Resumes that make me scream, and not in a good wayFor all of us looking for jobs at this time, with national unemployment rate at 9.7%, there's a lot of competition out there. More to that, 9.7% represent only people who are actually unemployed, not counting all those, who have jobs and still looking. So how many people are we competing with? A friend of mine, who works as an HR manager at a small company, was recently looking for a new cleaning person for her office, and a simple ad on craigslist returned over 100 resumes in a matter of days! That's a lot of competition, especially for a position where the only requirements are to be physically fit and available to work morning hours. Now, I assume that visitors of DandyProject.com are looking for something better than a janitorial position, which makes it even tougher for them to get noticed among all other over-qualified, over-educated and over-experienced candidates. So what can you do to get noticed, if you've never had a chance to get a Ph.D. from Yale, or to work for the United Nations? You know the answer, don't you? It's RESUME MAKEOVER! I've browsed through many resumes on DandyProject.com to compile a short list of how you could give your resume a better edge.Is your resume summary screaming? Most of the ones I've seen do, it's just that not all of them do in a good way. Here are two examples of resume summaries that were forwarded in response to the same position: "Objective: to gain professional employment with opportunity to grow..." and "Over ten years of hands-on experience in the industry leading company...". If you were a recruiter with hundreds of resumes in your mailbox, which resume would you continue reading? No cover letter, really? It doesn't cost you anything to submit a cover letter with your resume, so why don't you? True, many recruiters don't have time to read cover letters, and I don't blame them, I only wish you could see what some people write. Here are two real examples of cover letter opening statements, pick the one you would keep reading if you were a recruiter: "I really need this job because I have a family to support, and my unemployment is running out..." and "Being a top performing nurse in my hospital, I know what it takes to succeed. I truly enjoy helping people...". Recruiters are not aliens, they are just like you and me. This means you can talk to them, make them a part of your network and ask for feedback. Why don't you ask what exactly they are looking for? Chances are, you have that particular skill or experience, but failed to emphasize it in your resume. Networking, networking, networking! DandyProject.com gives you a personal space that can be used to advertise you and your expertise, and it wouldn't hurt if you fill this space with some information about yourself. Recruiters are always looking for innovative ways to find qualified candidates, and your profile could speak louder than your resume. Good news! Finally! Yes, there is some good news. Now that you have this information, why don't you take a look at your resume and find ways to make it scream in a good way? Most probably you've been trying to land on a job for a while now, and maybe even realized that you might have been doing something wrong. So now it's time to take a different approach, and once you do, you'll see the difference simple steps can make for you! We look forward to hearing from you. Are there any suggestions or success stories you would like to share? Click here to submit your comment or see what other people have to say |