Lost In Cubes » job search

More Resume Writing Tips!

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:13:50 +0000

Take note of these resume writing tips to fine tune the content and ensure maximum readability by your recruiter. Remember, you want them to pay attention to your document and the content that has the list of your work experiences. You want them to know your achievements and how you progress in your career. You want them to be interested in you! Avoid these mistakes made and you will stand a higher chance of securing an interview with your prospective employer.

Don’t bore the recruiter with your lengthy job duties – Your resume should not be a boring listing of job duties and responsibilities. Go beyond showing what was required and demonstrate how you made a difference at each company, providing specific examples. When developing your achievements, ask yourself: (1) how did you perform the job better than others? (2) What were the problems or challenges faced? How did you overcome them? What were the results? How did the company benefit from your performance? (3) Did you receive any awards, special recognition or promotions as a result?
Don’t use objective statement if you are not one – Many candidates lose their readers in the beginning. Statements like “A challenging position enabling me to contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement” are overused, too general and waste valuable space. If you’re on a career track, replace the objective with a tagline stating what you do or your expertise.
Too Short or Too Long – Do not squeeze your resume into one page. You will leave out your impressive achievements if you do so. On the other hand, do not ramble on about irrelevant or redundant experiences. There is no rule about appropriate resume length. However, ask yourself this when writing your resume, “Will this statement help me land an interview?”
Using Personal Pronouns and Articles – A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a telegraphic style. There should be no mentions of “I” or “me,” and only minimal use of articles.
Listing Irrelevant Information – Include interests, but only those that is relevant to the job. For example, if a candidate is applying for a position as a ski instructor, he should list cross-country skiing as a hobby.
Using a Functional Resume When You Have a Good Career History
It is irksome for hiring managers not to see the career progression and the impact made at each position. Unless you have an emergency situation, such as virtually no work history or excessive job-hopping, avoid the functional format.
Write out an initial summary section for a hard sell! — This is one of the job seeker’s greatest tools. Do your homework and you will know the skills and competencies important to the position. The summary should demonstrate the skill level and experiences directly related to the position
References Available — Employers know you have professional references. Use this statement to signal the end of a long resume.
Typos – One typo can land your resume in the garbage. Proofread and show your resume to several friends to have them proofread it as well. This document is a reflection of you and should be perfect.

Get Prepared for a Career Change!

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:08:33 +0000

Having established a certain status (and comfort level) in an organisation, we have lost out diligence and having the details for a job change. We oversee information that the employer need and most of the time, is the ego within us that is a show stopper when we are looking for a good career. Today, we present to you things that you should note before you start sending resumes out if you are an experienced professional. Continue reading to find out the details that you should be aware of now!

Be prepared for any conversation from the employer – The first and foremost thing that you should do is have a clear picture and overview of what you are doing and what you have done so far in your past employment. They called in to get a clearer picture of your employment and in this phone conversation; you are suppose to give this piece of information to them. To do that, make a short or compress list of things that you’ve done out of the resume. Categorized into logical sections which they can absorb easily. In this way, you demonstrated that you are sure of what you are doing, giving them the confidence in employing you (or recommending you).
Ask for the real employer details and job description – If you are going through a recruitment agency, do feel free to ask for the real employer details. Likelihood is that they will not reveal to you as they may be afraid that a direct contact be made by you. However, sometimes, you may be surprised that they do tell you the actual employer details. Also, what most of us forget is the job description. Do remember to ask for the job description in the form of email so that you can refer to when you are free. Why? Most recruitment agencies will call at office hours and you may feel uneasy to discuss openly and therefore it’s best for them to send you the job description.
Can you take blunt comments? – This may be difficult for mid-career changes. Especially if you are not holding a junior position anymore. Ego is high and you expect employers to look up on you. Take note, unless you are those high-paying-everybody-wants-CEO, you can forget about your ego! Your work experience may not be fully applicable in the employer’s environment and they may make comments (mock) at your experience. Example, “Are these what you do for the past two years?”, “Is that all?” Take these comments positively. The good thing is at least you know what is lacking for you to hold the prospective position.
Give the recruitment agencies time – Lastly, this is the final advice that we have. The recruitment agencies may eagerly want to fill the position. Why? Because filling the position means cashing the profit for their company. However, they still need time to communicate back and forth with the employer and negotiate your baseline package with them. Therefore, don’t get worked out or disheartened that they never get back to you. Give them some time and they will get back to you. Because once you passed their first screening, they already have interest in getting you into the employer and want to have a proper closure with you. Also, if you fail to secure the position, you will still be in their prospective list for other employers too!

Walk Out, Feel Great from Any Interview!

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:51:55 +0000

Writing an effective resume will give you a higher chance to an interview. But that is focusing on the resume only. That’s not enough to lay you the job you want. What is actually lacking is the extra human touch that you should be giving to your employer. We have ten more ways for you to help you get the job you want! Follow them closely and we believed you will be rewarded with the career that you long been waiting for!

Understand and appreciate that the interviewer took out some of his precious time to meet you for the interview – At the baseline, do not waste each other time. Both of you want to get something out of it! Your employer is looking for a prospective staff and you are looking for a prospective employer. So get down to business!
Be early – Most often said. Be early. Much early than your given time. You need to factor the traveling time and maybe any traffic jams and glitches along the way. Remember, both of your time is precious!
Wear appropriately but not overdress – Don’t wear a tux for an interview. Nor should you wear long pants with sneakers. First impression counts and your dressing will generalize your character.
Read up about the company that you applied for – Do a last minute research about the company. Their industry, profit margin, cost model, markets. This will show that you really care about the company!
Know the industry well relating to the company you applied for – Understand how the industry works. Also find out about the challenges for companies that are operating in the industry. This will aid in the discussion during the interview.
Admit your lack of knowledge on the industry and company – You may have read up about the industry and company but of course you are not in it yet. Therefore, admit honestly that you lack the in-depth knowledge of the industry and company. Honesty here works better than knowledge.
Think carefully before you say anything – Always think carefully before you respond to your interviewer questions. Your answers are being analyzed by the interviewer about your integrity and character.
Be relaxed but not let down your guard – Even if the conversation starts to transit into a friendly talk, do not let down your guard. When you are relaxed, you may have the tendency of saying things that are not supposed to be heard.
Give positive gestures – Avoid the negative postures that illustrates over defensiveness. Slouching positions should be avoided as well. They are recruiting a professional, not a pizza boy.
Thank the interviewer for his time – At the end of the session, remember to thank him for his precious time again.

9 More Ways to Get Your Job You Want!

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Writing an effective resume will give you a higher chance to an interview. But that is focusing on the resume only. That’s not enough to lay you the job you want. What is actually lacking is the extra human touch that you should be giving to your employer. We have nine more ways for you to help you get the job you want! Follow them closely and we believed you will be rewarded with the career that you long been waiting for!

Understand that the resume and CV needs to be done correctly before you can talk about an interview – Therefore, do not waste time thinking that about your interviewing process or how much to ask for. Use your energy in perfecting the resume and CV.
List down the industries you are interested in – Then do a search on all job portals. Do not limit yourself to local portals. You may find something interesting from regional portals as well.
List down the companies you are interested in – Then search for the jobs through each individual company career website. Recruitment firms and job portals may not have all the listed jobs you want. Therefore, it’s good to look for the jobs directly from the employer (company).
Increase your chance of employment by dropping your resume with a few recruitment firms – This recruitment firms will help you get your job. Why? They receive commission and bonus for getting a staff to the employer! Therefore, they will be more desperate to get you a job!
Keep track of all the applications made – If you left this step, you will be confused when prospective employers call you and you are unable to tell which company that you applied for. And unknowingly, you confused with the company’s competitor. Not good for a first impression!
Follow-up with your employers – Call in or email in to confirm if the employer have received the resume. Do this after two to three days after you submitted your resume.
Do not be saddened after a series of applications – Call up the employers if they did not get back to you and learn from them what you are missing to get the job. It may be some key skills and experience you are lacking. It may be some information that you are missing in the resume which you can amend easily too.
Call your employer to thank him for sparing the time for the interview session – That is when you are given a chance for interview. Also, thank him for considering you for the position.
Call your employer to thank him even if you are not employed – You may not be the suitable one that they are looking for. It’s ok. Leave a good impression as it may come in handy in future. They made consider you for other positions too! Also learn the mistakes that you are lacking and fine tune your approach and the resume.

Getting a Job Easier than you’ve Expected!

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:10:34 +0000

We are taught everything in the university but not the skills needed to get into the working world. Nor are we taught how to survive in the working world. We guessed that they want to leave that for you to explore it when you are in it. Now the first thing when you get out of university is to get your first job! We’ve got tips for you to get a job easier than you expected! This is also applicable for mid-career professional as well!

Understand how HR works – HR will have done an initial screening of the resumes and CV. They will look for keywords and phrases, and if you do not have them, you will be filtered off. Those that looked common or uninteresting will be filtered off too. So how do you survive this initial round? Read on!
Understand how online job application system works – Online application is to allow the HR employer to better search through the applicants. What will they search for? Keywords, key skills and certifications in your resume. This is important to understand as you will know what to provide in your resume.
Don’t use Microsoft Word resume template – Everyone is using the resume template. You won’t be different from them and leave you a higher chance not to be filter off. Create a template of your own to differentiate from the others! (And do not use those templates on the internet!)
Cover letter should write in employer context – Craft it in what they want, not what can you give. However, you can write what you can give to satisfy their incumbent’s position.
Cover letter should be one page long – Limit the amount of scrolling and not deterring the employer from reading
Write resume content with keywords – Remember about how online system works? Keywords, key skills and certifications are just a few things they will search for.
Send a printed copy to your employee – Do this on top of the electronic application. This shows your sincerity of the job. This is another differentiator that you can employ.
Talk to an “insider” – It is easier to get into a job through recommendation and it had always been the case. Therefore, get a good network that can lay you the job in the company if possible.
Fine tune your resume – Fine tune your resume after each round of the interview. Through the applications (after being rejected or being approached), you will eventually learn what the industry really want (not what you can provide) and you can fine tune your resume to suit their needs.