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U.S. Census Bureau

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

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Written by Julia Churan

Resume Mythbusters Panel

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.

Resume Panel
  • 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.

02/07/19 – Resume Mythbuster Panel

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Written by Gary Matsuda

Working on updating your resume? Here to help you distinguish fact from fiction are four resume experts who have a total combined experience of working with hundreds of hiring managers and recruiters!
Myth: Include all jobs to show experience.
Save space, employers don’t need to see everything – only what is important to the job they are trying to fill. Unfortunately, there is just too much for them to read. Specialization is everywhere, so your job search must niche down as much as possible to the specific job opening.
Lori Norris, Get Results Career Services, says the biggest resume mistake is a failure to focus. Three or four pages might be too much (unless you are upper level executive management). They don’t want to see everything, only what is important to them. If you try to appeal to everyone then you will reach no one. Have multiple versions ready that target and focus incorporate keywords from job descriptions.
It takes work to remove non-essential work experience, but a shorter, more focused document will improve scoring by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and will be easier to read by us humans.
Brenda Cunningham, owner of Push Career Management, says to keep it to one page, but it depends on your experience. If you were in the same position for a long time it will look good if it was kept to one page. Most resumes for mid-career professional are 2 pages, but if the job application asks for one page – then you must follow directions!
Myth Busted!
Grain of truth: Show all your experience that relates directly to the job you are applying for.

Myth: Listing all duties and activity makes you look well rounded.
While you should include relevant accomplishments, your resume isn’t a list of ‘chores’. What employers want to know about your experience is did you perform well and will you be valuable to them.
Martha Rockwell, owner of A+ Resumes & Career Coaching says, not to fall back on merely describing activities but include results of your effort.
Donna Tucker, founding member of Resume Writers Council of Arizona: Don’t include your whole story but leave some details for the cover letter or interview. In your resume quickly tell what problem you solved and make it easy to read.
Brenda: Your resume should answer the ‘So what?’ question. Don’t just write that you ‘answered phones’, but say you ‘made 400 calls a day while documenting detailed notes’. Show what made your work special.
Martha: If you give too much information, they may not call for interview since they believe they have enough information from you. Hold back on some details but give enough to tempt them to ask for more. Highlight your value by showing quantifiable results, ‘sales increased’ or ‘reduced rework’. Describe how you made money for the company!
Donna: Including too much can also leave you open to assignments you don’t want and may indicate that you’re desperate or don’t know your strengths.
Brenda: Keep it relevant, don’t make the reader work to figure out what is important. Also, don’t be creative in describing your job title, call it what it is and use what they call it. Be clear on job titles for instance, there’s a difference between project manager and project coordinator. Show what you’ve done matches what the job requires.
Myth Busted!
Grain of truth: You may include your responsibilities but it’s more important to show the value you’ve provided to the business.

So how can your brilliance be captured on a shorter resume? Go deep, not wide. On to the next myth.

Myth: Don’t need cover letter (because ain’t nobody got time for that!)
A well written cover letter shows your personality, communication style and enhances your chance for an interview. After passing initial screening, resumes and cover letters will go to hiring managers but because they’re not going to interview 20 people for a job, they’ll read cover letters to make final selections.
This is the sales pitch that shows what you have to offer and why you are the best person for job. Include a call to action that specifies what happens next. For instance, ‘I will call you for possible of interview’. But if you include this, be sure to do it!
Martha: While the resume is an objective document, a cover letter is more subjective but still tailored to a specific job posting. Place the most important requirements near the beginning of cover letter to show clearly you can do the job.
Donna: If an ATS asks for a cover letter separately, then don’t attach to resume. Its content must be specific to the job. Don’t repeat information that is on resume.
Lori: If uploading to an ATS and there is no separate upload for a cover letter, you might be able to upload the resume first then followed by cover letter attached. Keep them separate if possible.
Myth Busted!

Myth: Fancy fonts help make a resume stand out
Getting past the ATS gatekeeper is difficult enough and fancy fonts can make it even harder for automated software to read your resume. Microsoft Word is best, while PDFs can be tricky for ATS to read. Leave the fancy resume for the interview.
Lori: The way it looks is not as important as content. You don’t need fancy if you’ve got great content.
Donna: To get your resume read more accurately by an ATS use san serif fonts ‘no feet’ such as Calibri or Arial.
Also avoid text boxes, tables, no images, don’t even include your photo!
Myth Busted!
Grain of truth: Print an alternate ‘fancier’ resume to present at interview.

Myth: I can create a resume on my own without help
Not so much anymore. Applicant Tracking Systems have gotten much better at scoring, approving and rejecting applicants depending on how well content matches a job posting. With hundreds of different ATS software screening your applications, you’ll want as much feedback as possible from professional resume writers. The best resume coaches go through professional training, evaluations, certifications and keep up with hiring trends at local and national Human Resource conferences. Based on their relationships with recruiters and hiring managers who are currently trying to fill positions, they keep current on the resume screening process and the foundations of a good resume.
Brenda: We all have different opinions however, if you get advice from too many voices, it may be hard to know who to listen to. It can be counterproductive to apply what every resume writing coach suggests so our advice would be to pick one professional’s help and go with that.
Donna: Time is money and a resume is a tool that gets an interview. It costs a few dollars but gets you started quickly.
Lori: There’s no one right way. There are many format variations, however whatever style it is, it must get you interviews.
Myth Busted!
Grain of truth: You can create your own resume but get professional help, it is worth every dollar.

You Against the ATS Machine
Identify keywords used in the job posting and verify the hard and soft skills required. Good resources to research what keywords are used generally by industry are:
• Onetonline.org
• Jobscan.co
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
Lori: It’s probably best to have multiple versions of your resume. Target and focus by using keywords found on the job description and place them higher on your documents. Show how your results were measured and how you made impact. Remember it’s not about you – it’s about how you will add value to a potential employer.
Donna: ATS vary in sophistication but they generally scan for keywords, parse and score documents for the hiring managers. No one has time to go through all the resumes. They are also stored so they might still review them for another opening. Be careful with formatting, using fancy fonts, headers, that can cause rejection. Keep it simple!
Chronological is most widely accepted format. Functional resumes may sometimes throw off the ATS if it is looking for sequence. It may be flagged as something missing and can appear as if you are trying to hide something.
ATS tracks everything you do, even the number of times you’ve applied to each job, so apply only to relevant positions!

Mature workforce tips:
How far back should you go? What about jobs held back in 1998?
Go back no more than 15 years, but you can use a section at the bottom of your resume to add other career highlights and measurable accomplishments. You may just note that you have 7+ years’ experience without dates.
Brenda: Don’t give hints that may tip them off about your age. Don’t give them reason to think you are expensive or have outdated skills. Age discrimination is real so don’t give them clues that you are older.
Lori: Imagine what a 24 year old hiring manager might be thinking: you could show them up, be after his job or be judgmental. Realize that they may feel intimidated by your experience. Veterans – don’t say you are retired (and reveal you are getting pension). Unconsciously they may think you could just coast through the job and really don’t need the work. Instead, say that you enjoyed a successful career in the military.
Other tips:
• Your email address may give you away. AOL can look outdated, but Gmail is better. Don’t use year of birth in your email address, it can be obvious if a number in your email address looks like a birth year!
• Remove date of college graduation.
• While it may help you feel good to list work done 20 years ago, keep the reader in mind and see if your experience appears relevant.

Employment gaps on resume?
Too long of a break in your career may give the impression your experience and skills might not be current. If you can, show you were productive and learning, where you have been getting an education or trying a new profession. Get guidance at Career Connectors, go to specific industry organizations, take classes, volunteer, be intentional on building your skills so you increase your qualifications. If you took time off to care for family, then just say so.

As one of Career Connectors more well attended events, it’s apparent that in this booming job market while you may be:
• Already working but looking for something better
• Looking for your first job out of the military
• Getting prepared for the next layoff
Resumes that follow expert guidelines will make it easy for employers to know who you are and what you can do for them while getting a job that is the best fit for you.

HIRING COMPANIES

Wells Fargo
Elaine Favasole
Comfortable with your money? Many people aren’t and Wells Fargo needs you to help make their customers feel financially confident. Elaine Favasole.
Some of Wells Fargo’s current openings: Account Resolution Specialist, Administrative Assistant, Lead Teller, Process Developer, Systems Support Analyst, Financial Crimes Spec, Info Security Engineer.

Arizona DES (Department of Economic Security)

Nancy Stanford
If you have a heart to help those in need and care about people, this a great place to land. This is the Human Services arm for the State of Arizona. They’re known for great benefits and they’re hiring veterans!

No ATS used here! But when you apply, please make it easy to read your resume because we have real people reading them!
DES current openings: Customer Service Representative, Payroll Services, Computer Technician, HR Project Manager, Senior Clinical Strategist, Senior Application Manager, Medical Assistant, Office Manager

US Census Bureau

Government shutdown or not, we’re still funded! Bill Pond of the Census Bureau says there is a great need of help to get an accurate count of who lives here in Arizona. Arizona is one of the faster growing states and an accurate count of our population will get more representation at the federal level which could mean more money for Arizona!
Current openings: Field Survey Technician, Field Representative, Supv. Partnership Specialist

RESOURCES

Grand Canyon University

Steven Long
There are 10,000 jobs at GCU so there could be something for you! Although this is the largest Christian accredited university there is high emphasis put on individual relationships.

While we value experience over degrees, certifications and education can get the ATS to score you over the 90% mark. Be a lifelong learner and apply for an MBA!

1-27-2015 The Optimist’s Advantage

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Written by Debbie Webber

Keynote

If you were anywhere in the East Valley on January 27, you might have noticed a positive change in your life outlook. You can thank Career Connectors speaker Kirk Wilkinson for this uplift. Mr. Wilkinson is a ‎strategic alliance manager, professional speaker, author, coach and world-renowned expert in personal development and leadership.  He spoke to us about The Optimist’s Advantage.

Kirk started by asking us to congratulate ourselves for coming and told us that one of the best things we can do to grow our career prospects is to work on our attitude. Specifically, we can gain a competitive advantage with an optimistic attitude. Optimism will help you handle your job search and excel in interviews.

So—how do you become more optimistic? Kirk reminded us all about the book Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  In the story, people absolutely loved Willie Wonka chocolate. One day, in order to find a successor, Willie placed golden tickets in five chocolate bars. These golden tickets would open the door to a factory tour and more for the recipients. People in the story became so crazy to get a golden ticket that they began ripping open packages of chocolate bars simply to find a ticket, and tossing the chocolate aside. The wonderful chocolate had lost its savor to them because they became so desperate to find a ticket and so upset when they did not find one. Life can lose its savor during a job search. Everything becomes harder.

But just how much of our optimism and happiness can we “control?” Kirk showed research that indicates only 10% of our happiness is due to our circumstances. Our genetics, background and programming (experiences) account for 50% of our happiness. The remaining 40% is reliant entirely upon what we can control and change. So if we focus on the 40% we CAN change and begin to handle life differently.

Kirk gave us five ways to restore and increase our optimism and happiness, even when we don’t have the golden ticket.

1. Learn to Give Yourself More Credit

Imagine that the pieces that make up your inner happiness are shaped like a pyramid. Self-confidence is at the very top of the pyramid. Self-esteem is the middle piece of the pyramid; this is what you get from what you do. The foundation of the pyramid (and so the most important) is your self-worth. This is who you are. Note that what you do is NOT who you are! Separating self-esteem from self-worth is a step toward more optimism. Most of us don’t like to boast about ourselves. We’ve all seen someone who comes across as arrogant, and our fear of being seen this way causes us to retreat. And when we retreat we fall too far to the other end of the continuum and don’t appreciate our own strengths.  We begin to see ourselves as inadequate.

When you lose a job, you may wonder if what you do isn’t good enough. You feel incompetent. But always remember that just because you feel incompetent, YOU ARE NOT INADEQUATE. We all make mistakes. It’s okay to feel incompetent but DO NOT let those feelings make you feel inadequate. Who you are and how you feel about yourself are most important to your self-worth. Don’t let a someone else’s judgment about what you do spoil your optimism about yourself.

2.  Change Your Inner Vocabulary – or – Don’t Believe Everything You Think!

One of the exercises Kirk asks his clients to do is name four positive adjectives about themselves. This can be a difficult exercise for many people. Once they’ve come up with four positive adjectives, he then asks for 100 more. The vocabulary you use in your mind about yourself is very important. Learn new words to describe yourself in your head. Learn to argue with yourself when you use a negative adjective. Next time you put yourself down, think the words “That’s not true” and follow up with your list of your positive adjectives. When you begin to control your thoughts about yourself in this way, you will develop a new inner language.

And while you’re changing your inner language about yourself, change it about other people too. Stop judging both yourself and others. You’ll set yourself up for greater optimism and happiness.

3. No “F” Word

Strike the “f” word “failure” from your vocabulary. Popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher tried over 10,000 times to get exactly the right recipe for his popcorn. When asked about all these “failures,” he responded that he had never failed, he just learned what not to do. Like Orville, you NEVER fail; you simply learn what not to do. You may make mistakes or go the wrong direction, but you never fail. Changing your mindset about this changes you. Your outlook becomes more positive and optimistic.

4.  “Everything Happens for a Reason…”

When people make this comment it is most likely because they’re making conversation about something that is unexplainable. They have nothing else to say. But guess what? From now on YOU get to choose the reason. Choose a reason that is personal, significant and meaningful. Own it! Owning the reason why something happens changes a trial to a blessing. When things are unexplainable we tend to blame ourselves. But when there’s a reason you have the control to change it.

5.  Put Yourself in the Best Light

This is the external version of Number 2 (Changing Your Inner Vocabulary). Take things that have happened to you and put them in the best light possible. Kirk used a great example of a past client who was uncomfortable meeting new people because of his job. He sprayed weeds at power plants around the Valley. Kirk worked with him to define what he ACTUALLY did. It’s vitally important that all fire hazards are kept away from power generation plants. This man didn’t just kill weeds; he was a Fire Safety Engineer for SRP.

Don’t minimize what you do. Don’t lie, but it’s okay to embellish. On paper you may be unemployed, but when asked you can tell an interviewer that you are a much better candidate now because you….volunteered, took classes, built a network…Whatever it was, put it in a good light. This opens the door for a potential employer to see the real you and hire you for who you are as well as what you know.

Take the negative experiences you’ve had and put them in the best light possible. Thinking about them differently will change how you feel about the issue and yourself. And when you feel more optimistic, you’ll change how others see you too.

Take all five of these steps and make this the best time of your life. Take action. Do just one thing today that will increase your optimism and happiness. Optimism gives you an advantage both in life and your job search.

(Coming soon–check out Kirk’s free Happiness Factor app (with free videos, audios and eBooks). Text “happiness” to 878787.)

Hiring Companies

American Traffic Solutions

Alicia Bowen, HR Generalist

American Traffic Solutions is the largest photo enforcement provider in North America. ATS red light safety cameras save an estimated 13 lives each month, and red light cameras lowered fatalities by 24%. The ATS culture is a fast based, cohesive teamwork environment, based on five core values of accountability, excellence, integrity, respect and teamwork. Positions are open at various levels in accounting, IT, software development and field services. Contact Alicia here  and apply online here.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Connie Johnson, Recruiting Specialist

Norwegian Cruise Line has a 47-year history of breaking cruising boundaries, and has now introduced Freestyle Cruising which gives guests more freedom and flexibility. Their fleet consists of 13 ships, with 2 more coming online this year. The Mesa operations provide inbound customer service and passenger services. The company offers generous benefits, and is currently hiring for customer service representatives and personal vacation planners. You may contact Connie here with questions. You must set up a profile to apply for current positions on the website here.

U.S. Census Bureau

Lani Kessler and Margie Watkins, Recruiters

The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring hundreds in Maricopa County for the 2015 Census Test. The Bureau will be testing new procedures and methods in 2015 to significantly improve the upcoming Census 2020. The jobs include field survey technicians, census office managers, clerks, crew leaders and enumerators. The Census Bureau is hiring full time and part time for various shifts. All positions come with competitive pay. Applicants must first complete a 29-question test and will be placed in positions beginning in March. You must call the Denver office at 1-877-474-5226 to schedule an appointment. The tests are conducted in Central Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler and Wickenburg.

Education Management Corporation

Mark Pierce, Manager of Talent Acquisition

EDMC is composed of The Art Institute, Argosy University, Western State College of Law (as part of Argosy), Brown Mackie College and South University. Student success is the strongest value at EDMC and the culture of education and success extends to the employees as well. Mark noted open online positions include Administration Reps, Academic Counselors and Finance Counselors. Open positions(out of state) at Argosy Ground include Director of Admissions, Dental Hygiene Instructor and Dean, Graduate School of Business and Management. You may contact Mark with questions, and apply here.

Next Event

Phoenix/Wednesday, February 4 /Activate Your Job Search, Kevin Dumcum

Hiring Companies include Applied Business Communications, Goodwill of Central Arizona and Education Management Corp.