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Free Tips:
The resume is written only to get the interview!
- Keep the resume to one
page, two at most. Most employers don't want to be bothered
reading about you if it takes too long.
- Don't use an "objective."
Objectives are the exclusive province of recent college
graduates who are entering the workplace for the first time.
- Make your resumes "accomplishment-oriented"
and keep it that way, consistently.
- Chronological resumes are preferable to functional ones
because the format is more traditional and easier to follow. Use functional
resumes only when you must minimize gaps in employment and erratic
career advancement.
- Take particular pains to avoid typographical and grammatical
errors. As a reflection of intellect, a resume with typos
or poor grammar may be discarded on that basis alone.
- Don't lie. The CFO of a well-known, listed company, was recently discharged when it was discovered that his resume stated that he had an M.B.A. when, in fact, he did not. There is
nothing wrong, however, with "event glorification."
- It is acceptable, perhaps beneficial, to respond to
a job advertisement more than a week after it appears.
Your resume has a better chance of being read if it is
received in the "trickle" instead of the "flood"
of responses.
- Never write "Health:
Excellent." No one has ever written "Health: Poor."
- Always accompany your
resume with a personalized covering letter. This indicates
that the job has enough interest for you so that you took
the time to personalize your response.
- An effective covering letter should also be short, precise,
accomplishment-oriented and end with a request for an interview.
Wherever possible, address the letter directly to the individual
who makes hiring decisions. Avoid addressing it to "Human
Resource Department" or "Personnel Department."
Ask for the interview! Close the letter with that request.
- Research! You can
find the name of the individual you seek usually by making
a telephone call. If that doesn't work, consult on-line
directories which are easily available on the Internet.
- When you respond to a classified or display advertisement,
you are usually in competition with hundreds, if not thousands
of applicants with similar qualifications. Therefore, directing
a covering letter to a specific individual will bring greater
returns.
- Whereas the resume features accomplishments in your employment,
the covering letter should emphasize personal characteristics
(tenacity, communication skills, rapid promotions, etc.)
and how your qualifications meet the advertiser's requirements.
- Persistence Beats Resistance! One, two or even three follow-up
letters may be necessary to penetrate your target.
- Ignore requests for salary history or requirements. That
request is an attempt by employers to either disqualify
you or assume an unfair advantage during salary negotiations.
If your resume and letter are interesting enough, that should
be more than enough to provoke a response.
We wish you good results in your job search
effort.
It is truly the resume and covering letter that
makes the difference.
Take great pains to make yours "the
perfect resume."
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