Brian Krueger, President of CollegeGrad.com, presents "The Best Format for Online Resume Submission." Watch this video to learn how to succeed in your job search.
Duration : 0:1:5
When applying for jobs, it is important that you read through the job description thoroughly before submitting your application. A lot of what employers are actually looking for in their potential associate is written right in the job description and requirements. In fact, you should review your resume against the requirements listed in order to make sure you have covered everything the employer is looking for. If you can address all the requirements by the information in your resume or in your cover letter, you will be on the right track for getting the job.
However, there is a whole list of skills employers look for that are never spelled out in the job description. These skills are typically referred to as employability skills, which are skills beyond your technical knowledge and qualifications that make you a great professional in your field. Don’t panic, you already have employability skills, you just may not think of them as critical for getting a job.
The employability skills have been grouped in eight categories:
• Communication skills
• Teamwork skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Initiative and enterprise skills
• Planning and organizing skills
• Self-management
• Learning skills
• Technology skills
Now that you have read the categories, you are thinking to yourself, yes, I have those skills. But did you ever think to list them on the resume? Most people focus on their professional achievements and responsibilities, and they often skip these skills in favour of those that are job specific. However, more and more employers look for these skills in resumes. Your potential employer wants to know that you are a team player, that you communicate well, and will show initiative when needed. While you may think this is implied by your interest in the available position, employers like to see these skills called out on your resume or cover letter.
The best way to demonstrate these skills is through your experience and under your qualifications. Point out the initiatives you have participated in that required you to work in a team, under a deadline, or as a self-starter. Demonstrate your loyalty through pointing out your accomplishments at an organization and how they benefited your team as a whole (not just you). You can showcase the employability skills in your cover letter by openly showing your enthusiasm for the available position, stating your commitment to your career objective, indicating your motivation and your integrity, and showing that you are above all un-selfish and credible. These skills are just as critical to your ability to do a great job as your professional experience and education – employers are looking for someone who will be a great fit on their team and in their organization, someone who works well under pressure but also has a sense of humour and has a balance between their personal and professional life.
Review your existing resume. Does it contain any employability skills? If not, make revisions to incorporate those employability skills you feel you excel in. If you are unsure, ask your friends or family for an objective opinion, so that you can get a better idea of how people around you see you as a person as well as a professional. Keep these attributes in mind as you compose your resume and your cover letter, and especially as you are taking part in interviews. These skills can make a difference between knowing how to do a job and being qualified to exceed goals and grow in your career.
A resume is a one- to two-page document summarizing your career objectives, professional experiences and achievements, and educational background. The heading of the resume should contain your name, address and contact information. The body of the resume should be broken into the following sections: career objective, profile/summary, professional experience, achievements, scholastics, and references. Your career objective should be brief, up to two sentences; it should give your potential employers an idea of how you wish to move forward in your professional life. A concise profile or a summary should discuss who you are and how your skills and experience best apply to the job you are interested in.
The summary, as well as other parts of your resume, should not contain personal information that discloses ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, living situations, or any other personal information that is not directly related to your career. Personal profile/summary should only contain a few well-written sentences that convey what you can bring to the table in terms of the specific job. Use this section to attract the employer’s attention, but don’t go overboard in trying to be creative – stay professional. Your experience listing should include information on one to five jobs you’ve held, starting with your current or last job, and listing previous positions in chronological order.
The listing should include the date range of your employment, name of the companies or person(s) you have worked for, and the city and state where the place of employment is located (full address of employment is not necessary). List your title and your main responsibilities, with emphasis on duties that are applicable to the type of work you are seeking. Your education should include college, graduate and post-graduate work, as well as any courses or professional certifications that are relevant to your career development. Achievements, volunteer positions, publications and interests should only be listed if they apply to your professional work experience References should be listed if requested; best practices suggest not to list generic statements about references being available upon request as this is understood.
In the competitive, internet-driven world of job searches, your resume represents you to potential employers. It serves as your tool to attract attention, get the interview and/or get a job. A great resume will make you stand out from other candidates by showcasing your aptitudes. Think of your resume as your sales pitch – you need to sell yourself in the best possible way. Invest some time and research into developing your resume. You will want to make sure that your resume is error free – double check your grammar and spelling, make sure that all company and school names and cities are spelled properly. A resume containing errors, no matter how minimal, will give your potential employer an impression that you do not have attention to detail, that you don’t take time to double check your work, and that you are a poor communicator.
Additionally, make sure that your resume is formatted well. Stick to basic fonts, like Arial and Times New Roman. Keep the font size and color standard; don’t use large fonts or multi-colors in your resume. Don’t go overboard with bold, italicized, or large-cap text. Keep your format consistent and make sure that the resume looks great when viewed online as well as when printed out. Keep your resume to one or two pages – any additional pages give an impression that you either don’t know how to concisely summarize your education and experience, or that you are listing unnecessary information for the sake of taking up space. If you’ve never written a resume before, reference books, Internet resources or seek assistance from a professional resume writing service. A well-written resume can make a difference between being stuck at your current job and getting an interview to land the job of your dreams.
Résumés are the driving force in the work related arena. Without a good résumé you are probably not going to be getting much in the way of work. Not unless you plan on working at a fast food restaurant for the rest of your life. If you are in a professional career like IT or marketing then your résumé must be accurate and concise to such a degree that the company will feel like they desperately need you to work for them. Play your cards right and you could end up with the job of your dreams.
There are plenty of sites online that can help with résumés. Most of these sites offer you access to their professional résumé programs for a nominal fee. Take the time to research the ones that you think could help you the most and give them a shot. If you feel that they are not offering you what you need to make your résumé shine, then try using something else. Even if that means doing your résumé in Excel or, a word program, and printing it out instead. Take your time and make sure you get everything just right.
In Just 10 Minutes Flat, You Can Quickly And Easily Crank Out An Amazing Resume
If résumés are not your strong point, then you can find someone out there to help you. There are some sites that offer you résumé writers that can write your resume for you with the information that you give them. You can also try looking at your local employment office for assistance in helping you write yours up if you need the extra help. There are plenty of organizations that will make this task a lot easier for you in the long run. Just make sure you have all of your information written out beforehand.
Once you’re done, print out your résumés so that you can get them ready to send off. But before printing, make sure all of your information is correct and easily readable. Nothing says no more to an employer than a sloppy unreadable résumé. Most importantly, never lie on a résumé. Most professionals will be checking all of the little details of your résumé, and lying on it is a sure fire way of not even getting a call back. They might even contact other businesses to tell them about your discrepancies and that can ruin it altogether for you. If you are posting it online they can leave feedback for anyone else to see also. So make sure everything is the truth.
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