Looking for work online often means job-seekers must send out their resumes electronically.
But how can a job-seeker make sure his or her resume will not get deleted by a company's junk-mail filter?
Career Journal offers some tips on
writing a resume
that gets noticed by employers and not filters.
Perhaps it's the rush to submit their resumes before other job candidates or too much focus
on creating a visually appealing document. Whatever the reason, many job-seekers overlook
a critical step in the employment process -- ensuring their application materials are clean
and blunder-free. Thirty-four percent of executives surveyed recently cited typos or grammatical errors
as the most common resume mistake.
The national poll includes responses from 150 senior executives -- including those from human
resources, finance and marketing departments -- with the nation's 1,000 largest companies.
It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by specialized staffing service
Accountemps.
Executives were asked, "In your opinion, which of the following is the single most common mistake
job seekers make on their resumes?" Their responses:
Typos or grammatical errors: 34 percent
Including too much information: 22 percent
Not listing achievements in former roles: 17 percent
Poor layout and/or design: 17 percent
Including too little information: 7 percent
Other/don't know: 3 percent
Accountemps Chairman Max Messmer, who writes Resumania,
a weekly column for Scripps Howard News Service, offers the following suggestions for creating
a winning resume:
Tailor your resume to each opportunity. A one-size-fits-all approach tells employers
you have not taken the time to research their company.
Move from general to specific. Organize information in each section by beginning with a broader statement
and following it with more detailed ones.
Keep it short. Resumes require brief statements that do not have to be complete sentences.
Use bullet points to emphasize important details.
Avoid including personal information. What you cite should directly pertain to
the opportunity and your career.
Proofread your resume several times. Ask others to do so as well.
Leave off references. Today's hiring managers assume you will provide these contacts. Remember
to give your references a copy of your resume and advance notice that they may be called.
A no-cost worksheet tool for helping you update your
resume is
