Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the March 18, 2002 issue of
QuintZine.
One of our favorite quotes about resumes comes from Mark Nelson,
former partner of Dale Dauten of syndicated career-column fame.
Describing a two-page resume with long paragraphs and tiny type,
Nelson says: "This resume is like a lonely guy who can't get a date,
so he sits at home and eats and gets bigger and bigger. I meet people
all the time who think employers are going to get excited by lots of
detail in their resumes. No. Instead, [employers] think, 'Here's
a guy who can't prioritize and who doesn't respect his reader.'"
Overstuffed and text-heavy resumes are a problem for many job-seekers.
A good way to avoid them is to prioritize your resume content based
on how well it answers some basic questions. For example, does your
resume tell:
What you can bring to the employer to improve the company's
service and increase its profits?
What you have done recently toward that end?
How you can make money for the employer?
How you can save money for the employer?
How you can introduce and improve processes?
How you can lead and develop people?
How you can solve the company's problems?
(These questions came from career columnist
Sandra Pesmen and consultant Nancy Bergman of
Stanley Barber & Associates)
What are employers really looking for in
resumes? Career Masters Institute uncovered
some interesting answers to that question in
its recent survey, "Professionally Written &
Designed Resumes: From Getting Noticed to
Getting Interviewed." In terms of first impressions,
surveyed employers rated easy readability and use
of bullets as the most important points. Highly ranked
content factors included a work history that's easy to
read and documented achievements. Content elements that propel
employers to immediately discard resumes include too much
or too little information, irrelevant information, a focus
on duties instead of accomplishments, and long, unexplained
breaks in one's job history.
Layout factors that send resumes
to the circular file included lack of readability, density
of type (paragraphs rather than bullet points), and unnecessary
length. Careless spelling and the presence of typos are also
resume killers for hiring managers. Finally, employers
wanted resumes to show a clear match between the applicant and
a particular job's requirements. A "general" resume that is not
focused on a specific job's requirements was seen as not
competitive.
As we all know, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
have affected every aspect of our lives. Even resumes, apparently.
In a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, writer
Torri Minton notes, "Chances that a resume lie will be
discovered have increased dramatically since the attacks
of Sept. 11, with some security-obsessed companies even
starting to screen current employees." Minton reports
that a new company, MyJobHistory.com, will substantiate
what's on jobseekers' resumes (for a fee) so that when
employers receive the documents, they can see that the
information has been independently verified.
One of our favorite quotes about resumes comes from Mark Nelson,
former partner of Dale Dauten of syndicated career-column fame.
Describing a two-page resume with long paragraphs and tiny type,
Nelson says: "This resume is like a lonely guy who can't get a date,
so he sits at home and eats and gets bigger and bigger. I meet people
all the time who think employers are going to get excited by lots of
detail in their resumes. No. Instead, [employers] think, 'Here's
a guy who can't prioritize and who doesn't respect his reader.'"
Overstuffed and text-heavy resumes are a problem for many job-seekers.
A good way to avoid them is to prioritize your resume content based
on how well it answers some basic questions. For example, does your
resume tell:
