resume

1/8/2020 – Resume Mythbusters: Certified Resume Writer Panel

January 10, 2020 by Julia Churan

Your resume is the first step in your journey to an interview. You need to be able to pass through the applicant tracking system (ATS) in order to have a live person even know that you applied for a role in most companies today. That piece of paper or electronic profile is often the first impression a recruiter or hiring manager will have of you. Is your resume representing you in the best possible way and landing you the interview?

In today’s competitive job market, a professionally prepared resume may be the one thing that makes you stand out from the hundreds of strong candidates applying for the same position.

Panel

The Resume Writers Council of Arizona (RWCA) has been a long-time partner of Career Connectors. Members provide resume expertise to job seekers at all Career Connectors regular events. The members of this group are career-services professionals with special expertise and accreditation in resume writing. Three members took the spotlight on today’s panel to help break down the myths of the resume format, content, and function.

Brenda Cunningham (BC), owner of Push Career Management, author, and current president of RWCA
Lori Norris (LN), founder of Get Results Career Services and military resume specialist
Waleed Alani (WA), career management counselor, coach and Global Career Development Facilitator

The panel was led by Career Connectors’ Founder and CEO, Jessica Pierce with questions submitted by seekers prior to the event.

Q: Share the biggest mistakes you see on resumes today.
LN: Seekers try to cover too much information on one resume. Have multiple resumes for multiple roles.
BC: Seekers use too many adjectives. Example: “high-qualified, multi-faceted, detail-oriented marketing professional.” This isn’t giving actual results from your experience. You are taking up a lot of valuable space telling the hiring manager nothing about how you will perform in this role or for their company.
WA: The biggest mistake many resumes make is not being clear why you should be considered for the role. Connect the dots for the hiring company. Make it clear how your background and experience support the role you are applying for.

Q: Why should seekers listen to professional resume writers?
LN: You shouldn’t listen to a specific professional; listen to the results. Resumes are subjective and no two writers will deliver the same outcome. Pick an expert that you connect with and one that understands your background. If you aren’t getting interviews, you need to rethink what you are sending out no matter how great you think that resume might be.
BC: RWCA members study the current hiring trends, they speak to HR professionals, and they research trends in applicant tracking systems. Certified writers understand what it takes to get in front of recruiters today.
WA: The technology of getting hired is changing as the world is changing. Look at books on job seeking from 5 to 10 years ago. The styles and preferences of resumes were different. The process and systems to support hiring were different from 10 years ago. Professionals will help you stay current with the trends of today and the future.

Q: What are some of the most important things to include on your resume?
LN: Benefits and value statements. Tell the reader how you are going to help the company. The resume isn’t about you; it is how your experience will benefit them.
BC: Don’t be vague by statements like “answered phones.” Demonstrate how you performed and the conditions and measurements of that skill. Explain how you know you did a good job.
WA: Accomplishments must be quantified. Reflect it in the terms of standards or values to the hiring organization.

Q: What are the recommended mechanics of the resume?
Number of pages: 1 or 2 pages as long as your experience and background merit the words. Cut the fluff and focus the content. Avoid “orphan pages” – have 2 full pages or 1 full page. Adjust margins and font size to fill up 2 pages or reduce to 1.
Font Style: Cambria or Calibri – Avoid Times New Roman!
Font Size: 10 – 12 pt
Margins: 1/2″ to 1″

Let the eye decide. Don’t overwhelm the reader.
The book Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives helps you be focused, creative and to prioritize. These skills will allow you to manage the resume length.
Waleed Alani

Q: What type of resume should we be focused on?
LN: There are three basic types:
1. Chronological resumes – This style is unanimously recommended by the panel. It is the type you MUST use for ATS systems and should be your primary or only focus. Include not more than 10 years of work history unless you have the specific experience for the role you are applying to.
2. Functional resumes – This type highlights your skills but will not work with an ATS and often raises questions with the reader. These have no dates and raise huge red flags for employers. If you have gaps in your resume, there are ways to work around them. A resume professional can help fill those gaps.
3. Combination resume – This is a hybrid of Chronological and Functional. It may be used for a job fair or networking event but will not pass through automated systems.

Q: How do you avoid age discrimination on your resume?
BC: Age discrimination is real, so don’t give the reader an idea of your age from reading your resume – young or old. Age concerns can be overcome in an interview but you have to get there. Show you are current by taking classes or listing current technology and concept expertise.

Never use “retire” or “25 or 30 years of experience”. Use 10+ or 15+ years. Don’t use antiquated email domains like “AOL.com” or other ’80s domains.
Don’t use dates or years in your email address like JDoe1960@gmail.com.
Don’t put dates on your education, just note the Degree.
Don’t include High School information.

Reverse discrimination is also an issue. If you just graduated, this is the only time that you should use your college graduation dates. It will explain your lack of experience.

Q: Customizing resumes for specific jobs?
BC: Don’t be lazy! Never shoot the one resume out to all job applications. Spend 1-2 hours per application to customize it for the specific company and role. Use keywords from the job posting in your resume. When a specific skill is required, spell out what the skill is and how you have used it.

Don’t just rely on a great resume. Use your network to get referrals into the company.
Brenda Cunningham

Q: What is the best way to get past the ATS systems?
LN: AVOID templates! Templates in MS Word may be pretty, but they are full of formatting that an ATS may not read. Use borders and background shading if you want, never have important information in the header/footer. Never use text boxes or tables in your resume because older systems will not read the information within them.
BC: Save and upload files in MS Word format rather than a PDF or any graphic format. Some older systems won’t read PDF files. Also remember, smaller companies and government agencies may not have an ATS so a human is manually scanning them.
WA: Don’t let the ATS scare you. Keep the format simple using text and tabs. Beware of bullets. Make things stand out with font size and bolding rather that fancy document format. Waleed will post more tips on his Linked In profile for resume formatting.

Remember, the resume content should be the focus and represent you to the employer!

Hiring Companies

All About People, Karen McEnroe, Vice President
They are a professional hiring organization with services to small and large organizations in contract, direct hire, and executive search in several industries, including Accounting/Finance, Supply Chain, HR, and Medical.

Current open positions include:

Bilingual Call Center Representatives
RN’s, LPN’s and Behavioral Health Technicians
Litigation Attorney
Enrollment Representatives
SVP of Sales

U.S. Census, Cynthia Duncan, Recruiter
The U.S. Census Bureau is the Federal Government’s largest statistical agency in the U.S. Phoenix is one of two national processing centers dedicated to the 2020 Census.

Processing includes receiving and preparing decennial forms, imaging, keying, QA and forms disposal. Positions range from entry-level to supervisory, IT, HR, Health & Safety. Nearly 1000 full- and part-time federal employees will be hired for these temporary roles with excellent benefits. The processing roles will be at the I-10, I-17 and new Loop 202.

Apply at www.USAJobs.gov
Search Keyword: NPC
Location: Phoenix
Create a profile and apply directly to each job of interest.

Resources

Career Connectors Academy, Landi Carfi, VP of Corporate Training
This exciting program is brought to job seekers through a joint partnership with Brighton College. There are a number of short-term IT, Allied Health and other certification programs available at a discounted price for Career Connectors clients. No interest payment plans are also available as well as grants through WIOA and SWFI.

Closing

Jessica took the stage to thank all the attendees, partners and services for attending. She also encouraged attendees to take advantage of the free services for resume and LinkedIn assistance, professional portraits, DISC assessments and coaching that are provided at each event. She also had special gratitude to Grand Canyon University for hosting today’s event and the many staff members and volunteers who make these events happen.

Should you post your resume online?

May 30, 2017 by Jeri Hird Dutcher

Written by: Jeri Hird Dutcher
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

First, understand that posting your resume online is not a guarantee of a job. Everyone knows someone’s brother’s friend’s cousin who landed a high-paying job by posting a resume online. It has taken on the status of an urban legend.

In fact, the success rate is miniscule. Online resume posting has only an 8% success rate for discovering an opportunity. That doesn’t mean getting the job; it means finding a job to apply for. (Source: http://julliengordon.com/50-job-search-statistics-successful-job-seekers-need-know)

Another downside to posting your resume is that it can become dated. If recruiters see your resume day after day, week after week, they start not seeing it at all. It’s like a house that is up for sale for too long. People start assuming there is something wrong with it.

You must also carefully guard your personal information when posting your resume. Job boards will require you to register. Be sure not to divulge your birth date or Social Security Number in an online application unless you are applying for a federal job. Remove your home address and home phone number from your resume before posting it. The heading of your resume should contain only your name, cell number, and disposable e-mail address such as one from Gmail. Make sure your email address is professional, such as LastNameFirstName@gmail.com.

Considering the negatives, don’t think of resume posting as your job search strategy. Rather, think of it as a small part of your strategy.

The upside to posting your resume

If you add your resume to the millions already online, it becomes available for employers to search by using criteria known as keywords. Make sure your resume includes the proper keywords for the position you want to apply for. Find the keywords in the requirements listed in the job posting of the position you desire.

Upload your resume

Usually, the job board will offer a “resume builder.” Upload a PDF of your resume if possible. A PDF is a picture of your resume rather than an editable version. That is desirable so that the builder doesn’t change the appearance of your resume automatically. One client who uploaded a Microsoft Word resume found, to his horror, that the bullets in front of each line had been turned into skull and crossbones.

If you must copy and paste the version of your resume, be sure to review and revise your information as you enter it. Pay close attention to the formatting to make sure lines
end where they are supposed to, the bold type is still bold, tabs are placed correctly, and no odd characters have been added.

Don’t volunteer information such as age, gender, or nationality, or answer“bonus”questions that can hurt your chances. Instead, study the questions and formulate answers to them in case they are asked in an interview.

Do your homework on Salary.com before answering questions about your target salary. It’s OK to include a number; just make sure it fits your target level.

Cover letter

Some job boards will request a cover letter. Others will have a place titled Additional Information or something similar where you can upload it. Again, upload a PDF if given the choice.

Save and print

Save your entry occasionally in case you time out or there is a server interruption. When you complete your entry or upload, preview it to make sure it looks professional, is readable, and represents you well. Print it, create a PDF, or copy and paste the online copy into a text editor and save it.

Click apply

Now, you can view a job posting and click on Apply. Your resume will be available to the company’s recruiter.

Since online resume posting yields such a small return on your time investment, be sure not to spend more than 10% of your job search posting your resume.

Avoiding the ATS Black Hole

March 7, 2017 by Donna Tucker

Written by Donna Tucker
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

What happens to your résumé when you submit it online? Are you afraid it goes into the Black Hole?

Beware the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)! Some ATSs screen out many well-qualified candidates since most candidates submit résumés that are not optimized for ATS. Let’s be sure your résumé is written and formatted to pass ATS criteria.

First of all, there are about 200 different ATSs today. Some more sophisticated than others. Unless you know what system you are working with and its capabilities, you must write to the common denominator.

Most ATSs use parsing software to place words and information in fields; many ATSs use section headers to categorize information; and many ATSs match résumé keywords or phrases from users entering them in, analyzing announcements, and/or mathematically evaluating many announcements and/or from the same career field.

Some ATSs ask questions to qualify and/or eliminate candidates; some ATSs use Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to assign context to keywords and phrases; and some ATSs score résumés based on algorithms on how well they match keywords and phrases ─ an ATS selects résumés which score high enough and/or meet other criteria.

Now, let’s make YOUR resume pass. Use standard header names for each section.

Contact Information: Do not use a formal header. Include Name, Address, City, State, ZIP, Phone Number, Email Address at the top of the résumé. (Some ATSs select candidates ONLY from the local area, and will eliminate candidates without ZIP codes at least).
Summary: Include the headings Professional Profile or Summary. Include the title of the job from the announcement with keywords. Can include a skill list with keywords. No tables!
Experience: Use Professional Work Experience heading – many ATSs look for these words. Use Reverse Chronological format. Consider entering Company after each company name. Enter dates, including month and year. Enter in each company’s city and state. Write duties and accomplishments with keywords and phrases from the announcement. Repeat keywords and phrases from position to position to score higher and show depth of experience. Spell out acronyms at least the first time and put the acronym in parenthesis after full words.
Education: Use Education heading. Type full name and abbreviation for the degree, major, school name, and location. Optional information may include degree date, GPA and course work. Enter any honors.
Training: Use Training heading. Type in names for all related training courses.
Certifications: Use Certification heading. Type in all certification information.

This is all basic information; there can be more items to consider. No one rule fits all for all ATSs.

Modify your résumé for each job to enhance your chances.

Ensure that the résumé is readable by humans and computers – you never know when a résumé will be read by an ATS even when you apply in person.

Final notes:

Most ATSs can read Word Files without tables, graphs, and boxes.
Avoid key information in headers or footers.
Avoid PDFs (they are not read correctly).
You can have one format that is both ATS and human readable.
You want a nicely formatted résumé uploaded since recruiters / managers may download the original.

Transitioning Out of the Military – 2

February 14, 2017 by Lori Norris

Step 2 –“Demilitarize” Your Resume

Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

No matter how qualified you may be, if a potential employer cannot decipher your resume, comprehend your military skills and experience, and understand the value you offer, you will not get calls for interviews. In teaching thousands of military service members from all branches of the military, most of them tell me that translating their skills to civilian terms is often the most challenging step.

To begin, you must strip away the military language and acronyms in order to highlight your skills in your resume. Many of the people who will screen or read your resume have no concept of military life. It is your job to provide a clear understanding of the relevant skills and experience you gained in the military. Most military experience transfers easily to the corporate world with the right language.

Instead of: Acted as the battalion secretary to create schedules for the unit.
Translate to: Created calendars and organized training schedules for 150+ personnel.

Instead of: Achieved FMC rate of 88% and 98% scheduling effectiveness rate.
Translate to: Maintained critical equipment availability 6% above USAF standards. Managed time effectively to ensure 98% of all scheduled maintenance was completed on time.

Additionally, many military job titles are meaningless in the civilian world. Do your research to determine what potential employers are calling the positions for which you are qualified. When you translate your job title, you can also include your official title.

For example, a First Sergeant in the United States Air Force may write their job title like this:

Employee Relations Manager (First Sergeant), United States Air Force, (dates to and from)

There are some very useful resources available on the Internet. Here are a few:

O*NET – Offers the Crosswalk Search by entering your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Navy Rating, or Air Force Military Occupation Code (MOC).

Army COOL and Navy COOL – Works in connection with the Occupational Outlook Handbook to provide detailed career information.

Verification of Military Education and Training (VMET) – Provides detailed information about your current position and related civilian career fields.

America’s CareerInfoNet – Serves as a military-to-civilian occupational translator and provides labor market information by state.

Step 3 – Create Your Job Search Strategy –>

Optimize the Top of Your Resume to Land Interviews

January 17, 2017 by Jeri Hird Dutcher

Written by: Jeri Hird Dutcher
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

Is your résumé broken? If it hasn’t captured enough interviews to land a legitimate job offer, then it’s not helping you as much as it could.

Start fixing your résumé by rewriting the top half of the first page. This content is the most important, so don’t waste the space on nonessential content. The words you write here will persuade the hiring authority or recruiter to keep reading.

Contact
Accurate, easy-to-find contact information is crucial to the hiring authority reaching you for an interview.

Do NOT place your name or contact information in the header of the document if you will use the résumé to apply online. Applicant Tracking Systems used by most employers do not read document headers.

Start with your name, big and bold, so that it stands out from the rest of your information.

Don’t waste vertical space by stacking your contact information. Put it right under your name, all on one line.

Provide only one phone number, preferably a personal cell number; your street address only if you will use the résumé for online applications; your personal email address, and your customized LinkedIn profile url. (This is the one you create, not the one that has a lot of random numbers and letters in it.)

Your contact information will look like this:

Joy Jobseeker
555.555.5555 | 123 Willow St., Phoenix, AZ 85555 | joyjobseeker@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/joyjobseeker

Summary
Create a résumé summary rather than an objective.

If you will use the résumé for online applications, your first section heading should be SUMMARY.
Then, place the title of the job for which you are applying under your contact information.

Write your summary last, after you’ve finished the rest of the résumé. Then, summarize your experience and accomplishments in about three lines. Here is an example:

Summary

Sales Manager

Management professional with three years of experience leading retail sales team to record-setting revenue increases. Enthusiastic team captain who values results through long-term relationships with team members and clients. MBA in progress.

Strengths
Next, list your key strengths as they apply to your target positions. For example, let’s say you’ve held sales jobs and now, you’d like to apply for sales management positions. Emphasize your management-related skills and experience while including your sales experience while not making it the main attraction.

For sales management strengths, you might list Sales Management, Revenue Generation, Team Leadership, and Product Development. Then, for each item, summarize your accomplishments. The section might look like this:

Key Strengths

Sales Management: Exceeded all personal and team quotas for past 3 years.
Revenue Generation: Achieved record-setting $6 million in sales revenue in 2015.
Team Leadership: Captained 4 retail sales associates to meet highest sales revenue in company history.
Product Development: Increased annual revenue 55% in 2015 by creating and implementing Star Customer Referral Program.

Topping your resume with your most important and impressive information will attract the attention you seek.