Thursday, December 3, 2009

[NE-Financial-Services-IT-Jobs] Digest Number 405

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: Ten Most Common Resume Goofs From: Gary Wright - Wright Associates

Message

1.: Ten Most Common Resume Goofs

Posted by: "Gary Wright - Wright Associates" gary_wright@verizon.net wrightassociates

Wed Dec 2, 2009 6:11 am (PST)

Compliments of www.doostang.com

Ten Most Common Resume Goofs
Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC.

1. Email Errors

One of the most common goofs we see is an incorrect email address. Since
most job search efforts are centered around email communications, having an
email address that is wrong or difficult to interpret can be a pothole in
the road to success. Double-check your email address to make sure it is
correct. Don't use your work email address on your resume and try to avoid
having an email that has the number 1 in it as it can be difficult to tell
if it's a letter or a numeral. Avoid goofy or cutesy email monikers such as
vanhalenlvr83 or similar. Email systems that use automated spam
authenticators are loathed by recruiters and line managers alike, so stay
away from them during you job search. Remember, you can set up an email
address that you use JUST for job search.

2. Mechanical Mistakes

Misspellings are the most common mechanical mistake. People rely on
spell-check too much. Spell-check can't tell the difference, though, in
meaning. If you write "manger" instead of "manager", spell-check won't flag
it. Other mechanical problems include verb tense shift and capitalization.
It seems like when in doubt, job seekers will capitalize something just "to
be on the safe side" but that just creates an error.

3. Fluff Phrases

The profile or summary is often the most difficult section of the resume to
create. As a result, job seekers fall back on soft-skill phrases or fluff
phrases such as "good communicator" or "hard-working". These sound good but
they tell the reader nothing. These are subjective traits that are
opinion-based. You may think you are a good communicator but your peers
might say otherwise. These traits will be judged in the interview so don't
load the resume down with these. Remember, 99.9% of all the other candidates
will also be claiming these skills. Have you ever heard of anyone putting
"bad communicator" or "lazy with sloppy attention to detail" on the resume?

4. Too Much Information (TMI)

Job seekers often forget for whom they are writing. The recruiter or hiring
manager is going to be skim-reading the resume and will be looking for the
main points. The job seeker, on the other hand, feels it's necessary to put
every bit of information possible in the resume, right down to including
that Eagle Scout designation from 1984. Having too much information, or
irrelevant information, is a common resume error.

5. Too Little Information (TLI)

The opposite of TMI is TLI – too little information. Being too general in
the resume is just as bad as being too wordy. Usually too little information
takes the form of no details on achievements. Most people can get their job
duties or role descriptions down but falter when it's time to detail their
successes in some sort of quantitative or qualitative way. As a result, the
content is thin or bland and doesn't inspire the reader to make contact with
the job seeker.

6. Passive Voice

We are all taught that formal writing is passive voice writing. Most people
have a tendency to write in the passive voice, especially when composing
their resumes. Passive voice – "responsible for", "duties included", etc. –
is weak writing. Resumes need to be powerful sales documents and passive
voice doesn't persuade the reader. Make sure the resume is written in active
voice with lots of solid keywords throughout the content.

7. Functional Format

Using the functional format (also called a skills resume) is probably the
most deadly error you can commit in terms of the resume's effectiveness.
Recruiters and employers literally detest the functional format. It does not
give them the information they need in the format they want. Additionally,
it generally indicates that the job seeker is trying to hide something since
the functional format is used to cover up problems such as date gaps, job
hopping, or lack of experience. Just the mere appearance of the functional
format is a huge turnoff to decision-makers.

8. Personal Information

The fact that you are an avid skeeball player, or that you collect old world
coins has no relevance to whether or not you are qualified for the position.
So why include information on hobbies, sports, or interests?

9. Poor Design

The old large-left-margin layout is long out of fashion and fancy designs,
images or tables will really give the databases a hard time when you upload
your resume. The best thing to do when it comes to design of your resume is
KISS – keep it simple, sweetie. Yes, make it appealing, but over designed
resumes will get scrambled in uploads, and thus not win interviews.

10. One Page Length

One page resumes are long gone unless you are a new graduate without much
experience. Having said that, we still see plenty of one page resumes for
more senior job seekers come in for critiques. It does surprise me! When a
job seeker tries to limit the content of the resume to fit into one page,
he/she is cutting vital information to adhere to a "rule" that is not valid
for most resumes. Many resumes (including mid-level) are two pages in length
and three pages are acceptable for some senior level candidates.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and
Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the
country's leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with
customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm
's credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best
resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall
Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in
1994, the firm has aided more than 75,000 job seekers to date. All resume
writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume
critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee -- interviews in
30 days or they'll rewrite for free!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web

Messages | Members

The New England Networking Group is Moderated by:

Gary L. Wright - President/Principal - Wright Associates

Wright Associates specializes in High Technology Recruiting Services for the New England Market Place.

Phone: 508-761-6354
Email: mailto:garywright@prodigy.net
Website: www.WrightAssociates.org

MARKETPLACE

Going Green: Your Yahoo! Groups resource for green living