focus on the employer's needs rather than on yours.

A career objective expresses what you want to achieve in your career and which position you aspire to.

Your objective should include: your skills, achievements , the position you are seeking, the specific skills you want to learn and develop, the kind of company you would like to work for. These should be aligned to the job advert.

Your objective should be more what you can do for the employer rather than vice versa.

If the potential employer sees that your objectives are his targets then you have become a potential candidate, this is a good technique to quickly grab the attention of the reader.

Example Professional Objective
A lead role in the web software development team using Java and Apache.

Read More...