5 Reasons Why Your Resume Isn’t Gettng Any Attention

Jeffrey Metzger, Your Resume Consultant

It’s boring – Let’s face it…No one wants to read anything that’s boring, especially a resume.  You need to capture the reader’s attention immediately and make them want to read more.  Do you open your resume with a tired and outdated objective?  No one cares what you want (i.e. Seeking a challenging job in a fast-paced environment). Get rid of it.  Your resume should begin with a strong, and captivating professional summary or profile.  You should immediately answer the question “Why should I hire you?” Continue Reading

Resume Mistakes Job Seekers Make

Any job seeker who has tried writing a resume knows resume writing is much more complex than it actually looks. There is an art to designing a resume and when job seekers get it right, they increase their chances of gaining of interviews. Let’s take a look at resume mistakes the majority of candidates make: Continue Reading

The Top 5 Resume Killers

Jeffrey Metzger, Your Resume Consultant

There are many articles that describe the proper techniques for CV writing. In this article, I will discuss five ways that you can ensure that your CV does not make it to the top of the pile. Continue Reading

The 6 Dumbest Resume Mistakes and how you can avoid them

With the majority of job searching and recruitment taking place strictly online, it is absolutely necessary to distinguish yourself from the crowd. In this competitive market, even with ideal work experience, glowing references, and an endless catalogue of professional achievements, you can still miss out on your dream job due to these small, yet critical common errors. Continue Reading

Top 10 Resume Mistakes

Resume Killers

My philosophy is simple:  Stick to the facts. If in doubt, leave it out! Continue Reading

Resume Mistakes That May Cost You the Job

Those of you on the market, please heed these warnings!

Failing to customize the resume to the open position may cost you: In today’s tough job market, every resume should be crafted in response to the requested experience and responsibilities listed in the job description.  If your resume is off target, it will quickly be put aside. Continue Reading

7 Resume Mistakes to Avoid

There’s plenty of great advice out there to help you create an amazing resume—plenty of “dos.” But it’s a good idea to keep in mind that there are some things that you should not do when writing your resume as well. So before you write another word, consider the following resume pitfalls.

Say No To …

1. Writing dense paragraphs: For many hiring managers, resumes are boring, repetitive documents, so it’s your job to make reading yours as enjoyable as possible. One way is by using bullet points instead of writing dense paragraphs. This creates white space that makes reading easier.
2. Sidestepping action words: If you start your work history descriptions with “duties included” then you’re not telling a hiring manager what you accomplished but simply what you were told to accomplish. You can fix this by adding action words like “initiated”, “created”, and “designed” to better describe the contributions you made at your previous employers.
3. Telling white lies: You may feel that exaggerating slightly in your work history could win you a job, but if a prospective employer checks with that previous employer to learn about your responsibilities, you could find yourself being turned down for the position.
4. Failing to add keywords: Most companies use some type of screening technology that looks for keywords related to the job to determine whether a candidate is worth seriously reviewing. To give yourself a chance, look up some related keywords and add them to your resume.
5. Creating generic resumes: It’s very important that you tailor each resume for the company and position for which you’re applying. You can do this by adding work history and accomplishments that show you’ve addressed the prospective company’s needs in the past with prior employers.
6. Not advertising your LinkedIn profile: Your LinkedIn profile gives employers the opportunity to learn more about you than what you include in your resume. So be sure to add this link to your resume to get that boost you need.  – Not sure about LinkedIn? Check out our workshop all about LinkedIn on 9/6 or 10/13)
7. Forgetting to spell check: When you’re done with your resume, you need to check for spelling errors, grammar issues, and typos—over and over again. And don’t rely on your word processing program to do the work for you since they are known for missing important information.

As a job seeker, it’s always important to show how strong you are as a candidate. By avoiding the above no-nos, you have a better chance of being the one candidate the employer wants to bring into their fold.

For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow @GreatResume or visit Jessica’s blog.

By: Jessica Hernandez, expert resume writer, is a nationally-recognized resume authority and former HR Manager who has achieved over a 99% success rate securing interviews with prestigious organizations through exclusive, personal branding strategies; website.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Resume Turnoffs

With so many job seekers out there, it is important for them to develop clean and clear resumes that recruiters/employers will notice.  However, there are certain mistakes that will turnoff those who will read your resume.  Remember, the goal of your resume is to get an interview.

Watch out for these resume turnoffs:

Omitting information – By leaving out important information, you leave question marks about whether or not you’re a legitimate job candidate.  For example, leaving off your home address might disqualify you if an employer believes you live out of town but is only interested in local candidates.

Providing more information than necessary - Your resume should provide enough information about you as a candidate for a specific job, but avoid details that are irrelevant to the employer/recruiter.

Poor resume presentation - The physical appearance of your resume is just as important as the content.  Of course, you should check for spelling and grammatical errors.  According to experts, resumes don’t need graphics, photos, or headshots.

Wrong choice of buzzwords – Be careful about using too many action words in your resume.  Otherwise, you might not clearly emphasize your qualifications for a particular position.

The next time you submit a resume, make sure it avoids these mistakes that will turn off potential employers.

Information provided by Meghan Casserly.

Source

http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/05/employment-search-headhunters-recruiters-job-application-tips-forbes-woman-careers-how-to-write-a-resume.html

Top 3 Resume Writing Mistakes

Did you know that it takes less than 30 seconds for an employer to look at your resume? Thirty seconds determines if your resume makes it to the second round, which could be an interview, or is filed in the round filing cabinet. So what can you do to give yourself the competitive edge? Your resume has to capture the employer’s attention. In today’s economic environment, the competition for jobs is fierce. There are so many people vying for work that your resume really does have to stand out to get noticed. The resume is an expression of yourself, so you have to stand out, you have to get noticed. Here are what I consider to be the three top resume writing mistakes that people make.

Resume Mistake 1: Listing Your Job Duties Instead of Your Accomplishments
Avoid statements such as “Job Duties” or “Job Responsibilities”. Employers want to know about your specific accomplishments and contributions to your previous employer. Did you save money, improve a process, solve a problem? By listing your accomplishments you are letting the employer know you can accomplish the work. This will certainly set you apart from the competition. When listing your accomplishments use bullet statements and action words instead of a narrative paragraph. Remember you have 30 seconds to get your point across, so make it easy to read.
For example, instead of:

• I wrote down my duties in a job manual
• I reorganized the publications and forms department

Use this instead:

• Constructed a procedure manual giving step by step instructions on how to bill a client
• Completely restructured a failing publications and forms department into a model department

Resume Mistake 2: Not Using Key Words
Do you know that 80% of resumes are scrubbed through a database looking for key words? Those resumes where key words are identified get noticed by employers. Use key words in your qualifications and accomplishments. Think of them as encoding your resume with powerful words. Another tip is to read the job posting closely; key words employers are looking for are usually in the posting. There are many websites that list key words, just Google “key words for resumes” and you will have a ton of resources.
Resume Mistake 3: Sending the Resume as an Attachment without Knowing how it will look
Have you ever opened an attachment and found it completely messed up? Somehow in the transmission the layout became distorted, the bullets were out of alignment, or the top of page 2 ended up on the bottom of page 1. The same thing can happen to your resume if you don’t do a test run. Email your resume to a few friends as an attachment and confirm how it looks on their computers. If it looks good, send it off to the employer. If there are problem you want to know about it now. You may have to save your resume in a text format with a .txt file extension.
Jason Kay is a professional writer offering advice in a number of areas including resume writing and personal statement writing. He suggests you consult resume service reviews before choosing a resume writing service.You can learn more useful tips at his resume writing blog.