My gift to Job seekers
So I got to start reviewing resumes today for one of the positions we are hiring for....
RESUMES GET YOU THE JOB,SO DON'T EFF UP ON THEM.
Here are some notes I have made for future job seekers.
Before I start my list, what is one of the first things they teach you in school? on all your homework assignments anything you do.... PUT YOUR NAME ON IT. I am not as lenient as the other hiring managers, if I see no name, you get NO interview, Period, do not pass go, do not collect $200, I say right to your resume that you have failed at life and need to start over. Some of the other hiring managers will try to track down your name, I figure if you wanted the job enough you would make sure that I knew who you are and how to contact you. I actually have put my Name in the header and my contact information in the footer so you don't have to flip back and forth on the resume to find my name.
1- Always save your resume in PDF format, this way anyone can open your resume, rather than try to figure out how to convert a .pages file, personally if I can't open your file I don't have time to mess around and try to open it. Your formatting stays the same, so its not all jumbled up and the font you have chosen stays the same, Person who's name showed up as wing dings, you didn't get a call back because we don't know who you are and I am not reformatting your resume. and lastly, no one can change any information on it. brilliant invention PDFs are.
2- Proof read. I had a Stray at home mom, someone who is "Bilingual in English and fluently speaks and writes french", and a few others that boggle the mind when I think of it. Have someone else read over your resume!!! Also check the words you use, if you have put down that you have "Potential" skills in computer programs, that is telling me you want to learn them, but you don't know them now. I wonder if you hope I don't catch the word an try to blow me away on the interview. BTW some of these resumes are coming from the same HR program I took, and they were some of the worst that I have seen, did you miss the how to Select and write resumes Month?
3- Interests should be left off the resume. You are a 50 year old woman (That is my next point on how I figured out your age), I don't care if you like walking, shopping and travelling, you are applying for a professional job, when I was a teenager I left that section off my resume, because I am looking for a job, not a date, as a middle aged Woman you should realize the same. Unfortunately I am picking on this one resume, out of the 25 I have reviewed today, I would say 8 of them had interests on them.
4- Know what are the protected grounds so you leave them off your resume, so if you do not get the job you can't tell me I am discriminating. 1st, putting down your high school graduation date allows me to figure out how old you are, that is ageism. 2nd, Using your Pastor as a reference allows me to see what religion you believe in. 3rd, putting down all three dates of your mat leave, not only allows me to figure out that you have at least 3 kids, and that your eldest will be a teenager soon, and because your address is on your resume, I can figure out you live in a rough part of town and your teen might be causing you problems so you will miss work. 4th, don't put down the social clubs you are in... especially the Scotch society, this tells me you might have an alcohol problem, paired with you graduation date I can figure out that gee you are really old and could drive the costs on my health care up with your dependency. I am not allowed to ask about marital status, kids, religion, age, Sexual preference and a few other things in the interview, why do you provide me these things. KNOW YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS!
5- Tailor your resume and cover letter for the position. If you were an industrial engineer before and you have used your engineer resume to apply for a clerk job, I'm probably not going to hire you because you can't spend an hour to give me what I want to see. And what is it to say that you aren't just trying to get into the company and leave me recruiting again in 3 months? On a side note I have at least 3 main resumes for each type of job I am applying for. I also rewrite my cover letter EVERY TIME. Your Laziness for tailoring your resume has lost you the chance at the interview, because I need someone who is detailed orientated on letters they will be writing for the Supervisor.
Above all else, leave off cutesy graphics and fonts. I don't care if it is cute or if you think it catches my attention, If I had time I would print these resumes off and correct the errors with a red pen, then sit there and wish I could send them my corrections.
RESUMES GET YOU THE JOB,SO DON'T EFF UP ON THEM.
Here are some notes I have made for future job seekers.
Before I start my list, what is one of the first things they teach you in school? on all your homework assignments anything you do.... PUT YOUR NAME ON IT. I am not as lenient as the other hiring managers, if I see no name, you get NO interview, Period, do not pass go, do not collect $200, I say right to your resume that you have failed at life and need to start over. Some of the other hiring managers will try to track down your name, I figure if you wanted the job enough you would make sure that I knew who you are and how to contact you. I actually have put my Name in the header and my contact information in the footer so you don't have to flip back and forth on the resume to find my name.
1- Always save your resume in PDF format, this way anyone can open your resume, rather than try to figure out how to convert a .pages file, personally if I can't open your file I don't have time to mess around and try to open it. Your formatting stays the same, so its not all jumbled up and the font you have chosen stays the same, Person who's name showed up as wing dings, you didn't get a call back because we don't know who you are and I am not reformatting your resume. and lastly, no one can change any information on it. brilliant invention PDFs are.
2- Proof read. I had a Stray at home mom, someone who is "Bilingual in English and fluently speaks and writes french", and a few others that boggle the mind when I think of it. Have someone else read over your resume!!! Also check the words you use, if you have put down that you have "Potential" skills in computer programs, that is telling me you want to learn them, but you don't know them now. I wonder if you hope I don't catch the word an try to blow me away on the interview. BTW some of these resumes are coming from the same HR program I took, and they were some of the worst that I have seen, did you miss the how to Select and write resumes Month?
3- Interests should be left off the resume. You are a 50 year old woman (That is my next point on how I figured out your age), I don't care if you like walking, shopping and travelling, you are applying for a professional job, when I was a teenager I left that section off my resume, because I am looking for a job, not a date, as a middle aged Woman you should realize the same. Unfortunately I am picking on this one resume, out of the 25 I have reviewed today, I would say 8 of them had interests on them.
4- Know what are the protected grounds so you leave them off your resume, so if you do not get the job you can't tell me I am discriminating. 1st, putting down your high school graduation date allows me to figure out how old you are, that is ageism. 2nd, Using your Pastor as a reference allows me to see what religion you believe in. 3rd, putting down all three dates of your mat leave, not only allows me to figure out that you have at least 3 kids, and that your eldest will be a teenager soon, and because your address is on your resume, I can figure out you live in a rough part of town and your teen might be causing you problems so you will miss work. 4th, don't put down the social clubs you are in... especially the Scotch society, this tells me you might have an alcohol problem, paired with you graduation date I can figure out that gee you are really old and could drive the costs on my health care up with your dependency. I am not allowed to ask about marital status, kids, religion, age, Sexual preference and a few other things in the interview, why do you provide me these things. KNOW YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS!
5- Tailor your resume and cover letter for the position. If you were an industrial engineer before and you have used your engineer resume to apply for a clerk job, I'm probably not going to hire you because you can't spend an hour to give me what I want to see. And what is it to say that you aren't just trying to get into the company and leave me recruiting again in 3 months? On a side note I have at least 3 main resumes for each type of job I am applying for. I also rewrite my cover letter EVERY TIME. Your Laziness for tailoring your resume has lost you the chance at the interview, because I need someone who is detailed orientated on letters they will be writing for the Supervisor.
Above all else, leave off cutesy graphics and fonts. I don't care if it is cute or if you think it catches my attention, If I had time I would print these resumes off and correct the errors with a red pen, then sit there and wish I could send them my corrections.