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What Your Resume Says about You

One of the most important things your resume can say about you—before anyone reads a word—is that you are a professional. How does the resume say that? It is formatted cleanly, with your name and content information clearly visible on top and with consistent alignment, font size, and bolding or italics. On closer inspection, it uses standard English spelling and grammar.

Once hiring managers or recruiters begin to read the resume, it should say that you are qualified for a specific position and meet the requirements of the opening the hiring manager or recruiter wants to fill. How does the resume say that? It begins with these three items: a clear statement of the job you want to apply for, a profile that stresses your most important past achievements, and a list of your skills (especially those that line up with the requirements for the job you want).

Your resume should then assert that you are the best candidate for the job.  How does the resume say that? It provides bullet points that home in on your achievements, the way you used your skills and experience to benefit your past employers. It is very specific about those achievements, including the exact results you achieved either by yourself or as part of a team and any recognition you received for those results. If you are applying for a leadership position, your resume should contain examples of mentoring and motivating others, cooperating across divisions or companies, and making difficult decisions.

Finally, your resume should show that you are a continual learner and contributor to your community. How does the resume say that? It concludes with your education, memberships in professional and nonprofit organizations, licenses, and certifications.

You never want your resume to say that you are sloppy, inattentive to detail, desperate for any job at all, whether you are qualified or not, difficult to work with, and unwilling to learn more and take chances.

If you are unsure what your resume is saying about you, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We will make sure that your professionalism, qualifications, value, and potential are clear to both recruiters and hiring managers.

Resumes for the Financial Industry

Are you preparing to enter the financial services industry or to drive your career in that industry to a new level?

Employment in the financial sector usually requires a college degree. Eventually, you may be expected to pass the FINRA Series 7 and 63 exams that demonstrate your understanding of investment terms and accounting practices. (FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.) Your resume for the financial industry should emphasize your ability to handle numbers and databases, your attention to detail, and your interactions with customers and coworkers.

As new employee in the financial sector, you can demonstrate your financial skills on your resume through your college courses; through your previous work experience even if it is outside the financial field; and through volunteer activities, such as acting as treasurer for a nonprofit. In a financial resume, it is especially helpful to quantify your accomplishments—finance is about numbers after all. At the entry level, begin now to consider how your college, volunteer, and other work experience could be valuable to the companies where you are applying.

To move up in the financial industry, you might consider earning a master’s degree although there are other paths to advancement. As your experience in the financial industry grows, your resume should focus on describing financial-specific accomplishments and skills. For example, you would stress the size of your monthly commissions, the relationships you have developed with traders at other financial institutions, your additional certifications and licenses, and your commitment to regulatory compliance.

At a more advanced level, you should be specific about budgets, numbers of staff supervised, size of a team you joined, results of actions (“added 35 new customers”), and gains in productivity. Start gathering those numbers now because they are important in demonstrating your potential value to a new employer.

For help in developing your resume for the financial industry, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Which Resume Writer Should You Hire?

Deciding on a resume writer can be difficult because your resume is such an important document in your job search. When you are deciding whom to hire, ask the candidates these five questions:

  1. What are your credentials? The resume writing profession offers several opportunities for certification. Having those certifications—for example, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Master Resume Writer (CMRW)—plus years of experience are signs of true professionalism.
  2. Will I work directly with you? You want to be sure that the person you are talking to and the person with the credentials is the person who will actually write your resume. You do not want to be shunted off to a junior writer you never met.
  3. May I see samples of your work? If you do not like the samples you see, you will not like your own resume. If samples are not available, then likely the resume writer has minimal experience.
  4. What is your process? This question covers a lot of variables, from the interview process to payment terms. Your main concern should be the interview process. You do not want a writer who will merely edit or proofread your existing resume. You want to work with someone who will dive deep to come up with a strong, professional resume that targets the job you want.

A good way to find a professional resume writer is through referrals or by searching for a writer who clearly has the respect of peers, with requests to speak at industry and educational venues.

As a long-time credentialed resume writer who has spoken before many groups, mentored other writers, and worked with job applicants from college graduate to C-level executive, I am proud to show off samples of my work and to describe my process. I will work with you one-on-one to make sure that your resume presents you in a professional manner and is targeted to your job search. Please contact me.

Resume Questions and Answers

Q. During my career as an executive secretary, I have worked in four companies in different industries but my job duties have remained pretty much the same, as has my title. I love what I do, but how can I show progress in my career as I look for my next position?

A. When you are applying for an executive secretary position, the other candidates probably have skills, education, and responsibilities that are very similar to yours. So what makes the difference between one candidate and another? Accomplishments. You need to rethink your resume in terms of what you accomplished at each position, not the tasks you performed. That will not only distinguish you from the competition but distinguish your former jobs from each other. Robin’s Resumes® can help.

Q. I have been reading resume books and taking advice from friends—and I still have no idea what kind or style of resume I should be writing. No one seems to agree. How do I know what the best resume is?

A. The “best” resume is one that is tailored to you and to your career goals. What is perfect for one job applicant may not serve another one at all. At Robin’s Resumes® we interview you and take into account your experience, your achievements, your industry and your expectations. We also keep up-to-date on the current expectations of hiring managers and recruiters; we know what they want to see in a resume.

Q. I have left the military and am looking for a civilian job. How do I make my military experience marketable in civilian life?

A. During your military career, you have demonstrated a commitment to finishing tasks, working collaboratively in a team, setting goals, and managing projects. Depending on your rank or area of specialization, you may have financial, organization management, or leadership skills; you may have a valuable security clearance; and you may have valuable government contacts. You may need help translating your military experience into terms that civilians will understand and value. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with extraordinary folks from every branch of the military. Please contact me.

Keep Your Resume Positive

Your resume is a marketing document—it markets you. You want hiring managers and recruiters to come away from your resume feeling positive about you as a candidate and potential employee. Here are six ways you can help ensure that:

  1. Remove negative facts about your career path. Your future employee does not need to know that you had personality conflicts, problems meeting sales or other goals, a difficult boss, or health issues.
  2. Remove any information that ranks you below other candidates. For example, if you are a recent college graduate and barely passed; if you ranked in the bottom half of your sales team; if you failed to get a promotion that you should have received—do not share that information.
  3. Do not compare your achievements to anyone else’s. Maybe everyone in your office became “employee of the month” at some point; your award is still your achievement. Maybe President’s Club status was easy for you to achieve compared to your peers; that doesn’t lessen its impact on a resume.
  4. Do not pan your former employer with statements about “unrealistic expectations,” “confusing lines of authority,” or “unethical behavior.” You might state that you offered steady leadership through many changes in owners, for example; that you collaborated across silos; or that you finished a project that experienced multiple delays. But be very careful to watch the boundary between your achievements and your former employer’s short-comings.
  5. Do not focus on skills you lack as a candidate. Instead, present them as skills you are capable of learning, as you have learned so many skills in the past. This is particularly important for those in technical fields where postings may include an exhaustive (and exhausting) list of preferred skills.
  6. Focus on your positive accomplishments as an employee. Your resume is not your life story. You are allowed to focus on the achievements that make you proud, not the moments that led you to seek another job. Negative moments are over and done with. Hiring managers and recruiters want to hear what you are good at, not what you need to improve.

Robin’s Resumes® makes sure to do like the old song says: accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. We give you a resume that introduces you to hiring managers and recruiters in the best possible way.

Write Your Resume with Facts—Not Adjectives

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim. When you claim that you are a “world-champion” sales person or an “extraordinary” team player, you are engaged in hyperbole if you do not back those claims up with real statistics and results.

Resumes that are heavy on adjectives, like “world-champion,” “state-of-the-art,” “exceptional” or “extraordinary,” are weak resumes because anyone can make those claims. Strong resumes use facts—especially numbers—to prove that you are an exceptional candidate.

Look at the difference between these two examples:

  • Award-winning sales professional who closes exceptional deals with unmatched technical savvy and unique ability to form long-lasting relationships with premier technology leaders.
  • Award-winning sales professional who grew sales 110% above the national average in one year by building relationships with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and other technology leaders.

The first example is written with adjectives galore: award-winning, exceptional, unmatched, unique, long-lasting, premier. However, every word could apply to any sales professional, and there is no way to prove the claims.

The second example has only two adjectives: award-winning and national. The numbers confirm the claims and specific facts about methods (“building relationships with CIOs”) place the statements firmly in reality.

A resume is like any other marketing document: at some point, most readers expect you to prove your claims before they will close the deal. Hiring managers and recruiters will not hire you simply because you keep saying you are the greatest; you have to show what you can do through statistics, accomplishments, awards, testimonials, and other facts that highlight your knowledge and skills.

A limited use of adjectives in a resume is fine. Hyperbole is not.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write about your talents and ability in a way that hiring managers and recruiters respect. Your achievements should never sound like an empty boast. We make sure they set you apart from the competition.

The Value Proposition in Your Resume

Employers, hiring managers, and recruiters expect to find more than one candidate with the skills and education they are looking for. How can you stand out from a crowd of applicants with similar qualifications? Through your value proposition.

Your value proposition embraces the unique details of your career and your individual approach to challenges and opportunities. Are you the strategist in an organization or the implementer? Do you build teams through mentoring or savvy recruiting? Are you interested in the voice of the consumer or in selling to executives in other companies? How do you approach technology, the supply chain, or corporate silos? Have you survived or contributed to or led a merger, acquisition, or joint venture? Have you won awards, promotions, or roles denied to your peers?

Your value proposition defines what you can bring to a potential employer that no one else brings. It should be clearly expressed in the executive summary of your resume and in the achievements you choose to highlight.

You cannot possibly be all things to all companies. You have specific strengths, goals, roles, and expertise that you are comfortable with and would like to develop. Your value proposition is your chance to match your needs to the company’s needs, to your mutual benefit.

A large part of my job as a professional resume writer is to draw out the value proposition from my clients. Often job applicants are so focused on the details of a job posting—the skills, education, and years of employment requested by a company—that they end up with a cookie-cutter resume. They forget to stress their own hard-won accomplishments and perspectives that no one else can match and no one else can offer.

Contact Robin’s Resumes® for a resume that highlights your value proposition and helps you stand out from the pack.

Professional Email Cover Letters for Your Resume

Your resume is often sent as an attachment to an email. An email cover letter establishes closer contact with a hiring manager or recruiter. It may not be read, but it certainly will not be read if it does not exist!

Your email cover letter should have the following parts:

  • Header: Use the same header as in your resume. This conveys a professional image if it is a print cover letter.
  • Salutation: Like formal cover letters, email cover letters should start professionally and preferably with the name of the recruiter or hiring manager. It is important to find a name if possible (you can do this using LinkedIn for many cases). Use Dear Mr. Smith. If you do not have a name, “Dear Hiring Manager:” is acceptable.
  • Body: Keep your email short—a few lines to highlight your accomplishments and your fit for the position. Use a font that is the same as the font on your resume; is readable (no handwriting or Old English fonts); and has a professional look and feel (no Comic Sans).
  • Close: A recent survey by Boomerang, an email provider, found that response rates for emails were highest when the emails closed with a “thank you.”
  • Contact Information: Make sure you provide not only your name but all of your contact information as it appears on the resume: Name, Street Address, City, State and Zip, phone number, email address (yes, repeat the email address even though you are emailing). If you have a LinkedIn profile or online portfolio, you should include those links.

Attach your resume to the email in the format requested by the recruiter, hiring manager, or posting. Most companies ask for Word documents. As always, make sure you are sending from a professional email account (preferably your first and last names) and that you have double checked the email address you are sending to.

Robin’s Resumes® makes sure that your email or print cover letter matches your resume for professionalism, clarity, brevity, and power. Contact us today.

Change Management and Your Resume

Change management covers the processes, tools, and strategies that a company needs to improve its performance or culture or to achieve goals and address issues.

Change is never easy, and companies often find that employees are reluctant and even obstructive when asked to adapt a different way of acting, handling projects, developing products, interacting with customers, and so on. But in today’s global, regulated, and innovative economy, change is a necessity to keep up with and surpass the competition.

Whether you are a leader in change management or one of a team who instituted changes, your experience is valuable. Are you familiar with Kanban, Lean, Six Sigma, 5S or other efficiency and productivity programs? Are you involved with the IT side of change management or the human resources side or with C-level strategy?

Change management involves many different levels in an organization from executives to stakeholders to hourly employees. Have you demonstrated the ability to communicate at different levels and to lead a change, no matter how minor, that increased the efficiency, improved the culture, or addressed a persistent problem in the company?

Change management is also an integral part of coaching, mentoring, and training employees. In this case, you may not be affecting the organization as a whole, just one individual. But if you enabled that individual to perform better and advance in the organization, you performed a service that many companies appreciate. You are able to develop talent that the company needs.

Often, when we are in the midst of change, we do not give ourselves credit for simple survival. Did your company experience a merger, leadership changes, downsizing, or an acquisition or divestiture during your time there? Those are stressful events. If you were asked to stay on during and after those changes, you are clearly a valued employee. If you helped to make the transition easier, you have demonstrated skills that make you attractive to other companies.

Let Robin’s Resumes® help you discover your change management successes and promote them in your resume.

5 Top Reasons for Hiring a Resume Writer

  1. Professional Writing: Unless you yourself are a professional resume writer, you probably have not kept up with the latest in resume expectations by hiring managers and recruiters. As an award winning Certified Master Resume Writer, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and invited speaker on careers and resumes, I am proud to present my clients with well-written, well-designed resumes that meet the latest criteria and expectations.
  2. Professional Advice: As a Job and Career Transition Coach and a Certified Electronic Career Coach, I have worked with job seekers in many industries, at all levels. I can advise you on how to position your resume for a transition in career, industry, or location. As a graduate of MIT with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, I can also advise you on how to present technical information in a way that recruiters and hiring managers will understand.
  3. Advocacy: When you are in the midst of a job hunt, you may feel beaten down. You may disparage your achievements or forget important milestones entirely. You may feel that everything you do is something “anyone” could do or that you have issues (for example, a gap in employment) that are hard to overlook. I’m here to draw out the achievements, hard and soft skills, and contributions which identify you as a candidate worth interviewing. Then I write up that information to highlight your potential value to future employers.
  4. Restraint: You may feel that your best chance for being hired is to throw everything into your resume, from your first job walking the neighbor’s dog to an itemized list of your everyday tasks. You may apply for jobs that do not match your skills or career path. As a professional resume writer, I target your resume for the position you truly want and deserve. Companies have specific requirements for each opening they advertise. My job is to write a resume that shows how well you meet and can meet those requirements, positioning you as a strong candidate.
  5. Confidence: Over and over again, I have sent a client a draft resume and heard their confidence levels rise as they realize how much they have accomplished over the years and how much they have to offer. A strong resume is a document you are proud to hand to your network, post online, send to a company, and talk about in an interview. It provides a foundation for your profile on LinkedIn or other social media sites.

If writing is not your primary skill, if you are confused about your career path or how to present it, if you are not getting interviews, if your are confused about how much or how little to say in a resume, and if you need a boost of confidence, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today. We can help with a resume that reflects professional writing, professional advice, advocacy, restraint, and confidence.

Resume Advice for College Students

Q. I am going to be graduating soon with a degree in economics but I really want to work in the fashion industry. How can I apply for jobs when all my education is pointing in the wrong direction?

A. Many of us find that our careers take off in directions that have little if anything to do with our degree. I’m a professional resume writer but my degree from MIT is in Chemical Engineering. That does not mean my degree is worthless, as it uniquely qualifies me to write technical resumes.

You should take a look at your courses from the point of view of a potential employer who is interested in employees who understand business finances, who work efficiently and creatively, and who follow through successfully on a project. You have probably accomplished all that and more during your college years, whatever your degree. You might also look for part-time or volunteer opportunities (for example, a fashion show fundraiser in your case) related to your desired profession.

Q. Is it worthwhile to mention my work history when it has nothing to do with my degree or the career I want to pursue?

A. The answer here is closely related to the previous answer. Every job, no matter what the industry, involves skills that companies are interested in: reliability, communication, teamwork, leadership, and a strong work ethic. The fact that you have worked while earning a degree is impressive, regardless of the type of job. When writing your resume, do not focus on the day-to-day tasks you handled but on the contribution you made as an employee.

Q. Is it a good idea to ask my professors for letters of recommendation?

A. You should ask if your professors would be willing to serve as references, allow you to post their recommendations online on professional sites like LinkedIn, or include a brief version of their recommendations in your resume. Do not list “references available on request” on your resume and do not pester your professors for repeated letters. The company you are applying to will let you know if they want references. At that point, alert potential references that a company is likely to contact them, whether by phone or email, and make sure they are still willing to recommend you.

At Robin’s Resumes® we help many college students with their critical first resume. Contact us today.

Misleading Job Titles: Are They Hurting Your Resume?

The companies you are applying to know what position they are trying to fill. They search for someone with a job title and history that matches their expectations for the position.

However, your own company might have a different approach to job titles. You should never change your job title on your resume: you should use the title your company uses. However, you may need to bridge the gap between your current title and your actual responsibilities, accomplishments, and contribution to your company.

Even the clearest job title, like Executive Assistant, might not sum up all you do. One executive assistant might take on project management responsibilities. Another might function more as a secretary. A third might run the company in the owner’s absence. Sometimes you need more than one job title at the start of your resume to show what you are really capable of: Executive Assistant & Project Manager.

Your accomplishments can include any duties outside the “normal” definition of your job title: “assumed leadership of the company in President’s absence.” Part of my job as a professional resume writer is to make sure that you give yourself credit for those extra duties.

Your job title might be too unusual. You may need to relate a title like Chief Strategist or Software Mastermind or Product Champion to a more standard title: Product Champion (Vice President of Product Development). Clever titles are fun but companies who are looking to hire do not have time to puzzle out their meaning.

Your job title might be standard for your profession but not well known. Someone who is hiring for the first time might not know the difference, for example, between a Corporate Marketing Director and a Chief Marketing Officer. Make sure your accomplishments clearly demonstrate to hiring managers and recruiters your responsibilities, knowledge, and contribution to your current company.

Take control of your career and your job search with a clearly defined title that reflects your value. Robin’s Resumes® is here to help.

Your Brag File and Your Resume

Have you recently finished a major project at work (as a leader or team member, received recognition or a promotion, or finished a career-related course or certification? Then it is time to make an entry into your “brag file.” All too often, after some time has passed, we tend to forget past achievements and milestones. We downplay them in our minds as we move onto the next challenge. Yet, those achievements are the backbone of your resume.

When it is time to revise your resume for your next job search, you should reach into your brag file for the right achievements to impress recruiters and hiring managers. As a professional resume writer and career coach, I find that brag files help me to understand a client’s strengths and what new opportunities might be available based on those past achievements.

When you are updating your brag file, include changes in:

  1. The results of a project you led or worked on. That projected yearly savings of $200,000 may have actually become $400,000. That suggestion you made to your team members may have become the standard for your entire company.
  2. Your current work situation. Did you survive a merger or change in leadership? Were you transferred to another department or region? Has your title changed? Do more or fewer people report to you? Did you receive a promotion in an exceptionally short time? You should keep information about both the before and after situations.
  3. Knowledge you’ve acquired. This is often the hardest information to recall after a time; we tend to believe that we “always” knew what we know now and we forget our struggles to acquire that knowledge. A list of courses and certifications you have earned is a good starting place, but try to keep track of any major skill or body of knowledge that you master in the course of your career, even if the mastering was easy for you.
  4. The company you currently work for. Did your company expand or contract? How many employees are currently working there and what is its annual revenue? Did its main product or service, name, or location change?

By periodically updating your brag file, you will be ahead of the curve when you are ready to leave your current position. When it is time for you to formally update your resume, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes®.

3 Fixes for Technical Resumes

Q. I have a lot of technical skills, with certifications in several software programs, but employers always want more. How can I convince them that I am fully capable of learning those skills quickly and becoming the expert they want?

A. Many companies are guilty of asking for an impossible set of technical skills in their ads, job postings, or directions to recruiters. At Robin’s Resumes®, we can align technical resumes with those unrealistic expectations by including a section dedicated to potential skills that you are capable of learning. In describing achievements, we also emphasize how, in previous jobs, you were able to quickly get up to speed on new technology, software, processes, and projects. One or both of these methods should work for your technical resume.

Q. Most resume advice tells you to place the education section at the end of your resume. But I recently received my MBA in project management so that I can change to project management after many years of working in technical positions. Is it okay to put the education section first?

A. Usually, only recent college graduates place their education before their work experience. In your case, there are several ways of presenting this new degree that is so important to your career transition. For example: (1) Your degree could follow your name in the heading: John Jones, MBA. (2) Your MBA in project management could become a major bullet point in your summary, as well as an item under Education at the end of your resume. (3) Your achievements can be worded to show that, even in a technical role, you were a team and project leader.

Q. I want to work with a professional resume writer but I am astounded at how little most of them know about technology and the field I am in. They keep asking me to spell out acronyms and dumb down language. How can I get them to appreciate my level of expertise?

A. Two problems are interacting here. The first problem is that resume writers deal with people working in a wide variety of industries and cannot be expected to have expertise in all of them. I am somewhat unique in that I have a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—so I am definitely comfortable with technical resumes. The second problem is that your resume has to be readable by people who may not be experts in your field, including recruiters and hiring managers in Human Resources. When it comes to acronyms and technical terms, you should be careful about assuming that “everyone knows that.” Often, an acronym is so specific to the company or industry where you currently work that even hiring managers are unfamiliar with it. You do not want to limit your potential job offers by refusing to clarify acronyms and technical terms.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we welcome technical resumes and solving the challenges they may present.  Contact us today.

Brag a Little on Your Resume

The other day I was working with a client who started a comment with “I don’t like to brag but….” I laughed and told her that her resume was one place where she should never worry about bragging. A little bit of bragging goes a long way in making your resume stand out from the competition.

What type of bragging is most beneficial on a resume?

Exceeding goals. Your company set a goal of a 5% increase in sales and you reached 8%. (You get credit whether you individually or your team exceeded the goal.)

Taking on responsibility. You were asked to join or lead a team as 1 out of several dozen (or several thousand) eligible employees.

Receiving an award. You were Employee of the Month or selected to the President’s Circle in a previous or current job.

Earning a patent, publishing a paper, or presenting. These achievements belong on your resume.

Succeeding where no one else could. Two previous people in your position were unable to solve the problem, but you solved it. (Don’t forget to explain how.)

Being recommended for training. Your prior company invested the time and money to have you attend special training courses.

Breaking through silos. Companies appreciate employees who can talk to executives, explain technical information to nontechnical staff, collaborate with vendors, and make customers happy.

Introducing a new process or product. You set up the company’s first website; you developed the packaging for the company’s newest product; you recommended new software that improved efficiency.

Surviving. You were retained after a merger. You turned around a failing region or division. You saw the company through economic hard times.

All of the above are good reasons to brag on your resume. In fact, companies are very interested in hearing about your achievements and successes. So go ahead: boast a little. I would be delighted to help you.

Your Past Employers: What New Employers Need to Know

Your resume is, in part, a history of your career to date. The companies you are applying to want to know if you have a track record of success in their industry, customer base and geographic reach.

Often job applicants seem to expect hiring managers and recruiters to be familiar with every company on the planet. It is much better and more realistic to assume that no one is familiar with the companies you worked for in the past.

You should include the following information about each company where you previously worked:

  • What they do (manufacturing, service, construction, healthcare and so on)
  • Their size ($5M revenue, 25 employees)
  • Their market (4 regions, global, EMEA)
  • Whether they are still in existence (formerly known as…, merged with…)

Most of this information you can find online with a search on the company name.  You should keep your description very brief. For example:  “Provider of analytical engineering solutions, with 6000 employees across 10 countries.” A large company may have many different divisions, projects, programs and markets. Focus your brief description on the areas that directly concern your job search.

If you made a significant contribution to the health or growth of a company, you should provide before and after figures or a percentage of change. Projections are also acceptable for recent accomplishments (“Acquired five new clients, projected to bring in $4M each over the next year”).

As always, make sure you use the current version of the company name (Wal-Mart is now Walmart), include the location where you worked and provide the dates when you were employed.

You should not offer the following information: reasons why you left, the name of your supervisor and the amount you earned, unless you are applying for a federal government position and the information is required.

Robin’s Resumes® helps job seekers like you with clear, accurate and concise resumes that show their full potential to employers. Contact us today.

Your Resume on Social Media

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned using social media to aid your job search. One of the major ways to do this is to have a professional profile on LinkedIn or other professional sites.

These days, the majority of recruiters and hiring managers use social media to search for the ideal candidate or to find out more about a candidate. However, your own company is probably among them, and you do not want your company to know you are looking to move on.

Most social media sites allow you to communicate with people privately and hide certain activities, which helps. You also want to be careful about posting even brief comments online that reveal your (a) dissatisfaction with your current job; (b) desperation to change jobs; and (c) continuous conversations with recruiters, hiring managers and competitors of your current company.

Aside from alerting your own company to your desire to leave, comments about your dissatisfaction and desperation are counter-productive to your job search. Companies are not looking to add unhappy employees to their staff. However, some hiring managers and recruiters are overjoyed to find a job seeker who will accept any offer just to get out of an intolerable situation. You may end up selling your talents cheap and to an employer no one else wants to work for.

Finally, you should approach your social media profile with the same care and consideration as your resume. Because social media sites have their own forms for professional profiles, your profile may not be absolutely identical to your resume. But it should be as close as possible.

You may want to have your profile professionally written, to make sure that you are delivering the strongest possible information about yourself in the space allowed. You want to be sure that your profile is:

  • Clear, concise and accurate
  • Grammatically correct and properly spelled
  • Focused on achievements that set you apart from the competition
  • Set up so hiring managers and recruiters can easily contact you

Robin’s Resumes® can help you achieve all that and more. Contact us today for a professional profile on social media.

Why Technical Resumes Are Different

Anyone who has job searched in a technical field—engineering, IT, software development and so on—knows about unrealistic expectations. Many job postings, advertisements and calls from recruiters involve a list of desired technical skills that could take two lifetimes to accomplish. Yet, you still need all the required skills for that exact job posting.

This level of unrealistic expectations is just one way that technical resumes often differ from nontechnical resumes. I have several ways of dealing with the problem at Robin’s Resumes®:

  • First, I work with you to ensure that you meet at least the minimum requirements for the job. If you don’t meet those requirements, I advise you on how to find more suitable announcements or consider looking for a job in a different field.
  • Second, if you are close to meeting the requirements for a technical position, I can advise you on how to network and see if the company will write a job announcement just for you so that you are the one who passes the screen.
  • Third, I make sure the resume lists the technical skills that you already have. Then I focus on the results of using those skills. The fact that you managed to go from Point A to Point C is much more important than how, exactly, you got there. So, for example, the resume might say “Automated builds and streamlined releases by migrating source code from X to Y,” where X and Y are tools you currently have.
  • Fourth, I make it clear on the resume that you are capable of learning other technologies or taking on additional responsibilities. Sometimes this is shown by describing soft skills, coursework, projects you undertook outside your normal responsibilities (perhaps while volunteering elsewhere), and papers you have written. Sometimes this is shown by an actual list of skills you plan to develop or are capable of learning.
  • Fifth, even if your resume passes the Applicant Tracking System and shows you are qualified for the job, those who network and are known by the company and/or hiring manager have an 80% better chance to be hired. So start now to develop professional relationships that may pay off with a job offer in the long term.
  • Sixth, technical resumes must relate complex information to hiring managers and recruiters who may not be as technically savvy. That is why I always stress achievements, as even the most nontechnical person can see the value in streamlining a process; capturing millions of dollars in savings by switching from one strategy to another; or leading teams across geographic or internal corporate boundaries.

It is important to include as many keywords as possible from those that a potential employer will expect because most resumes today travel through computerized Applicant Tracking Systems. Many of those systems are programmed to look for specific keywords and select only those resumes that contain the keywords. I want to make sure your resume is among them.

As a graduate of MIT with a long career in simulation and chemical engineering, including leadership positions, and as the holder of 2 patents, I understand the hurdles and triumphs of a technical career. Let Robin’s Resumes® help you create a technical resume that stands out from the crowd—and gives you full credit for all you have achieved.

Four Resume Trends for 2017

In 2017, look out for the following resume trends in social media, content, soft skills, and contact information.

Social Media: Social media has become more important than ever during a job search. While I have stated it before, let me repeat the five golden rules for social media use during a job search:

  1. Delete from Facebook, Twitter, or any other site those pictures and posts that show your nonprofessional side, including any heated arguments you exchanged.
  2. Do not use social media to trash your last employer or your fellow employees.
  3. Make sure you have a professional profile on LinkedIn and other professional sites.
  4. Do use social media and the company website to find out more about the company where you are applying or interviewing and to make sure your resume and cover letter speak to the company’s needs.
  5. Remove any political content in your social media footprint. It has been a contentious time in politics. However, if you are looking for a job, expressing your opinion on social media, or complaining about the results can be perceived as a big negative. Remember half of the voting public in the United States likely disagrees with you.

Resume Content: Your resume may be two pages (or more) but the content in it must be concise and powerful. Hiring managers and recruiters—not to mention applicant tracking systems—do not appreciate long paragraphs about what you did and how you did it. They want to know results and achievements first, and they want to know them fast. Include numbers (revenue you brought in, size of team you led, efficiencies you contributed to) wherever possible. Numbers talk.

Soft Skills on Your Resume: Some of the most important soft skills involve teamwork and team leadership, the ability to motivate and mentor, and the ability to work across silos, countries and backgrounds. More and more companies are reaching out globally, working hard to keep strong teams onboard and discovering the benefits of inclusivity. The workforce has been becoming more mobile and eclectic with every passing year. You need the soft skills to fit in with that new normal.

Contact Information on Your Resume: Complete, correct contact information, including a professional email address, is more important than ever. Unfortunately, many candidates never receive an invitation to interview because their contact information is incomplete.

For a resume that keeps up with the latest trends and shows you to advantage, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today—and start the New Year with a powerful resume.

Job Seekers: Five Reasons for Good Cheer

At this holiday season, I would like to spread some cheer about job searches and resumes.

First, if you are currently working while you job search, you have information at your fingertips that will make your resume better than ever. Whether you note the number of papers you file every day or the number of strategic initiatives you lead, you are in a perfect place to gather information about your achievements at work and how they affect your company.

Second, you do not need to do everything yourself. During your job search, the help of a professional resume writer will ensure that your resume shows off your hard and soft skills, education, achievements and potential value to a new employer. A professional resume writer with career coaching credentials will guide you to decisions that make sense for your career, industry and goals.

Third, if you have run into a roadblock in finding the perfect job, alternatives are available. Speak to me at Robin’s Resumes® to get your job search back on track, through a new resume, a shift in search strategies, a career consultation or all three.

Fourth, my website is just one of the online resources that can give you advice and information vital to your job search. I believe in transparency, in clear writing, and in sharing my expertise. If you want to know whether Robin’s Resumes® is a good match for you, please contact me.

Fifth, if you are feeling overwhelmed, right now is a great time to relax and gather new energy. Sometimes, all you need to revive a job search is to take a break. Give yourself permission to relax with friends and family and appreciate everything you have to be grateful about this holiday season.

I wish you and your loved ones lots of good news and cheer in the coming year!

Are Resumes Still Relevant?

I’m sure you expect that as a resume writer, I will absolutely and unconditionally tell you that resumes are still relevant. However, I have a caveat: they are now relevant at a different stage in the job search process than they used to be. Here’s what I mean.

In the past, the resume was the only way (other than physically showing up) to join the queue for a job opening. Even if you did physically show up, you had to fill out an application that, in effect, was the same as a resume. Companies would list jobs in the newspaper. Job seekers would mail in their resumes or fill out the job application. This method is still being used by many companies and recruiters, but social media has changed that scenario dramatically.

Companies and recruiters are still advertising but so are job seekers. Job seekers are putting their resumes and portfolio online; companies and recruiters are searching for candidates online. They are meeting each other on LinkedIn and professional sites, sometimes without a job ever being posted. Referrals are as important as ever, but often companies and recruiters will often back up referrals by investigating on social media, where candidates may reveal a lot more about who they are and how they behave.

The resume is even handled differently at the company; most resumes are submitted to an applicant tracking system. The resume has to contain the keywords and format appropriate for applicant tracking systems. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see the resume at some point in the recruiting process, either on paper or online, no matter what position they are hiring for at what level. The resume has to back up the information that originally attracted recruiters and hiring managers on social media or that caused the applicant tracking system to select it; and it has to be completely professional.

I have the experience, writing skills, and industry contacts to make sure that your resume hits all of those requirements and more. Contact me today.

Strategic Talent Development and Your Resume

Strategic talent development has several aspects: the ability to mentor others, the leadership and other soft skills required to advance oneself, and the perspective needed to see talent gaps in an organization. If you are applying for a job in middle to upper management—up to and including the C-level—your resume must reflect your abilities in strategic talent development and management.

First, strategic talent occurs at every level of an organization. Your ability to recognize and mentor it is an important soft skill. Your resume should show solid results from your mentoring, perhaps by reorganizing teams for greater productivity, developing direct reports into management roles, conducting training at your company’s request, or reducing turnover.

Second, your resume should show your commitment to developing your own talents. Perhaps you were chosen out of a number of candidates for a particular role; perhaps you were quickly promoted within your company; or perhaps you took courses in leadership or in a technology important to your company. Speaking engagements and opportunities to serve as a subject matter expert in your field are excellent indicators of your talent.

Finally, companies need employees who can help to reach their goals. The achievements on your resume should show that you understand the strategic goals of organizations and how to reach them. Your resume should show how your talents align not only with the goals of your current company, but with the goals of the company where you want to work. You should research the pain points of that prospective company and address them in your resume or cover letter.

Did you help create job descriptions and performance metrics that built a clear path for employee advancement? Did you find ways to engage employees who were resisting change or seemed unable to meet goals? Did you turn around a division or an entire company? Did you help identify areas where your company could better align existing talent and strategic goals? Did you institute training or mentoring programs? All of these activities show that you are aware of the importance of strategic talent development and management.

Robin’s Resumes® helps management and C-level professionals to create resumes that reflect their skills in strategic talent development and management.

Your Resume: No or Irrelevant College Degree

With the rising costs of college, many articles have been published lately encouraging young people to curtail or skip college and enter professions that do not require a 4-year degree, such as plumbing, bookkeeping, retail, medical assistant, LPN, and website developer.

In careers that do require a degree, the good news is that the experience you gain over the years makes your degree (including the college you attended, your GPA, and your area of specialization) less and less important. People with liberal arts degrees end up in technical fields; people with technical degrees end up in sales or marketing: success over the long term is more important than what you studied and where.

When it comes to your resume, therefore, the lack of a degree or possession of an irrelevant degree is not automatically a reason to worry. A lot depends on what type of job you are aiming for and where you are in your career.

With the possible exception of resumes for recent college graduates, your resume should always discuss work history before education. Even recent college graduates should put their work history first if it is relevant to the positions they are applying for—in this case, work history includes internships, practicums, and volunteer work.

If you do not have a college degree, you should include any coursework you have taken towards a degree in the field, any professional workshops or courses you have attended (such as Lean, bookkeeping, or leadership courses), and any licenses or certifications you have earned (such as financial, computer, construction, or medical). Even college studies that have not led to a degree are important. Do not be afraid if you did not get a good grade. Even passing a course counts.

However, you should avoid degree mills–schools that are not accredited, have a very low job placement rate, and award degrees after little or no study. Degree mills abound in the United States. If you get a degree from an unaccredited school, and use that degree to get a job, depending on the state, you may be committing a crime. In New Jersey, this is a felony. If you get caught using a degree from an unaccredited degree mill or claiming a degree you do not have, you likely will lose your job and possibly your reputation, making it difficult to get another job.

Professional development is always important, and even a partial degree shows potential. The same advice holds for a degree that is not relevant to the job you want: highlight any part of your education and professional development that is relevant

If you do not have a college degree and do not have a work history, your most important step is to bring your resume directly into the hands of the decision makers—the hiring manager or owner of a business—so that you have an opportunity to sell yourself. You will need to network for a job in many cases. No matter how short it is, make sure your resume highlights your high school diploma or GED and any volunteer or extracurricular activities, and make sure it is completely free of errors.

For help in writing a resume that shows off your true value, contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Does Your Resume Reassure Potential Employers?

What does it cost to hire a new employee? If a company is replacing an old employee, the cost is anywhere from 6 months up to 2 years of the employee’s annual salary. That means, to hire a new employee earning $30,000 to $50,000, the company pays around $8,000 in recruitment, screening, and interviewing costs.

And that’s not the end of the costs: once an employee is hired, the company has to pay for onboarding and possibly training. Productivity is lost while the new employee learns on the job. A new hire is more likely to make errors; that cost could be substantial if customers bear the brunt of a rocky transition. Finally, if a company is expecting the new employee to bring new ideas and strategies, it will likely be a while before both the long-term employees and the new hire feel comfortable in changing the company’s direction—adding yet another cost.

All of these costs are signposts to the alert job applicant, indicating what a company would appreciate seeing on a resume. For example:

  • Accomplishments that show the job applicant has helped increase productivity (or presented new ideas and strategies) in a previous job
  • Soft skills such as an open communication style and the ability to collaborate that shorten the learning time and indicate a commitment to finding solutions, not scapegoats
  • Evidence of a continuous interest in education, whether accumulating new knowledge or teaching others
  • Volunteer activity, indicating that the job applicant is willing to go above and beyond
  • Results that suggest the eventual payback from this job applicant will offset the time and costs involved in hiring and training.

When a job applicant’s resume shows an awareness of the importance of productivity, communication, collaboration, education, and volunteering, companies feel reassured about hiring that person. At Robin’s Resumes®, we are keenly aware of the priorities and fears of recruiters and hiring managers. We write resumes that address those priorities and soothe those fears.

Your Resume: Health Issues and Disabilities

Your private medical history, disabilities or health issues are just that: private. As long as you are physically capable of performing the job you are applying for, you should not bring up disabilities or health issues on your resume or cover letter.

You can usually judge your physical capability by reading the job application or posting. Does the job require lifting a certain weight, flying or driving regularly, or climbing a certain distance? If you are not able to perform functions that are clearly required by the job, then your employee has every right to know that. In fact, if you cannot perform the functions of a job, you should probably change your job search.

I have worked with clients who have obvious disabilities and have helped them to find a job that not only matches their abilities but furthers their careers.

For example, I worked with a deaf computer programmer who had held a series of jobs in which he had to interact verbally with a team. Unfortunately, he had not been successful in keeping the jobs. In corresponding with him, I found out that he had volunteered for an organization to make their webpages disability compliant. I encouraged him to apply for jobs using his knowledge of what was required to make websites disability compliant, jobs which celebrated his skills. He became excited about this opportunity. Using this new focus, I created a resume which he used to successfully obtain his next position.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require job applicants to reveal a disability on a resume. If the disability will be obvious in an interview, try to get the interview first. That is the time when you can prove to an employer that you are differently abled, not disabled, and that your different abilities will not interfere with your performance and productivity.

Employees are required to accommodate disabilities in the workplace; it pays for you to research what accommodations you would need and to have sources and costs ready to quote at the interview. The average cost for an accommodation is about $500—and it could be zero if the employer already has technology and other resources in place.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17.5% of people with disabilities were employed in 2015. This is still well below the figure for people without disabilities. The largest portion of people with disabilities work in manufacturing, education and health services, then finances and retail.

Illnesses that require frequent absences for doctor appointments or treatments should be discussed with the employer, just as the need for any other accommodation. But again, this information does not belong on a resume or cover level. In fact, the ADA does not require you to reveal an illness at any specific time; you can wait until the interview, until you require accommodation or until you are ready.

Please contact me if you need help with your resume or career focus. I can help write a resume that is honest and that will also give you the best opportunity for that first interview.

Your Resume: Your Salary History

You should never put your salary history or compensation demands on your resume. Many online applications require salary history but that requirement shows signs of fading away.

Job applicants often feel on the spot when asked to provide information about their current salary and their salary history. They believe the company is trying to save money by basing the salary not on what the position deserves or on the salary range the company set, but instead on the lowest possible increase the job applicant would accept.

Job applicants want to know why pay should be based on their previous job—which might be in a different industry, at a different level, or with different responsibilities. In addition, their previous starting salary has no bearing on the current experience, skills, and knowledge they will be bringing to their next job. Finally, women (for example) generally earn less than men for equal work, so sharing her salary history puts a woman at a disadvantage in salary negotiations; she goes from underpaid to underpaid.

At least one state, Massachusetts, agrees with job applicants. According to a recent news story, Massachusetts law “takes a step that is completely unique: it prohibits employers from asking prospective hires about their salary histories until after they make a job offer that includes compensation, unless the applicants voluntarily disclose the information. No other state has such a ban in place.”

Massachusetts lawmakers agree that your salary history and current compensation are private information that you do not have to volunteer. There is no legal or moral obligation to include your salary history on your resume; therefore, you should not include it. Salary negotiations should start after you have a solid job offer, not before.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we keep up to date on the latest standards for what should or should not be included in your resume. We can also prepare a salary history for those jobs that require one, as a separate document, as well as coaching and advice for salary negotiations. Contact us today.

Soft Skills III: Showing Creativity in Your Resume

Creativity in a resume does not mean that you wrap your resume around a champagne bottle and mail it to the CEO; it doesn’t mean that you create a YouTube video where you rap your resume; it doesn’t mean designing a resume with twenty fonts and sixty colors. Very few organizations and no computerized applicant tracking systems are geared up for that kind of creativity.

So how do you show creativity on your resume?

  • You might, in fact, create two resumes: one traditional resume suited for applicant tracking systems and a first look by recruiters and hiring managers; the other “creative” resume to hand out during your interview, or maybe a creative online resume that links to your traditional paper resume. If you do go the creative route, make sure you are as creative as you think you are. Hiring managers and interviewers will be turned off by poorly executed, inappropriate, difficult to fathom creativity. Moreover, you never know if your resume will have to pass through an applicant tracking system, and most of those systems cannot handle a creative resume. For those reasons, Robin’s Resumes® does not recommend using two resumes. Instead, we recommend one traditional resume that is suited to applicant tracking systems.
  • Your resume should show how you applied creativity and demonstrated it as part of your current job. Perhaps you contributed an idea that helped your company organize better, increased productivity, improved internal or external relationships, or transformed a marketing campaign. Perhaps you quickly understood a new product, service, or solution and then creatively explained it to confused customers and fellow employees.
  • Consider the challenges faced by the company or industry where you want to work. Do you have a creative solution for a consistent problem in that industry? For example, one of my clients realized that everyone in her industry used offshore teams to finish parts of their project, which led to communications chaos. She highlighted in her resume her skills in finding creative solutions to the problem, including arranging internships for college students who were native speakers of the foreign language.

Like the other soft skills I’ve written about in this blog, creativity has many definitions. Robin’s Resumes® will help you find the right definition and the right way to express creativity to fit the job you want.

Soft Skills II: Showing Enthusiasm in Your Resume

Computerized applicant tracking systems are great at pulling out resumes that fit the skills and achievements that a company wants in its next employee. Then that resume goes to the hiring manager or recruiter who is also looking for certain intangibles, like a sense that the applicant will be successful in the job if hired. One of the big forecasts of future success is current enthusiasm.

In fact, the Department of Labor has stated: “Enthusiasm can mean the difference in not just getting a job, but succeeding in a job and even advancing in your career….A positive attitude is an ‘I can’ attitude.”

Recruiters and hiring managers are pleased when they see an applicant who has taken additional professional courses or who has volunteered to an organization that can use the applicant’s job skills. These actions indicate that, even in downtime, the applicant is enthusiastic about his or her career. The resume should show those activities to advantage.

Recruiters and hiring managers also appreciate applicants who have contributed to their previous companies’ success. That contribution might start with applying skills to the job at hand and continue up the levels of involvement to leading an entire organization. The important factor here is that the resume shows the applicant achieved something, whether it was a working part in a machine or a working business unit in a multinational corporation.

Recruiters and hiring managers want to find commitment in a job applicant. While few employees these days stay in one job for decades, most employees have a sense of trajectory in their careers. Even if a job applicant has changed industries or careers midstream, the resume should provide a sense that the applicant all along was gathering skills, contacts, information, and ideas that would be useful in the new industry or career.

When your resume shows your enthusiasm for your career, you are reassuring hiring managers and recruiters that you will be a valuable contributor to your next employer’s success. Robin’s Resumes® will help you do just that.

Repetition on Your Resume: The Good and the Bad

Repetition on your resume is good when it involves keywords, skills, accomplishments, and education that applicant tracking systems, recruiters and hiring managers are using to identify what they want most in a new hire. But repetition is not good when:

  • Repetition takes up valuable space you could use for new information.
  • You repeat duties or tasks you mastered long ago without showing any progress. However, if a job announcement requires those tasks or duties as part of your experience, you may want to consider repeating them, if you can show how you accomplished something for each organization where you worked.
  • You start every accomplishment with the same verb (“led,” “handled”).

Repetition pushes out new information. Even if you have held only two jobs in your life, they varied in some way. Was one organization bigger? Did you work with more or fewer people? Were the industries, products or services different in each company? Did the jobs involve contact with different people?

Repetition gets in the way of showing progress. From job to job, you learn something, if only how to work more efficiently or get along better with your peers. Maybe your title never changed at the small company where you work, but you did contribute over the years to its continuing success. What did you contribute this year that you did not contribute the year you were hired?

Repetition also indicates lazy thinking about your accomplishments. If you “led” a team, what did that team achieve? The achievement should lead the bullet point. For example, instead of repeating “Trained sales team” for the fifth time, one training manager wrote “Increased sales team’s understanding of product through training and certifications.”

While some repetition is bound to occur, a resume that is filled with repetitive statements is failing to differentiate you from the competition. Sometimes that failure is due to a lack of perspective: you begin to think that your job was easy because it was easy for you; or you forget how inept and clueless you were on that first day; or you set yourself to an impossibly high standard.

An outside perspective can help you find what is unique in your career path and most attractive to future employers. If you find that your resume is repetitive, please contact Robin’s Resumes® so that we can write a resume that shows your true value.

Why Tech Job Seekers Need Soft Skills

Technology today changes rapidly, and every company realizes—or should realize—that they might as well wish on a star if their list of technical skills is long and complicated. Finding one person to fulfill every technical need is unlikely.

Smart companies are recognizing that soft skills are as important as specific technical skills. If a high-tech applicant has shown the ability to learn new technology, apply it in different circumstances, work with or lead a technical team—that job applicant is extremely valuable.

If you have the technology skills companies are looking for, but not receiving the job offers you expect, it may be time to:

  • Refocus your resume on how your tech skills benefited past employers. Your work should have produced some sort of effect, regardless of whether you were an intern, part of team or a team leader. Make sure that effect is clearly stated up front in your resume.
  • Show your enthusiasm for technology. Maybe you have developed a website for a friend, participated in a hackathon, developed an app or volunteered for an organization that used your tech skills. Your involvement with technology outside of work demonstrates your passion.
  • Talk to people. The broader your network, the more likely you are to find a job—or at least to practice talking about yourself for that all-important interview. Tech people who are able to communicate clearly are valuable; practice explaining what you do and what you know in clear, everyday language.
  • Work with a professional resume writer who understands technology. Few things are more frustrating for a high tech job seeker than working with a resume writer—or recruiter—who does not understand technology. In the past, I experienced that frustration myself as a chemical engineer newly graduated from MIT, and later as I moved from a senior chemical engineer to a simulation engineer and on to a quality engineer.

For help in bringing your soft skills to the fore in your technical resume, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes® today.

Five Tips to Keep Your Job Hunt on Track

In the midst of a job hunt, you can easily become frustrated or off track if you ignore these five tips:

  1. Organize, organize, organize. You need to remember which jobs you applied for at which companies, which version of your resume you sent (if you have multiple versions), and who you spoke with when. You cannot rely on companies to contact you when they promised—or at all. So if you mentioned in your cover letter that you will be contacting them, be sure to follow up. You also need to track contact information and thank you letters you sent out to helpful people you met while networking or interviewing. A spreadsheet program is excellent for keeping your job hunt organized, one you can quickly call up on your computer or smart phone when recruiters or hiring managers call.
  2. Do not wait for job postings on the major online job boards. Sometimes companies post jobs only on their website or through social media. Sometimes recruiters have information about jobs that are never posted at all. Occasionally, a company is not even aware that they need someone with your talents until you send them a cover letter and resume explaining how you can solve their problem.
  3. Step away from the computer. While your online job hunt is important, personal connections are most likely to bloom into job leads, referrals, and interviews. Attend industry meetings, chamber of commerce events, job fairs, and networking events; arrange to meet contacts one-on-one, and never forget that all important thank you note. During personal meetings, you should not be begging for a job, but asking for information. Remember to show an interest in the person you are speaking with: they are more likely to help your job hunt if you hold a conversation rather than a self-absorbed monologue.
  4. For some jobs, especially retail or smaller companies, it can be best to go in person to the location where you want to work. I wrote a great resume for a person I have known all his life (it later got him the job he really wanted), which I modified to highlight his retail sales and management accomplishments. He arrived at a new city and sent the resume to online listings for retail jobs—and got no response. I told him to go to the stores directly and talk to them, and in less than a day he had 3 job offers.
  5. Hand your resume and cover letter to a professional resume writer. Even high-level marketing gurus—those experts in branding and writing about companies in all sorts of online and print venues—choose to work with a professional resume writer during their job hunt. Your resume must make its way through computerized applicant tracking systems, Human Resources departments, and hiring managers. It must describe the skills, education, and accomplishments that companies are looking for. It must be concise, focused, well-formatted, and accurate. Professional resume writers know how to deliver all of that and more.

Robin’s Resumes® has helped countless individuals toward a successful job hunt. Contact us today so we can begin helping you.

What Is Full-Service Resume Writing? Part II

As a full-service professional resume writer, my job is to make sure that your resume accurately, concisely, and clearly describes the value you bring to a company. A resume company that takes your old resume and merely updates or reformats it is not providing full-service resume writing.

I am often surprised by differences between a job seeker’s old resumes, answers to the questionnaires I send, and the job seeker’s sample of advertisements and postings for preferred jobs. Here are some less obvious ways my full-service resume writing helps everything line up correctly in a powerful resume:

  • By showing you the value of your contribution. During a company downsizing, a secretary had taken on the responsibilities of an administrative assistant who was let go. The secretary said that she had not been “officially promoted” to administrative assistant, and therefore she couldn’t use that job title. I only found out about her extra duties when I matched the current job description she supplied to the job duties she listed on the questionnaire I gave her. On her resume, I made it perfectly clear what a superb asset she was by describing her position as: Secretary with Administrative Assistant Responsibility. That is what full-service resume writing means: helping you brand and sell yourself to your next employer.
  • By clarifying the job posting or advertisement. An IT professional felt he could handle a CIT position at a major company but no one was responding to his current resume with requests for interviews. When I compared the sample job postings he sent me to his resume, I found very few of the qualifications matched up. He needed to take interim steps before he could apply for interviews: perhaps he should look for a CIT position at a smaller company or become the CIT’s next in command at a major company. He researched job postings for a direct report to the CIT and I re-wrote his resume to show off his value for those positions. Full-service resume writing also means that I give professional advice based on decades of experience.
  • By streamlining your information. Recruiters and hiring managers readily admit that they do not spend a lot of time with individual resumes. They want the important facts up front and easy to locate; they will not hunt through your resume for contact information, skills, accomplishments, education, and experience. I often help job applicants who either bury important facts too far down in their resume or do not know when to stop writing. Sometimes they spend paragraphs describing their experience with outdated technologies or first-time jobs that they left decades ago or a particular accomplishment that has no relationship to the job posting or advertisement. As a professional full-service resume writer, my job is to focus resumes to match the expectations of recruiters and hiring managers.

I am proud that Robin’s Resumes® is a full-service resume writing company, and I look forward to helping you.

What Is Full Service Resume Writing? Part I

As you may have noticed from the home page of my website, Robin’s Resumes® offers a complete line of resume writing services. These include not only writing your resume, but writing your LinkedIn profile and cover letters. It is important that your resume, LinkedIn profile, and cover letters support each other in content, tone, and style.

Are you somehow cheating if you hire a full service resume writer? Because I write resumes for executives who lead the same companies where you are applying, I can tell you that no one considers professional resume writing a “cheat.” Companies are hiring you for your professional skills; they are not hiring you because you wrote your own resume! My professional skill is making sure your skills, accomplishments, education, and experience stand out in a concise, well-written resume that is suitable for applicant tracking systems and for review by hiring managers and recruiters.

I work from your existing resume and a sample of the job postings and advertisements that attract you, in order to determine what type of package would best suit you and whether I can help in you win interviews in your particular field or area of expertise. Once we agree on what your expectations, I send you a questionnaire to gather the most information possible. I may follow up with a personal phone interview afterwards to clarify or expand upon the information in the questionnaire.

Over the years, Robin’s Resumes® has assisted job seekers at every level, from C-level to recent college graduate, and in both technical and nontechnical fields, including engineering, research, Human Resources, medicine and healthcare, social work, supply chain management, and law among many others. In addition, I have mentored other resume writers, given resume advice to job seekers both on online and during events, and achieved the highest certifications in the resume writing field.

So in my case, “full service” includes the knowledge, skills and experience to write a resume that attracts the attention of hiring managers and recruiters. I will never guarantee an interview—no one can do that, given the many circumstances that have to come together before an interview can take place (including timing, competition from internal candidates, and the company’s commitment to filling the job).

But I can guarantee that, as a professional and full service resume writer, I will expend every effort to give you the best possible resume, LinkedIn profile, and cover letters. Contact me today.

How Volunteer Work Improves Your Resume

Volunteering for a nonprofit has many benefits both for the people you help and for your own well-being and sense of self-worth. But it also has benefits for your resume.

If there is a cause dear to you or one that you can relate to, consider volunteering. If a position is open on a specific committee where you have skills they can use, volunteer for that committee. Most nonprofits are eager for individuals willing to work on their board (the operative word here is “work”), but the commitment may be as little as two hours a month.

For the purposes of your resume, volunteering shows:

  • Your willingness to support others
  • Your ability to work in a team for a common goal
  • Your skills; for example, social media skills if you set up the organization’s Facebook page or financial skills if you contributed to a fundraising campaign
  • Your leadership, if you lead a committee or an event
  • Your planning and organizational skills, if you helped develop a five-year plan or arrange a new campaign or event.
  • Your ability to accomplish something important for others.

Sometimes a volunteer opportunity chooses you. I know of one individual who found herself Chair of a nonprofit’s board when no one else stepped up to the job. The sole proprietor of an IT support company attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting and was recruited there for an organization in need of IT skills. A recent college graduate searched online for organizations in need of volunteers and found himself leading a nonprofit’s marketing effort—taking on responsibilities well in advance of his newbie position at work.

Volunteering is a bonus to your resume whether you are moving up, seeking your first job or currently unemployed and looking. Robin’s Resumes® will help you describe your contribution in ways that add depth to your resume and show off your value to future employers.

Resume Cover Letter or Email: Five Tips That Make a Difference

A resume cover letter or email is always a good idea. It might not be read, but you fail to send one, you could lose a great opportunity to make yourself stand out.

Your resume cover letter or email should be in the same font as your resume and should contain exactly the same content information. The subject line or reference line should include information identifying the job you are applying for: the job title or job reference number exactly as it appears in the job posting or advertisement.

Here are five tips to make your cover letter or email stand out:

  • Always include highlights from your resume that specifically target your qualifications for the position you want. Choose a few examples from your resume of contributions or accomplishments that will make you stand out from other applicants.
  • Always let some of your passion and personality show through. Here is the place to emphasize what you love most about your career and how that passion will benefit the company where you are applying.
  • Keep it short. You can say a lot in a few brief paragraphs. The job of a cover letter is not to duplicate your resume but to pull out the most important information you want to share.
  • Always include a next step: a request for an interview (in person or on the phone) or your own promise to follow up with a call.
  • Always end with a thank you.

A cover letter or email is the perfect place for information that might not fit into your resume or might easily be lost during a quick read, such as a willingness travel, specialized training or an advanced degree, an interest in a specific aspect of your field or your reasons for changing careers. You might also add a testimonial from your supervisor or a satisfied customer.

A clear, concise, focused cover letter or email strengthens your resume and demonstrates the strength of your interest in the job. At Robin’s Resumes®, we write cover letters and emails that support job seekers in their quest for the perfect position. Contact us today.

Creative Job Titles: How They Can Hurt You

Creative job titles are becoming normal. I’ve come across job seekers with the title of “Chaos Manager,” “Strategy Partner,” “Growth Hacker,” “Sustainability Advocate” or “Director of Corporate Responsibility.” Many of those titles reflect recent business trends, such as those toward disruptive technology, collaboration, social responsibility, and marketing with stories (“Chief Storyteller”). Others are simply misguided attempts to be clever.

Fortune Magazine recently described the problem with creative job titles: “Not only do ‘creative’ job titles confuse clients, but they can also seriously hurt job seekers in the digital era. ‘Nobody reads resumes — we search our database using keywords and if your resume turns up, then we scan it — so no one’s impressed by cool stuff like witty job titles,’ Henry Goldbeck, president of a Vancouver-based recruiting firm, stated.”

Applicant tracking systems have many limitations. A lack of humor and a failure to appreciate creative expression are high among them.

While some creative titles are self-evident, others require that job seekers carefully explain what they do in terms more likely to be familiar with their audience. For example, Chaos Manager has its roots in the attempt to manage turbulence in companies, perhaps due to a change in culture or to extremely fast growth. Therefore, a Chaos Manager might also want to use the words “organizational development” or “cultural change agent” or similar words in describing accomplishments and skills. Better yet, the Chaos Manager may want to re-title the job to fit the expectations of hiring managers and recruiters in other companies.

Job applicants also have to be careful of artificially inflated titles (Chief Marketing Guru) in smaller companies that do not transfer well into larger companies (where a “guru” may be equal to Marketing Director). An inflated title alone will not carry a job applicant into a position; it has to be backed by real achievements and contributions.

By all means, you and your company should be able to indulge in creativity and fun when choosing titles, but be aware of the drawbacks once you start looking for that next great job. At Robin’s Resumes®, your Writer-in-Chief is happy to help.

Powerful Resume Words—and Other Myths

Every so often, a list appears of the 100 Best Words for Your Resume or The Most Powerful Resume Words. Those lists might as well start with “abracadabra.”

The most powerful words on your resume are the words that specifically describe what you accomplished in your career. Those are the words that differentiate you from other job applicants and that grab the attention of hiring managers and recruiters.

It is true that strong verbs are important. You want to avoid starting every bullet with “responsible for” or “helped to.” The verbs you choose should point to your strongest skills and achievements: managed, led, invented, organized, assisted, negotiated, presented, hired, trained, supervised, improved. But hiring managers and recruiters won’t be fooled if you simply throw in verbs because they sound good.

When looking for words that will attract hiring managers and recruiters to your resume, your best source is the advertisement or job posting. There the company describes exactly what skills and accomplishments are expected in a job candidate. You should echo the words in the advertisement or job posting, connecting those words to real-life achievements of your own.

For example, suppose a job posting for a software engineer lists as one of the responsibilities “research solutions to challenging cyber security problems.” If you are applying for that job, your resume should describe a specific cyber security problem that you researched and solved in your previous employment. As another example, suppose a job posting includes a requirement for making presentations. Your resume in that case should highlight presentations you have already made, describing the audience, the type of presentation and perhaps the effect it had. (“Delivered presentations on consumer trends to sales team, which changed direction of sales effort to focus on younger consumers.”)

Hiring managers and recruiters have limited time to offer each resume. Therefore, you want to be concise. However, the one-page resume is no longer a standard; you can write more, if you have more to say. Just make sure the words you choose are honest, straight-forward, and focused on your achievements.

Having trouble finding the right kind of powerful words? Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Three Resume Mistakes That Drive Me Crazy

Happy Fourth of July! Today you should declare your independence from three types of resume mistakes that prevent you from ever receiving an invitation to interview.

Mistake #1: Bury Important Information

The most important information in your resume or cover letter, aside from your name, is your contact information, the type of job you are applying for and your qualifications for that job. You want your contact information to appear at the top of the page and in a readable font.

In resumes and cover letters, I am appalled when job applicants waste opening paragraphs by (a) describing their personal history (“I moved to this area 3 years ago after living for 20 years in…”) or (b) making excuses (“I left my last job after two weeks because…”) or (c) offering other information no one asked for (“I am a very youthful 50 year old…”).

Instead, the opening paragraph of a resume or cover letter should summarize your strongest pitch for the job you want.

Hiring managers and recruiters are most interested in knowing what job you are apply for, whether your qualifications match their needs and how to reach you. If you cannot bother telling them right up front, why should they bother searching?

Mistake #2. Refuse to Share Information with the Resume Writer

I admit it: I am not a mind reader. In addition, I have not followed you around as you climbed your career ladder. So if you do not tell me what you did in the past, when you did it and what you accomplished, I have no way of knowing.

My job as a professional writer of resumes and cover letters is to present information in the strongest, most accurate, most concise manner and to demonstrate your value to hiring managers and recruiters. To do that, I rely on your old resumes and information supplied through interviews and questionnaires. I cannot invent a resume out of thin air—that is the job of a novelist, not a professional resume writer.

Mistake #3. Reject Professional Advice

My credentials as a professional writer of resumes and cover letters include many certifications, mentoring of other writers and years of success. I am delighted when job applicants take advantage of my expertise and allow me to help them. I am less delighted when they quarrel with my advice, from signing up for a professional email address to making sure their resume is adapted to computerized Applicant Tracking Systems. Often, they counter my advice with wisdom from their families and friends; but love and good intentions are not the same as professional expertise.

The days when applicants needed an objective on their resumes; when it was enough to list the tasks performed, without bothering with accomplishments; when everything absolutely had to fit on one page—those days are gone. I write resumes for the 21st century, not the 20th.

If you are ready to take professional advice, share information and put your best foot forward in your resume or cover letter, please contact me today.

Not Your Father’s Job Market

In honor of Father’s Day, let us discuss a few ways that resumes and the job market have changed since 1966, 50 years ago.

For example, switching jobs is now an indication of flexibility and dedication to getting ahead, though it was once considered a symptom of disloyalty or poor performance. You still want to establish a career for at least a year or two before looking elsewhere. But job changes are expected.

In your father’s day, any lengthy unemployment meant you were unemployable. It is still better to hunt for a new job while you are employed. However, most employers are fine with a period of unemployment if you maintain your skills by consulting, volunteering or returning to school.

Social media has created more ways to reach out to potential employers than ever before. If you are job hunting, make sure you are online at LinkedIn and other professional sites. Also make sure that your personal social media (Facebook, Twitter) sounds professional and shows you at your best. In your father’s day, you could disparage a former employer or fellow employee to trusted friends and know your employer would never hear about it. Now anything you—or those trusted friends—post on social media is known to the world.

Job titles are more fluid now than in your father’s day. Individuals may go from Vice President in a national company to CEO of a local company and back to Vice President in an international company while still gaining in prestige and pay. Before deciding against a job on the basis of a title, look for a match with your skills and education and consider the experience you will gain.

Demographics have changed. According to the U.S. Census, women represented 14.8% of the workforce in 1966 but now represent well over 40%. The workforce consists more and more of individuals of different religions, national origins, abilities, ages, and races. Tolerance and respect are not only morally correct; they are mandated by law.

Whether these changes are good or bad is irrelevant—they are facts of life. Your resume should reflect your flexibility, pride in your career, understanding of social media, skills, education, accomplishments, and ability to work with a diverse team. Robin’s Resumes® can help.

When Resumes Go Wrong

Even perfect resumes—perfect in format and content—can fail to gain you the interviews you hoped for. Here are the four biggest reasons why resumes go wrong:

  1. You are targeting the wrong job. As I’ve mentioned often, one-size-fits-all resumes (or generic resumes) have no value in the marketplace. Employers want to know that you understand and meet their specific requirements. Your resume may be perfect, but it has to match the jobs that are out there.
  2. You are hiding or creating confusion over your qualifications. Professional resume writers know how to emphasize your most important qualifications or transferrable skills rather than merely hoping that the hiring manager or recruiter will find and recognize them. Professional resume writers also know that not all qualifications are equally important to all potential employers.
  3. You submitted the resume late or to the wrong department or with the wrong subject line or in the wrong file format. All of these details—timing, recipient, subject line, file format—are important, and the company will usually make them clear in the job posting or ad. For example, many companies refuse to open emails from applicants with .pdf attachments. If you aren’t sure, contact the company to find out what they prefer.
  4. You are too trendy. Infographic or video resumes might make a good impression in some industries; in others, it will annoy the hiring managers, confuse the applicant tracking system, and lead your resume straight to the circular file. The same goes for social media. Mention your social media if it is professional and relates to the industry/field you are interested in. If it doesn’t, you should consider revising or even shutting down the sites at least until your job search is over.

At Robin’s Resumes®, our goal is to give you a resume that targets the right job and that clearly and concisely shows why you deserve an interview. Contact us today.

Resumes for Career Changers

When you are ready to change careers, to a new field, a new position in your existing field, or a new industry, make sure your resume is ready for the change. By thinking ahead, you will be prepared to create a resume that is attractive to hiring managers and recruiters in your new career.

First, find out if you will be a more attractive candidate with certifications or classes in your new career. Someone moving from hands-on product development to project management might, for example, want project management certification.

Second, examine ways you can demonstrate appropriate skills for the new career either through volunteering or part-time work. For example, someone moving from for-profit to nonprofit organizations might begin by volunteering for nonprofit boards and events.

Third, read job postings for your desired career to identify skills you already have that are transferrable to the new career. Those skills should play a prominent role in your resume. Accomplishments and skills that are not needed in your new career should play a secondary role, no matter how impressive they are. For example, if you are moving from a receptionist to a sales position, your ability to interact with people at all levels, to keep accurate records, and to make connections with visitors are all important soft skills for a salesperson.

Fourth, network, network, network, both in person and online. The more people you connect with in your desired career, the more likely someone will think of you when an opportunity arises. Have a professional resume available so that you can send it to them immediately, before memories fade and opportunities vanish.

Finally, work with a professional resume writer who is familiar with the process of changing careers. I am a Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) with Master Career Director certification and I have myself transitioned careers. I know change is possible, and I can help you on your way to a new career.

Three Preventable Mistakes on Resumes

Resume clients often give me a copy of an outdated resume to serve as a starting point for creating a new, more powerful resume targeted to their current job search. Lately, some preventable writing and proofreading mistakes have been cropping up in those old resumes crop over and over again.

For example, Marine Corps has appeared in more than one resume without the “s” in Corps. The word “corp.” is an abbreviation for “corporation” and the word “corpse” refers to a dead body but the word “corps” refers to a military organization. It is the word you need in a sentence like the following:

Worked closely with the Marine Corps and the Army Corps of Engineers.

A second mistake that appears frequently is putting a period after “LLC” in a company name. You need a period in the abbreviation for corporation (ABC Corp.) and in the abbreviation for incorporated (ABC Inc.) but not for LLC (ABC LLC). By the way, if an abbreviation occurs at the end of a sentence, the same period serves for both the end of the abbreviation and the end of the sentence. You don’t need two periods. The following punctuation is correct:

Promoted to lead HR in 2005 after improving morale at ABC Inc. Was assigned to head HR at ABC Inc. and Foghorn LLC as part of a joint venture.

A third preventable writing mistake involves the word “including.” The correct punctuation is a comma before and no punctuation after the word—but more and more I’m seeing a semi-colon before “including” and a colon after. A colon after “including” is appropriate before a bullet list but generally not in a sentence. The correct punctuation in a sentence is:

Led all marketing efforts, including print, customer-facing, social media, and billboard.

At Robin’s Resumes™, we specifically look for common and uncommon mistakes when writing and proofreading your resume. We approach every resume with a fresh eye so that it represents you in the most professional manner. Contact us today.

 

Four Things Professional Resume Writers Cannot Do

As a professional resume writer, I have a commitment to giving you a clear, concise, accurate resume that shows off your value to hiring managers and recruiters and that can help you move on to the next stage in the application process, an interview. But that commitment also includes things that I cannot do for you.

I cannot lie for you. If I am aware of any discrepancies or lies in your resume, I will advise you against them. I will help you find ways to deal with information you are anxious about, such as a long gap in employment, multiple short-term jobs, an inability to meet one of the job requirements, or an incomplete degree. Lying is the worst option and one that I will not consider.

I cannot create a four-page resume out of nothing. When the content justifies it, a resume can be any length—there is no longer a prejudice against resumes of two pages or more. But the information must be relevant, focused on the job requirements and the industry/company where you are applying. You need to provide information about yourself and what you are interested in; I cannot read your mind.

I cannot guarantee you a response. Any resume writer who guarantees an interview (or even an acknowledgement) from companies is not a professional. Circumstances beyond your own and my control often dictate that a resume disappears into the ether. The company may decide to go with an internal candidate; it may be overwhelmed with applicants with even stronger skills than you have; the position may be withdrawn for economic reasons; or the company may decide they need to change the requirements and re-post.

I cannot help it if your grammar or spell checker disagrees with me. Yes, I make mistakes like anyone else; but frankly I know more than any electronic grammar or spell checkers and I am more often right than they are. I am happy to discuss subject/verb agreement or any other subject where the grammar checker says one thing and I say another, but please give me the benefit of the doubt.

With decades of experience as a professional resume writer, as well as certifications and industry recognition, I am clear on what I can and cannot do. One thing I am absolutely sure of: Robin’s Resumes® will deliver a resume that you can be proud to call your own.

The Most Common Resume Lies

If you ever thought about stretching the truth on your resume, you may want to rethink the strategy. The statistics on the amount of lying in resumes are stunning: one study claims that 53% of applicants lie. However, that is not a green light for joining the liars. It simply means that hiring managers and recruiters are well aware of the situation and have re-doubled their efforts to check out the facts on resumes.

The most common lies that appear on resumes involve dates of employment (shaving off or adding months and even years), inflating accomplishments and skills (including job titles), faking credentials (including education and professional licenses), and providing false references.

These lies are easy for companies to check and they immediately disqualify a candidate from consideration. The mantra of most companies is “verify, verify, verify.” They call previous employers, they call references, and they check online to see if the information on the resume matches with the information that appears in social media, professional sites, and other locations.

Pre-employment screening companies specialize in verifying information about job candidates. Criminal background, driving record, and credit history checks are easier than ever to perform. Truly, your life is out there on the internet.

However, even if a lying candidate is eventually offered a job, inflated accomplishments and fake credentials have a habit of showing up in job performance, ensuring a quick end to the new hire’s career. Even the best scam artist finds it difficult to keep up a false identity hour after hour, day after day, for an entire lifetime. Someone eventually catches on.

There are many cases of people lying about their credentials causing them to not only lose their jobs, but also lose their careers. For example, a few years ago, the Director of Admissions from my alma mater, MIT, lost her job and career. When she applied to MIT for a job a couple of decades before she became the Director of Admissions, she had lied about graduating with a Bachelor’s degree for a job that did not require the degree. When she became a force for change in admission policies for colleges and universities, someone investigated her background. When they found out she lied about her degree and outed her, she lost her job and her ability to ever serve in that capacity. She was an excellent Director of Admissions, with a strong reputation for doing a fantastic job. However, since she had lied decades before, she lost her standing in the community.

In addition, in many states and on federal government applications, lying about a degree is a misdemeanor or can even be a felony.

If you have concerns about your resume, there are much better and less fraught ways to address a problem than lying about it. I have 20 years of experience in handling sensitive information in resumes and I can help you.

How to Create a Resume That Gives a Great First Impression

A resume is your introduction to hiring managers and recruiters so they will consider inviting you to an interview. First impressions are important during any introduction. Make sure your resume makes a great first impression:

  1. Your resume stands up strongly for you. Your resume should look hiring managers and recruiters in the eye and explain exactly what you do, have done, and will do for their company. Eliminate words like “capable of….” You either deliver what the company is looking for or you don’t. To say you are “capable of” performing is to hedge your bets: maybe you will come through but maybe you won’t.
  2. Your resume is appropriate to the job. You would not expect raves from your host if you show up for a wedding in a clown suit. So why should hiring managers or recruiters rave over a resume that has little or nothing to do with their company’s expectations? Write your resume to fit the job you want (not the job you held last, but the job you are aiming for) with skills, accomplishments, and other information that speaks directly to the needs of a company.
  3. Your resume stands out among the rest—for good reasons. Again, a clown suit will bring you attention at a wedding but probably not the second invitation you were hoping for. If you want your resume to stand out, forget gimmicks; instead, give details and facts that show your value to the company. Your achievements and work history are unique to you. Give yourself the credit you deserve by describing them clearly.
  4. Your resume gets the once over before it leaves the door. When you are headed out the door for an interview, a friend will stop you if your collar is bent or your shirt needs tucking. Accept help with your resume: ask someone to read and proof it (manually, not electronically) before it leaves or give yourself 24 hours to develop a fresh eye.

Resumes that represent you with strength, appropriate information, interesting detail, and a professional appearance are the specialty of Robin’s Resumes®. Contact us today.

What CEOs Look for in Resumes

The New York Times has run a regular Sunday feature column in which the CEOs of various companies talk about their hiring procedures. Their comments raise interesting points about resumes.

For example, David Politis, CEO of BetterCloud, has advised new college graduates, “The first thing I tell people is, try to go where you can be a big fish in a small pond…where you can actually have a real impact on the business. That gives you an opportunity to punch above your weight class.” A resume should show more than the ability to finish tasks; it should show solid contributions made in previous positions. Companies want to know: What did the candidate accomplish in the past?

Vivek Gupta, CEO of Zensar Technologies, has said, “I want to hire people who are very different from me or better than me in certain areas so that one plus one equals more than two.” Here Vivek Gupta is speaking to the need of companies to fill the gaps in their organization. Job postings and company websites are the primary sources to identify to those gaps and then address them in a resume and cover letter. Companies want to know: What value will the candidate add?

Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Stack, reflected on “soft skills,” such as empathy, courtesy and time management. “One way that empathy manifests itself is courtesy….Don’t let your colleagues down; if you say you’re going to do something, do it…[Try] to anticipate someone else’s needs and [meet] them in advance.” Professional resume writers know the importance of addressing soft skills in a resume. When describing accomplishments, the resume should make it clear how the candidate has helped mentor teammates, smoothed difficulties, improved communications or efficiency and contributed to a good work environment. Companies want to know: Will this candidate fit in with our culture?

At Robin’s Resumes®, we collaborate with job seekers to create resumes that meet the high standards set by company CEOs and embraced by hiring managers and recruiters. We look forward to working with you.

Recovering from Failure: How Your Resume Helps

If you took a chance on starting your own company or moving to a different industry or handling a project outside your normal skill set—and failed or were fired—you have to focus on recovery, both in life and in your resume. In the course of my own career, I have found myself working at incompatible companies and I have made major changes in career goals. I know failure is hard.

How do you handle failure on your resume?

First, focus on that good news. You started your own company and kept your skills fresh. You took a chance when others wouldn’t. You tried something new. That shows initiative, courage and accountability. Or maybe you were fired because you took chances you should not have taken or failed to follow through. The fact that a lesson was learned is also valuable.

Second and most important, you likely had some successes even if you currently think you failed. If you started your own company, did you earn some income, set up the corporate governance, set up a website, hire staff, develop a new product, or have some other successes? If let go or fired from a company, did you succeed for years, was the “failure” a change of culture or management, did you have an outside event that caused you not to succeed?

Third, keep in mind that several of the current candidates for President of the United States suffered failure during their careers, including bankruptcy, firing and dismissal. You are not alone. Consider your moment of failure an opportunity to evaluate where you want to go in your career. When you set a goal and work toward it, failure becomes a minor blip in the road. Most people who are successful first fail. Failure is just a step toward learning what you need to do next.

Fourth, give a professional resume writer a chance to work with your resume. Maybe you need a section that highlights your past achievements before delving into your present lack of a job. Maybe you need to reframe a layoff with a brief explanation such as “company closed” or “multiple rounds of downsizing.” Professional resume writers have strategies for dealing with awkward career facts.

Fifth, take a good look at your resume before the failure. Remind yourself of past achievements and accomplishments. You are greater than your current situation.

Sixth, view your failure as a success. By failing, you are now no longer in the situation that probably was causing you stress and angst. In many cases, being forced to leave a situation can put you on the path towards success – just the boost you needed to move forward in your life and your career. Instead of looking it as a failure, do a paradigm shift and look at this as the next stepping stone in your career.

At Robin’s Resumes® we know that every career is unique, sometimes in ways that seem to undermine a job search. Please contact us so that we can help you move forward with a resume that shows your true value to a future employer.

Resume Secrets Revealed

With over a decade of experience writing resumes and with credentials from the most respected professional associations, I have specialized knowledge that I put to work on every resume. Today, I share some resume secrets that I have accumulated over the years.

Resumes are marketing documents. Your resume is first an honest record of your past employment; but it is also a marketing document. Just like any product brochure, it gives the facts but it also gives a feeling for the product—how it will be used, what need it will meet, and how it compares to the competition. You are the product, and the company is the buyer. A professional resume shows that you are a good fit for the company where you are applying, that you fulfill the company’s stated need (in the job posting), and that you bring accomplishments, skills, experience, and education that set you apart from the competition.

The role of the resume is constantly changing. Years ago, computerized Applicant Tracking Systems were not on anyone’s wish list; now most companies use them. Years ago, “keywords” had no relevance to resumes; now they are important. As a professional resume writer, I keep up with the trends so that your resume meets current standards and the expectations of recruiters and hiring managers.

You cannot say everything in your resume. You do not need to include every college course, every job you had from the day you graduated high school, and every task you ever completed. No one expects that, and companies never hire based on the resume alone. They always interview. So your resume should stress the information that the company needs most to consider you a viable candidate and invite you to interview.

Professional resume writers need your help. We cannot write a resume by reading your mind. You must give us a past resume and/or information that we request on a form and through interviews. You must spend the time and effort to check our work—we cannot know if you “led” or “co-led” an effort unless you tell us.

I make sure that every resume I write stands out as a marketing document, meets current resume standards, targets the company and job you want, and involves a professional process that is as valuable and smooth as possible. Please contact me today.

6 Things to Never Put on Your Resume

When reading a resume, recruiters or hiring managers are less concerned with how long it is than whether they are getting the information they need quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is a big mistake to load your resume with information that recruiters and hiring managers do not need.

For example, they do not need:

  • Your philosophy of life. Unless you are applying for a position at a religious organization or a political organization, recruiters and hiring managers do not need to know your religious or political views. Unless you are applying to cook at a vegan restaurant, they do not need to know that you are a vegan. Unless you are applying to a sports organization or retailer, they do not need to know your favorite sports.
  • Your past failures. A resume is a “marketing” document: it is marketing you. Past failures might come up in the interview, but they do not belong on your resume. Never apologize on your resume for results you did not achieve.
  • Your personal information: marital status, health, sexual orientation, or age. This information might open up recruiters and hiring managers to charges of discrimination. Besides, if they really want that information they can probably find it on your Facebook account, right? (Warning: Make sure your social media presence is as professional as your resume—for the time of your job search at least.)
  • Your social security number or any other information that could lead to identity theft. Professional recruiters and hiring managers in the United States do not ask for that information. You have no control over who will eventually read the resume or what they might do with the information.
  • Your entire life story. Recruiters and hiring managers want your resume to tell them how your accomplishments, education, and skills will benefit their company. Keep your resume targeted on the job you want and the qualifications that a job posting highlights.
  • Distractions. Too many colors, too much bolding and italicizing and capitalization, too many changes in font and font size are all distractions from the content. You want recruiters and hiring managers to absorb the content of your resume, not waste time fighting their way through the design.

For a professional resume that keeps hiring managers and recruiters interested in reading more about you, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Resumes for College Graduates

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation from college! Some of you will be going on to graduate school but a majority of you will be looking for the first full-time job in your chosen career. Here are some tips and warnings that will help you toward interviews and ultimately a successful career.

  1. Highlight any work, volunteer, or leadership activity. Never dismiss part-time positions, even if they are not in your field, volunteer work, or leadership roles you have taken in college or community committees or organizations. Active work experience and organizational participation underscores your ability to work with others.
  2. Mention your GPA if you want and if it is high, especially in your major. Briefly list any courses you took that are most closely relevant to the career you want. Employers understand that you are a recent college graduate; they may not understand how prepared you are for your chosen career.
  3. List honors, awards, and promotions you have received, from employee of the month to a single golf trophy, even if you feel “embarrassed” by it or undeserving. Your future employer will be delighted to know that others thought well of you.
  4. Be careful of outdated advice. For example, you may be advised to write an objective instead of a profile, include a long list of keywords (visibly or invisibly), or add “references upon request.” Do not follow that advice.
  5. Take help when it is offered. You need someone to proofread your resume manually (do not rely on online spell-checkers and grammar-checkers). As a recent college graduate, you need to listen to suggestions for beefing up or toning down your resume—first-time job seekers often go to extremes, either claiming too much or too little.
  6. Know what you are looking for. This is probably the most important and most difficult of these tips for a recent college graduate. The generic resume, aimed at “any job,” will never capture the job of your dreams. If you do not know what you want, how can you expect recruiters and hiring managers to know?

Please consider using a professional resume writer. At Robin’s Resumes®, we understand that your first job after college may set the tone for the rest of your career. Our resumes help you find a job you will love.

Emailing Your Resume

Everyone is emailing resumes these days—but are they doing it correctly? Here are a few rules to follow when you are emailing your resume.

  • Send your resume in the format requested in the job posting. Usually this will be Word or .txt format (not .pdf unless specifically requested).
  • Make sure you are using the correct email address. If you make any mistake in the recipient’s address, the email will not arrive—and you may not be notified.
  • Do not send unsolicited emails to random addresses (for example, CEO@company.com). Most companies have software that will bar you from reaching that address and most employees are well aware of the dangers of opening unsolicited email.
  • Check the job posting for information on what to put in the subject line of the email.
  • If the job posting does not give directions about the subject line, include the position ID or name (for example, “Resume for Junior Accountant Position”).
  • Write a professional cover email and include the same content as you would in a cover letter. The rule here is that a cover email might not be read but a blank email or one filled with emoticons is not professional.
  • Make sure your content information is included in your email just as it appears on your resume.
  • Send your email from a professional email address (for example, jjones@yahoo.com), not the one you use for friends and family (for example, dudeandbabe@yahoo.com).
  • Do not send multiple, daily follow-up emails. The rule here favors the employer over the job applicant. You can contact the company after a week or so to make sure they received your resume—but if the job posting stated you should wait to hear from them, then you should simply wait and assume that you didn’t get the job if you don’t hear.

For help in formatting, writing, and targeting your resume and email cover letter, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Management Resumes: Leaving Management

In a company where I used to work, a newly promoted manager decided after a year that he did not like management. He wanted to remain hands-on with projects rather than dealing with people issues and paperwork. Fortunately, he worked in a large company that was responsive to the employees. His request to step down from management was accommodated with few problems.

But if you are a manager who wants to step down from management, you may have to look outside your current company for an opportunity. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

  1. Make sure your problem is with the management role, not the company. You may find that you like being a manager if you are in a smaller or larger company or different industry sector or different company culture.
  2. Make sure you are clear about your reasons for leaving management. When you network and interview, you must be comfortable with your decision. If you are comfortable with your decision, others will be comfortable recommending you and considering you for job openings.
  3. Make sure your hands-on skills are still current. While technical skills are the most likely to become dated, every field has some aspect that changes over time. If your skills need refreshing, take relevant courses and obtain relevant certifications.
  4. Consider whether you would accept a contract or consulting position to transfer back into the hands-on arena. A temporary or consulting position is a good way to transition and to hone your hands-on skills.
  5. Make sure your resume puts the correct emphasis on your hands-on skills. You might create a section called (for example) “Relevant Experience” that lets you highlight hands-on achievements before you describe your management achievements.

As a professional resume writer, I can help you refocus your resume toward a company where you would be happier as a manager or away from management entirely.

Management Resumes: Changing Companies

By the time most people reach a management position, they may have spent years in a particular industry or a particular company. Moving from one company or industry to another while keeping or advancing your position may be tricky. Here are a few important tips for your resume:

  1. Make sure you know your own strengths and highlight them. “Management” covers a lot of skills, including people, financial, regulatory, production, assets, vendors, subcontracting, and office management. Where do you want to focus your career? Where is your expertise? Hiring managers and recruiters are not going to hunt for your strengths; your resume has to tell them.
  2. Many individuals enter management positions from other fields, such as finance, legal, or technical. Your prior positions may give you a depth of industry experience that other managers lack. By keeping your goal in mind (a management job in X industry with X company), you can decide how much emphasis to give to that earlier experience.
  3. Job titles vary from industry to industry and from company to company. Do not become so stuck on a title that you miss the opportunity to broaden your managerial experience and move to the next level.
  4. Focus in on the keywords most important to the industry or company you are targeting and then demonstrate through achievements that you have the skills and experience represented by those keywords. For example, in your profile you might say, “managed P&L.” But in the bullet points, be sure to give the details: “Held full P&L responsibility for $45 million autoparts division.”
  5. As always, numbers speak. Indicate the value of your accomplishments in dollars, percentages, or other figures (“increased closure rate on sales 25% in first six months by removing underperformers and mentoring remaining sales staff”). Employers like candidates who can deliver tangible results.

It may have been years since you sought a management job on your own, relying instead on promotions or calls from headhunters. If you need the help of a professional resume writer for any reason, please contact me.

Management Resumes: Applying for Your First Management Job

At some point in your career, you may be ready for the responsibilities and challenges of managing other people. The company where you work may not recognize that moment as quickly as you do. If you feel you must move on to move up into management, Robin’s Resumes® can help.

Here are a few things you can do to strengthen your resume for applying for management positions:

  • Attend courses, webinars, and seminars that focus on managing people, time, and/or finances. An MBA is not essential for all management positions, although it can be helpful, but you should show that you have educated yourself on the role.
  • Obtain any relevant certifications in your field (for example, Project Management Professional or Six Sigma or LEED certification). Again, these certifications may not be essential but they add to your qualifications.
  • Take advantage of opportunities at work to lead, whether as a member of a 2-person committee or as a supervisor of 20.
  • If you cannot find any opportunities at work, then find them in volunteer or civic leadership positions.
  • Keep a careful record of the impact of your leadership. For example, if you are asked to choose a new vendor for the company, make sure you know where the previous vendor failed, where the new vendor succeeds, and the impact on the company: “reduced time to respond to help desk requests by 5 minutes per call by changing telephone providers.”
  • Remember that you are applying for management. You should be prepared to help your resume writer with examples of how you motivated people, defused difficult situations, liaised with other departments or vendors, saved an organization money, and so on.

And finally, hire a professional resume writer who will focus your management resume, identify hard and soft skills you may have overlooked, and make sure that your resume and cover letter contain the keywords that hiring managers and recruiters are looking for a manager. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Are You a Contingent Worker?

Recently, the Harvard Business Review published some interesting statistics on jobs of the future. They focused on the category of “contingent workers,” those who are independent contractors, consultants, and freelancers. By pulling together research from several sources, they found that the average company currently hires nearly 35% of its staff as contingent workers; the category is growing; and it currently involves about 6.4 million Americans. About a third of those contingent workers are earning $75,000 or more per year.

This information has two important effects on job seekers and resumes:

  1. During gaps in full-time employment, a decision to take a contingent (contract, freelance, or consulting) job actually makes you more employable, not less. Companies want the flexibility of adding and removing staff as needed; and they are willing to pay a premium for the temporary use of difficult-to-find skills. When looking for a full-time employee, they appreciate that skills are kept current and sharp in a contingent position. Therefore, your resume will be stronger for your efforts to take on contingent work while you look for a full-time job.
  2. If you decide you like the independence and work/life balance that accompanies contingent work, then you need to be prepared to sell yourself over and over again as a contingent employee. That means you need a strong resume and online presence (as in your LinkedIn profile) that particularly highlights your unique value to companies as a contingent worker.

Whether you are working as a contingent employee to fill a gap in full-time employment or as a long-term choice, your resume should make it clear that you are not job hopping. There are several ways of doing this. For example, all your freelance positions can be grouped under one heading (the name of your freelance company or a title like “Consulting Engagements”). Or, with a shorter list of jobs, it might make sense to list your position at each company as, for example, “Software Engineer Consultant.”

In addition, the resume need not list every previous contract, consultant, or freelance job you undertake. Instead, it should focus on the situations that most closely match the position that you are applying for. A partial listing can be identified as “Significant Engagements” or a similar phrase.

Having worked as both a contingent and full-time employee in my career, I know how to create a strong resume that does justice to your skills and accomplishments. I look forward to hearing from you.

Resumes That Stand Out: Details Make the Difference

You could inscribe your resume on a gold bar and deliver it in a Lamborghini—but the company you are applying to will still hire the individual who has the right set of skills, accomplishments, knowledge, and experience. You could simply shout from the rooftops that you are the best prepared, best organized, highest potential, most focused candidate for the job—but every company still wants proof in the form of actual accomplishments.

That’s where the details count. Before you even begin a resume, gather all the information you can about your previous and current jobs, including job descriptions, reviews, and examples of your work.

Providing More Than a List of Tasks

You want each job description to contain more than a simple statement of duties or tasks. Check out the differences between these two descriptions:

  • Worked on network security.
  • Improved network security at a college by configuring Cisco firewall servers and routers and protecting private addresses with a new IP address scheme.

Clearly, statement (b) is more detailed. That detail sets the individual apart from the competition who may have also worked on network security but not at a college, not using Cisco technology, and not employing the same two techniques.

Using Numbers

Any time you can put numbers on an achievement, you have added a detail that will catch the eye of a recruiter or hiring manager. You trained other salespeople; it is much more compelling to give the details: “Trained 30 salespeople in two divisions; subsequently, ten became sales employees of the month and one became division sales employee of the year.” You could simply state that you increased attendance at community events; it is more impressive if you give the details: “Increased attendance at community events 30% over 2 years through Facebook and Twitter campaigns.”

Naming Names

You also add detail when you provide the name of the project you worked on, the organization you led, the awards you won, the technologies you used (for example, Facebook and Twitter in the previous example), the departments you interfaced with, and the title of the individual you reported to. For example, “charged by CEO to improve communications between Finance and Sales Departments” or “led Lean initiative for all Midwest branches.”

How Robin’s Resumes® Can Help

When adding detail, make sure it is relevant to the job you are applying for. No one expects (or wants) your entire life history in a resume. Hiring managers and recruiter are looking for those details that match the company’s needs.

Robin’s Resumes® helps job seekers add the right level and type of detail to their resumes. Contact me today.

Defining Some Resume Terms

Often in these blogs I speak about achievement, hard skills, soft skills, knowledge, and experience. Here briefly are definitions of those terms with examples:

  • Achievements describe what you accomplished by applying your skills, education, and experiences—for example, “Saved $250,000 annually by renegotiating vendor contracts.”
  • Hard skills are those you accumulate through education and experience, such as the ability to code software, speak Italian, build a house, or audit finances. The best way to demonstrate hard skills is to incorporate them in an achievement. They can also be listed briefly at the top or bottom of the resume (language fluency or financial skills are often handled this way), depending on their importance to the job.
  • Soft skills include leadership, teamwork, and the ability to handle difficult situations (for example, difficult customers)—anything that reflects on who you are as a person. These are best shown as part of achievements: “Led team of technical writers and designers in developing user manuals.” If you simply state that you are a great leader, the hiring manager or recruiter has no incentive to believe you. You must demonstrate through an achievement that you practiced your leadership ability and that your leadership had an effect on the company.
  • Knowledge includes education, both college degrees and continuing education through workshops, seminars, post-graduate courses, and so on. (High school education is generally not mentioned unless you are applying for your first job as a teenager.) You should mention if you are working toward a degree or if you fulfilled some of the requirements toward a degree.
  • Experience includes board memberships, volunteer work, participation in professional organizations, publications, and relevant hobbies (for example, membership in a softball team when you are applying to sell sports equipment).

Your resume should highlight achievements, hard and soft skills, education, and experience because they are unique to you and make you stand out from the competition. Whether you call it “branding” or a “unique value proposition” or any other name, what employers want to know is why they should hire you and not the other guy.

Having trouble identifying and writing about the achievements, skills, knowledge, and experiences that make you a valuable employee? Contact Robin’s Resumes® for the help you need.

Matching Your Resume to the Marketplace

Here are the problems that arose with three job seekers:

  • Bob wants to transition to a new career but his search always leads him back to the same position he holds now.
  • Carol decides her future job title is critical; she’s determined to move up to the VP level.
  • Frank applies for anything and everything indiscriminately.

In each case, there is a disconnect between the job seeker and the job market.

In the first case, to qualify for a different position, field, or industry, Bob and his resume must both look to the future. Bob must be comfortable looking for, writing about, and talking about the transferrable skills and accomplishments that would most impress a new employer. As discussed in an earlier blog post on transitioning skills, Bob must focus his resume on the requirements of the job he wants, not the jobs he held in the past.

In the second case, because job titles have become all important to Carol, she is bound to overlook relevant job listings. Companies of different sizes, in different locations, in different industries—even divisions within those companies—differ in their use of job titles. A Director in a larger company may actually be above the pay and prestige level of a Vice President in another, smaller company.

In the last case, Frank’s main goal is to get a job (any job). However, companies are seeking someone who will meet their specific needs and advance the company’s goals. It is not the company’s duty to figure out where Frank fits; it is Frank’s duty to show where he fits. Frank’s resume must demonstrate that his skills and accomplishments will benefit the company or the company has no reason to consider him.

Before you decide that you are locked into a career path, that your job title is a deal breaker, or that it is okay to have no idea where your career is going, please inquire about my professional services as a certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) and a certified resume writer. I can help you with the steps that lead to a winning resume and the interviews you really want.

 

Technical Resumes: Establishing a Common Language

When you submit your resume for a position in a highly technical field, you are never sure who is going to read it or make the final decision to bring you in for an interview. You are never sure who has selected the keywords for the job posting and the automated Applicant Tracking System (ATS). And you are can never sure how much experience the company as a whole has with your specialty.

As a chemical engineer with a degree from MIT, I understand the difficulties of communicating highly technical information to an audience outside the technical field.

While you are chiefly concerned to show the extent of your technical experience, your potential employer—like all potential employers—is concerned to see the value of that experience. Therefore, your resume has to establish a common language so that the company understands your value even if it doesn’t understand the technical aspects of what you do. You begin to accomplish that goal in several ways:

  1. You define acronyms. I cannot state strongly enough that acronyms vary, not only from company to company, but from division to division! While some acronyms are now commonly accepted (SaaS, for example), others will prove major stumbling blocks. Moreover, you do not know if the ATS has been programmed with “SaaS” as a keyword or “software as a service” or both.
  1. You clearly state the business value of your technical accomplishments. For example, “developed a new SaaS product that attracted 23 new customers in 2 years” or “developed online simulations which led to a 50% reduction in customer calls to technical support.”
  1. You weed out references to outdated technology and approaches, highlighting your experience with the most current technology and approaches. Although past achievements are important, make sure your resume gives the most space to technologies and approaches that are vital to the job you want. Read job postings and company websites carefully to identify those technologies and approaches.

For help communicating your technical expertise in clear language, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes®.

Job Search of the Future: Your Resume

Slowly, resumes are changing to reflect changes in the ways people search for jobs.

Change: Job applicants are more tied into technology. Worldwide IT provider Cisco recently published the “Cisco Connected World Technology Report.” They found that “most professionals use two to three work and personal devices in their daily lives” and “most respondents believe their most important device in 2020 will be a smartphone.”

Result: Recruiters are looking for candidates where the candidates are most likely to be found—online. Job applicants need a professional online presence and are expected to be familiar with social media. Resumes should contain an email address, a cell phone number, and if possible a LinkedIn or other online profile address. Skill in most Microsoft products can be assumed.

Change: Organizations are moving to a more mobile, flexible work style. In the Cisco report, 56% of HR respondents “indicate their HR department has already implemented or is planning on implementing a more mobile, flexible work style.”

Result: Resumes must show that a job applicant can work independently, is comfortable with technology, and can adjust to a flexible schedule, while focusing on productivity and extending the concept of “teamwork” to a geographically scattered workforce.

Change: Cisco found that “two-thirds of professionals indicated they will conduct job searches across their countries.”

Result: As a job applicant, you can broaden your search outside of strict geographic limits if you take the right steps to ensure that your resume is considered. Moreover, your experience in dealing with people from different backgrounds and cultures; your knowledge of different languages; and your travel experience may all be valuable assets in a company where employees come from many locations.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we keep in touch with job search trends so that the resume of the future can help you find the job you love now.

Will a New Resume Help?

Alison was skeptical about whether a new resume could help her job search. She believed that her current resume gave employers all the facts they needed and anything I could add would be, as she put it, “sugar coating.”

The first thing I explained to her is that relaying “facts”—where you worked, how long you worked, what duties you performed, what responsibilities you had—were certainly important but were only a small part of her career history. “You received several promotions,” I said. “What did you do to deserve that first promotion?”

Alison’s said, “I did what anyone would do in my job.”

“Okay,” I answered, “how many people at your company held a job similar to yours?”

“There were five of us.”

“And were they all promoted?”

“No, I was the only one.”

“So let’s think about why you were promoted. When you had your annual review, did your boss praise you for any specific reason? Did you do something at work that the other five did not do?”

“My boss said several customers had spoken to him about how knowledgeable I was about our products and how I helped them to make a decision about which model to buy. He said the senior sales person mentioned that I asked excellent questions about the new products and seemed to understand how they would help customers solve their problems.”

I said, “That is wonderful, Alison, but none of that information is in your current resume. Companies are always looking for salespeople who are eager to learn, understand their products and form relationships with customers that result in sales. Your promotion was due to real accomplishments on your part. The bare fact that you received a promotion is only part of the story. The rest of the story is the why and how of the promotion. Your accomplishments make you stand out from the competition, including your four co-workers who were not promoted.”

Alison and I then worked through her resume and found several more instances of accomplishments that showed her potential value to a new employer. When we were finished, I rewrote her resume to emphasize her achievements, as well as her skills. Her resume and her job search were revitalized!

Resume Questions and Answers

Q. I’m really confused. I keep hearing about applicant tracking systems that electronically pick out keywords from your resume and discard your resume if the keywords are not there. Then I hear about hiring managers spending 10 seconds reading the first third of a resume. So should the first third of my resume be a list of all the possible keywords that could get me a job?

A. A short list of your key areas of expertise is fine in the first third of your resume but most of those keywords should appear in the bullet points that describe your chief accomplishments. For example, suppose a keyword—one that appears in the job posting—is “home improvement sales.” One of your bullet points might state: “Captured $300,000 in home improvement sales during first year.” You should never sacrifice readable contact for overwhelming lists of keywords.

Q. I’m concerned about the ethics of having someone else write my resume. Do recruiters and hiring managers reject resumes that are clearly not written by the applicant? 

A. Unless you are applying for a job as a resume writer, feel free to hire someone to write your resume. In fact, my customers include successful hiring managers, C-level executives, Vice Presidents and Directors looking for new challenges. You are probably expert in your field; that does not make you an expert writer or familiar enough with applicant tracking systems to write a suitable resume. So take advantage of my expertise.

Q. Some of the companies I work with no longer exist; some have multiple locations; and some merged with other companies. How do I give accurate location information? 

A. These days hiring managers and recruiters do not expect a full address for a company; it is sufficient to give the town and state where you worked even if the company itself is no longer there or has multiple other locations. If you yourself worked in several of those locations, you should mention that in your job description or accomplishment bullets (for example, “sent to rescue failing stores in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia”). When a company mergers with another, it is best to give both company names: ABC Company (formerly EFG Company). Be sure to mention if you survived a merger to work for the new company—that is a sign of your value.

One of my chief responsibilities at Robin’s Resumes® is to keep abreast of the current job market and expectations of hiring managers and recruiters so that the resumes I write have the best possible chance of resulting in an interview. I am always ready to answer your questions.

Returning to the Job Market: How Resumes Have Changed

There are many reasons you may not have competed for a job in the last several years. The most common is that you have been employed in the same company for all those years and were not searching. However, you may also have dropped out of the job market because of family obligations; because an economic downturn left you among the long-term unemployed; or because of other changes in your situation.

If you have not competed for a job recently, you may be unaware of these changes in the job market and the role of resume:

First, unemployment itself is no longer as great a problem as it used to be. Because so many people have been affected by economic downturns or changes in family circumstances, your absence from the job market is not itself a red flag. If you used that downtime to start your own company or volunteered or took classes during your absence, wise employers will actually be impressed by your initiative.

Second, sending out a resume is only part of a job search, not the entire focus. You must also have a presence on social media. According to recent statistics, 90% of companies search online for information about you. In fact, they may search online for candidates long before they post a job opportunity. Therefore, it is very important that you have a professional online presence.

Third, except in the smallest companies, resumes are fed into an applicant tracking system that searches for keywords. They are passed in-house from computer to computer, not necessarily from hand to hand. Therefore, your resume must be compatible with computers and applicant tracking systems.

Fourth, your resume must be customized to what companies in your field are looking for. Your resume should immediately tell hiring managers and recruiters that you are a perfect fit for the company’s requirements and culture. It should contain specifics that make you stand out from the competition.

As a professional resume writer with over a decade of experience, I write both resumes and social media profiles; they are always customized for the job you want and formatted for electronic processing, including applicant tracking systems. I write resumes and social media profiles that remove any lingering doubts by future employers concerning your employment gap. If you are ready to enter the job market after a gap or after years with the same company, please contact me.

A Well-Written Resume Versus a Job List

Too many job applicants think of their resume as a list of the jobs they have held and the tasks they have completed over their career. They focus on their old responsibilities and job titles, forgetting the true purpose of a resume: to help them move on to their next job.

One of the statements I make over and over in these blog posts is that a resume should be targeted for the job you want, not the job you had. The requirements of the job you want are usually described by the company in its posting.

So how does a well-written resume differ from a job list?

First, a job list starts with the most recent job you held, then goes on to cover each job in reverse chronological order. A well-written resume also includes a job list, but it begins with a profile that highlights the value you would bring to your next employer. The profile also contains keywords that companies search for to find someone with your qualifications and background. If it will help your job search, a resume may also start with a “highlights” section that focuses on the achievements most relevant to the job you want. It might start with your academic career rather than your job history if your academic career is stronger. A well-written resume is written for you.

In a job list, each former position is described by title, tasks, and responsibilities. A well-written resume relates those tasks and responsibilities to achievements and accomplishments. The responsibility is to hold sales meetings with customers; but what did those meetings achieve? The task is to redesign the company website; but how did the company benefit from the redesign? The task was to computerize a manual process; but what time and manpower did that computerized process save?

In a job list, everything has equal importance. A well-written resume considers what companies are looking for in an employee and what you want in your next job. Do companies expect someone at your level to have mentoring skills? Are you looking for a more prestigious position or for the opportunity to relocate? What you emphasize in your resume should reflect both the target company’s goals and your own.

Finally, a job list is a dry recital of facts. A well-written resume (and cover letter/email) gives hiring managers and recruiters a sense of your commitment to your career and your excitement about moving on. They want to know that you are more than the sum of the facts—that you are coming to them ready and eager to contribute to their company.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write resumes, not job lists. Please contact us today.

Resumes for People with Long Careers at One Company: Part II

Some people feel that a long career at one company is a drawback, revealing a lack of initiative. However, that loyalty to one company shows not only your commitment to your employer but also your employer’s recognition of your value over the long term. Your resume should demonstrate how your long career at one company will benefit another company. How do you do that?

Step 1. Remember what your current company looked like when you first joined. Compare that original company to the company you are working in now. Great changes will have occurred in the size of the company, the approach to the marketplace, the products and services offered. Describe those changes. What was your role in the positive changes?

Step 2. Gather information from your performance reviews and your current manager at the company. What qualities have your bosses appreciated most about you over the years? Are there testimonials in the comments section of your review that you could use and is your current manager willing to give you a testimonial or referral? I like to recommend that everyone keep track of their career in a “brag file” that lists salaries, supervisors’ names and phone numbers, evaluations, awards, transcripts, training certificates, letters of appreciation, promotions, accomplishments as they occur, job responsibilities, and keywords.

Step 3. Make a list of your previous positions at the company, describing what you liked most about the position and what you accomplished. If your title did not change, break your career up into 5-year blocks and write down the highlights of each block.

Step 4. Consider the job you want. Where is it different from and where is it the same as the job you have now? If there are big differences, how have you prepared to tackle the job you want? Have you acquired skills or education that you do not use in your current job? Are you looking for less responsibility or more?

The information you have gathered in Steps 1 through 4 will translate into a resume that is a powerful testimony to your growth and the company’s growth over the years you have worked there. It will showcase your long-term value to potential employers.

Keep in mind that, however, that both your resume writing and your job search skills may be rusty. In that case, Step 5 is called for: contact a professional resume writer and career and transition coach. You will find both at Robin’s Resumes®. Contact us today.

Resumes for People with Long Careers at One Company: Part I

A good friend of mine told me about his sister who had been out of work for almost a year. His sister refused to go to a professional resume writer because she had already sent out dozens of resumes with no success whatever. So why should she pay for a product that would not get her a job?

My friend asked to see her resume. He told me: “I looked at the resume and rolled my eyes. My sister has years and years of experience, a really interesting career, but it has all been at the same company. She has been promoted over and over and hasn’t been in the job market since graduate school. In fact, I think what she did was simply update her resume from graduate school 20 years ago.”

When finally I had a chance to see the resume, I had to agree with my friend. The resume had all the hallmarks of someone who has never looked for a job. Here are the changes I made, rewriting the resume to current standards:

  • Placed the position she was looking for at the top, in the header. In her old resume, a recruiter or hiring manager would have to read the entire resume to discover that she was qualified as a Vice President/Director of R&D.
  • Started the resume with a profile. The old resume jumped right into her most recent position with the company. Again, a hiring manager or recruiter would have to read the entire resume to locate her skills and achievements over the years.
  • Focused the resume on achievements and their value to the company. For example, she developed laboratory procedures that saved millions of dollars and became state-of-the-art for other labs in the company—in her original resume those results were never mentioned.
  • Added keywords important to an applicant tracking system.
  • Listed professional courses she had taken and professional organizations she belonged to and led over the years. Her ability to stay up to date and respected in her profession would be important to a new employer.
  • Added her foreign language skills—which her old employer never used—and her love of travel. That international perspective might have considerable value for a new employer with overseas locations or business associates.

I rewrote the resume to current standards and my friend’s sister was amazed at the difference. She said, “Now I can see that my old resume was a kid’s resume. This new one is a resume for a grown up.”

If your old resume is in need of “growing up,” please contact me.

Commonly Misused Words on Resumes

Under the pressure of writing a clear, concise resume, job seekers often assume that they know how to use and spell words that they read every day of their lives. That assumption can cost them an interview if they make a mistake; hiring managers and recruiters are very rigid about rejecting resumes with mistakes. Here are six words that are commonly misused in resumes and some guidelines on how to use them correctly.

Complement and Compliment. Complement refers to something that brings to completion (“the manager’s tact complements his mentoring skills”). A compliment is a favorable comment (“the manager showed great tact”). Generally, you will want the word “complement.”

Effect and Affect. As a noun, an effect is something that happens; an affect is a feeling or emotion. As a verb, you “effect” something when you make it happen or bring it about; you “affect” something when you influence it. In general, you will want the noun “effect.” However, the verb could be either “effected” (“the team effected—that is, the team brought about—a major change in the process”) or “affected” (“the changes affected—that is, the changes influenced—everyone’s work habits”). 

Ensure, Insure, and Assure. Ensure means “make sure” (“the team ensured a favorable outcome for the project”). Insure is used for insurance (car, health, home). Assure means “to inform positively” (as in “we assured him the project would be finished on time”). Although the meanings can overlap, it is best if you keep them separate and therefore consistent. Generally, unless you work with insurance (insure) or in psychology (assure), you will want the word “ensure.”

Principal and Principle. Principal refers to the head of a school or to the highest ranking person in a company (“principal engineer”) or to the amount of money being loaned (the principal, as opposed to the interest), whereas a principle is a fundamental law or standard (“because he had high principles, he would never lie about anything”). Generally, you will want the word “principal.”

Personnel and Personal. The personnel in a company are the staff. Anything that is personal is private (“my personal Facebook account”). Generally, you will want the word “personnel.”

While other words are often misused on resumes, these are the most common. If you are not sure if you are using the right words in the right way, please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help with your resume.

Testimonials and Your Resume

Testimonials in your resume—or on LinkedIn or similar social media sites—puts you steps above competitors. Testimonials that focus on your skills and accomplishments highlight your potential as an employee.

When choosing testimonials, you are looking for:

  • Short testimonials. It may be tempting to include long-winded accounts of your skills, but it’s important to choose quotations that are brief and pointed, to increase their impact as much as possible. Plus you need that space to describe your achievements and skills.
  • A maximum of about three testimonials. No potential employer has the time to read a novel of testimonials, nor are they likely to find any groundbreaking information about your skills five testimonials in.
  • Testimonials with strong content. What a past coworker, mentor, vendor, customer, or boss has to say about your strengths is more important than whether or not they were president of your company.
  • Testimonials that are attributed. It is best to use a full name and position but you can use initials and position or, if necessary, position alone. But make sure the testimonial comes from a real person.
  • Testimonials that are positive. Avoid negative language in your testimonials. (For example, you can edit testimonials taken from annual reviews using ellipses (…). In that case, “Jack is reluctant to talk with customers but is the most creative engineer on our team” might become “Jack is…the most creative engineer on our team.”)
  • Testimonials that are honest. If all your “testimonials” are negative, do not use them. If the only testimonials you have are from your best friend who never worked with you, skip them. Resumes are fine without testimonials.
  • Testimonials that reinforce, but are not redundant. Use different testimonials to elaborate on your most important strengths and achievements, not to mention your impressive people skills for the third time.
  • Testimonials that are unique to you as a candidate. Avoid basic statements like “great guy!” Instead, use testimonials that help you to stand out from competitors.

Here is an example of a successful testimonial: “I worked with Jane on the ABC project and she was a wonderful mentor and leader, who inspired me and the rest of the team to bring the project in on time and on budget, making a difficult client very happy.” J. Smith, Engineer

Testimonials will support your value as a candidate if they are short, strong on content, stress the positive, are honest, reinforce your strengths and achievements, and are unique to you.

Resume Enlightenment: The “Oh My” Moment

What was your “oh my” moment—the moment when you realized that you needed a professional resume writer?

For a management trainee who wanted to move into a managerial position, that moment occurred when an interviewer wanted to know what he meant by “sense background.” The word was supposed to be “science,” but his spell-checker changed a misspelling (“scence”) to “sense.”

A director of programs and projects realized that professional resume writing might be in order when she showed her resume to friends and relatives who uniformly asked, “But what do you do?” She had described her career so vaguely and with so much jargon that no one—even her colleagues when asked—could decipher her role.

A financial analyst asked his spouse to proofread his resume, and they immediately began fighting about every aspect—format, content, even spelling (is it traveling or travelling?). They needed a referee; asking for professional help was easy.

A new college graduate turned to Robin’s Resumes® when months of fruitless job searching left her with low self-esteem and even lower expectations. In addition to creating a stronger resume that correctly targeted the industries and job openings she was interested in, we aligned her online presence with her resume, increasing her appeal to hiring managers and recruiters.

Many clients come to me when they find that writing a clear, concise resume is taking them far longer than they expected and causing them considerable anxiety. Are they including too much information or too little? Will the format they are using be acceptable to both applicant tracking systems and to hiring managers? Have they overplayed their accomplishments or underplayed?

As a professional resume writer, I help ensure that your resume is mistake free, clearly written, stress free, up to current standards for resumes and an accurate and exciting description of your value. You should be proud to hand your resume to anyone and submit it for the jobs of your choice without worrying about an “oh my” moment. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Resume Tips IV: Explaining Your Career

Before hiring managers and recruiters can offer you a new job, they have to understand your old job.

For example, if hiring managers or recruiters never heard of the company you work for, they might find it impossible to judge your contribution or your fit for their own company. What industry did you work in? How large was the company you worked for? What did the company produce or what service did it perform? By including the answers to those questions in your resume, you give hiring managers a context for your accomplishments. For example, you might state: $5 billion company designs process control equipment for the oil and gas industry.

Often companies are creative with job titles. I was a bit taken aback the first time I met someone who was an “Internal Consultant.” What exactly does an Internal Consultant do? Who does he consult with? You might give a more recognizable name for your position: Internal Consultant (Change Management Leader). Even if your job title seems to be self-evident (Investment Manager, Director of Human Resources), the actual scope of work and responsibility might differ widely from company to company. By giving information about the number of people who report to you, your overall responsibilities, who you report to, and your accomplishments, you establish a context.

For this reason, I always urge my clients to be specific about their accomplishments. Let’s say your job requires writing PowerPoint presentations. If you were the ghost-writer, who did you write for? If you were the presenter, who asked you to present? In any case, where was the presentation given and who was in the audience? How many presentations did you write in a month or a year? Did you receive any special praise or commendations? Did your presentation have direct results (a project was funded, a committee better understood its responsibilities, the audience learned about a complex technique)?

If you describe the company you worked for, your title and your accomplishments in specific and clear language and if you provide a context, hiring managers and recruiters will be better able to evaluate your fit for the position they want to fill.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write resumes that hiring managers and recruiters understand quickly and want to read.

Resume Tips II: Balancing Accomplishments with Reality

I know that we all face contradictory feelings about our accomplishments: sometimes we boast about them and sometimes we hide them; sometimes we are annoyed because no one recognizes them and sometimes we demand recognition we barely deserve.

Those contradictory sentiments often show up in the resumes that job applicants bring to me for my professional review and rewrite.

A recent college graduate started out his resume by saying, “Because I had to work my way through college, I did not have the luxury of choosing an internship in my field.” Anyone who works their way through college has an accomplishment worth boasting about; however, a basic rule of resumes is to never mention what you do not have; always concentrate on the positives. I made sure recruiters and hiring managers knew that he had worked his way through college but eliminated the reference on the resume to the internship he did not experience.

A job applicant, an entry-level data entry clerk, believed that every skill deserved to be written up as an outstanding accomplishment. This applicant’s resume stated: “Contributed to growth of $5 billion multinational corporation with extremely accurate and timely data input.” Accurate and timely data input is a valuable skill, but at the entry level it does not have much effect on the growth of a $5 billion company. I made the most of the entry clerk’s achievements but kept them believable.

In my last example, humility was carried to such an extreme that the job applicant left off valuable skills and accomplishments with the contradictory attitudes that “everybody knows that” and “no one wants to know about that.” Companies write detailed job descriptions because they want to hear from people who match the requirements of the job. If you leave off a skill or accomplishment because “everybody knows that,” hiring managers and recruiters will simply assume you do not measure up to the requirements. In addition, sometimes companies are swayed in a candidate’s favor because the candidate offers a skill or accomplishment the company never considered asking for—foreign languages or certification in lean manufacturing, for example. By sharing those accomplishments, you make yourself stand out as a candidate who could bring extra value to the company.

If you need help deciding what to leave in and leave out of your resume, please contact me. I help individuals with those decisions every day.

Resume Tips II: Resume Headlines Make a Difference

The headline on your resume (the line immediately under your name and contact information) briefly describes the position you want. It might make the difference between a resume that is read and one that is ignored. Keep the following rules in mind.

Rule 1. Do not block yourself from consideration by focusing on a job title that is too narrow. First, your skills, accomplishments, and education might fit you for many different positions. Second, the responsibilities of a President in one company might be the responsibilities of a CEO or COO in another; an Executive Secretary in one company might be an Office Manager in another. Do not limit yourself by your current job title in your current company. An example of a headline that reflects an applicant’s wider talents and functions is: PROJECT MANAGER | LEAD PROJECT ENGINEER.

Rule 2. Try to incorporate keywords into the headline. These keywords should highlight your areas of expertise and the keywords that hiring managers, recruiters, and applicant tracking systems are most likely to search for. Moreover, they will help keep your target job title from being too broad. For example:

DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

Financial | Internet | Health Care

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

SAP | Manufacturing | Pharmaceuticals | Supply Chain

Rule 3. Make sure you have a headline. You lose a major opportunity if you leave the headline blank for any reason. Hiring managers and recruiters will not burrow into your resume to discover what job matches your qualifications. You have to tell them. The headline is your opportunity to do that in the first two seconds of their search for the ideal candidate.

Rule 4. Use your headline on LinkedIn and other professional social media sites to make you and your “brand” immediately recognizable. You want to have a consistent online presence, as that builds the likelihood that someone looking for someone with your qualifications will find—you!

Writing a brief but impactful headline is an art; but it is also part of the normal services of Robin’s Resumes®. Contact us today so that we can get started on your resume.

Resume Tips I: Nine Facts about Accomplishments

To begin, we should define that word “accomplishment.” Here are three examples of what a resume accomplishment is and is not:

  • An accomplishment is not the same as a task. For example, the task is “filing”; the accomplishment is computerizing 5 years of paper files to make access more efficient and widespread throughout the company.
  • An accomplishment is not the same as a skill. For example, the skill is the ability to mentor new hires. The accomplishment is mentoring three new hires who went on to management positions.
  • An accomplishment is not the same as a challenge. For example, the challenge is turning around an underperforming division. The accomplishment is to taking the division from $500,000 in revenue to $5 million in revenue in 3 years.

Here are three characteristics of accomplishments:

  • Accomplishments are specific—5 years of paper files, three new hires, growth from $500,000 to $5 million in revenue.
  • Accomplishments describe how you solved a problem—the need for efficient access to files, new managers, a profitable division.
  • Accomplishments add value—any company would want an employee who saves time, helps create leaders, or grows revenues.

Finally, when you are writing about accomplishments in your resume:

  • Always start with an active and interesting verb (“Improved information access throughout company by computerizing 5 years of paper files…”; “Mentored three new hires…”; “Took underperforming division from $500,000…”).
  • Put in as many numbers as you can; however, not all accomplishments involve or need numbers (for example, “Partnered with division heads to identify opportunities for collaborating on sales presentations”).
  • Accomplishments that occurred as a member of a team are still accomplishments; they belong on your resume, too.

If you have difficulty pinpointing your accomplishments, you can find examples in praise from a colleague, manager, or customer; complimentary statements in your annual reviews; committees or projects you participated in; and challenging moments that you handled.

If you have difficulty writing about your accomplishments, contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Managing Your Job Hunt

When you enter the job market, whether or not voluntarily, you may be overwhelmed by advice, options, and technologies. You may be panicked by the need to find a job—any job—quickly. You may experience difficulty matching your qualifications and goals with the positions available in the marketplace. Here are four steps you can take to bring a chaotic job search under control:

  1. Write down the skills and accomplishments you have acquired in your most recent position. Begin this process before you leave your most recent position if at all possible. Use that two weeks of notice to gather up as much information, as many testimonials, and as many facts as possible about your role in the company and the company itself. For example, a sales resume might say, “Contributed to growth of $5 million company.” Do you know how large your company is? How many employees it has? The number of states where it operates?
  2. Research online job postings in other companies in your industry to get a general idea of (a) what types of jobs are available; (b) the requirements of those jobs; and (c) the way your skills and accomplishments fit with the advertised jobs and the requirements. You may find out that your skills, education and accomplishments qualify you for jobs you never considered; that similar jobs appear under very dissimilar titles; or that you have gaps in your qualifications that need filling. Make sure your resume matches the expectations of hiring managers and recruiters. Prepare yourself and your resume for the job market that actually exists.
  3. When you have a new, updated resume share it widely. Send it to friends and business associates so that they know you are looking and feel confident about their ability to describe your strengths. Networking is one of the best ways to find a job, and the best networkers have your resume at hand.
  4. Start a file of information about jobs you are applying for. Either online or on paper, track these items: the company contact information; the job requirements; the version of the resume that you sent; and the dates and time of your contact(s). Set up a dedicated calendar to remind you of any follow-up actions you want to take.

With these four basic steps, you will take charge of your own job search and be prepared to respond quickly to any opportunities that arise. If you find yourself stalled at any stage, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. I am a professional and certified resume writer and a certified Job and Career Transition Coach. I can help.

Resumes for Medical Fields

The medical and healthcare fields include jobs that require many different areas of expertise, including physical therapy, clinical research, mental health counselors, and equipment technicians. But all resumes for individuals in the healthcare or medical fields have to:

  • Include specific techniques used and the environment (patient’s home, laboratory, hospital, private facility) in which they were used.
  • List all licenses, professional training, and memberships in medical-related associations.
  • Mention familiarity with relevant federal and state regulatory requirements and industry standards, such as HIPAA.
  • Describe duties as clearly as possible in everyday language—that is, do not let the jargon and acronyms of your field overwhelm the information you are sharing.
  • List relevant equipment and computer programs.

Specifics are vital in a medical or healthcare resume, where a major distinction may occur between very similar sounding techniques, equipment or processes. You need to read a job posting carefully to make sure that your experience truly aligns with the job requirements; then make sure that your experience appears on your resume as stated in the posting.

No matter how technical the job you are applying for, soft skills are also important, such as attention to patient concerns and the ability to communicate with peers. When listing your qualifications, remember to cite your soft skills and any feedback you have received on your critical thinking, communication, leadership, and mentoring abilities.

When formatting your healthcare or medical resume, remember that it will very likely pass through a computer even if you have not submitted it online. As with any resume in any field, the format should be clean and simple, allowing easy reading for both computers and humans. Your qualifications for the medical field position are important, but equally important is the way you present them: in a professional format, with meticulously proofread content and in clear standard English.

For assistance in creating a resume for the medical or healthcare field, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Your Resume and Your Online Presence

Hiring managers and recruiters troll online looking for candidates even before positions are posted. When you submit an application, they evaluate information from both your resume and from your online presence. It is up to you to control the information they see online. For example:

  • Photos are not recommended for resumes but they occur everywhere online. When you are job hunting, you want those photos to reflect your professional appearance.
  • Online rants or tweets about how you hate your boss and coworkers or how you deliberately sabotaged the office coffee maker are going to put off potential employers who are not looking to hire complainers or lunatics. No matter how bad your work situation is, stop ranting about it online.
  • Resumes do not contain information about marital, sexual, religious or political orientations. (The exception is if you are applying for a job where religion or politics matters; for example, if you want to handle public relations for a political candidate.) When you are job hunting, limit access to your social media sites rather than give employers access to personal information they are not entitled to and that is not relevant to your abilities as an employee.
  • Resumes contain detailed information about your work history, accomplishments, skills and education. Make sure your online presence echoes that information accurately. Also make sure that you use proper grammar and spelling both in social media and in your resume. Communication skills are important.
  • Patrol comments made to your online sites because recruiters and hiring managers may judge you based on the comments that appear.

When your social media presence is aligned with your resume and both present you in a favorable light, your chances of moving to that all important interview have just doubled. Contact Robin’s Resumes® for help in making sure that your online profiles and your resume are working hard for you.

Resumes for Older Workers

Although age discrimination is discouraged by state and federal regulations, anyone with a long career knows how difficult it is for a 55-year-old to impress a recruiter or hiring manager who is 30 years younger. Your resume should be written to get you into the door for an interview, where your enthusiasm, dedication and skill will impress your future employers.

Successful resumes for older workers share these characteristics:

  1. Your resume demonstrates your ability to keep up with current trends and requirements in your industry. Whether through education, volunteer work or accomplishments in your most recent job, you need to demonstrate that your skills are still relevant. Your resume should also use the language favored today, not the language of days past. For example, no one today expects a fax number or cares about your expertise in WordPerfect DOS.
  2. Your resume focuses on the position you want now. In a long career, you may have held many different positions with little relevance to the position you are applying for. Spend more space describing jobs with the most relevance. Read job postings carefully so that you can target your resume to the job, company and industry. When describing your current positions, emphasize the accomplishments and skills that relate most strongly to the posted requirements for the job you want.
  3. Your resume is bolstered by your professional profile on LinkedIn or similar online site. Today’s job applicants are expected to be conversant with computer technology and with Microsoft® Office. As an older worker especially, you need to demonstrate basic computer skills, including familiarity with professional social media sites.
  4. Your resume is formatted for applicant tracking systems (ATS). Computerized applicant tracking was unknown just a decade ago, but has now been accepted by nearly every company as an efficient way to pinpoint qualified job applicants. Resumes that are not formatted for ATS will never reach the eye of a hiring manager or recruiter.

One of my responsibilities as a professional resume writer is to make sure that your resume reflects the expectations of today’s hiring managers and recruiters, in both content and format.

4 Reasons Why Your Resume May Not Make the Cut

Many times your resume is discarded by companies for reasons outside your control: someone internal to the company was promoted into the job, the job requirements or the company’s budget changed or perhaps another candidate simply had more of what the company hoped to find in a new employee.

However, the following four situations are under your control. Your resume may not make the cut if:

  • Your resume fails to specifically address the requirements (skills, education, accomplishments) listed in the job posting. Even the title of the job is important. If the company has advertised for an “executive assistant,” they will reject resumes and cover letters that reference an “executive secretary” position.
  • Your contact information is incomplete or hard to read (for example, it is in a very light italic font where the number one looks like the letter el). You might overlook a transposed number or letter in your own familiar phone number or email address because you read what you expect to see rather than what is actually on the page. Companies will not search for you; you must make sure your contact information is readable and accurate.
  • Your resume is not formatted for computerized applicant tracking systems. Many companies of all sizes use ATS to weed out applicants who do not match the job criteria. If the ATS cannot even read your resume, it will not be chosen for further action—the hiring manager may never see it.
  • You tried too hard. Whether you overdesigned your resume, stretched a few dates to cover gaps (easily discovered with a reference check), included information no one wanted (your GPA from 15 years ago) or described your accomplishments as an employee in terms appropriate to the company’s CEO, recruiters and hiring managers are sensitive to resumes that try too hard and end up feeling false.

Robin’s Resumes® is sensitive to what makes a resume work or not work, including finding the correct balance between the requirements of the job, the requirements of ATS system and your career goals. If your resumes are not making the cut for any of the four reasons above, please contact us.

Resume Writing Scams and Warning Signs

All too often I see resume posts and articles with the some version of the title: “Resumes Guaranteed to Get You Hired.” In fact, no reputable resume writer would give such a guarantee and no company would hire you based on a resume alone. The company will interview you (maybe several times), check your references, and discuss how well you fit their requirements and culture. Your resume is one part of a complex hiring process.

Online resume writing sites that promise to improve your resume with a free online review often rely on the same electronic spellcheckers and grammar checkers that you use and may run the resume through an automatic applicant tracking system. It is one thing to ask to see your current resume; it is another to “improve” it without speaking to you first. Great resumes show off the skills, accomplishments and education that are valued in your field and by the companies you are interested in. No one can know how to write your resume for maximum impact unless they talk to you to find out your goals, accomplishments, skills and education.

Any resume writer who insists on hard and fast rules (no 2-page resumes ever, no more than 6 bullets in a section) does not have your best interests in mind. Proper grammar, standard spelling, clarity, standard formatting and concise writing are essentials in a resume but many other “rules” have either fallen out of use or should be re-evaluated based on your circumstances. Do take the recommendations of your resume writer to heart; a professional resume writer has years of experience and training and you are paying for good advice. But avoid a resume writer who believes rules are more important than a great resume.

Professional resume writers are happy to share their credentials with you. Avoid resume writers who do not belong to professional associations. They may be fine writers but the chances are they are simply writing resumes until a “real job” comes along. If you work with a resume writing company, make sure that you see the credentials of the person who will actually write your resume and make sure you have a chance to talk directly to that person. Even if the company as a whole sounds professional, you want to examine the writer’s credentials and ability to understand your field and career path.

As the owner of Robin’s Resumes®, I take a personal, professional interest in every resume that comes my way. Information on my credentials is proudly listed on my website and includes many industry memberships and honors. I speak with every client who contacts me; and I make sure that the resume each client receives is customized to that client’s background, industry and goals. I look forward to speaking with you.

Writing Your Resume for Your Audience

The audience for your resume is a hiring manager or recruiter. When you write your resume, you must keep this audience in mind. Think of it this way: on a business trip, you would write different emails to your boss, your mother, your spouse and your best friend. The information might or might not be similar, but you would always frame it to match the recipient—the audience. Take these three steps to help your audience understand your resume and bring you closer to a job interview:

  1. Find out what your audience is interested in. View job postings and visit the company’s website. Check out the company on LinkedIn and other professional sites to read the concerns and interests of people who currently work there. Your resume should highlight the ways in which your background matches the company’s general culture and specific wishlist for the posted job.
  2. Use words and concepts that your audience understands. For example, the hiring managers and recruiters who read your resume may be in a slightly different industry or field and may not be entirely familiar with your profession. Define acronyms and avoid jargon specific to your previous employer. Remember, a resume is not a vocabulary or intelligence test for your readers.
  3. Keep the audience interested. Let your audience know right away that you have understood the potential job and its requirements; that you have the right skills, education and attitude to handle the position; and that you can prove your suitability by describing accomplishments at your previous positions. Keep the resume concise and remove information that is dated or irrelevant to your current job search.

At Robin’s Resumes® we take pride in developing resumes that hiring managers and recruiters want to read.

Resumes for Career Changers

If you are looking to change careers—for example, from engineering to project management—you need to refresh your resume. The resume you used to move up in your engineering career will not impress hiring managers and recruiters who are looking for a project manager. Here are five steps you can take to make sure your resume supports your career change. 

First, research your new career carefully so that you understand the requirements and expectations. Your resume should contain the keywords that future employers will look for among your skills, accomplishments and education.  

Second, make sure the summary at the top of your resume mentions the transferrable skills, accomplishments and education that relate to the career you want. Companies are not in the business of guessing at your suitability; you must tell them. 

Third, you may want to lead your resume with a list of “Major Accomplishments” during your past career chosen specifically because they illustrate your readiness for your new career. You can ignore chronology in this section. To continue with the engineer-to-project-manager example: you would select accomplishments demonstrating your leadership, planning and strategic skills regardless of when they occurred in your career.  

Fourth, courses, certifications or a degree related to your new career are invaluable. Make sure your educational preparation is featured on your resume. If you are sending out your resume before your education is complete, you should mention the anticipated date of graduation or certification.  

Fifth, ask for testimonials from fellow professionals who can testify to your qualifications for the new position (including soft skills). The opinion of a co-worker, customer, vendor or manager counts highly when a hiring manager or recruiter is reviewing your resume. 

At Robin’s Resumes®, we help job applicants make the transition from one successful career to another with resumes that give companies what they are looking for, highlight transferrable skills, emphasize related accomplishments and feature strong testimonials. Let us help you.

 

Employment Trends That Impact Your Resume

A company that specializes in helping virtual teams work effectively recently reported on the latest employment trends, including an increase in freelancing and part-time work, multigenerational workplaces and work across borders and time zones. What effect do these trends have on your resume?

First, freelancing and part-time work—or multiple consulting jobs—are no longer seen as panicky attempts to fill an employment gap. They are valid alternative career paths. So if you do find yourself unemployed, give freelancing, consulting or part-time jobs a chance. They may develop into a full-time job or create opportunities for networking; they may keep you up to date in your field and may add to the range of skills and accomplishments you can showcase in your resume.

Second, multigenerational workplaces mean that your future boss and co-workers may be 20 years younger than you are, the same age or considerably older. The multigenerational workplace at its best takes advantage of everyone’s perspectives and talents, whether they grew up with computers or with typewriters, with cell phones or with party lines. A resume that shows your ability to work effectively with a wide range of people will increase your appeal to recruiters and hiring managers.

Third, your resume should include information about languages you speak (in addition to English) and travels you have taken on behalf of work. Your experience with telecommuting is also important as companies develop more geographically dispersed workforces.

A fourth trend that did not appear in the report is in hiring practices. These days you have to assume that companies are looking for and checking up on candidates on online social and professional sites. Therefore, you must pay attention to the character you are broadcasting online, especially at personal and social sites like Facebook. Moreover, the professional information you post should match the information in your resume. Your online participation shows that you are technologically savvy; I hope you are savvy enough to make sure your participation aids rather than hinders your job search.

At Robin’s Resumes®, I keep up with the latest employment trends and hiring practices and use my knowledge to benefit clients just like you. Contact me today.

What Is a Hiring Manager?

In these blogs, I have often mentioned “hiring managers and recruiters.” Hiring managers are the individuals in a company who review job applicants. They may work in a company’s Human Resources department or may be the manager you would report to if hired. Hiring managers often work with recruiters to find quality job applicants. Recently I took a look at the capabilities and qualities that companies value most in hiring managers. This information about hiring managers will reveal some important information about your job search.

Most companies expect a great hiring manager to:

  • Ask lots of questions in-house about the ideal candidate, the demands of the job and the company’s needs. The result should be an accurate, detailed job description and job posting.
  • Move quickly from recognizing that an employee is needed to starting the actual employee search.
  • Be familiar with online technology and its use in finding candidates.
  • Weed out inappropriate candidates and present the best candidates for the position.
  • Make sure that the chosen candidates have the information they need to make a decision about whether they want the job if it is offered.

Since the job postings by hiring managers list what the job and company need most, you must be sure to mention your skills, education and achievements that meet those needs. Companies move quickly and you should, too. Make sure your resume is ready to go when you find that ideal job posting but do not hang around waiting for an offer; keep looking. The more you feel in control of your job search, the better you will come across in an interview.Since hiring managers are looking online, you need to have an online presence. When you meet with a hiring manager, you should feel free to ask questions about the job so that you can correctly determine your own fit and interest. But you should research the company first so that you ask intelligent questions.

But most important, because hiring managers are weeding out inappropriate candidates, you must make sure that your resume shows how very suited you are to the job and the company. Robin’s Resumes® is here to help.

Answers to Common Resume Questions

Q. I’m applying for my first job after college and I can’t believe that companies are still using job application forms. Is it okay if I just attach or send my resume? It has all the information they are looking for.

Companies often ask job applicants to fill out a form detailing the same work history and education that appears on the applicant’s resume. You must fill out the form. The form may be entered in a computerized applicant tracking system; it may be used for a quick comparison of candidates; or it might simply be a required piece of paper.

Q. I know you are supposed to tell the whole truth on a resume but when I put down everything I’ve accomplished or learned over the years, I have a 6 page resume. What can I do?

Editing is not lying. I have often used this comparison to explain the difference to job applicants: On your wedding day, you will be dressed up. That dressed up you is still you—but you have “edited” your wardrobe so that you look your best. Resumes are exactly the same: they show you at your best. That means you want to keep in the information that shows what a good fit you are for the job and the company; edit the rest. While your career history is important, your earliest accomplishments may have become dated or irrelevant. Some skills may be irrelevant to your current career or may not be the skills you want to emphasize.

Q. You keep saying that job seekers should write their resumes for the job they want. But what if I don’t know the job I want? I graduate in May and have no idea what I am interested in.

Hiring managers and recruiters need to fill specific jobs with specific requirements; they do not look to see if there is a job in the entire universe a random job applicant might be suited for. That’s something you need to figure out. A career coach should help you. Your school may have a career coach on campus. Another option is to speak to the teachers in the classes you enjoyed most. They may have ideas about how your interests translate to a job (or to further education). Finally, write a list of your skills and education and begin searching online for jobs that require that background. You may be surprised at the range of jobs you are qualified for.

Q. I know recruiters search online for information about candidates. Do I have to display my entire life on Facebook and other social sites just so recruiters can find me? 

Your online presence should be professional. What you do in your private life, with family and friends, is your own business and certainly does not have to be shared online. You may be more comfortable with professional networking sites like LinkedIn. I recommend that you join a site like LinkedIn for four reasons. Professional sites offer excellent opportunities for you to (a) network with others and perhaps find a job that has not even been posted yet; (b) find jobs that are posted (LinkedIn is the number one job board in the country); (c) enable employers to check you out (they are more likely to believe what you post on LinkedIn than in your resume since it is public); and (d) help recruiters and other hiring managers to find you through a search.

Overcoming Writer’s Block for Your Resume

Okay, you have completed your research into companies in your industry, you know the jobs you want and are qualified for, you have listed your major accomplishments and skills—but how do you write the resume? Writer’s block can occur for many reasons, including second-guessing yourself about your choices, anxiety about “boasting,” low self-esteem because of a recent job loss or poor interview and a dislike for writing in general. At Robin’s Resumes™, we rescue you from writer’s block with a professionally written resume that you are proud to send out. But here are a few techniques you can use yourself:

  • Do not worry about how the resume sounds. First make sure that the resume contains all the information on your skills, accomplishments, prior experience and education. Then you can go back to edit it for flow, consistency, accuracy, grammar and spelling.
  • Handle content first, then format. You may write better if you do not have to worry about the special format of a resume. For example, you may begin by writing everything in paragraphs in the first person (“I managed a team…”). Again, after the content is on paper, you can re-format the content to fit a hiring manager’s or recruiter’s expectations (using bullets and starting with verbs: “Managed a team…”).
  • Talk to a chair. Pretend that your best friend is sitting there and asks you what you do or how you handled a particular situation. How would you answer? Record the words you speak and write them into your resume. Often we speak more fluently than we write.
  • Read blogs like this. In past blog posts, I have described solutions to many writing problems, from emphasizing the right achievements to reining in adjectives and adverbs. But read the advice after you have a resume draft; do not let even the best advice inhibit you from that first step of getting everything on paper.

Writing is a skill like any other, and it may not be a skill you feel comfortable with. If your writer’s block refuses to lift, contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Five Things to Find Out before Writing Your Resume

Many job seekers begin writing their resume based solely on the job positions and responsibilities that they have held over the years. But professional resume writers know that that information is only a starting point. A resume that wins interviews and jobs is also based on research in these six areas:

  1. What do you want? “Any job” is not an answer. If it were an answer, you would be equally qualified as an airplane pilot, nuclear physicist and brain surgeon. In reality, we all have preferences for location, industry, level of job, size of company and responsibilities. Your resume should be written for the job you want—and you cannot do that unless you know what you want.
  2. Where are the pain points in your industry/target companies? Research into your industry and the companies you are targeting will reveal the struggles they are facing today and in the future. Are you able to help them weather those struggles? For example, have you experience in the past increasing sales, introducing efficiencies, getting siloed departments to work together or mentoring staff? Perhaps you are familiar with or an advocate for new technologies and processes. Find out where your skills match the industry or company pain points and make sure your resume emphasizes those skills.
  3. What do your target companies want? By researching company websites, including the “about us,” you should be able to build up a picture of each company’s culture. Job postings are also a great source of information, even for jobs you are interested in. Does the company prefer loyal team members or in-house entrepreneurs? Do they innovate everywhere or concentrate on improving their current products and services? Are they and their customers diversified or do they focus on a specific niche? The more you know about the company, the better you will be able to assess how you—and your resume—will fit in. You can adjust your resume to better match the company culture, and you will have more intelligent questions to ask at the interview.
  4. What openings are available? If you are hung up on a specific job title or level, you may miss opportunities that are perfect for someone with your accomplishments, skills and education. Research your industry to find out how jobs are described and which accomplishments and skills are most in demand. Find out if you need more education to qualify or if your skills qualify you for several different types of jobs.
  5. Whom do you know? Networking is a proven technique for finding and securing jobs. You may network in person or online, but preferably both. Go to industry events; become an online member of LinkedIn groups that your target companies belong to; give your resume to friends and relatives so that they can network among their own connections.

As a professional resume writer, I stress the importance to applicants of knowing what they want, where the pain points are in the industry, what their target companies expect in an applicant, what openings are available and how the resume is used to network. At Robin’s Resumes®, we write resumes in the best interests of our customers—and that includes you.

Secondary Skills

All of us have multiple skills; some are essential to our job and others we have gathered along the way to finish a project, fit into a team or take care of a business emergency. When you are applying for a new job, those secondary skills may be on the list of job requirements or may be important to list on your resume to show how well-rounded and valuable you are.

However, you should be careful if those secondary skills are threatening to take over the resume. For example, if you are aiming for an IT security job, your ability to respond efficiently to help desk requests is a secondary skill. More important is your experience in identifying and fixing holes in a company’s security and regulatory compliance. You want to be sure that your IT security experience and credentials receive top mention in your resume and the greatest amount of space. On the other hand, if you prefer working on a help desk to diagnosing security issues, then by all means turn your resume over to that secondary skill.

Secondary skills may also embrace soft skills. While soft skills of teamwork, mentoring, leadership and building client relationships, for example, are extremely valuable to a company, you may not want a position that demands a lot of soft skills. Again, decide what to include in your resume based on the job you want, not on the roles you have assumed in the past. If you like mentoring, highlight your mentoring experience; if you dislike client relationship management, de-emphasize it.

Finally, some secondary skills do not belong on a resume unless they are directly related to the job you are applying for. Sports skills, for example, would be valuable if you are applying to for a sports industry position, whether selling athletic equipment or reporting for the local paper or treating sports injuries. But for any other industries, they qualify as hobbies and may take up valuable space that could be used for more pertinent information.

When job applicants have trouble distinguishing between secondary skills and necessary skills, a professional resume writer can help. Contact me today.

Your Resume and Your Portfolio

I have many clients in creative careers that demand online or print portfolios: writers, graphic artists, photographers and web designers, among others. When hiring managers or recruiters look at job applicants for communications or design positions, they expect to see samples of previous work at some point. 

Any creative person about to engage in a job search should make sure to accumulate physical or electronic samples of projects that will be mentioned in the resume. Those samples might include before and after screen shots of a website, the final version of a brochure or the various uses of a logo design. The physical evidence of an accomplishment (“Designed company logo used nation-wide”) is very powerful. 

The key here is to make sure that the resume supports the physical evidence and the physical evidence supports the resume. One photographer applied for a position at a technical company with a portfolio of portraits. The company had no interest in his portraiture; they wanted someone who could photograph step-by-step the process of assembling various products. A technical writer brought a luggage carrier to her job interview to hold examples of all the manuals she had ever written, from first job to last. The hiring manager felt overwhelmed—who has time to look through a luggage carrier full of examples?—and cut the interview short. 

Both your resume and your portfolio should be targeted to the job you are applying for, and the information you offer should be recent, relevant and balanced. 

Graphic artists, photographers, web designers, writers and those in similar creative fields should avoid adding flourishes to their resumes to show off their skills. That is the job of the portfolio. A resume with too many creative elements may never make it past an automated resume tracking system; those systems expect straight-forward resumes. Moreover, an elaborate design can easily overwhelm the resume’s content. 

If you need help presenting your creative side in your resume, please call upon my services as a professional resume writer.

 

Job Searches: Dealing with the Wrong Kind of Help

As much as you may wish to keep private your lack of work or your unhappiness with your current job, the people who care about you will notice. In many ways that is a good thing. When they become a part of your job search team, you have more chances of finding someone who needs an employee just like you. But how do you ensure that well-meaning friends and family offer the right kind of help? Here are some frustrating job search stories and how to avoid them.

Job Search Story 1: “My friend keeps sending me job listings that have nothing to do with my skills—they are either way below my level or way above. How do I get her to stop?”

Make sure your friend understands what you do and what type of job you are looking for. One of the best ways to do this is to send her your resume. Your resume will point her to the right jobs in the right industry with the right requirements. You might also send her a sample job listing, letting her know that this is just the type of position you want. But do not sell her efforts short; many a job was won after a friend found the opening.

Job Search Story 2: “My family knows I am doing everything to find a job but they are frightened of the future. They want me to take any job, even though that will cut into my time to hunt for a job I am truly qualified for.”

Anxiety about the future is normal for family, especially if they depend on your income. Here again, sharing your resume may help. In describing your accomplishments over the years, it should give your family (as well as hiring managers and recruiters) a sense of your reliability, dedication and ability to problem solve. You might also want to consult with a Career Coach, to make sure that your job search is broad enough and you really are not overlooking opportunities.

Job Search Story 3: “A friend hooked me up a company owner with a possible job opening. That did not work out but I thanked everyone, my friend and the owner. The owner and I have even connected on LinkedIn. Now my friend, who is not very savvy about social media, is insisting that I phone the owner regularly about job openings. I am very uncomfortable with that.”

Sometimes friends have trouble letting go. You might reassure your friend by saying that you are very grateful for his help and advice, but you are maintaining a professional connection with the owner through LinkedIn. You might want to pass on to your friend some of my blog posts that mention LinkedIn and the importance of social media in a job search so that your friend realizes this is a valid approach and regular phone calls are not necessary.

Engaging family and friends in your job search may require some work on your part to make sure that they are targeting the right jobs for you. Your resume is an excellent tool for keeping everyone literally on the same page. At Robin’s Resumes®, our goal is to give you a resume you can be proud of and that shows you to advantage to everyone, especially recruiters and hiring managers.

Four Words to Avoid on Resumes or Cover Letters

Can’t

“Can’t” is the first word to avoid on your resume because your resume should show you at your best, outlining your achievements, skills, education and overall fit for the job you want. If you “cannot” travel, work on weekends, handle certain tasks or function in rush situations, do not share that information on your resume or cover letter. That is a conversation for later, perhaps during the interview. If the job posting lists one of your “cannot” items as a requirement of the job (for example, the ability to lift 50 pounds or travel on weekends), do not even apply. If you find yourself evaluating every job on the basis of what you cannot do, perhaps a Certified Job & Career Transition Coach will help turn your perspective around. That is a service I can offer you.

Want

Your resume and cover letter are not the place to make demands for salary, time off or perks. If a job posting asks for salary information, address the topic but respond with a salary range, not a demand for specific dollar amount. It is fine to say you are open to travel, for example, but not that you “want” to have access to a company jet. Those negotiations begin after the company expresses interest in hiring you.

Only

“Only” is an apology word, as in “I only have a bachelor degree, not an MBA.” You should never apologize for your career in your resume or cover letter; that’s why “only” is one of the four words that shouldn’t appear on a resume. Focus what you bring to the table–on the skills and accomplishments that make you a valuable employee—not on what you lack.

On the other hand, if you were the only one of 20 employees selected for an honor at your company, then please, feel free to use “only”!

Impressive

In this case, “impressive” is standing in for a lot of adjectives (superior, incredible, awesome) that do not tell the recruiter or hiring manager anything of value. Instead of complimenting yourself for being an impressive employee, use the space to explain why and how you were impressive. Did you exceed your sales quota by 25%? Did you lead a multi-million dollar project? Did you turn around relations with an unhappy client? Were you employee of the month? Give the details and let the recruiter or the hiring manager be the one to say, “That sure is impressive!”

If your resume and cover letter contain negatives, demands, apologies and vague adjectives, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We know how to hunt down the words that should not appear, and we will turn your resume into a positive testimonial to your value.

Keeping the Resume Real

The goal of a resume is to get you to the next stage, an interview; and a great resume is written in a way that allows you to ace the interview and possibly move on to the stage after that, a job offer. None of that may happen if you make these three mistakes.

  1. Recently a blogger on resumes suggested that all tasks in a job lend themselves to being described as an accomplishment. He advised a college student who handed out free coupons at a mall to frame her experience like this: “Aligned marketing campaign with potential customers through coupon distribution that increased revenue 10%.” Unfortunately, the entire statement is hard to justify face-to-face when a recruiter or hiring manager asks for details. Mostly, handing out coupons is just handing out coupons.
  2. Another problem occurs when the resume contains general quotes from famous people pulled out of a reference book of quotes. You may agree wholeheartedly with Dale Carnegie’s statement that “The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and care.” However, why is Dale Carnegie’s wisdom taking up space in your resume? Testimonials from people who know you can enhance a resume or cover letter. But let general motivational phrases inspire you in private.
  3. Sometimes the information at the bottom of the resume, namely education and computer skills, is allowed to sit untouched way beyond its “sell-by” date. For a recent graduate, details like coursework, graduation date and special honors may be essential to landing a job and may, in fact, be the first things mentioned in a resume. After a few years, even a “magna cum laude” may not carry as much weight as current, more relevant experience. As for general computer skills, unless you are applying for an IT job, you may not need a “computer skills” statement, especially if you are tight for space. First, your experience with WordStar in the 1980s is now (trust me on this) worthless. Second, almost everyone uses Microsoft Office; unless Microsoft Office skills are a stated job requirement, you may be better off using the “computer skills” space for more important information targeted to the job.

Your resume should contain realistic accomplishments, testimonials from people who know and respect you and information that is up to date and targeted for the position you want. I have helped many clients with resumes that take them from submission to interview to job offer. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Proofreading Resumes on Paper

I have often ranted about the complete uselessness of electronic grammar checkers and mentioned the need for manual proofreading, rather than relying on electronic spellcheckers, but I am also against proofreading a resume on the computer instead of printing it out. Here are my top five reasons for advocating manual proofreading, with paper in your hand:

  1. No matter how carefully you look, onscreen you are going to miss the tiny details like a double period at the end of a sentence or a word that is partially bolded and partially unbolded. With a hard copy, you can proofread the resume looking for those details in particular.
  2. If you have a two-page (or longer) resume, it is very hard to keep the pages consistent if you only view them onscreen. You might write dates as 2001-2008 on page 1 but 2001 to 2008 on page 2 or you might have justification on one page and ragged right margins on the other. A hard copy makes cross-checking easy.
  3. When you are proofreading on a computer you automatically add missing words, especially two-letter prepositions, even though they are not there. When you proof word-by-word on a hard copy—or better yet, read it out loud—you catch those missing words.
  4. The computer hides flaws, such as a change in font (for example, there is very little difference onscreen between Arial and Tahoma) or problems with line spacing or word spacing. Because even layout views are not exact online, the computer masks problems that only become apparent when you print the resume.
  5. Formats that look great on the computer may not print well. But if you are selected for an interview, your interviewer will be looking at a paper copy of your resume, not at the computer screen. Your resume needs to print easily and look professional in hard copy.

An added benefit of a paper resume is that you can hand it to an objective party and ask them to read it just as a hiring manager would read it during an interview. If any statement is unclear or confusing, you can correct it before the resume goes out.

Robin’s Resumes® is dedicated to creating professional resumes that help give job applicants the edge, both in content and format.

Your Resume Is Your Brochure

I have a friend in marketing who often counsels companies that their brochures and websites are their “resumes to the world,” letting customers know how great the company is.

By the same token, you should view your resume as your brochure to the world, or at least that part of the world consisting of recruiters and hiring managers. Think about a brochure, maybe for that car or home you always wanted, that really drew your attention.

Here are the ways that the content of a great resume and a great brochure are similar. They both:

  1. Focus on meeting a customer’s need, whether for a faster car, a bigger house, or a more skilled employee—so they contain the facts that the “buyer” (the recruiter or hiring manager) is most interested in.
  2. Are clearly and simply written and carefully proofread to avoid errors. Would you buy a car from a company that can’t spell “brake” correctly? Well, hiring managers are equally dubious about an applicant who can’t spell.
  3. Go beyond the mere facts. A brochure for an off-road vehicle shows the car climbing over mountains, because that ability is the car’s biggest accomplishment and represents the greatest value to the buyer. A resume should describe accomplishments, too, and show your potential value as an employee.
  4. Are positive. A brochure about an expensive home mentions the great school district, not the persistent leak in the roof. Without lying or exaggeration, a resume should show you at your best.
  5. Provide good information that can let the discussion move forward, with a tour of the home, a test drive, or an interview. A brochure in itself is usually not enough to close the deal and neither is a resume; but they both provide a strong foundation.

When you think of your resume as selling a product (you) to a customer (the company), you free yourself from anxieties about bragging, saying too much or too little, or being unprepared for the interview. Resumes from Robin’s Resumes® attain those goals and more. Contact us today.

Multi-syllable Words in a Resume: Where the Danger Lies

We all like potential employers to be aware of our intelligence and education, especially in scientific, technical, and academic fields. However, a resume is not and should not be a vocabulary test. Your goal as a job applicant is to communicate clearly and succinctly. That goal can be undermined by using four and five syllable words inappropriately or by loading the resume with multi-syllable words that are not actually necessary.

Here are a few examples of large words gone wrong:

  1. A new college graduate interested in a marketing career explained how she “edited a large, poorly written document and made it comprehensive.” Probably, she meant “comprehensible,” not “comprehensive.”
  2. A Human Resources manager wrote about “maximizing interdepartmental cooperation, communication and employee disengagement.” No one wants to hire an HR manager who maximizes disengagement. The correct phrase had to be “maximizing interdepartmental cooperation, communication and employee engagement.”
  3. A psychologist wrote about experience with “associative disorder” when clearly “dissociative disorder” was meant. This mistake might have been due to a reliance on electronic spellchecking.

Whether a mistake is caused by confusion over similar words, inattention or poor proofreading, the effect is the same and it is not positive. If you are going to use four and five syllable words, whether or not they are technical, scientific or academic, make sure that they are necessary, that you understand what they mean and that you have proofread the context carefully.

In the first instance, the college student could have written that she “edited a large document to make it more readable, consistent, and accurate.” With simpler language and just two more words, she would have achieved a more powerful and much clearer statement. The HR manager might have caught the “disengagement/engagement” mistake if she had used “improving” instead of “maximizing” earlier in the sentence. The psychologist needed to read his resume or call in a proofreader, not rely on a spellchecker.

My goal here is not to dumb down your language or make it impossible to use technical or scientific terms. My goal is to show that embarrassing mistakes and a lack of clarity may result when four and five syllable words invade a resume, even if they are completely necessary.

If you are concerned about whether your technical, scientific or academic language is accurate, appropriate and easily understood by hiring managers and recruiters, please contact me. Clear communication is a top priority at Robin’s Resumes®.

Resume Dilemma: You Have Too Much to Offer

An IT professional responded to one of my blog posts by stating that he contributes so much to his company that his experience bursts the bounds of a resume. He was not overqualified so much as over-experienced. He offered too much value to an employer.

Someone who brings too much value to a company usually falls into one or more of the following categories. First, while their job title has not changed, they have taken on more and more responsibility. Second, they have worked almost as an internal company consultant, providing expertise to teams or business units that are outside the direct line of report. Third, their career path has included jobs in several different industries at different levels.

Before I share some techniques for dealing with this problem, I want to stress three points: (1) you must look at your career from the viewpoint of the hiring manager or recruiter; (2) no one expects a resume to cover your entire life story; and (3) editing is not lying.

When you read a job posting or advertisement, you will find certain achievements, credentials, and skills highlighted: those are the ones that the company wants to hear about in your resume. As impressive as your talents may be in other areas, no one—repeat, no one—is going to plow through bullet after bullet trying to find the exact skills they are looking for. So focus your resume on what the company wants; editing your resume to match the company’s wish list is a gift to the hiring manager and to yourself.

Once you have edited your resume to target the specific job you are applying for, here are three techniques to deal with the additional value you bring:

  • If you have taken on additional responsibilities, it is fine to indicate that in your job title, for example: “Vice President of Finances (with CFO Responsibilities).” You might also dedicate a bullet point to the fact; for example, “Assumed duties of Assistant Manager during major retail events.” Any major achievements should be mentioned but you can trust that a hiring manager or recruiter knows what a CFO or Assistant Manager does on a day-to-day basis.
  • If you have worked at different levels of the organization or with different departments or business units, state that you have contributed to projects that involve multi-level and multi-department cooperation and communication.
  • Your experience in multiple job and industry categories should highlight the common denominators; that is, you should stress the achievements and skills that will be valuable in the position you are applying for. You might even create a section called “Career Highlights” in your resume to emphasize those unifying achievements and skills.
  • Since different companies stress different skills and achievements, you may need to customize your resume for each job application. Just don’t send three resumes to the same company applying for three different positions.

You are not alone in struggling to create a resume that will attract hiring managers and recruiters and still do justice to your achievements, education, and skills. Contact me and we will work together to make sure your resume reflects your true value.

Why Technical People Need Nontechnical Skills on Their Resumes

Having worked for many years as a senior chemical engineer and computer simulation applications engineer, with a degree from MIT, I know employers want potential hires with advanced technical skills and a demonstrated ability to increase those skills. However, employers today are not only interested in technical skills; they are also interested in “soft” or nontechnical skills such as:

  • Ability to communicate clearly and at different levels of the organization
  • Experience working in a virtual environment, with teams scattered over a wide area
  • Ability to contribute to or lead a team
  • Willingness to take responsibility for and solve problems

You may be concerned that you do not have these soft skills. But they can be gained through volunteer work; on-the-job projects, presentations, and research; participation on committees and boards; and enrollment in business, financial, leadership, and/or communication seminars. In addition, keep in mind that you need experience, not expertise, in these areas. Your soft skills in leadership, for example, may be shown by leading three people on a volunteer project; you do not need to lead a staff of hundreds.

As a technical person, you may feel it is sufficient to show your education, accomplishments, and skills in technical areas; but soft, nontechnical skills can easily be worked into your resume by a professional resume writer. And those skills may tip the balance in favor of an interview, as recruiters and hiring managers see that they are also gaining (for example) a communicator and team player who will immediately bring value to their organization.

With my technical background and professional resume writing skills, I can bring balance to your resume and help you win the interviews you seek. Contact me today.

Does Your Resume Emphasize the Wrong Things?

A client called me recently for an update on his resume. In the past, he had worked as a second-in-command in Human Relations at various colleges and now he was eager to transition into a higher level job with a company outside the educational sector. He wondered if his resume could be honestly updated to give him a better chance of a corporate interview.

When your resume lags behind your career goals, recruiters and hiring managers have difficulty in figuring out just where you will fit in their organization. You have to show them that you have the skills, experience, education, and achievements that they want. You can do this in three ways.

First, carefully read advertisements and job postings to find out the keywords that are most commonly used in the field and position you are interested in. For example, my client’s old educational resume included many keywords related to community relations and youth. We instead emphasized keywords in his experience that were more suitable for a corporate environment, such as experience with HIPAA, workers’ compensation, and unions.

Second, review the list of achievements on your resume and reorder them to give prominence to the ones that most closely match the achievements an employer or recruiter would look for in your goal position. For example, my client’s new position would require more leadership skills, so we made sure to emphasize his achievements as a leader in committees and as a board chair in volunteer organizations.

Third, adjust your profile to match expectations for any applicant for that job. In the case of my client, we removed from his profile information about curriculum development and academic counseling and instead emphasized his experience dealing with Human Resources laws and practices, as well as his ability to communicate at all levels of an organization.

A change in emphasis reflects the multiple skills we all have. Recruiters and hiring managers need to know that you fit their needs and they will not go hunting through your resume for the information; you need to tell them clearly. Contact Robin’s Resumes®, and we will make sure your resume gives recruiters and hiring managers good reason to hire you for the job you want most.

Resumes for Special Circumstances

Most resumes are submitted by applicants who are moving from one company to another company to work in the same field. But on occasion a resume has to fulfill other functions. For example:

1.  Resumes applying for board positions

If you are applying for a position on the board of a company or nonprofit, make sure your resume highlights not only your professional qualifications but your interest in that particular board and the skills you will bring to that board. Prior board and volunteer experience is important. You may also want to include a cover letter stating your objectives as a board member.

2. Resumes applying for a position in your current company

Regardless of the recognition you have received from your current company in the past, they may not understand why you are perfect for a different, perhaps more prestigious, position. Your resume should be very clear your current and past achievements that have prepared you for the job you want. That is a requirement for any resume, but too often people applying for a job in their own company make the assumption that their skills, achievements, and experience are known; they may not be known or they may not be fully appreciated until they are spelled out in a resume.

3. Resumes transitioning from the military to civilian employment

I have written many resumes for military personnel transitioning to civilian life. Leadership, security clearance, and the ability to communicate at all levels are all important transferrable skills. In addition, many military personnel have had valuable experience with budgets, teaching, and living in foreign countries, as well as specific experience that might prove valuable in the airline, navigation, shipping, construction, manufacturing, and government sectors.

These three special resumes—for board positions, for a position in your current company, and for transitioning from military to civilian employment—require a professional resume writer who is aware of the expectations of board members, hiring managers, and recruiters. Robin’s Resumes® is your source for experienced help.

Geography and Your Job Hunt

Robin’s Resumes® is based in Atlanta, Georgia, but I work on resumes for individuals from every region and state. Many of them face geographic challenges: relocation within the United States, high regional unemployment, relocation to another country, and applying to an international company. 

Relocation resumes require special consideration because you will be competing with job applicants who already live in the company’s vicinity. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, you should strive to acquire a local address and even a cell phone with a local phone number to give you an edge in finding a job in another location.  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor, the jobless rate has fallen in about half of the states and is continuing to fall; that’s great news. But if you live in a region or state with high unemployment, a professional resume writer can help you target your resume toward the healthiest industries in your region. 

If you are applying for a position overseas, or if you are moving to the United States from a foreign country, you should know that there are major differences in resumes from country to country. For example, many foreign countries expect a resume to contain a picture or personal information (such as date of birth) which are discouraged or actually prohibited on US resumes. Moreover, clarification may be needed about the meaning of degrees from US institutions versus foreign institutions. 

International companies may have teams dispersed over several countries. If you are applying to work at an international company at any level, it helps if you know a foreign language, have traveled to foreign countries, have worked with individuals from different countries, or have worked for another international company. Your experiences and skills may not be deep or broad, but any international background or skill gives your resume a boost. 

Please contact Robin’s Resumes® if your job search involves a geographic challenge.

 

Eight New Year’s Resolutions for Your Resume

If your resume is not getting the interviews you expected, now is the time to review it and follow through on these New Year resolutions:

Resolution 1: Believe in yourself. You have hard and soft skills, experience, and accomplishments that will bring value to future employers. Let your resume focus on you, not on “creative” formats, half-truths, and wishful thinking.

Resolution 2: Lose the deadweight. Read through the job postings and advertisements for the information potential employers really want and target your resume. You may be extremely proud of your first job more than 10 years ago; but if your first job has no bearing on the job you want now, use the space more profitably to describe your current skills, experience, and accomplishments.

Resolution 3: Look before you leap. If you make one change, reread the whole resume. As tedious as this advice sounds, over and over again I have seen resumes where one change meant the wrong punctuation was left in place; an entire sentence was inadvertently repeated word-for-word; or dates on jobs overlapped in an impossible way.

Resolution 4: Trust yourself. You do have skills, accomplishments, and education that would bring value to employers. Do not let old cautions about “boasting” stand in your way but do not lie. Read job descriptions, postings, and advertisements carefully. They will tell you what employers are looking for and what content your resume should include; you want your resume to quickly and honestly tell recruiters and hiring managers why you are their best choice.

Resolution 5: Step away from the computer. This resolution has two aspects. First, face-to-face networking and relationship-building is vital to any job search; do not spend all your time researching jobs online. Second, electronic spellcheckers have limited benefit and grammar checkers are worthless. Proofread your resume on your own on paper and on the screen. Only you can tell if you meant “about expectations” or “above” or if that semicolon should be a period. Computers do not know.

Resolution 6: Never assume. For example, you may have assumed the company you did business with was “Wal-Mart Inc.” when it is actually “Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.” and it is branded as Walmart (without the hyphen).

Resolution 7: Be consistent. Within resumes, a dollar amount might be given in one place as $1 million, in another as $1M, and in yet a third as $1,000,000. Between the resume and interview, an important skill might get forgotten; information on social media might fall out of date entirely. Inconsistencies raise questions about your attention to detail at best and your honesty at worst.

Resolution 8: Accept help. Consult a professional resume writer. I really do make a difference for my clients. Contact me today.

Resume Headlines

Headlines are important in a resume because they guide hiring managers, recruiters, and electronic tracking systems (ATS) to important information (“Professional Work Experience,” “Education”) and because they help you organize your resume logically. There are four basic resume headlines, but some resumes may require more or less. 

The first resume headline is the one used for your name and contact information; this always appears on the top of your resume. On the second page of your resume, it may include “Page 2 of 2” or some other phrase indicating continuation. 

The second headline is the one that precedes your summary or profile and explains the job position you are looking for. If that position goes under two or three job titles (CFO, VP of Finances, Senior Financial Executive), then it is fine to include two or three job titles in the headline. You might also use this headline to include a branding statement (such as “Reorganization Specialist”). 

The third headline usually comes before your reverse chronological list of jobs. This headline generally has “Experience” in the title.  

The fourth resume headline is “Education,” which may be expanded to “Education and Professional Licenses” or “Education and Professional Development,” depending on your background.  

In addition to these headlines, a resume may contain a headline for career highlights, languages, computer competencies, publications, or other special information. 

All headlines in a resume should have a consistent look and feel. For example, they should all be the same font, size, and format (such as centered or flush right, and bolded). The only exception is the first headline, where your name should be prominent. 

Most important, headlines should be clear and straightforward so that hiring managers, recruiters, and applicant tracking systems quickly find the information they need. If your resume headlines are not serving your job search, please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help.

 

Three Major Mistakes Job Seekers Make on LinkedIn

The other day I reviewed the information a client sent for his resume, including his address on LinkedIn. When I went to LinkedIn to look at his profile, I discovered he had not updated it after leaving his previous job. His LinkedIn profile had him working at a company he had left two years earlier!

Another client who wanted her LinkedIn address included on her resume had not posted a profile at all—just her name and job title. While her desire to include her LinkedIn address was sound, the empty profile simply wasted a recruiter’s time.

Bottom line: if you are going to direct people to your LinkedIn profile, make sure it is up to date, matches your resume and is fully filled out.

Now here is another mistake job seekers make on LinkedIn: They do not use it to network. LinkedIn is a wonderful opportunity to connect with individuals who work in your field, work at companies you are interested in and may have early knowledge of job openings.

How do you get in touch with these people? Comment on their posts, with thoughtful information, questions or referrals. Ask your #1 connections if they know your desired contacts/companies and would introduce you. Join groups that your desired contacts/companies are likely to follow or join.

Finally, job seekers are making a mistake if they believe LinkedIn is a one-way street. Yes, companies will look for potential employees on LinkedIn but job seekers should also be looking for potential companies to join and jobs to apply for. The LinkedIn profile established by companies in your target industry or field contains valuable information about their own achievements, struggles and company culture. This information can help you write a resume that better shows your fit for the job you want.

Robin’s Resumes® is your source for a profile that adds value to your resume and for information on using LinkedIn to your advantage. Contact us today.

Applying to Small vs. Large Companies: What Are the Differences?

Before I list the differences between small companies and large companies from the job applicant’s viewpoint, let me list a couple of similarities:

  • Both small and large companies use applicant tracking systems these days. About the only companies that don’t use electronic systems to weed out resumes are sole proprietorships!
  • Both small and large companies expect to see a professional, clearly written, focused resume, not a generic “I can do anything; please hire me” appeal.
  • Both small and large companies go online to check out job applicants they are interested in.

The differences in applying to a small company vs. a large one include:

  •  A small company generally has a tighter organizational structure. Your job responsibilities may be much broader than your job title. If you want to move from a small company to a large company or vice versa, your resume should reflect this difference in job titles and responsibilities.
  • A small company will have a simpler internal structure. You should be able to address your cover letter and resume to a specific person. A larger company may have an anonymous Human Resources Department or “info@” email address. However, through networking and online research, you may still be able to identify the hiring manager or department head.
  • A small company is likely to have a shorter interview process, if only because there are fewer people who need to interview you. When applying to a large company, be prepared for a telephone interview, several in person interviews and a longer time between the interviews and a job offer.
  • A small company is likely to be based in one geographic area. Unless you are applying for an outside sales position or for a position requiring contact with a specific non-English speaking group, your willingness to travel and your foreign language skills may not be relevant. But they could be critical information on a resume for a large company with many locations and an international staff and customer base.

 Contact Robin’s Resumes® for a resume that shows your value to potential employers, whether large company or small.

How to Organize a Cover Letter/Email

Cover letters and emails are important; some hiring managers and recruiters ignore them but others expect them. Why take the chance? Cover letters give you the opportunity to show off your communication skills, direct the hiring manager’s or recruiter’s attention to important accomplishments and facts, and add detail that might not be appropriate for your resume (for example, salary range if the company requires that information as part of your application).

A cover letter or email is normally one page long and should contain the following information in approximately this order:

  • Your contact information: Make sure it matches the contact information on your resume.
  • The company address: Check this carefully, especially the spelling of the company name.
  • Any identifier required by the company: This is optional and could include a job identifying number or the location where you found the advertisement or job posting (for example, a website or newspaper).
  • A salutation: Use the name of the person who will receive your resume if you possibly can.
  • Why you are writing: Write a sentence or two explaining that you are answering an ad or following up on a referral and mention the job title you are interested in. Explain why you are writing; for example, you like the company and/or you have specific skills the company wants and/or you have experience the company would benefit from.
  • Selected past achievements: These should be major achievements most closely related to the job you want. Whether you use bullet points or a short paragraph, the information should, once again, match the information in your resume.
  • A short thank you to the recipient for their time: This is also where you should indicate your desire for a personal interview or your intention to follow up at a specific date.
  • The sign off: Customary professional signoffs include “Sincerely” and “Cordially.”

While your cover letter or email should be written in the first person, try to write so that you are not starting every sentence with “I.” Avoid very specific salary, geographic or other demands; companies prefer employees who are flexible and reasonable. However, the cover email is a good place to mention your intention or willingness to relocate or travel or any other special circumstances.

Robin’s Resumes® prepares cover letters and emails that rev up the interest of hiring managers and recruiters. Contact us today.

How to Use Job Postings to Create a Strong Resume

I’ve often mentioned here the importance of reading job postings. They describe the hard and soft skills, experience, and accomplishments that companies went to see in any resume from a job applicant. Keywords like “college graduate” or “at least five years of industry experience” or “FRM certified” should find a place in your resume if you can meet those qualifications.

However, it is important not to regurgitate a job posting word for word. You also want to show in your own words that you understood the job posting and its criteria. If you merely copy the job posting, your resume proclaims that you are incapable of original thought, are a cookie-cutter candidate, and are too lazy to explain how and why you meet the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s expectations.

It is important, also, to think beyond one job posting. Many companies write job postings or advertisements that are vague, confusing or incomplete. Check out several job postings in your field from a variety of companies to build a fuller picture of what recruiters and hiring managers are expecting. A visit to the hiring company’s website might also expand your knowledge of the company’s unexpressed needs. If your resume or cover letter addresses those needs, you are definitely ahead of the pack of applicants.

When looking for job postings, do not become fixated on a specific job title. Look instead for positions that match your skill set and career goals. Job titles often vary from industry to industry, from company to company, and even from division to division. If you are excited about a job, its current rewards, and its potential, the job title should not stand in your way.

If you need help using job postings to your advantage, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes™.

 

Applicant Tracking Systems, Part III: How to Help Your Resume through the System

In last week’s blog, I explained some of the myths and realities of Applicant Tracking Systems. Now it’s time to discuss how to raise the chances that your resume will be selected by the ATS and be read by a member of the Human Resources department, a hiring manager, or a recruiter.

The first and most important step to take is to conform to ATS requirements, starting with full contact information at the head of the page. Many ATS will select candidates only from the local area, and many will eliminate applicants who do not enter zip codes at least. I recommend candidates get a local address to apply for jobs online if they are not looking to be reimbursed for relocation expenses.

Use standard header names for each section: For the summary section at the beginning of the resume, use the words Professional Profile or Summary. Include the job title and keywords from the announcement and add a skill list if you want. Just be sure that the summary is readable by humans as well. Of course, that’s true for the entire resume.

For your experience list, use the Professional Experience heading. Use a reverse chronological format. You may want to add the word company after each company name. Enter in dates, including month and year. Enter the company’s city and state. Write job descriptions and accomplishments with keywords and phrases from the announcement. Repeat the keywords as you describe each position to make the resume score higher and show the depth of experience.

Spell out acronyms the first time you use them and put the acronym in parentheses following the full definition; for example, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Thereafter, you can use just the acronym.

In the education section, use Education as your heading. Type the full name and abbreviation for each degree, major, school name, and location. Consider adding degree dates, grade point average (if recent and if high or relatively high), and honors (if any). Consider adding a course list to include even more keywords.

Other standard headings you should use if needed are Training, Certifications, and Skills.

Ensure both humans and the ATS can read your resume. Candidates have limited control how a resume will be used. In addition, in many cases the resume that is read by the ATS is still stored in its original form in the ATS. The hiring manager may access that resume rather than the mangled ATS format to read it.

Be careful with formatting and capitalization. Check the resume for grammar and spelling. Avoid using fancy characters, graphics, and tables. Modify the resume, as appropriate, for each job application.

Select the right job announcement. Use the job boards and/or network to find job announcements where you meet all the basic and most of the desired requirements and where you have experience in most of the job duties. In the U.S., many companies cannot hire a candidate for a job if they do not meet the advertised job requirements. You have the best chance to be selected for a job if you can address the job requirements and the job duties. If there is a questionnaire, you must be able to indicate that you expert in all the areas in the questionnaire and then justify your answers in your resumes.

Find keywords and keyword phrases and use them in your resume. Read job announcements and select keywords and keyword phrases in the announcement, even those that may not make sense. If the ATS is using an automatic selection algorithm, those keywords and phrases will, most likely, be included in the announcement. To identify keywords that are not in the announcement but are likely in the ATS, analyze a group of announcements. Or work with a resume writer who has access to online tools such as Bright.com to find keywords by profession.

The preponderance of Applicant Tracking Systems can make it challenging to create a resume that will actually work. Yet, over and over again, Robin’s Resumes™ has helped job applicants rise to the top of ATS findings. Contact us today.

Applicant Tracking Systems, Part II: Drawbacks and Myths about ATS

In last week’s blog, I explained the reasons why Human Resource Departments, hiring managers, and recruiters use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and gave an overview of how most Applicant Tracking Systems work.

Despite their advantages, Applicant Tracking Systems screen out many well-qualified candidates. Most candidates submit resumes that are not optimized for ATS, with incorrect headings, formatting, characters, and wording. If a resume is not formatted correctly, solid skills and achievements in the resume may be ignored. In addition, a resume that is good for one ATS may not be good for another.

If a keyword, phrase, or requirement is not listed on the resume, a resume may end up rejected, based on ATS algorithms and government requirements, even if it is formatted correctly. Many ATS use automatic algorithms to determine keywords. These keywords may not really make sense for candidates to use in their resumes. It is possible for an ATS to find no qualified candidates if the wrong keywords are used, especially if the recruiter or hiring manager entered keywords that are too specific.

Some ATS now are trying to use neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques to overcome the lack of keywords in qualified candidate resumes, LinkedIn profiles, or other social media profiles. These systems, new to the market, still need development to work properly.

Myth: An applicant who networks can avoid ATS.

Reality: In 2012, 60% to 70% of all companies, big and small, used ATS according to Preptel (a reverse-engineering service to help resumes pass ATS; the company closed in 2013). Today that number is closer to 80%. ATS use is increasing. Recruiters scan paper resumes and place emailed resumes into ATS.

Myth: A candidate who uses ATS can avoid networking.

Reality: Hiring managers like to hire people they know or are recommended. A survey by HR Daily Advisor (2012) revealed that referrals are still the #1 recruiting source. Networking allows the hiring manager to select the candidate once the resume passes the ATS. In addition, if a hiring manager wants a particular candidate for a job, the hiring manager can change the job requirements and/or keywords to match the candidate’s background.

Myth: All ATS are the same.

Reality: ATS differ; there is no one-size-fits-all. Even ATS implementations differ within the same ATS technology. A hiring manager and/or company can choose to set different options in the system. Different versions of ATS software may act differently.

Myth: ATS can read all files, formats, and characters.

Reality: Some ATS can read only text or Word 2003 files. Many ATS cannot read tables or graphics. Some ATS cannot scan italic or underlined words. Many ATS cannot read special characters (such as accent marks, curly quotes, and ampersands) and will replace them with meaningless characters.

Myth: ATS can figure out where to organize all the data on the resume and can use all the information.

Reality: Many ATS need guidance, using headings, to determine where to put data. So good information gets misfiled and ignored. Many ATS use only information that matches their formatting rules.

Myth: It is better to have a 1- to 2-page resume.

Reality: ATS-optimized resumes, often longer because they have more keywords, generally score higher.

Myth: Passing the ATS alone will get you the job.

Reality: A human being will read the resume before selecting a candidate. Unless already known by the hiring manager, a candidate will need to be interviewed – probably several times – to get the job.

Myth: Companies are using ATS because they do not care about people.

Reality: Companies are overwhelmed, and the ATS is both effective and efficient in weeding out inappropriate candidates. In addition, if the ATS wrongly eliminates several good candidates for the job, companies are not worried as long as one good candidate remains. Moreover, the U.S. government requires companies to report EEO statistics, which the ATS compiles automatically.

Myth: ATS are unfair.

Reality: ATS deal the same way with all applicants. But with Robin’s Resumes™ to help you, you have a better chance to stand out.

Since most applicants do not know the ATS rules, they do not include the required information in the right format. At Robin’s Resumes™, I help job seekers by guiding them through the rules and ensuring they include the required information in the right format to be selected. Contact me today.

Applicant Tracking Systems, Part I: What They Mean for Job Seekers

Today, up to 80% of resumes are scanned by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) before a human being gets even one glance at them. If a resume does not pass the ATS criteria, it is likely the resume will never be read by a human being. In this blog post, I will explain what the ATS means for job seekers. Next week’s post (Part II) will explain the drawbacks and myths associated with Applicant Tracking Systems. Part III will explain how you can best ensure your resume will pass the ATS and be read by a Human Resource professional, hiring manager, or recruiter.

Human Resource departments, hiring managers, and recruiters use Applicant Tracking Systems to streamline and accelerate the recruiting process. By using automated, computer-based, ATS technology, hiring managers can more easily and cost-effectively identify and hire the best qualified job candidates. Since the advent of Resumix, the first-ever ATS introduced in 1988, the industry has been marked by enormous growth, technological advances, consolidations, the birth and death of entire companies dedicated to posting jobs and parsing resumes, and finally the dependence on ATS that we have today.

Why have Applicant Tracking Systems emerged as a dominant force in the employment industry?

  • Monster effect: With thousands of folks responding to every job posting, it is no longer possible to read every resume for every open position.
  • Matching Ability: ATS can help the hiring manager find candidates that truly match the job requirements without expending hours reviewing irrelevant resumes.
  • Ability to Find Candidates: ATS can search LinkedIn profiles and other social media for matches to the job.
  • Regulations: The federal government requires employers to report hiring statistics and to ensure hiring policies follow EEO requirements. ATS makes this easier.
  • Automation: By automating the hiring process from the beginning and tying the ATS into the existing HRIS platform, companies increase efficiency and save significant costs.

Every ATS is different. That said, here is how Applicant Tracking Systems work from the candidate’s point of view. First, the candidate selects a job to apply for. The candidate uploads a resume online and may need to fill out company-specific forms and answer additional questions.

Second, at the company, the ATS “reads” and parses the candidate’s uploaded resume. Based on how the software algorithm “reads” the resume, information from the resume is entered into set fields in the ATS database. Many ATS use clues from the resume, such as standard headings, to determine where to put the information in the database. The resume joins the LinkedIn Profile, other social network information, and application answers in the ATS.

Third, the ATS uses algorithms to score the candidate based on the job announcement. Many ATS either use keywords entered by the hiring manager or selection algorithms based on the job announcement itself.

Finally, the ATS uses the scoring algorithm (equation) to determine how well the candidate fits the job requirements, based on keyword matching and/or answers the candidate made to the questions.

Ideally, the ATS will select the best candidate(s) to be referred to the Human Resources Department, hiring manager or recruiter. Many hiring managers and recruiters will read only the resumes with the highest scores.

As this series will show, Robin’s Resumes™ thoroughly understands the benefits and limitations of Applicant Tracking Systems, and we have worked with them for years. We are ready to help you over the hurdle of the ATS.

 

How a Great Resume Prepares You for a Great Interview

Your resume introduces you to a company and puts you in line for an interview. But your resume is also an essential part of your preparation for that interview.

First, suppose you tried, without a resume, to keep the exact same information on employment websites, social media like LinkedIn, personal contact, networking, email and snail mail. It would be very difficult to avoid minor errors and contradictions while juggling all those resources. However, an employer who reads one thing on-line and hears another at the interview becomes confused and even suspicious. A resume is a standard resource you can consult to keep all your communications on point and consistent all the time.

Second, suppose you interviewed for a job without a resume. Would you be able to remember every position you held, every skill you learned, every achievement you accomplished?

The resume reminds you of the facts of your employment (exact name of company, exact dates of employment) but more importantly it reminds you of the journey you have taken, from new hire to experienced professional with value to contribute. Memory might trick you into believing that your skills and accomplishments were easily gained; the resume reminds you how hard you worked for your success and how much acquired talent you bring to a new employer. That confidence boost is essential to interviewing well.

Last, at some point in the interview, you will need to convince an interviewer that you have the “soft” skills that most companies want—ability to work in a team, accept feedback, find solutions rather than dwelling on problems, and so on. Through the story told by your accomplishments, a resume prepares you to answer interview questions like, “What is the hardest challenge you have overcome in your career?” or “How would you handle a difficult subordinate?”

I write resumes that help job candidates at every stage of their job search, from first contact through final interview. Contact me today.

Parents Returning to Work: How to Prepare for the Big Day

Whether you are now or soon will be a stay-at-home parent, you will want to start preparing for the day when the children start school and you transition back to the workplace. You want to start that job hunt with a resume that shows you still have skills and achievements that count, despite your time away.

  • Volunteering, particularly on a nonprofit board, is a great way to develop and maintain skills. Your contribution to the success of a nonprofit translates directly into ways you can contribute to the success of a for-profit company. And who knows? You might find that a paying job at a nonprofit is in your future.
  • Freelance jobs may be available in your field. If you can work them into your child care schedule, they are another good way to keep skills sharp and achieve new successes. Your satisfied clients will also be a good source of referrals when you are ready to seek full-time employment.
  • Participation at industry events lets you keep up with the changes in your field, as do continuing education and credentialing courses. Plus these activities help people remember you when a job opening comes up.

When you are ready to transition back to the workplace, you will want to contact a professional resume writer who has experience writing resumes for people like you, with an understandable gap in their work history. Robin’s Resumes® is here to help.

Three “Hidden” Accomplishments That Companies Love

I was talking to a woman recently who had left the workforce to look after her children. Then her husband was fired from his job and she had to find a job herself. She obsessed over how she would bridge that employment gap in her resume. But during her time off she had worked on nonprofit boards and suggested improvements at one nonprofit that saved thousands of dollars in overhead. Most companies value nonprofit successes as highly as for-profit and are overjoyed to find applicants who made a strong contribution as a volunteer.

 

Another client dismissed his participation in company committees because he never served in a leadership position. “I was just one of the troops,” he said. But he was also one of the few people selected to serve on those committees—in itself a measure of his value to the company—and his participation confirmed his ability to work in a team and across departments. That is another valuable skill.

 

A third client kept a department running while her boss had health issues and ultimately resigned. She guided the department through a period of chaos and kept it on track. But without the title, she thought, her efforts meant nothing. Companies look at accomplishments more strongly than titles. Titles vary from company to company and industry to industry; accomplishments are what sell one job applicant over another.

 

If you have teamwork, volunteer and leadership accomplishments, make sure to mention them in your resume. They may seem minor to you, but they make you stand out. I constantly search for skills, accomplishments, or educational experiences that will differentiate my clients from the thousands of others looking for the same sort of job. Let me help you, too.

The 10 Worst Resume Suggestions You Ever Received

Here are ten pieces of really bad resume advice that will definitely undermine your job search:

  1. If you have been a stay-at-home parent for several years, give yourself a promotion: Call yourself a “household engineer.” Then hope the hiring managers do not fall on the floor laughing.
  2. If you have changed jobs a lot, simply omit most of the jobs and close up the gaps by adding a couple of years to the jobs that remain. Then hope no one checks references.
  3. If you left a job because your boss was an impossible jerk, be sure to explain that on your resume. Because everyone wants to hire a complainer, right?
  4. If you are not certain that your resume is worth sending out, ask twenty or thirty people for their opinions. Then spend months trying to incorporate all their advice at once.
  5. If the company asks for skills or experience you do not have, claim you have them anyway. Then hope no one asks you a question you cannot answer during the interview.
  6. If you will take any job that anyone offers, ignore the skills, experience, and education in job postings and advertisements; apply for everything. After all, you might get an interview—you might also be elected President of Morovia.
  7. If you are changing jobs after decades at one company, do not bother describing your achievements; everything you ever accomplished was part of your job description and nothing special. Then hope the companies you contact appreciate people with a long career of accomplishing nothing.
  8. If you are a recent college graduate, do not write a resume at all; four years of education, some volunteer or summer work, and a few campus club memberships do not qualify you for a job. Just throw yourself on a recruiter’s mercy.
  9. Don’t bother checking and rechecking your resume for errors or typos; you don’t want to work for any company that is nitpicky.
  10. If you have decided to take any of this bad advice, refuse to see a professional resume writer. What do professionals know, after all?

At Robin’s Resumes®, we are dedicated to keeping job hunters away from bad advice; we write strong resumes that clearly show each individual’s value to potential employers. Please contact us.

Federal Resumes: What has Changed?

In the past few years it has become more difficult for folks seeking federal jobs to secure employment because:

  1. Fewer jobs are available. The Legislative and Executive branches have cut back substantially on funding in the Federal government. These cutbacks have caused job freezes and downsizing.
  2. More people are applying for each job, even those with lower salaries and less advancement.
  3. More veterans are applying as they are released from or retire from service.
  4. Veterans are give preference among applicants for jobs.
  5. The application process has changed, with multiple choice questions about skills, knowledge, and abilities instead of a narrative. The questions are very specific for the job, and in some cases, for the pre-selected person the hiring official wants for the job.

How can I help job applicants in this new environment? There are several things I ask potential clients to determine if they qualify for a federal job:

  • “Have you been asked to apply for the job? Is the announcement tailored to your background?” For example, I often help folks get very technical jobs working for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), even if they are not veterans, since the jobs require specific degrees and highly technical experience. 
  • “Are you a disabled veteran?”  If a disabled veteran has at least some experience and can match the minimum requirements and if the job is below GS-09, they have a very good chance at qualifying.
  • “Are you a veteran?” If so, they could qualify for a job where they are the expert in all the job duties and can answer every question in the questionnaire.
  • “Do you have clearance?” Due to the number of veterans with clearance now applying for jobs, controversies in the current clearance processes, budget cutbacks, and the costs/time to conduct clearance checks, many agencies no longer process new clearance checks, except in very few cases.

If a person is not a veteran and has not been asked to apply for the job with a job tailored to them, the chances that they will be hired for the job are very low—unless it is a highly technical position and the applicant has all the expertise and qualifications asked for.

If a client is qualified for the job, the resume that is written must address every item in the questionnaire, job duties, and job requirements.

If you are unsure whether you qualify for a federal job, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

The Education Section of Your Resume

Normally the education section of a resume comes near or at the end. The main exception is for recent graduates, who may not have work experience at all or in the field where they are applying. Their education may be their chief qualification.

But for nearly everyone else, the education section comes after the work history. It includes:

  • The post-secondary school you graduated from, location of school, degree attained, and major or concentration; list the most recent degree first
  • Any special awards or honors as long as they are still relevant
  • Professional development courses and certifications

The fact that you graduated high school is not relevant once you attend college. If you took relevant courses toward a college degree, you should mention them even if you did not graduate.

Your GPA is relevant if it is over 3.0 and if it relates to college you attended in the last 5 years or so. Over time, your GPA becomes less and less important compared to your work history.

If you graduated in the last 10 or so years or your degree is pending, you should include the date of graduation. Consider the story you are telling if you want to use an older date. For example, if you are going for a senior position and you have detailed your career from the time of graduation, you want to include older dates. If you are only detailing your last 10 years or so of your career – with a summary of other years of your work history – leave the date of graduation out.

If your education is stronger than your work history, you should list the courses you took that show your understanding of the position you are applying for or the industry you want to work in. The closer the courses relate to the job, the better. You may want to give the GPA for your major as well as your overall GPA, especially if your GPA is higher in your major.

The biggest problem I encounter when helping clients with the education section is that they leave out important information, like professional development courses, and provide details about course work that are not needed after several years of work history. For a resume that gets high grades all the time, contact me today.

How to Handle Dates on a Resume

Are you putting too much or too little emphasis on dates in your resume?

When you list your previous jobs in reverse chronological order, the name of the company should come before the dates of employment. It is fine to give a year spread, rather than a month and year; the day is unnecessary. But you must give the dates of employment. If you have a job history that does not have gaps, it is better to list both the months and year. I will do that in most cases – but if you are not sure what to do, contact a professional.

When you list your education, you do not have to give the dates when you graduated unless the graduation date is very recent or you are a new college graduate.

If you are changing careers or returning to an old career path, it is okay to begin the resume with a section that emphasizes relevant highlights of your career without dates. But after that you must provide a list of previous employment with dates.

If your career has spanned decades, it is acceptable to end your list of jobs with a section entitled “Previous Employment” or “Additional Experience” and to list job title and company name without specific dates. No one expects a vice president to detail his first job as a waiter.

Check dates carefully to make sure they make chronological sense. It is easy to get a single digit wrong and cause concern to potential employers. Also make sure that the dates on your resume align with dates given online, in LinkedIn and other social media sites.

Please contact Robin’s Resumes® if you need help determining whether your resume gives too much or too little emphasis to dates. Next week we’ll discuss the education section of your resume.

10 Must Haves in a Great Work History

  1. Give the name, location, and dates when you worked at each company in reverse chronological order. That is, list your most recent job first.
  2. Give your title. If you held several positions over the years at the same company, list each title and the years (or months and years)  you held that position.
  3. Use a paragraph to describe your job duties with knowledge and skills. Use bullets to highlight achievements with knowledge and skills.
  4. Start each sentence with a verb; for example, “Provide complete background needed to rank applications while documenting and providing information about each client by following the Data Assessment Plan (DAP) format.”
  5. Do not start bullets with “Responsible for” and avoid using the same verb (such as “Led” or “Ensured”) over and over.
  6. Use the present tense (“Document…”) for current accomplishments and skills in your current position; everything else should be described in past tense (“Documented…).
  7. Insert numbers wherever possible (answered 40 calls daily; supervised 4 staff members; saved $8 million; improved revenue 60% in 2 years; cut time-to-market by 4 months).
  8. Be specific. If you traveled on the job, name the countries; if you sold more than any other salesperson, indicate how many salespeople you competed against; if you had important clients or customers or sold specific products, name them.
  9. Use appropriate keywords. For example, if the advertisement or posting asks for a “customer service representative with 5 years of experience” and you qualify, make sure the equivalent words appear somewhere in your work history (for example, “more than 5 years of customer service experience”).
  10. Never ever lie and make sure that your paper resume matches any information you have posted online so that there is not even the appearance of lying.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we have decades of experience in writing strong work histories: accurate, precise, concise, and interesting to recruiters and hiring managers. Contact us today. Next week we will discuss how to handle dates on your resume.

Contact Information on Your Resume

One problem that drives recruiters and hiring managers crazy is how to reach a potential hire when the contact information on his or her resume is wrong or difficult to read. Follow these basic rules about contact information so that you never miss a request for an interview:

  • Make sure your name and contact information is visible on every page of the resume. Small or fancy fonts, light print, or poor contrast between the print and page color will all make your name and contact information difficult to read.
  • Make sure your phone number is complete (with area code); double check the number because it is easy to transpose a figure that you know by heart.
  • Give your exact mailing address, including zip code. Although these days most companies will respond by email or phone, why take chances?
  • If your home phone is regularly answered by a 5 year old, purchase a cell phone for the duration of your job hunt so that you are the only one who answers it.
  • Give your answering machine a professional message. Save the jazz sonata, inside joke, and gruff “you know what to do at the beep” for after you have a new job.
  • Set up a professional email address that includes your name. If you have to insert a period (john.mell) or underline (john_mell), make sure the period or underline is clearly visible on your resume. Try to avoid adding a number 0 or 1 to your email address, as these numbers can be confused with o or l (JOHNMELL0123).

At Robin’s Resumes®, paying attention to these details is second nature to us. Let us help you make sure that hiring managers and recruiters know how to reach you—and are eager to do so. Next week we will discuss the “10 Must Haves in a Great Work History.”

Make Sure Your Skills Get Noticed

I am always concerned when a potential client comes to me with an old resume, and I cannot figure out from the resume what job the client is interested in. What I cannot do, an employer definitely will not do; no hiring manager or recruiter is going to try to figure out where a job applicant might fit in their company.

As a job applicant, it is your responsibility to make clear what job you want and that you have the necessary skills, accomplishments, and education. Here are some ways you can do that:

  1. At the top of your resume, put the title of the position you want. Make sure to mention the title of the position in your cover letter or email also.
  2. Review your accomplishments in every previous job to emphasize those accomplishments and skills which have the highest value in the job you want. How do you know which accomplishments and skills have value? Read the advertisement or job posting; if they do not explain what the company is looking for, read ads for similar positions.
  3. Stress your accomplishments that align with the company’s priorities. A good online source for understanding a company’s priorities is their mission statement or annual report. You can also search LinkedIn for current employees of the company and see what qualities they emphasize in their LinkedIn profiles: cost savings, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, growth, international teamwork, buy local, and so on.
  4. Emphasize how you used your skills to benefit your past employers: that is the definition of an accomplishment. Use verbs that make that benefit clear, such as increased, saved, directed, retained, attracted, replaced, led, generated, identified, built.
  5. While education is usually mentioned at the end of a resume, often it deserves first page placement. Education belongs on page 1 if you are a new graduate or if you have or are working toward credentials that are essential for someone in the job you want (for example, a CPA in a financial industry resume or Project Management Professional certification in a project manager resume).

Robin’s Resumes® helps recruiters and hiring managers immediately understand what a great match a job applicant is for the job on offer. Let us help focus your resume on the job you want. Next week we will discuss “Contact Information on Your Resume.”

Writing a Relocation Resume

If you have a specialized skill in high demand, finding a job in a different state or region may not be difficult. But for most job seekers, finding a job far from their current location involves careful framing of the resume and cover letter.

The words “open to relocation” or “seeking to relocate” should appear in either your cover letter or resume and often in both places. In addition, the resume should stress any ties you have with the area, such as previous jobs in that location.

Out-of-state area codes are not a problem because people carry cell phones with area codes from places they lived in years and years ago. If you are not looking for relocation expenses during your job search, it can help for you to get a mailbox in the new location. You can then use this address in your resume. You may want to state in your resume / cover letter that you have started your relocation to the new area, so your address being not the same as your job does not raise a flag.

Note, recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems will reject resumes from folks applying from outside the local area in many cases. Therefore, it is important to have an address (or at least a zip code) from the local area. If you do not include this in your resume (such as no address), this also can be a reason for a resume not to be considered. Therefore, to be sure you are included in the pool for consideration, and you want the job in a new area, it can really help to use a local address as the contact address.

If you have contacts in your region of choice, make sure they are aware of your job search. They may be able to speak to a hiring manager or recruiter on your behalf. Don’t expect any company to offer to pay relocation expenses; that is a rare benefit these days.

When you are considering relocation, the right resume is essential. Contact Robin’s Resumes® for help.

Is Your Resume Aging Faster Than You Are?

Over and over again, I have reviewed “updated” resumes that show their age. These resumes include:

  • A summary that leaves off important skills (for example, fluency in a second language) because they were not used in past positions.
  • A work history where past accomplishments are still described in the present tense.
  • A work history where a previous job is still dated “1998-Present” even though the applicant moved on years ago.
  • Detailed descriptions of early jobs that are no longer important to the applicant’s career.
  • An education section that still includes the applicant’s undergraduate GPA—although the applicant graduated a decade or more ago.
  • No professional development section, although the applicant has recently attended several professional development courses.
  • A list of hobbies or other information that has no relevance to the applicant’s current career goals.

All of these oversights make a job applicant less attractive to hiring managers and recruiters, in part because they do not have the time or inclination to hunt through irrelevant and out-of-date detail for the facts they want. Let Robin’s Resumes® ensure that you keep the interest of hiring managers and recruiters from first word to last with a truly up-to-date resume.

10 Ways to Undermine a Great Resume

Here are the 10 top ways that job applicants can undermine their own resumes:

  1. Lie.
  2. Forget to put contact information on the resume and cover letter or email.
  3. “Borrow” someone else’s wording for the resume or use generic text from a book on resumes.
  4. Misspell company names.
  5. Leave off all dates.
  6. Emphasize the same four or five skills over and over, and don’t bother with accomplishments.
  7. Send the resume out with a poorly written or no cover letter or email.
  8. Ignore information in the job posting or ad about how to submit the resume.
  9. Forget to bring a copy of the resume to the interview.
  10. Say something during the interview that contradicts the resume.

A great resume will land you interviews; but you can undermine the power of any resume if you make one of these mistakes. Contact Robin’s Resumes® for a great resume and the great advice that helps ensure its success.

Resume Gone Wild

Recently I rewrote a resume for a professional who knew she had a problem: Her resume was 6 pages long. Now a long resume is fine if the content justifies it, but this resume was a classic case of a resume gone wild. It had the following problems:

  • Wide margins and lots of white space. White space (the area of the resume without any typing in it) is important to make a resume readable; no one wants to read one great block of solid type from margin to margin. But 1-inch margins and too much white space made this resume look like the applicant was hiding a lack of accomplishments and experience by putting as little as possible on each page. I needed to give her resume a more professional, tighter format.
  • Too much history. Jobs held at the earliest point in a career are not usually relevant to current career choices. In this case, I needed to summarize the client’s earliest jobs under “Previous Positions.” The only critical facts to list for these early jobs were the company name and her title at each company.
  • Too much detail in the job descriptions. Some skills and even some achievements will be unimportant to hiring managers and recruiters and some will be identical from job to job. In this case, despite the fact that she was applying for an executive position, the client had detailed her long ago successes, such as reformatting a company’s proposals, that were probably not important any longer.  I had to change the emphasis of her resume to match the job she wanted now.
  • Not enough focus. In truth, this is the cause of the previous two problems—too much history and too much detail. When a job applicant is focused on a particular job or career path, then everything in the resume works to help land an interview for that job and that career.

By the time I had finished with my client’s resume, it had shrunk from 8 pages to 3 but those pages looked professional and contained the information that made recruiters and hiring managers leap at the chance to interview her. Again, length is not a problem if content justifies it. If you are not sure whether your content is strong enough, please contact me today.

Your First Resume

Recently I helped a college student with her first resume. Like most new job applicants, she made three main mistakes in her resume.

First, she wasn’t clear about the job she wanted. If you are not sure what your education qualifies you to do or how your interests might translate into a career, you may want to consult a certified career coach or Job and Career Transition Coach. At the very least, start reading job descriptions, advertisements, and postings to see what companies are looking for and how you fit their requirements.

Second, she downplayed her volunteer work. The skills you acquire as a volunteer—communication, computer, leadership, organizational, and so on—are not only valuable in themselves, they also show a commitment to the community that most companies appreciate in employees.

Third, she provided the wrong details: she mentioned every school she attended, including grammar school, but neglected to describe her 3.9 GPA, courses, and awards in college. As a recent graduate, your education may be stronger than your job (or volunteer) experience. However, your early education is not important; what you should stress are your most recent successes, including GPA if it is a good one (generally above 3.00), the courses you took that are most relevant to your chosen career path, and achievements such as founding or serving as an officer in a school association or being recognized for your contribution to academics or sports.

I have many years of experience helping recent college graduates with professional resumes that show how ready they are to enter the workplace. Let me help you.

Updating Your Resume

When you update your resume, mistakes may easily happen. For example, in every resume achievements in old jobs are described in the past tense (“Managed 15 accountants”); achievements in current jobs are described in the present tense (“Manage 15 accountants”). You must be careful, when updating your resume, to make sure that all your old jobs are now described as being in the past, not the present.

Another common error in updating a resume is to keep the information that is already there, even if it is no longer relevant to your current career path. When you were first starting out, your achievements in your first job or your grade point average in college were relevant. After a few years, such details are less important to recruiters and hiring managers; they can be summarized or eliminated altogether, especially if they do not relate to your current career path.

In writing an update to your resume, make sure you keep the format consistent (if the format is modern and appropriate). It is easy to create inconsistency in the style of bullets; to suddenly omit the comma before “and” even though you use it every other place; or to forget what version of a common abbreviation you used previously (such as U.S. versus US versus USA).

Finally, and most important, it is not enough to simply paste new information onto an old resume. You want to look at the impression made by the entire updated resume. Does it show a progression in your achievements and skills? Does it focus on the qualifications most mentioned in current job postings and advertisements? Will hiring managers and recruiters be able to easily find the information that convinces them to give you an interview?

Updating your resume requires the type of care, professionalism, and attention to detail that Robin’s Resumes® is known for. Contact us today.

Punctuation in a Resume

Recently, I reviewed a resume where semicolons (;) were incorrectly used instead of commas (,) and commas themselves were used more often than needed.

Using punctuation correctly is important in a resume because it shows your attention to detail. More importantly, an incorrect use might alter the information you meant to convey. For example, “prepared 3-office status reports” is quite different from “prepared 3 office-status reports.” In the first case, the reports are issued for three offices; in the second case, three reports are issued for one office.

You may want to keep the following brief hints in mind for your resume:

  1. You need to decide if you are going to use a comma before “and” if there are more than 2 items in the series. If so, be consistent throughout the resume. If you are connecting just 2 items in a sentence, you generally do not need a comma before “and.”
  2. As shown in hint #1, in American English, periods go inside quotation marks, not outside (with very few exceptions).
  3. The semicolon has its greatest use before conjunctions like “however” and between a series of statements that include commas, as shown in this example: “Improved customer satisfaction scores 37% in a 5-month period by improving reliability of telephone, internet, and fax systems; standardizing content of email, voice mail, and print content; and asking for customer feedback.”
  4. The semicolon should never be used before “including” or “such as.” Use a comma instead: “Interfaced with several departments, including marketing and sales.”
  5. You should never use exclamation points in a resume.
  6. Make sure that every opening parenthesis has a closing parenthesis (like this).

A resume riddled with incorrect, inconsistent or unnecessary punctuation makes hiring managers and recruiters think that the job applicant is a poor communicator. Let Robin’s Resumes® help. We will not only make sure that your resume says what you meant to say correctly, we will make sure that it says it in the strongest way possible.

Resumes That Bridge the Work History Gap

Gaps in your work history may occur for many reasons: inability to find a job immediately after a layoff, the decision to become a stay-at-home parent, health issues, and so on.

After a gap, writing your resume may be harder than you expected. Here are a few hints to help:

  • Make sure you set up a professional email address, using your name. You can keep your “happyhomebody” address for friends and relatives but not for your resume. It is recommended you choose a gmail or outlook.com email address if you are looking for an account. Yahoo! rejects many emails from providers and has been compromised for scamming. Hotmail and AOL also reject emails, and many potential employers consider folks who use these email addresses to be “old-fashioned.”
  • Clean up your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media accounts, since hiring managers and recruiters do look online for information about candidates. Do not depend on them being less accessible in searches, since they may know a friend of a friend–and will be able to get access to you. On every post ask yourself if you would be happy if your boss, parents, grandparents, or children saw the post. If not, delete it.
  • Give yourself credit for jobs you undertook as a volunteer or as a favor to a friend. That website you created for free still required website development skills a company would value.
  • Scan job postings and advertisements to see how your skills might fit a variety of job titles. Do not become wedded to one title or even one industry; your skills and achievements may apply to a wider range of jobs than you think.
  • Build up your referral network. Become active on LinkedIn, in professional organizations and in service-oriented groups in your community.

There are many techniques for preventing recruiters and hiring managers from focusing on a work history gap and for ensuring that they recognize the value you can bring to a company. Contact Robin’s Resumes®, and we will help ease the process of writing your resume.

Emails That Support Your Resume

If you are sending your resume by email, you need to treat the email as carefully as your resume and certainly as carefully as a printed cover letter. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Be professional and business formal in your language. The email that accompanies your resume is not the right place for texting abbreviations or for emoticons.
  • Your email should include an identification of the job you are applying for, preferably both in the email’s subject line and in the content. Read the ad or job posting carefully for any instructions (such as a job identification number).
  • Be sure your email includes your full contact information (name, phone number, and address). The company you are applying to may not email a reply; they may prefer to phone.
  • Like cover letters, cover emails are an excellent place to put in information that might not belong in your resume, such as “open to relocation” or a statement about why you chose that particular company.
  • Do not send the same email to several companies at once. Send each company its own email.
  • Remember to include your resume in the exact form (Word, .pdf, text) that the company specifies. Some companies accept attachments but others want you to embed your resume in the email itself. If you are not sure of the format a company requires, send the company a Word 2003 file attached to the email and also embed the resume in the email itself.
  • Save the email and then delay 10 or 15 minutes before hitting send. Walk away from the computer and take your mind off the email. When you return, read the email again to make sure it is clear, professional, accurate, and as brief as possible. Check for spelling or grammatical errors. Then send.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we believe cover letters and cover emails deserve the same attention as your resume.

What Have You Been “Responsible for” Lately?

In other blog posts, I mentioned that you should try to avoid phrases like “responsible for,” “experienced in” or “successful in” when describing your achievements. Let me explain why.

The first problem with these phrases is that every bullet in your resume should begin with a verb and phrases like “responsible for” are not verbs. For example, you could say: “Responsible for organizing and leading a team to compare alternative telephone systems.” But leading with verbs creates a tighter and more compelling description: “Organized and led a team to compare alternative telephone systems.”

The second problem with phrases like “responsible for” is that they are weak. We all have responsibilities; what a company wants to know is how well you handled your responsibilities. Did the team you were “responsible for” actually find a cost-effective and reliable telephone system? If so, how much money or time did that new system save the company?

The same arguments apply to “experienced in” and “successful in.” Yes, you have the experience, but what did you use it for? How did the company benefit from your experience? What is the measure of your success? “Successfully organized and lead a team” is very weak next to “Saved company $1000 annually by organizing and leading a team to compare alternative telephone systems.”

At Robin’s Resumes®, we are experts at finding the right words to attract the attention of recruiters and hiring managers. Contact us today.

The Too Fussy Resume

As much as I advocate resumes that are detailed, targeted, and professionally formatted, sometimes I find myself cautioning job seekers against resumes that are too detailed, too targeted, and overdesigned.

One mistake is to give equal detail to jobs that are directly relate to your career goals and those that have no relation at all. For example, with the recent ups and downs in the job market, some people have temporarily taken positions out of their main field of interest. To return to their preferred field, they may want a resume that contains a “Career Highlights” or “Major Achievements” section before the job history. They may also want to minimize detail on their current job and give more space (and weight) to more relevant jobs.

Another mistake is to state in your resume, cover letter or email that you are seeking employment in a company of a certain size or with a certain structure (family business, multinational, great work/life balance). You never want to close the door completely on an opportunity. For example, a job seeker looking to work in a small company may find that a very large company is structured into business units that feel like individual small companies. Further, the more conditions you list right on your resume, the more companies will consider you a potentially difficult employee—someone they do not want to deal with.

Finally, it is a mistake to format a resume with multiple typefaces, colored fonts, columns, and illustrations. Such resumes are often rejected by automated resume screen systems, which cannot handle complicated formats. They are also rejected by human hiring managers and recruiters who don’t have the time to work their way through imaginative layouts to find the information they want.

For resumes that hit the right note all the way through, contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

The Ten Big Do’s of Resumes

  1. Write your resume for the job you want. Research the company and industry you are interested in and give them the details that will make their eyes light up.
  2. Look at ads and job postings for the skills/accomplishments companies expect to appear in your resume (“must know Excel”) and make sure you add them to the content.
  3. Start every bullet with a verb, preferably not “responsible for.”
  4. Discuss as many of your skills as possible in terms of accomplishments. Everyone can file. But if you “Saved 300 man-hours a year by reorganizing the filing system to reduce lookup time”—then you have an accomplishment.
  5. Try to put numbers to your accomplishments. In addition to numbers you personally generated (“sold $3,000 worth of product in 1 day”), your numbers can include size of company (“worked for international company with $1B in revenue”), number/type of people you reported to (“reported directly to company president,” “wrote monthly reports sent to Sales and Marketing departments,” “handled correspondence for five attorneys”), number of people who reported to you, the time something took (“promoted after 1 year”), and similar items.
  6. Take credit! If you were a member of a committee, if your team accomplished something under your direction, if you made a suggestion, if you were employee of the month—mention it.
  7. As well as your college degree, include courses you’ve taken since graduation, including company-sponsored courses. These courses show a commitment to professional development.
  8. Add your volunteer activities (“member of board of Chamber of Commerce; volunteer at Big Brothers/Big Sisters”), especially if you are a new graduate and your work history is sparse. Success is the nonprofit area is also meaningful.
  9. Provide a cover letter or email. Some companies do not expect a cover letter, but those that do really want it. Also a cover letter or email is another chance to highlight your successes.
  10. Proofread the obvious: there is nothing more frustrating than finding out too late that you switched digits in your phone number, left a letter off your email address, or misspelled the name of the company you are writing to.

So how can you be sure you are doing the right things in your resume? At Robin’s Resumes® we provide job seekers with resumes that give them confidence and get them interviews.

The Ten Big Do Not’s of Resumes

This week’s blog is a list of resume Do Not’s. Next week we will list the big resume Do’s.

  1. Do not use the words “I” or “me” or “my”—they can be used in the cover letter, not in the resume.
  2. Do not lead with a goal in your resume (“to find a job that will engage my talents…”)— lead with a summary of your accomplishments and skills.
  3. Do not write your life story. You can summarize jobs that are more than 15 years old (“Earlier experience includes:”) and drop those that have no relevance at all (“delivered newspapers to local residents”).
  4. Do not give excuses for leaving a job (but if the company was bought out and you were retained for a while, you might want to mention that—it shows your value to the purchasing company).
  5. Do not worry about keeping to 1 page. As long as the information is relevant and tightly written, your resume can be 2 pages or more.
  6. Do not write your resume for “any job.” You aren’t qualified or interested in every job in the world and your job search becomes totally unwieldy if you search for anything and everything. Focus.
  7. Do not say “references on request.” It’s a waste of space.
  8. Do not give information about health, family, hobbies (unless they are relevant to the job), religion or politics (again, unless you’re apply for a job in a church or for a political organization).
  9. Do not proofread online; proofread on paper. Make sure you look especially for punctuation errors, inconsistencies, missing or duplicate words, and misspellings. Ask someone else to proofread if you can.
  10. And most important: Do not seek resume advice from every family member and friend. They will contradict themselves, and you will never finish.  At some point, your resume has to leave your house whether everyone approves or not.

So where do you find advice you can trust? At Robin’s Resumes® we have more than 12 years of experience, industry certifications, a BSChE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and national recognition (including speaking and teaching engagements). Contact us today.

Common Grammar Errors Can Undermine Your Resume

Resumes and cover letters that include spelling and/or grammar mistakes are often tossed aside by employers. Errors in spelling and grammar lead employers to believe that you are not interested in detail or unable to put in the effort required for a potential job. Some of the most common spelling and grammar mistakes found in both resumes and cover letters are:

It’s vs. its

  • “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has” and should not be used in a resume (always spell out verbs).
  • “Its” means “belonging to it”; for example, it is correctly used in the sentence, “Recruited by owner of company to improve its turnaround time and customer satisfaction.”
  • Handy clue: Its’ is not a word.

There vs. they’re vs. their

  • “There” shows direction or placement; for example, it is correctly used in the sentence, “Consulted with HR at University Hospital. Improved employee retention there by 15%.” In that sentence, “there” means “at the hospital.”
  • “They’re” is a contraction of “they are” and should not be used in a resume (always spell out verbs).
  • “Their” means “belonging to them” and is correctly used in this sentence where it means “the hospital’s”: “Consulted with radiology team at University Hospital. Improved their employee retention by 15%.”
  • Handy clue: When you read “there” (or “they’re”) in a sentence, substitute “the company’s.” If the sentence does not make sense, use “their” instead.

Effected vs. affected

  • “Effected” means “brought about” as in the sentence: “Effected a 10% improvement in patient outcomes.”
  • “Affected” means “influenced” or “impacted” as in the sentence: “Reviewed all procedures that affected patient outcomes.”
  • Handy clue: Most of the time, you want effected.

Ensure vs. insure vs. assure

  • “Ensure” means that you are making sure of something: “Ensured protection of client’s valuable possessions.”
  • However, if you “insure” something, you are providing insurance coverage: “Interviewed insurance companies and insured antiques, art collections and collectibles for client.”
  • “Assure” means that you are telling someone something in a confident or positive way so as to get rid of any doubts that they may have had: “Assured clients that their possessions would be protected through insurance and security services.”
  • Handy clue: Unless you work in the insurance industry, most of the time you want ensured.

Eliminating spelling and grammar mistakes is crucial in resumes and cover letters. At Robin’s Resumes® we make sure that your resume always meets the highest standards of grammar, spelling and punctuation, while showcasing your value to potential employers.

“References on Request”

Modern resumes avoid stating the obvious, such as “references on request.” But sometime during the interview process, you will be asked to provide references. You need to prepare for that moment.

Do not rely on your current company or manager to give you a good reference. Many companies, in their fear of lawsuits, have prohibited their Human Resource department and managers from providing details on any employee’s performance.

  1. Make a list of both personal and professional references from among your friends, coworkers, vendors, suppliers, community contacts (for example, civic leaders), educational contacts (for example, professors) and similar sources. Leave family members off the list. You need a short list of perhaps three personal references and three professional references.
  2. Make sure the references are comfortable with referring you. Do not assume they are. Verify their contact information and their preferred method of being contacted (for example, some references may not want to receive phone calls at work).
  3. Give your references plenty of advance notice. A company might contact a reference without notifying you first.
  4. Send a copy of your resume to each reference person. You want to prepare your references to answer questions and to support you appropriately in the career you have chosen.
  5. Check out what your references are saying about you; you may be surprised. Be sure they speak positively of you. You can use a company such as Allison & Taylor  for checking what folks say about you online.
  6. Send references a thank you once your job search has ended, whether or not they were contacted by a company. Show your gratitude for their willingness to support your job search.

Like the companies you apply to, your references need a resume that is clear, accurate, and up-to-date and that highlights your achievements. To make sure your resume is fulfilling all those criteria, please email Robin’s Resumes®.

The Hidden Messages in Your Resume

Over and over, you have heard the same advice about writing your resume. But the reasoning behind that advice might not be as clear.

For example, you are told to proofread your resume carefully to catch mistakes. Yes, hiring managers want recruits who understand English grammar and spelling but the main reason for proofreading is to show that you are attentive to detail. You do not let mistakes creep in.

You are told to describe results in your resume, not just a list of skills. While impressive results are helpful, what hiring managers are looking for is confirmation that you will use your skills to benefit the company. Having skills is valuable; knowing how and when to apply those skills is priceless.

You are told that a resume is not your life story, but should focus on the skills, experience, accomplishments and education most important to the job you want. This focus ensures that hiring managers will consider you for the right jobs. But it also shows hiring managers that you know enough about the company and the position to write a resume targeted to both.

Finally, you are told that your resume should look professional; in fact, looking professional is more important than looking creative. Practical considerations for a professional resume include the use of Applicant Tracking Systems by many companies to weed out resumes. Those systems cannot handle creative resumes. However, the most important factor is that hiring managers have limited time to choose between resumes. They want to find the facts fast and not search for them in a maze of sidebars, colored charts, boxed quotes, etc. They want to know that you value their time and understand the company’s priorities.

Is your resume sending out the wrong messages? Contact Robin’s Resumes® and we will set it right.

National Career Summit Invitation from Robin Schlinger

Do you want to receive expert Job and Career Advice from over 24 of the leading Job and Career experts in the world – All for Free?

If you do, signup today for the National Career Summit, a virtual training event that can be accessed from your computer or phone.

For your free ticket, go to https://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=5142692

You’ll learn step by step how to compete from over 24 Leading Job & Career Experts For FREE! – Including me, Robin Schlinger.

During this event, we’ll show you:

• How you can ensure your résumé lands on the top of the pile.
• How you can effectively handle challenging interviews and win the job
• How to find the hidden jobs that aren’t listed on the job boards
• How you can brand yourself and recession-proof your career.
• How you can develop skills that will rapidly improve your marketability.
• How you can land a job using linkedin, Facebook and Twitter
Plus a whole lot more…

To register today for your free ticket, go to https://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=5142692

I am looking forward with helping you compete in Today’s Job Market.

 

Grasping the Opportunity of Unemployment: Your Dream Job

While it is hard to think of it that way, losing your job can morph into an opportunity—an opportunity to find a company and career that is a better match for your personality, goals and interests. How do you go about finding that dream job?

First, you need to know what your dream job looks like:

  1. What industry is it in?
  2. What type and size of company is it? Is it a startup, a multinational corporation, a medium sized company, a nonprofit, a family owned company?
  3. Where is it located? Does it need to allow telecommuting?
  4. What type of culture does it have? Does its philosophy of corporate giving and community participation match yours? Do employees show up in suits or in dungarees? Does it give employees a lot of freedom or expect manager to run a tight ship?
  5. What type of job would you like in that industry and that type of company? What would give you the most satisfaction and best match your skills, education, experience and accomplishments?
  6. Does the company have openings matching the description for the job you want (remembering that the same sort of job often masquerades under different titles and at different levels depending on the size of the company)?
  7. How would you like to spend a typical work day: alone in an office, as a member or leader of a team, going to meetings, handling emergencies?
  8. How much would you want to make? What sort of benefits would you want?

Once you know the answers to those questions, you can better target your resume. At Robin’s Resumes®, we help our clients fit their experience, education, accomplishments and skills to the jobs of their dreams.

Avoiding Mistakes in Social Media during Your Job Search

By this time, we all know that wild party photos are not really suitable for posting online during a job search. When recruiters and hiring managers are looking at your online presence, they want to see a valuable addition to their company, not a valuable addition to the office football pool.

However, even the best intentions may go awry online. Beware of these mistakes in using social media during your job search.

  • Posting unprofessional photos on LinkedIn and similar professional sites. Make sure your photo is professional, a headshot taken when you are dressed appropriately for your chosen career.
  • Using texting abbreviations and not worrying about grammar and spelling. Your communication skills are important to any employer. Maintain high standards for your writing wherever it appears and proofread, proofread, proofread.
  • Posting negative comments about your current or former employer and fellow employees, no matter how justified they are. Your future employer is looking for someone with a positive attitude who is able to work well in a team.
  • Aggressively arguing political, religious, social and other opinions. Yes, you are entitled to your opinions. But when you are job hunting, you want employers to concentrate on your accomplishments, education and skills, not on your positions on controversial subjects.
  • Indulging in over-the-top bragging about yourself or laughter about your own follies. People do tend to reveal all in sites like Facebook.  A little bit of reserve is helpful while you are job hunting. Let your employer find out about you gradually.
  • Neglecting to make personal contact with your network. Although you should mine your contacts on social networking sites, face-to-face contact is also essential. At networking, industry, Chamber of Commerce and similar events, you will meet people you may never reach through your social networks, and you will be able to hone those personal skills that will be important during job interviews.
  • Wasting time. Social networking is seductive. You start out on Twitter with every intention of following job leads and become distracted by tweets about your favorite book, movie star or hobby. Time passes and you are no further on your job search.
  • Contradicting yourself. Make sure that the information you give on your resume, cover letter or email, LinkedIn account, Facebook page and so on is consistent. When contradictions occur in dates, the names of employers, contact information and so on, recruiters and hiring managers begin to wonder if they can trust your information and if you are attentive to detail.
  • Not using social media at all. Yes, social media can have drawbacks. But employers are looking for employees who are comfortable with technology, at least to the extent of using word processing systems and email. By appearing on at least one social media site (LinkedIn, for example), you are showing that you have kept up with the computer age.

Let Robin’s Resumes® help you with a great resume; then we can help you back it up to the hilt with the correct social media message.

 

The Pros and Cons of Three Resume Formats

The three main types of resumes are chronological, functional and combination.

  • Chronological resumes list your past occupations in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job first. Chronological resumes emphasize your employment history and experience. While chronological resumes give recruiters the information they want most (what you did and where and when you did it), they might lead you to omit information about your accomplishments.
  • Functional resumes focus on individual skills, accomplishments and educational achievements; the list of jobs is delegated to the very end and might not have any detail. While functional resumes emphasize your talents and accomplishments, they are sometimes viewed with skepticism by recruiters who suspect that the functional resume is being used to hide a lot of job hopping or gaps in employment.
  • Combination resumes mix chronological and functional resumes; they start out with a brief statement of skills and experiences followed by a chronological and detailed employment history. They avoid the possible problems with strict chronological and strict functional resumes.

All three types of resumes have their place. The resume type that employers look for varies from job to job and industry to industry. Your own circumstances might also dictate which resume is best for you.

At Robin’s Resumes® we have experience in all three types of resumes and know how to select and use the right one to benefit your job search.

Using Numbers in Your Resume

When writing resumes, it is crucial to include numbers along with words describing your accomplishments.

For example, if you organized your past company’s benefit gala over the summer, it sounds more impressive to state that this event attracted 250 people rather “many people.” Or, if you ran your previous company’s Facebook page for a year, saying that likes for the page increased by 50 percent and activity increased by 70 percent during your management is more impressive than “increased Facebook likes and activity.”

Important numbers to include in a resume relate to decreasing a cost, increasing productivity, generating revenue and increasing usage. Numbers regarding the size or yearly income of the companies you worked for give employers a sense of the kinds of organizations and cultures where you are likely to flourish (for example, “handled Human Resources for a startup software company with 25 employees” or “for a corporation with $20 billion in annual revenue and 5,000 employees in 3 regions.”)

Numbers you do not want to use include your past salaries, age or social security number.

Not all accomplishments can be supported by numerical information; some accomplishments may relate to more abstract concepts such as researching new products or coming up with new formats for your company’s website. Those are important accomplishments in their own right. But if you can support them with figures (say, the number of new products or the increase in website visitors), you have added another dimension to your qualifications.

Including statistics in a resume shows your attention to detail and your awareness of how your skills benefit a company. Statistics supply a solid record of the level to which a past accomplishment was achieved.

Are you uncertain about when to include or how to state statistics in your resume? I can assist you. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Testimonials on Your Resume and Online

A short quote or two from satisfied internal or external customers can dress up your resume and your LinkedIn or other online profile. Testimonials and recommendations add to your credibility; someone else besides you agrees that you’re terrific! While quotes from other people should never take the place of information about your skills, education and accomplishments, in moderation testimonials and recommendations can be a good addition to your resume.

How do you get testimonials and recommendations? You may find excellent quotes on your performance reviews.  If you have received a letter or email with thanks or praise from a customer, co-worker or manager, ask permission from the sender to quote them. If someone praises you personally, ask if they would mind writing down their thoughts. It is okay to actively solicit testimonials, if you are sure that the person you are asking appreciated your help. Some people are happiest if you draft a testimonial for them and ask them to edit it in any way they want. In addition, always obey the rules below:

  1. The testimonial on a resume or cover letter should be short—just one or two sentences at most—because resume real estate is valuable, and you do not want to take space away from your achievements and accomplishments. Online testimonials and recommendations can be longer. You can always put the full statement online and use an edited version in your resume or cover letter.
  2. The best quotes mention you by name and briefly state what you did and how you did it. “Great job!” is a far less desirable quote than “[Your name] is the one person I turn to whenever I have a question about the company’s products and services.” The best situation is if the person gives details about a particular instance when you helped or exceeded expectations (“thanks to training by [your name] our sales increased 15% in six months”). If you are soliciting a testimonial, it is fine to let people know that the more specific they can be, the better.
  3. Only use quotes from people who have had personal experience of your work. Your resume is not the place to share motivational or generic quotes from industry gurus or your favorite book.

When listing testimonials or recommendations, make sure that:

    • You have the person’s permission to use the testimonial.
    • The testimonial is quoted exactly. You may fix obvious grammatical or spelling errors but do not change the content without permission.
    • The person’s name and title are correct. There is no room on a resume for an anonymous quote.
    • Each quote is unique and specific. Avoid having a row of testimonials that all say essentially the same thing; once is enough.
    • The testimonial is current, professional and in line with the job you are seeking. A testimonial about your skill as a swimming pool guard ten years ago is not helpful when you’re applying for a job as operations manager now.

If you are concerned about using testimonials in your resume, please contact me

What Your Cover Letter Does for You

A cover letter or cover email should be considered a requirement for any resume that you send to a company, recruiter or hiring manager. It is true that your cover letter may never be read. But if the recruiter or hiring manager expects a cover letter, you want to be sure he finds one. What does a cover letter or cover email do for you?

First, it gives you another opportunity to briefly emphasize your accomplishments and use the keywords that correspond to the job you are applying for.

Second, it is a great place to put information that the company has asked for that does not normally appear on a resume, such as a salary range or willingness to relocate.

Third, you can add a call to action; for example, stating that you look forward to discussing your qualifications in more detail. If a follow-up call is in order, you can let the recruiter or hiring manager know when you will make that call.

Finally, a cover letter is another opportunity to show your communication skills and attention to detail—which is why you should proofread your cover letter as carefully as your resume.

Both Career Directors International and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) have surveyed companies and human resource professionals on the benefits of a cover letter. In general, a personalized cover letter was viewed favorably by between 60% and 69% of respondents. In fact, 46% of SHRM respondents considered a cover letter just as important as the resume, or even more important.

How do you personalize a cover letter? In cover letters (unlike resumes), you can use the first person (I/me/my). Use that freedom to explain why you are perfect for this particular job. A recent survey indicated that what employers expect most in a cover letter are tailored skills, a clear statement of the job you’re applying for, details from the resume and then your personal value. Let’s take each element in turn.

  • Tailored skills: As with your resume, your cover letter should show how your skills match the skills that the company is looking for. Highlight your experience in the company’s industry and in the position.
  • Clarity: Be sure the cover letter specifically mentions the job you are applying for in the language used by the advertisement or posting.
  • Details from the Resume: Again, the details should be the ones most important to demonstrating your value to the company. You might want to stress one or two of your greatest achievements and accomplishments. Give exact information (“ranked 3 out of 30 salespeople”), not generic statements (“sales guru”).
  • Personal Value: Check the company website to see how you might fit in and contribute to their culture and their business. Mission statements are a great way to find out about the culture. Add a sentence about why you have chosen to apply to that company (“I am passionate about environmental issues.”).

Although some recruiters will claim they never read cover letters, how do you know you are applying to someone who does not read them? Those who do not read cover letters will simply ignore them.  But can you chance having your resume rejected because you thought the cover letter would not be needed? It is far better to apply with a cover letter.

If you are having trouble translating your resume’s message into a cover letter or email, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

 

When to Go Bold on Your Resume

The use of bold print on your resume helps to distinguish headings (“Education”) and can be helpful in drawing the attention of hiring managers and recruiters to important facts and accomplishments (“increased revenue 20% in two years”).

Italics are a different matter, as they sometimes do not scan well. While italics are necessary for the titles of books or magazines you have written or contributed to, in general they should be avoided.

You don’t want hiring managers and recruiters to give up on your resume because CAPITAL LETTERS make them feel they are being SHOUTED AT. However, capital letters can be useful to highlight keywords, especially for Applicant Tracking Systems, or to indicate major headlines. You need to use capital letters appropriately.

Be conservative throughout your resume in the use of bold, italics, capitals and other effects. They lose their impact if they appear on every line. Italics and capitals in particular are difficult to read for any length of time.

If your resume is full of bolding, italics, small caps, and capital letters – and you are not sure you are doing this right, please contact me. There are better ways to emphasize your accomplishments and to communicate what a valuable employee you will be.

The Education Section of Your Resume

For most individuals, information about education comes at the bottom of the resume, after career information. However, for a recent graduate or someone who has recently completed a degree and is changing careers, education is often described before career information.

Your high school information should be listed only if you do not have a college degree. Once you have a college degree—or credit toward a college degree—drop the high school information. If you have not completed your college degree, consider statements like the following:

Studies towards a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting, State College, City, ST

Senior Status Master of Arts (MA) in Humanities, Big College, City, ST, expected 6/2014

If your college studies are your accomplishments, list your classes after your studies. For example:

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (BSChE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 6/2013

  • Relevant Coursework: Introduction to Chemical Engineering, Mass Transfer, Fluid Dynamics, Chemistry, Biology, Senor Project, Quantum Mechanics, Calculus, Differential Equations

You can use your coursework to find accomplishments. If you completed a significant senior project, list this as one of your experiences in the Professional Experience section or as a career highlight above your Professional Experience section.

In addition, courses, seminars, webinars and workshops that you have taken outside of college or through your company may be listed either under Education or under Training. Your interest in continuing education is important.

If you are having trouble with the education section or any other aspect of your resume, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Do You Need a Professional Resume Writer?

It costs money to hire a professional resume writer; is the money worth it? Here are a few reasons why you might consider hiring a professional.

  1. You hate bragging or talking about yourself and have nothing in your career to brag about anyway. A resume is more than a list of facts about where and when you worked and what you did. It describes your accomplishments and highlights the value of your work to past and future employers. This is not bragging; it is a factual description of your ability to contribute. A professional resume writer can help you see the value in your work—and convince recruiters and hiring managers, too.
  2. You prefer talking to writing; you can sell yourself to anyone if they will just give you an interview.  Almost all companies require a resume before they will give you an interview; the resume has to come first. But just as critical, a professionally written resume will help you at the interview itself. Professional resume writers help clients remember facts and accomplishments they may have forgotten or too quickly dismissed as unimportant.
  3. You are sure that no one can understand your career the way you do. You are not the only one who needs to understand your career.  Your resume has to be understood by and interesting to hiring managers and recruiters who may lack the technical or industry background you have. A professional resume writer can help you bridge that communications gap.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we take pride in giving our clients the resume help they need most. Contact us today.

Ten Tips for Proofreading Your Resume

  1. Set the resume aside for at least 24 hours before you review it. With a refreshed eye, you may see problems you missed before.
  2. Review your resume on paper and on the screen. You will see problems on the paper copy that aren’t apparent on the screen and vice versa.
  3. Avoid online grammar checkers. They are all horrible. Check the grammar yourself. If grammar is not your strong point, ask someone else to check it.
  4. Use a dictionary as well as an online spell checker. If you misspell “manager” as “manger” or type “principle” when you mean “principal,” the online spell checker will not find the error.
  5. Use the Internet to check all company names—even the ones you are absolutely sure you know. Companies have a way of modifying their names (think Wal-mart and Walmart).
  6. Be especially careful when checking your own contact information. You expect it to be correct and may not see errors.
  7. Look for problems with punctuation such as double periods at the ends of sentences, commas instead of periods or hyphens used as dashes.
  8. Make sure your format is consistent: all your job headings and bullets should be the same size, font and style; spacing around bullets and headings should be uniform; your right margin should be consistently justified or ragged right.
  9. Look for keywords that you have identified from ads and job postings. Do they fit smoothly into the description of your skills and accomplishments?
  10. Is there any place you can be more specific? Look for adverbs and adjectives (quickly, cost-effective, successfully) and see if you can replace them with details (in less than a year, at a savings of $3,000, ranking in the top 10% of all salespeople).

Spelling, grammatical, factual, format and style errors can easily prevent your resume from being chosen by hiring managers and recruiters from among the hundreds they see every day. If you are not sure whether your resume is letter perfect, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We can help.

Too Many Choices, Not Enough Decisions

When you are unemployed, people often try to raise your spirits by talking about all the free time you have and all the opportunities now open to you. However, having too many choices can be as devastating to a job search as having too few. Here’s why:

  • There are dozens of ways to spend the day when you are between jobs. But if you aren’t careful, everyday chores and distractions will draw precious time from your job search. Set yourself daily tasks that are related to your job search, whether that includes going to network events or responding to ads or searching for leads on the Internet.
  • There are hundreds of books out there on how to write a resume, run a job search and develop your personal brand. At some point, you have to give up on the research and act.
  • There are thousands of people just like you in the same boat. Don’t beat yourself up over a job loss. Do ask for help. You may benefit from a professional resume writer or career coach; you may find that your best job leads come from former co-workers, family or friends. The only way to get help is to ask for it.
  • There are millions of possible jobs out there—but how many of them match your experience, skills, education, interests, salary requirements, geographic location and so on? You need to focus yourself and your network or you will waste your time and theirs on fruitless quests for the wrong job.

 If you are struggling to get organized after a layoff, contact Robin’s Resumes® and let us simplify one decision: where to get the best possible resume!

Volunteering Increases Your Chances of Getting a Job by 27%

Out of work does not mean that “out of opportunities to shine.” At Robin’s Resumes®, I’ve always encouraged job hunters to consider volunteer work for very practical reasons—which have just been confirmed by a national study.

This June, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) reported on the results of their survey of more than 70,000 individuals over age 16 to determine if volunteering would help them find a new job. Overall, the survey found that volunteers have a 27% higher likelihood than non-volunteers of finding a job after being out of work. For people who are already volunteering when they lose their jobs, their chances of finding a new job increase a whopping 30%. For those who first start volunteering after they lose their jobs, their chances increase 21%.

The advantages of volunteering are especially pronounced for those without a high school diploma (they have a 51% higher likelihood than non-volunteers of finding employment) and for those in rural areas (a 55% higher likelihood). Another interesting statistic: the increased likelihood of finding a job for volunteers holds up regardless of the overall level of unemployment in the country—that is, regardless of whether unemployment is at a low or a high.

Volunteering is not only an opportunity to keep your current skills sharp but to add skills to your resume, whether in the areas of leadership, fund raising, donor and community relationship management, or even technical areas like web design. The contacts made through volunteering may enable you to apply for job openings that have not been advertised yet and open up career paths you may not have considered.

“I’m Not Sure What I Want to Do”

For anyone who is recently laid off, depression and anger are natural reactions, but so is a sense of opportunity. Now is their chance to find a job they really like, start a new career or redefine their role.

If you fall into that second category, your excitement over new possibilities is admirable. In terms of your resume, however, there are a few practical considerations.

First, your resume must always be written for the job you want. If you don’t know what that is, you will have a hard time framing your resume to appeal to recruiters and hiring managers. Your skills, knowledge and education may be transferrable but the burden is on you to explain their relevance to your new career.

Second, you may waste valuable time and energy and miss real opportunities by pursuing a vaguely defined “perfect” job that shifts with every ad you read. As a Job and Career Transition Coach, I know the value of having a professional evaluate your skills and work with you to realistically define your goals. The sooner you focus your search, the sooner you will find your next job.

Third, your online, business and personal network can only help you if they know what to look for. They cannot guess what job you want; you have to tell them.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write resumes that help people just like you transition to an exciting new career.

Short-Term Jobs on Your Resume

Many job seekers have periods when they have worked at a company or a series of companies for a short time. On a resume, those short-term jobs can come across as job hopping or worse. Here are three approaches to handling those situations on your resume.

First, keep in mind that the standard for length of employment has changed. Employers now expect their employees to change jobs frequently over the course of a career, and some employers in some industries may be leery about hiring someone who has spent 20 or 30 years at the same company.

Second, if you have worked on multiple jobs that are in the same field and that naturally have a time limit (for example, as a freelancer, consultant or temporary hire), group all those jobs under one Freelance or Consultant title. The individual jobs become bullets under the main title, rather than separate positions. A long period of short-term freelance, contract or temporary work in one field (for example, construction, sales, software development, or substitute teaching) is very acceptable.

Third, if you alternated between employment in your field and employment outside your field, create a section called Career Highlights for your most relevant experience. Then list all your other experience briefly at the end of your resume under Other Experience. That way the gaps are filled but the jobs that matter are given the emphasis they deserve on your resume.

Finally, if none of those approaches seems appropriate, please contact me. The help of a professional resume writer can make all the difference.

Editing Your Resume

While the old standard dictating a one-page resume is no longer valid—two or even more pages are fine—you still need a resume with compelling content. Longer length is not an invitation to tell your life story in rambling detail. Editing your resume will make it stronger. Look to edit:

  • Outdated skills, such as knowledge of obsolete software or products, like pre-Macintosh Apple computers.
  • Accomplishments that do not apply to the job you are seeking. For example, your extensive knowledge of Latin probably will not help you land a job managing a construction site.
  • Details of jobs that you have outgrown. After 10 or 20 years of experience in the same industry, your first job does not merit as much space as your current job. You are assumed to know the basics that you learned in your entry-level position.
  • Irrelevant information, such as hobbies that have no bearing on the job you want. If you want to work in sports marketing, then your interest and participation in sports is relevant; your interest in painting landscapes is not.
  • Relying on adjectives and adverbs rather than hard facts. Your resume will have more impact on hiring managers and recruiters if you avoid statements like “top-rated, proactive salesperson with incredible close rate.” Instead, offer solid facts like “ranked 4 out of 30 salespeople, exceeding sales quota by 5% year-over-year.”

 If you have trouble deciding what to leave in and what to leave out of your resume, contact Robin’s Resumes®. We know how to make every word in your resume count.

Why You Need Two Resumes

These days, almost every company uses a computerized program, known as an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), for their initial selection of resumes that fit the job they want to fill. ATS programs follow very specific rules: if your resume breaks the rules, it may not be selected even if you are highly qualified for a position.

I had a client who had written his own resume for a temporary position at a big, Fortune 500 company. He was accepted since he had the experience and he knew the recruiter. When the temporary position was converted to a permanent position, he tried to apply and his resume was not selected for the position. He needed to have an ATS-friendly resume. First, the ATS had to select him as an appropriate candidate based on his resume, and then he could be considered for the position.

I wrote his resume to fit ATS criteria, and he got the full-time job. My rewriting included the standard headers and format that the ATS expected. Even though you, as an intelligent human being, can see a better way to present information, your resume needs to conform to the ATS criteria. Note that the Fortune 500 company where my client applied explained that they used the ATS system to make sure they complied with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations.

These days, most job seekers need two resumes to apply for one position: one resume for human eyes and one resume for the ATS—and you may need to send both to your contacts. Computers and people do not read or comprehend data in the same way.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write the resumes you need to get the job you deserve.

Transitioning to a New Industry: Does Your Resume Speak the Language?

If you hope to transition your skills to a new industry, your resume must show that you understand the industry. To build that understanding, you should read job advertisements and relevant company websites. You are looking to find out:

  • The challenges your target industry faces and what skills you have that might transfer well to meeting those challenges.
  • Where gaps exist in your knowledge and how you might fill those gaps, perhaps through adult education or community college courses or through an internship or volunteer work.
  • The new information that should appear on your resume. For example, you might know a second language but not use it in your current job; however, if international travel is important in your target industry, your second language is now a critical addition to your resume.
  • The words that you need to understand, especially for the interview. If you are applying for a job in the healthcare industry, for example, do you know what HIPAA stands for?

As a Job and Career Transition Coach and someone who has reinvented her own career many times (from MIT student to engineer to project manager to professional resume writer), I understand the challenges of writing a resume for a new industry. Contact me today.

Is Your Resume Too Good to be True?

You have multiple skills; you have contributed to the workplace in multiple ways. But is your resume so filled with diverse accomplishments that it seems too good to be true? Are you setting yourself up as “jack of all trades, master of none”?

One of my recurring refrains in the Robin’s Resumes® blog is that a job hunt must be focused. There is no such thing as “any job.” Every job requires certain skills, accomplishments, and education; you have to focus your job search on the jobs that match your talents and interests.

By the same token, employers are not looking for employees who can “do everything and anything.” They want someone who is focused on achieving his or her best in the job that is being advertised.

Your resume is your platform for describing what it is that you do best. As a supply chain specialist in a small company, you sometimes have to haul around warehouse stock yourself. But is that the job you want to be hired for? Is that the achievement you are most proud of? As an administrative assistant to the CEO, you proofread reports. But if the ads you respond to never mention proofreading, how much valuable space on your resume do you want to use for that skill? Maybe your boss chooses you to serve on every company committee, from selecting recycling bins to leading a Lean initiative. Which of those committees actually align with the job you want now?

Your resume should show off your strengths, not hide them under a bushel of facts that do not match your own desires or a job’s requirements.

If you have a lot of accomplishments and cannot decide which one will result in a powerful resume, please contact me.

Are You Self-Selecting Yourself Out of a Job?

The laborious process of finding a new job can make a person confused or uncertain about their skills and accomplishments. You may decide against applying for an advertised job even though you meet most of the criteria listed in the advertisement. You may neglect to mention achievements because they were not “good enough” for your previous employer. You may downplay your role in the company. You may not recognize that certain skills are transferrable. And you may be frightened about taking on what you see as more responsibility or a bigger challenge.

You may be self-selecting yourself out of a job you should be applying for. Take these examples:

  • A job requires experience with a certain computer program. Mary has used the program but not recently. However, it will probably take her only a short time to bring her skills back to their former level. If she doesn’t mention her experience at all, she definitely won’t be asked for an interview; instead, she should list the program on her resume and start studying to refresh her skills.
  • John understands and speaks Spanish but is not comfortable with calling himself “fluent.” However, foreign language skills are in such demand that he should list his language skills; he can describe them as “conversational Spanish.”
  • Chris has worked in one company for a while and taken on unpaid responsibilities that were not in the original job description. She should still take credit for them. They are part of her achievements, and her future employer may value them more highly.

A strong resume will not only bolster your confidence, it will open up new avenues for your job search. Call Robin’s Resumes® today, and we’ll work together on getting you the right resume for the job you deserve.

LinkedIn Profile Versus Resume: Do You Need Both?

Your LinkedIn profile and your resume have the same goal: to get you an interview for the job you want. To do that, they need to support each other because most employers will look at both. In fact, some recruiters and employers search LinkedIn profiles to fill job openings that have not been announced or that you might not be aware of.

Over the decades, the format for resumes has changed and so has the delivery system. Recruiters and employers are much more likely to ask job applicants to provide an electronic version of the resume, not mail in a paper version. They are more accepting of resumes with two or more pages (provided the content demands the space). Applicant Tracking Systems have become more prevalent as a way to find resumes with the skills, experience, and education employers want.

All those changes mean that an online LinkedIn profile has become as valuable as a resume—but hasn’t replaced it.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we help you tell a compelling story on both LinkedIn and your resume, one that will appeal to recruiters and hiring managers no matter how they first hear about you.

The Dangers of Applying for “Any Job”

As anxious as you may be to return to work after a layoff or to improve your working situation, you will hurt your chances if you set out to find “any job.” Here are four ways that an “any job” attitude undermines your job search:

  1. You cannot possibly research, write, and maintain strong resumes for “any job” that comes along. Resumes should be targeted for the job, using the keywords that appear in a company’s job posting and stressing the skills and education the job posting stresses.
  2. No matter how much you try to tweak your specific skills, education, and experience to fit any job, companies will see where they fall short.
  3. When you network you need to send a clear message about what your interests and abilities. The “any job” mentality muddies that message and makes it hard for your network to help you.
  4. No one can honestly show enthusiasm for every job in the world. Some studies suggest that a candidate’s enthusiasm during the interview is a determining factor in whether the candidate gets the job.

As a Master Career Director, Certified Electronic Career Coach, and Job and Career Transition Coach, I can help you focus your job search and your resume. Email me today.



LinkedIn Endorsements: High Value in a Job Search


LinkedIn now allows contacts to quickly endorse each other in their areas of expertise. The endorsement is one word and can be selected with the click of a button. Does it have any value? Wouldn’t a recommendation be better?


An endorsement is different than a recommendation.


LinkedIn is used by recruiters to search for candidates for positions via keywords, which in many cases are skills. Just like Applicant Tracking Systems, LinkedIn helps rank candidates based on how many of their skills match the job requirements.


With 175+ million profiles on LinkedIn, recruiters can now rely on endorsements to find folks who have the skills they need and speed up their search. The number of endorsements for each skill might also indicate the strength of the skill. Recruiters do not care if they find every candidate; all they need is a few candidates with exactly the right skills.


Once a profile is found, recommendations become more important. Recommendations are testimonials that validate a person’s skills. Unfortunately, if a person lacks endorsements, that person’s profile may never be found by recruiters and the recommendations might never be read.


As a Master Career Director (MCD) and certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC), I can help you decide which endorsements will bring you the kinds of job offers you want and make sure that your profile, resume, and cover letter will keep recruiters interested. Contact me today.


New Year’s Resolution: What NOT to Include in Your Resume


This New Year’s Eve, resolve that you will remove from your resume the information that shouldn’t be there. Legitimate companies will not ask for the following information on your resume or online application:


    

  • Social security number (except if it is a governmental entity)
    • 

  • Age
    • 

  • Credit card or banking information
    • 

  • Health
    • 

  • Marital status
    • 



Do not include on your resume any information about why you left a job (unless it is relevant that the company ceased operations or was bought out by another company).


Do not apologize for lack of experience or skills or make promises about acquiring them. But you should mention courses you are currently taking or degrees or certifications you are working toward.


Do not include a photograph as this will reveal information about your physical characteristics that could open a company to charges of discrimination.


At Robin’s Resumes® we always make sure that your resume includes everything you should include and nothing that you shouldn’t.


Is Your Resume Readable?


A resume is a written document and, like all written documents, it has to be readable. A readable document is grammatical, logical, concise, and interesting. Let’s take each of those qualities in turn.


The grammar you use in speech or in a quick email to family and friends is not the formal grammar a resume requires. Online grammar checkers are useless. If your formal grammar is sketchy, please consult a professional writer.


Logical writing is organized. Whether that organization is present to past, most relevant to least relevant, or most impressive to least impressive will depend on what your resume is trying to accomplish. But once you settle on your logic, don’t violate it.


Concise writing eliminates excess words and information. For example, in the phrase “new innovative technology,” the word “new” is redundant; the word “innovative” means “something new.” Concise writing focuses on the skills and accomplishments that bear directly on the job opening.


Interesting writing keeps the audience in mind. What is the company interested in hearing about you, as revealed in their advertisements, job postings, and website? For companies, numbers are almost always interesting ($50,000 budget; 5 direct reports; 6 months; 15 customers; 3 countries). Interesting writing is also varied. In a resume, that means using a variety of strong verbs rather than relying on weak phrases like “was responsible for” or “played a role in.”


Professional resume writers know how to make a resume grammatical, logical, concise, and interesting, as well as accurate. Visit the Robin’s Resumes® website for examples of readable civilian and federal resumes. Then contact me to help you with your resume.


Do You Need More Than One Resume?


Most people need more than one resume. They may have one main resume, but they need to tailor to every position they apply for, to match the specific requirements in an advertisement or job notice. For example, if you are applying for a job as a retail store manager, you wouldn’t ordinarily mention your sports hobbies. However, if the retail store sells sports equipment, your sports hobbies might be worth adding.


Multiple resumes are also important for individuals who have followed two career paths; for example, an individual has a degree in research science and a degree in business administration and is open to both research and business management positions. In that case, the individual might need three resumes: one strictly for research, one strictly for business management, and one for managing a research laboratory.


However, be careful about going after too many specialties. A job search is shorter and much more effective if you first evaluate what you want to do based on your interests and desires along with your skills, abilities, and experience.


Once you focus your job search, you may find some of your “specialties” are not relevant to the jobs that match your experience, skills, abilities, and what you want.


If you need help targeting your resume, please contact me. I am a Master Career Director (MCD) and certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC). I can help you focus your job search and your resume.


What To Do Before You Need a New Resume


If you are worried about being laid off, thinking about looking for another opportunity or simply unsure about the future, now is the time to work on your next resume.


While you are still in your current job, begin to gather testimonials about your performance, whether they are a single line in an email from a grateful client or a passing comment made during your annual review. Those testimonials and referrals indicate where you have performed beyond expectations. Write down the circumstances; the information will become an accomplishment on your resume.


Also gather data on the effect your performance has on the company. Did you serve on a company committee? Did the company award you “employee of the month” or honor you for years of service? Did the company’s revenue rise during your tenure? Did you gain x number of new clients, reduce turnover in your department by x%, produce x number of products or redesign a procedure for greater efficiency? It is easy to forget your contributions and hard to remember them when you are looking for a new job. Document them now.


Finally, take out your old resume and look for skills, expertise and connections you have now that you did not have back then. You may have taken courses, learned how to operate new equipment, interacted with different or more departments or taken on more responsibilities. That progress is important to capture.


When new clients come to me, I help them through the process of recalling their accomplishments, their contribution and their personal growth. Call me if you would like help in making your next resume the strongest it can be.


How to Spell Resume: é  or e?


Generally, I do not use an accented e in the word “resume.”


The accented e in resume is intended to show how the word is pronounced: res-u-may, not re-zoom. While the accented e is correct, it is also considered a symbol in word processing systems like Word and WordPerfect. That’s where the difficulty arises.


Some computer programs have a problem reading symbols. Those programs include the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that companies depend upon to review resumes electronically. Instead of the word “résumé,” those programs see something like “rqsumq”—not what you want at all.


Hiring managers expect Applicant Tracking Systems to sort and store documents by keywords. The systems must be able to find the words to sort them properly; symbols throw them off. It’s important to use words in your resume if you want the computer to find it and recognize you submitted it. So drop the accented e and write “resume,” not “résumé.”


As a professional resume writer, I make sure that I know the latest systems and procedures that professional hiring managers use. Take advantage of my expertise for your job search. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.


Why Do You Want This Job?


We need a job to provide ourselves and our family with necessities like food, shelter, and clothing as well as the nonessential pleasures of life, like birthday cake. Our goal is to find a job that achieves all that and, we hope, makes us feel fulfilled as well.


Companies know that. Their main interest is in the company’s goals. What will you contribute to the company’s bottom line and business strategy if you are hired?


Your resume should be written in a way that makes it clear why you are applying for a particular position. You have the skills, educational background and experience the position calls for. You understand the industry or field where you are applying.


Most important, you have achieved valuable results in previous positions, and you are prepared to produce good work in the future.


When a company realizes that your achievements and goals align with the company’s, they are more likely to call you in for an interview. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today and we will write a resume that clearly answers the question, “Why do you want this job?”


Resume Question: Is What You Did Important?


When clients first come to me for help with their resumes, they usually come with lists of skills, education, and day-to-day responsibilities. Those lists overlook the most important part of a resume: the results. You may have completed a lot of tasks in your career, but what a hiring manager or recruiter really wants to know is: Did all your work achieve anything?


To illustrate what I mean, let’s say that I decide to dig a ditch. I find a shovel, survey my yard, choose a location, jab the shovel into the ground, and dig a 3×3 hole. I then admire the hole I successfully dug.


Why is this important?


It isn’t. Just because I succeeded in a task, does not mean it has any importance.


Now let’s say that the hole prevented my house from flooding, by digging it myself I saved several thousand dollars, and my strategy won an award from a local conservation group. The hole made a difference. With the addition of critical information about results, an unimportant task has become important.


Most people need help in selecting the achievements that best highlight their careers and figuring out why those achievements are important. At Robin’s Resumes®, we are experts in showing the true value you bring to your future employer.


Applicant Tracking Systems: What Job Hunters Need to Know Now


When resumes come into many company, whether electronically or on paper, they are entered into an applicant tracking system (ATS), a software program that searches for keywords that apply to the open job position.


You might think in that case that you should simply submit of list of words to beat the ATS at its own game: “You want words, here are words.” That may have worked with the oldest ATS systems; the newer systems look for context. They look for the position of the keyword (in the far past of your career or recently) and may even examine the surrounding words for a hint that you are actually familiar with the subject.


I recently had a conversation with Jon Ciampi, President of Preptel Corporation. His company has a product that uses algorithms and software from ATS systems to parse resumes and then allow people to see how their resumes compare with the competition’s.


He emphasizes that you can put sections of your resume in any order (Summary, Experience, Education or Summary Education, Experience) but the way those sections are formatted can become a huge roadblock. With too much formatting or the wrong formatting, your resume content may be ignored by the ATS. That’s one reason why Robin’s Resumes® pays close attention to formatting.


Jon says, “PDF is error prone as data structure is not standardized. PDF saves data as an image and requires a converter to translate it into text. This process causes many issues and is inaccurate. While ATS systems can accept PDF files, Word or ASCII is still the best document type. Graphics, tables, images, and charts should all be avoided. These items are usually interpreted incorrectly and can cause the process to fail, discarding the entire resume.”


We’ll talk more about ATS systems next week. In the meantime, if you are concerned about your resume, please contact me.


Social Media and Your Resume


Job seekers have long asked themselves: Does it really help my job hunt to join LinkedIn, create a personal website or set up a blog?


First, you might want to search for your own name on the internet. You may be surprised at the amount of information already available about you.


In reality, your internet activity is already part of your job hunt. You don’t have a choice. According to the 2012 Global Hiring Survey from the global professional association, Career Directors International (CDI), when reviewing a candidate, 58% of hiring authorities search the internet for information at least sometimes; only 14% never check it.


Moreover, the CDI survey found that 62% of hiring authorities would click on an external link if you provided one on your resume. That is, they would click through to your blog or LinkedIn account, for example, if your resume provided a link. Only 17% would ignore the link.


When you engage in social media, it is vitally important that the information you provide—whether on a personal blog or a LinkedIn account—supports your image as a quality candidate and reinforces the information in your resume. Let a professional writer help. Email Robin’s Resumes® today.


Job Hunting Strategies That Don’t Work


As a certified career coach, I can recommend many job hunting strategies that will complement your resume and increase your chances for finding that perfect job. But the following strategies won’t work:


    

  1. Resending the same resume over and over to the same company, expecting different results.
    2. 



What to Do Instead: You can reapply to the same company. But it would pay to have a professional review your resume and cover letter to make sure you are clearly stating why you are a great fit for that company.


    

  1. Using resume creation software.
    2. 



What to Do Instead: Send out a professionally written resume that reflects you, your achievements, skills and attitudes and that is targeted for the job you want.


    

  1. Staying at home and working the computer.
    2. 



What to Do Instead: Get yourself out among people, spreading the word about your job hunt and letting them see what a great employee you would make. Talk to family, friends and former colleagues; attend business networking events and expos; take on freelance, volunteer and consultant opportunities (they may become job offers; in the meantime you’re keeping your skills sharp and building contacts)—and that’s just the start of the list.


Do you need help upgrading your resume or identifying and connecting with your contact sphere? Email Robin’s Resumes® and let us help.


QR Codes on Resumes: Good Idea or Bad?


QR (quick response) codes are those weird little boxes that allow Smartphone to go directly to online information, such as a website or map. These codes are starting to show up on resumes. They might send people to your website, LinkedIn account, portfolio, Facebook page or contact information. If you decide to place a QR code on your resume, keep the following in mind:


    

  • Not everyone has (or wants to use) a Smartphone or QR reader application. If the QR code is linking them to essential information, make sure URL link also appears in the text of your resume.
    • 

  • Companies rely on Applicant Tracking Systems right now more than QR codes—and some of those systems are older than QR technology. The QR code might cause your resume to be rejected.
    • 

  • Right now, technology limits one QR code to one site. So which site will you choose (LinkedIn or Facebook or personal website or portfolio)? You certainly don’t want to clutter your resume with multiple QR codes.
    • 



QR codes look cutting edge but they can be a distraction and a hindrance, and they are certainly not a substitute for a strong, achievements-oriented resume. Like video resumes, they are more gimmick than substance.


If you feel your resume cannot stand on its own, please contact me right away. I will give you resume content that avoids questionable gimmicks and gives recruiters and hiring managers the information they really want in a resume that will make you proud.


Keyword Spam: What It Means on a Resume


Keywords are those critical words that an employer will automatically expect to find on any resume from a job applicant. For example, if you are applying for an accountant position, the employer will expect to see the following words (among others): profit & loss (P&L), accounts receivable and cash flow. When the resume is searched electronically, those words had better show up or the resume will be rejected.


Keyword spam (also called keyword stuffing) occurs when your resume contains a list of all possible words that the employer might possibly search without any regard to your actual skills and achievements. Keyword spam tells nothing about you as a past and future employee; it does not set you apart from all the other candidates; it merely wastes the time of recruiters and hiring managers.


Some keyword spammers even write the key words in the same color as the resume background (for example, white words on a white background) so that the words are invisible to the human eye but can still be read by the computer.


Sooner or later, however, those words have to be backed up by real content—by real achievements, skills and knowledge. Spamming is just as abhorrent on a resume as it is on email.


If you have been relying on keyword spam to get your resume noticed, contact Robin’s Resumes® today. I can show you a better way.


Your Resume: Professional Awards and Affiliations


Your resume should include professional awards you’ve received and your professional affiliations (for example, membership in an industry organization).


There is no such thing as an insignificant award or affiliation. Whether you stood out from a group of 100 or 10, you still stood out. Whether you showed up at meetings once a year or served as President for three years, whether you were recognized for your individual contribution or for your role in a team effort, you still showed active interest and success in your industry.


Often professional awards can be listed under the company which gave you the award (“Best Sales Associate,” “President’s Club,” “Employee of the Month”). If your awards are industry-wide rather than company-specific, you may want to group them under a separate heading similar to that for your employment history.


Affiliations can be listed at the end of the resume or in another location, depending on the resume or CV format and the branding for the resume. I have listed affiliations at the top of a resume when they were important to a client’s brand.


You might title an awards/affiliations section as “Professional Development” or “Memberships” or “Awards and Affiliations,” depending on the content.


Awards and affiliations demonstrate a respected and well-rounded employee. At Robin’s Resumes®, I make sure that your resume contains the right information to make an employer notice you. Call today.


How Do Employers Find Their Ideal Candidate?


Recently on LinkedIn, someone asked how business owners, recruiters, and HR executives find their best candidates. The answers to that question are valuable for anyone who is searching for a job. There are five key steps that employers take in evaluating a candidate:


    

  1. Check the resume for job history and skills. Recruiters eliminate people who are clearly job hoppers, with one position after another that lasted less than a year; they also eliminate applicants who lack the vital skills they need.
    2. 

  2. Check the resume for intangibles. It may be important, for example, that the candidate likes to work alone or travel out of the country or make presentations.
    3. 

  3. Look at social media. A Facebook or Twitter page may reveal that a candidate has a problem the company does not want to deal with, such as excess drinking or anger toward co-workers. Or a company where volunteerism is important, for example, may look for evidence of a candidate’s volunteer activity.
    4. 

  4. Pay attention to the job candidate’s attitude during the interview. If a candidate arrives late, texts during the interview, treats the receptionist rudely or gives inappropriate or flustered responses to questions, that candidate is considered a bad choice.
    5. 

  5. Be prepared to train the right person. For some companies, a demonstrated willingness to learn is more important than current skills.
    6. 



Robin’s Resumes® can help you anticipate these steps when you are looking for a job. I write resumes that put your job history in the best light and make it clear that you have the right skills and attitude. The resume also indicates whether you are a good candidate for training, if the company offers it. Together, we can evaluate your online presence for consistency with your resume.


Let me help you become the ideal candidate for business owners, recruiters, and HR executives.


Five Things to Fix before Your Resume Leaves Your Desk


Recruiters are not very forgiving. If your resume has one of these five errors, you are reducing your chances of being called in for an interview:


(a)    The name, contact information or job title at the company where you’re applying is wrong. Many companies have names that are easy to misspell. Check and triple check that all the contact information is correct.


(b)   You made a mistake in your own contact information. Be especially careful about transposing numbers in your address or phone number.


(c)    You provided your marital status, health or religious preference (unless you are applying for a job with a religious organization). It is illegal for companies to ask for this information and you put them in a difficult legal position if you provide it. And don’t include your social security number—that is an invitation to identity theft. The only exception is a federal resume if the directions specifically ask for the social security number.


(d)   Your email address is cute (skibum@yahoo.com) and the phone number you give is regularly answered by a three-year-old. Companies want to feel they are contacting a professional. You may have to invest in a temporary cell phone to keep your three-year-old from answering when potential employers call, but the temporary investment is worth it.


(e)   You never proofread your resume. You must proofread your resume every time you change it, word for word. Minor mistakes in grammar and spelling creep in and send a major negative message: you do not care about quality and pay no attention to detail.


Do you need help making sure your resume has the best chance of catching a recruiter’s eye? Contact Robin’s Resumes® today. I’m here to help.


Your Resume Is a Sales Document


Businesses have brochures. People have resumes. Both brochures and resumes are a summary of experience, skills, credentials and achievements that differentiate the business or job applicant. Let’s break that last sentence down:


    

  • Summary. Brochures and resumes are not life stories. The customers who look at brochures and the recruiters who look at resumes are focused on what they need at that moment. In the case of resumes, the focus is on finding the right employee to fill a specific position.
    • 

  • Experience, Skills and Credentials. Like customers, recruiters want to know they are getting the best value for their dollar. If you lack the experience, skills and credentials—the requirements for handling the job—you are unlikely to be called in for an interview. 
    • 

  • Achievements That Differentiate. Every dry cleaning establishment is the same, right? But suppose a dry cleaner’s brochure spotlights their experience preserving wedding gowns. Now that dry cleaner has a niche. Your resume should spotlight your niche, whether that is working in teams, bringing in more sales than your fellow salespeople, a willingness to travel, experience working with regulatory agencies in your industry—your achievements in your career set you apart from everyone else. 
    • 



The best brochures let customers know that this company has what the customer needs. The best resumes let recruiters know that you can deliver what they need. With 15 years of experience as a resume writer for employees, managers and executives in private industry and in government, I can make your that your resume is a document that truly sells.


Resumes for People Aged 50+


Many of the people hit by the long-term unemployment in the U.S. are over 50 years old. Is there a special resume format that older job applicants should follow? Yes and no.


First, all recruiters and hiring managers like a chronological resume. Please do not try to gloss over your years of experience by writing a strictly functional resume, one that is a narrative and not a list of positions held. A strictly functional resume immediately makes recruiters and hiring managers feel that you are hiding something.


Second, as I’ve said before in this blog, your resume is not your life history. You do not have to list every job back to high school graduation. Consider grouping some jobs by company name and position only under “Additional Experience.” Do not give the date you graduated college.


Third, employers are looking for skills but they are looking even harder for evidence that you know how to use those skills. When you focus your resume on achievements, you make recruiters and hiring managers think twice before moving on to someone younger but entirely unproven. Experience is a virtue.


Finally, as a fellow resume writer once put it, your resume is not about you, it’s about the employer and the employer’s needs. You want to position yourself as the solution the employer is looking for.


All of the points above apply to job hunters at any age.


If you are afraid that your age is damaging your chances for a job, please contact me.


Contract, Consulting or Self-Employed Jobs on Your Resume


These days many people work for at least part of their careers in contract, self-employed or consultant jobs. Though each job may be short in duration and there may be many of them, they don’t represent “job hopping” in the traditional sense. Consultant, self-employment and contract jobs are supposed to be short-term and are supposed to involve many different clients.


However, if you list each employer separately and your work for each only lasts a month or two, your resume will give the impression that you do jump from job to job. You do not want that to happen.


Instead, group all of your contract or consulting clients under a single category; for example, Contract Positions or Consulting. Each employer then becomes a separate bullet point under that category.


Another approach, particularly if you are self-employed, is to provide an overall company name for yourself; a freelance web designer might call himself “ABC Web Design.” Your company is treated like any other company on the resume and your position is (for example) founder and president.


Many people have job histories that don’t seem to fit the standard resume format. If you are concerned that your history is keeping you from the job you want, please send me an email or call today. I can help.


Four Common Mistakes You Might Be Making on Your Resume


Professional resume writers know to avoid the following four mistakes. Take a look through your resume now to see if you are guilty of:


    

  • Misspellings and typos. It is not enough to use an automatic spell checker. You must print out your resume and proofread it word for word. Never trust online grammar checkers—they are all horrible. Check the dictionary if you are unsure about the proper use of words like its and it’s or effect and affect.
    • 

  • Inconsistent information. If the information in your LinkedIn profile differs from the information in your resume or if your resume contradicts your cover letter, recruiters and hiring managers will suspect that you are either lying or careless. Make sure all the elements of your application present the same picture.
    • 

  • Too much jargon and too few specifics. Avoid the temptation to write about “state-of-the-art software” or to a “proactive approach to customer satisfaction.” Automatic tracking systems don’t search on vague jargon like “state-of-the-art” or “proactive.” Those words are taking up valuable space you should use for specific facts: “Redesigned company website using Joomla” or “Increased customer satisfaction 57%.”
    • 

  • Too much history. As I’ve stated before in this blog, your resume is not your life story. Focus your resume on the requirements for the job you want now and the information employers ask for in their ads. That first job you took right after college in 1989 probably has little bearing on your current skills; you moved on long ago.
    • 



If you are finding it hard to avoid errors, inconsistencies and jargon or if you are not sure what to leave in and what to take out, please contact me today. You will get some good ideas, too, from my talk on resume revamps at the the Women for Hire website.


Career Coaching: Get Your Job Search on Track


My certifications as a Certified Electronic Career Coach and a Job and Career Transition Coach enable me to help job seekers who may have become stalled in their job hunt or who are finding it hard to define their career goals. If you are frustrated by a job hunt that seems to be going nowhere or if you aren’t even sure where you want your job hunt to go, you may benefit from coaching.


Among other services I offer, I can:


    

  • Help you create an organized plan for your job search
    • 

  • Help you define the jobs and types of companies that fit your areas of expertise and work history
    • 

  • Review your job hunt so far and see if there are strategies you might have missed
    • 

  • Recommend frequently overlooked sources for job openings
    • 

  • Make sure you’re looking for the right job at the right level
    • 

  • Fine-tune and strengthen your resume and cover letter
    • 

  • Review your online networking—for example, making sure you have a LinkedIn profile and that it reinforces your resume
    • 



Whether or not you take advantage of these services, my background as a career coach helps me to create a resume that gives you more confidence. And that confidence helps you move your entire job search along.


Overqualified for the Job: What Are Your Options?


The words “you are overqualified for this position” are frustrating. Why did the recruiter or hiring manager call you in for an interview if they felt you were overqualified? You need this job and you won’t leave for a better opportunity, become bored, demand huge salary hikes and try to take over your new boss’s job. But clearly the people who are hiring don’t believe that, so they send you on your way. What can you do?


First, make sure you really do want a less demanding position. If you’ve simply given up trying to find a job that matches your qualifications, it may be time to take a hard look at your resume and job search techniques. As a certified resume writer and job coach, I will write a resume and set you on a path more suited for your true goals.


On the other hand, perhaps you are genuinely looking for a position with fewer responsibilities. In that case, your cover letter should give a reasonable and positive explanation for seeking a lower level position: You like hands-on work more than supervision, you want a chance to mentor others now that you have achieved the highest levels of your profession, you are transitioning from another industry.


With the right resume and cover letter, you can beat the “overqualified” response. I’ve accomplished that for other job seekers; I can do it for you.


Past Employers: How Much Do You Say on Your Resume?


When you describe your past employers in your resume, make it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to understand who you worked for, where and when.


Resumes written to apply for federal jobs must include full contact and reference information for each past employer; but for all other resumes, the name of the company, its general location and the years you worked there are sufficient. For example:


ABC Corporation, St. Louis, MO     (1999-2004)


Except for federal resumes, do not include contact information for your past supervisors; you can provide that information later, when the company you are applying to expresses real interest. In the meantime, your supervisors do not want to be interrupted by dozens of requests for information.


Perhaps the company’s name does not clearly explain what the company does; or perhaps details about products and services are important in your industry. In that case, you might want to add a few words to identify the company. For example, in the fashion industry you might want to say, “Specialists in plus sizes in men’s, women’s and children’s outerwear.”


You should not include your reasons for leaving a previous position. There are a very few exceptions. For example, if a buyout occurred and you were retained for even a limited time by the new owners, your retention is a tribute to you and your abilities.


At Robin’s Resumes®, I specialize in knowing what to leave in and what to leave out on the perfect resume. I’m ready to do the same for you.


What Belongs in a Cover Letter or Email?


A cover letter or email is an essential part of a resume.


The cover letter echoes some of the most important achievements from your resume, chosen to highlight your fit for the particular job you are applying for. Sometimes an important experience, skill or accomplishment needs more emphasis or explanation than you have room for in your resume. The cover letter is a perfect place to expand on what’s already in your resume. Cover letters and resumes do become separated, so don’t rely on the cover letter alone to tell a recruiter or hiring manager that you have essential skills they want.


Certain pieces of information belong only in a cover letter, not in a resume. For example, the cover letter is the place for information about your availability for all shifts or your flexibility regarding travel or relocation.


Make sure your contact information is identical on your cover letter and resume. If you are considering a job in another state, you may want to rent a postal box in that state to give yourself a local address. Your contact information includes:


    

  • A phone number that is answered professionally—if your children always answer your home phone, purchase a pay-as-you-go cell phone that you can use for the length of your search.
    • 

  • A professional email address based on your full name (robertsmith@yahoo.com). Opening a new free email address at yahoo or gmail is easy and few employers will bother to contact a candidate at “skibum@yahoo.com.”
    • 



Double and triple check the address you are mailing to: on the cover letter, you don’t want to misspell the name of the recipient or their company or division.


Finally, the cover letter or email is a great place for a statement of what you hope to contribute to the company, whether increased sales, greater team work, improved communications or whatever your expertise qualifies you for.


Having trouble fitting all that in three or four short paragraphs? Email me today and I’ll give you a cover letter and resume that show off your value.







How Do You Target a Resume?


I’ve written previously about the need to target a resume for the job you want. But how do you do that?


First, you have to read the advertisement or posting for the job. Read it thoroughly. You want to note both the hard and soft skills the employer is looking for. Hard skills include specific requirements like “knowledge of Excel” or “90% travel.” Soft qualifications are found in statements like “will work closely with engineering department”—what part of your past experience or training shows that you work well with engineers?


Second, make sure that you have the skills listed in the advertisement or posting. Enter them in your resume using the same keywords. For example, if the ad asks for “expert knowledge of Excel,” make sure your resume specifies that you have “expert knowledge of Excel.” It’s also important to show how you used your skills to benefit your former employers. Almost anyone can learn Excel. But what if you used Excel to better manage inventory, saving time and staff? That is an accomplishment that your prospective employer will value highly.


Third, research the company online. Find out if they offer a product or service you have worked with in another situation; or reach out to customers you are familiar with; or operate in countries you have visited. Any connection you can make between the company and your own background will strengthen your resume.


Fourth, remember that a resume is not your life story. You don’t have to “make” all your experience relevant. Without creating gaps in your resume, leave out details that your future employer won’t care about and devote the most space to the most relevant experience. If you’ve had a long career, summarize your very early experience; you’ve moved far beyond that first job as an intern or trainee or assistant to the assistant.


Above all, write your resume for the job you want, not the job you left behind. Phone or email me today and I will put your resume solidly “on target.”


 


How Do Recruiters and Hiring Managers Screen Resumes


These days a lot of recruiters and hiring managers rely on computers to eliminate some of the hundreds of resumes they receive in response to each advertisement. The computers search for keywords directly related to the skills the company is looking for. But as I’ve mentioned before, keywords are not enough.


No one hires an employee on the basis of a computer search alone. At some point, every resume of interest is read by a real person. Your resume must show that you have the skills and achievements to back up the keywords.


Some hiring managers focus on the beginning of your resume: your most recent job. Some focus on the end of your resume: your education and professional certifications. Some hiring managers read cover letters and some ignore them. You cannot know what part of your resume package will hold the most appeal. So you should make sure that all the information you give is professional in content and format and is easy to find.


Most recruiters and hiring managers do not like purely functional resumes (where jobs are not listed in chronological order and job titles are not clear). They believe that a purely functional resume is an excuse to hide problems. They do not like video resumes; they do not have the time to listen to every word of a video resume when they can quickly scan through a written resume. They do not like surprises. If they search for you on the Internet, they want to see a professional presence on Facebook and LinkedIn (for example) that is consistent with your resume. If you are hunting for a job, remove the rants against your old boss and the party animal photographs.


Trying to think like a hiring manager or recruiter is difficult. I have the years of experience and the contacts in the field to shape an appealing resume from your job history, achievements and skills. As a professional resume writer, I know what the majority of recruiters and hiring managers want and expect in a resume. Email me today.


Write a Resume That Helps You Land Your First Job


Many people writing a resume for their first job make these mistakes:


1. They try too hard to be clever and stand out by using fancy fonts, colors, clip art or even video resumes.


2. They think that volunteer work, summer jobs and school honors or adult-ed courses do not count.


3. They are not clear about their career goals; they apply for everything and expect their resume to get them “any job.”


4. They do not research what employers want.


Your resume helps you land your first job by presenting you at your best to recruiters and hiring managers who are looking for someone with your achievements, skills and education. Here is what your should be doing in your resume to land your first job:


1. Forget about clever paper, fonts and presentations. Companies are not impressed by an origami resume. Focus on skills and achievements and you will quickly grab their attention.


2. Recognize and embrace the value of your experiences and education. One of my clients worked the same summer job every year and showed enough skill in that short time to win two promotions. Another client who wanted to become a training manager wrote her thesis on “Mentoring in the Workplace.” A future sales person helped sell tickets to a nonprofit’s fundraising event. These are all important achievements.


3. Write your resume for the job you want, not “any job.” Do you prefer to work in a forest or an office? Do you like to travel and meet people, to work in a team or to work at home alone? Did you take courses in biology or art? Apply for the jobs that you are prepared for and that excite you.


4. Find out what employers want. Read the ads. Talk to people who already work in the job or industry that appeals to you. Read books about your chosen field. When you know what employers want, you can write a resume and cover letter that shows how you meet their needs.


Applying for your first job is difficult enough. I have years of experience helping people in exactly your situation with resumes that land the job. Give me a call today.


How Much Information Do Employers Need?


Your resume is all about your skills and achievements. But it is not your life story. While writing your resume, you should always think about your future employer. What is that employer looking for? What value can you bring to the company?


As a member of the top four professional organizations in resume writing and career marketing, I understand how to excite businesses about your qualifications, skills and achievements. I know what to highlight, what to add and, above all, what to omit.


You may have years of experience in a variety of fields from coal mining to commercial real estate. You may be a recent graduate with a passion for fly fishing or knitting. But the company you are applying to is interested only in the achievements and passions that will help the company succeed.


My task is to focus your resume on the details that are most important to the company you are applying to. Do not let your life story get in the way of your job hunt. Email or call me today.


Keyword Lists: What Are They and Do I Need One on My Resume?


Keywords are the precise words that hiring managers look for on a resume as a quick check on your skills and background. For example, their ad for a sales person might include the words “sales team,” “account management,” “customer relationship management,” and “CRM software.” They look for those keywords (either by reading or by computer search) in every resume they receive.


Some job applicants list all the keywords they can think of in their resume: one keyword after another with no explanation.


I don’t like keyword lists because they tempt job applicants to exaggerate their skills. It’s easy to add yet another keyword to the list even if you lack the skills that go with it. Therefore, instead of creating a list, you should make keywords a vital part of your real record of achievements.


If your skills match the company’s keywords, good for you. If you do not have the right skills, the company always finds out during the interview. You waste the company’s time, but worst of all you set yourself up for failure.


That’s why my resumes concentrate on achievements. If you have the right skills, you should also have the right achievements. Your achievements demonstrate more than a talent for creating lists. You used your skills in a way that profited your old company, and you are able to learn and apply new skills. Maybe you do not know the exact CRM program the company listed in its ad. But if you have a strong record of achievement with another CRM program and the ability, the company might be willing to train you so that you can achieve the same results with their CRM program. That’s a much better outcome for both of you.


If you feel that keywords are keeping you from the job you want, email or give me a call. I will strengthen your resume and help you focus your job search on employers who need the skills you really have.


What Is a Professional Resume? What Makes a Resume “Professional”?


When those questions were asked on LinkedIn, everyone agreed on the answer: a professional resume is tailored to the job you want.


You begin to tailor a resume by looking at ads in print and postings online for positions that interest you. What skills, attitudes and achievements are recruiters and companies asking for? A professional resume matches those requirements.


Achievements are particularly important. Thousands of people may share your combination of skills. But what did they do with those skills? A professional resume highlights your achievements and is results-driven. It explains how your previous employers benefitted from your skills. It you makes stand out from the rest of the applicants.


A professional resume and cover letter echo the words that recruiters and companies use in their ads and posts. You’ll want to work those keywords into the very start of your resume. A professional resume grabs attention from the beginning by showing that you are a great fit for the position you want.


If you are overwhelmed by the range of requirements in your field, if you are unsure of your achievements or if you are sending out a resume that shouts “I’ll take anything,” email or phone me now. As a professional resume writer, I know how to create a very professional resume.


Resume Q&A: Short Answers to Big Resume Questions


This post considers some questions that job seekers recently asked online:


What does “lying” mean on a resume?


You are lying when you make up jobs, dates of employment, responsibilities, education or any other fact. You are not lying when you leave things out. Your resume is not your life story. It is a marketing document; it markets you to employers who are looking for someone with your skills and achievements.


Do you have to have your home address on your resume?


Because email and cell phones have made it much easier to connect with job applicants and because relocation is not the huge hurdle it used to be, many companies don’t care if you omit your home address on your resume. They understand that they are more likely to reach you by email or phone and that you might have privacy concerns.


Be aware, however, that some companies interview only local candidates with local addresses. If you are concerned about this or your privacy, consider using an address you rent from a mailbox supplier, such as Mailboxes, etc. or UPS. This way you can have a “local address” while you conduct a job search.


Do you have to be on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to get a job?


It can help–many people have connected with recruiters and companies using social media–but it is not always required. If you are on social media such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, keep your online information consistent with your resume and completely professional. Using social media the wrong way (for example, to rant against your former employer) could cost you your chance at an interview.


Based on my discussions with hiring managers, many employers and recruiters search LinkedIn for candidates for jobs they are not yet advertising. In addition, once you are identified as a potential candidate, many companies will specifically search LinkedIn for your profile. If your profile is not there, they may reject you as a candidate. Therefore, having a LinkedIn profile gives you the best chance to get a job.


Robin’s Resumes® recommends you get a professionally written LinkedIn profile for your job search. We can do this for you when you order a package from us. Just ask me for one when you order your resume and other career marketing documentation, and I will be glad to quote you the price.


Temporary, Part-Time and Volunteer Jobs: How Do They Fit on My Resume?


Many job seekers look for full-time employment after spending a year or more at temporary or part-time jobs, sometimes working for several different agencies or volunteering their services. They worry that that these experiences make them seem like job hoppers or undesirable full-time employees.


In fact, part-time, temporary or volunteer work, especially work in your field or that keeps your skills fresh, shows your dedication and flexibility. It may broaden your appeal to companies in industries you never considered before.


In your resume, group these jobs under one title to create a unified history. Perhaps you’ve worked at several part-time jobs in restaurants as a waiter; you could group that experience under Part-Time Work in Restaurant Industry. If you worked for a temporary or contract agency, list the companies you worked for under your group title (Contract Engineer)—not the agencies. The experience you are highlighting is the valuable experience of working for multiple industries.


You might be able to group your temporary, contract or part-time jobs as Freelance or Consulting Positions. You are contributing your job skills in exactly that way: you go from one company to the next, complete each job efficiently and then move on again.


As for volunteer positions, companies are very aware of the leadership skills, teamwork and commitment that volunteer work requires. Create a section of your resume for Community Service and give yourself credit.


If you are still anxious about your work history, let’s talk.


Do Recruiters and Hiring Managers Read Cover Letters?


Do you need a cover letter for your resume? The answer is, “Yes!” Recruiters and hiring managers read cover letters and cover emails for three main reasons:


    

  • To find out information that may not be in your resume or immediately obvious
    • 

  • To get a fast overview of your most relevant experience
    • 

  • To find out why you are interested in their company or their opening
    • 



The cover letter—or cover email—should not be long: two or three paragraphs with bullets highlighting your most relevant achievements, experience and skills. You might also let the recruiter or hiring company know what soft skills you bring to the table: teamwork, leadership, a get-it-done attitude, efficiency, organization, a concern for the bottom line. You know your own strengths.


The cover letter is the place where, if necessary, you explain a change in careers or locations, notify potential employers that your search is confidential, respond to a request by the company for references or salary ranges, or share other important information that is not appropriate for the resume.


I believe strongly in cover letters because they are far more personal than the strictly formatted bullet points of a resume. When I talk with you about your career goals and your experience, I ask what any recruiter or hiring manager would ask—and then I put the answers in your cover letter.


Resume Problem: How to List Freelance Jobs?


A recent question on LinkedIn came from a freelancer who was worried about detailing his multiple jobs on his resume. Would the list make him look like a job hopper?


Freelancing is an honorable employment status and should be treated that way. You are self-employed. Organize your freelance career under one “Freelance” heading, just like employees who work for a company organize all of their achievements, roles and projects under the company’s name.


The same rule applies if you freelance while holding a full-time job. Treat your freelancing as a separate “company” that you work for year after year (the same way that you work for your full-time job year after year). If you alternate individual freelance assignments with full-time jobs on your resume, you’ll confuse employers into thinking that every new freelance job is a change in employment. Instead, keep all the freelance assignments together under one heading and no one will be confused.


You can pick and choose the freelance assignments that you list. You want to concentrate on the ones that make you the most desirable candidate for the job you want now.


If you are still unsure about handling your freelance career on your resume, please contact me. I would be happy to review your individual situation.


Recent College Graduates: You Can Have a Strong Resume


If you have just graduated and have held very few jobs, you need professional help to make your resume stand out.


Do not mimic the recent college graduate with no experience who constructed a three-page resume by using 2-inch margins and a very large font, then centering all the text. That’s not a good idea.


I create resumes that make the most of a recent graduate’s education, skills and achievements.


Are you worried that your lack of experience will operate against you in a tight job market? You may have more experience than you realize if you have taken any sort of leadership role with a college group or local nonprofit. Your teamwork shows up when you volunteer, participate in a sport or club or help to organize an event. Your job skills are on display in every summer or part-time job, even those outside of your chosen field. And your college courses show your knowledge and willingness to learn.


Do not let yourself fall into the trap of thinking a college degree is not enough. At Robin’s Resumes®, we will help you find a position in industry or government that makes the most of what you have to offer—and we start by making sure employers know how much you bring to their table!


Should You Hire a Resume Writer?


Naturally, I would like you to consider my services if you plan to hire a professional resume writer. But perhaps you are debating whether working with a professional resume writer is the right choice for you. You should consider hiring a resume writer if:


    

  • You are changing careers, are newly entering the job market or returning after an absence, have multiple job changes over a short time or have any other work situation that seems out of the ordinary.
    • 

  • You find it difficult to get started—or to stop. A resume cannot start working for you until it is written and sent. If you cannot begin writing or if you cannot stop editing, you need help.
    • 

  • You lack confidence in your abilities. Maybe you have been unemployed for a while; or you were employed by one company for so many years that you have forgotten how to job hunt. As a professional resume writer and consultant, I enjoy the process of re-introducing job seekers to their skills and achievements. A great resume is a real boost to self-esteem.
    • 

  • You have had no success so far in attracting interviews. Let me take a look at your resume to see if we can bolster it with keywords and stronger descriptions of your skills and accomplishments.
    • 

  • You need an objective, expert champion in your corner. As a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Certified Federal Resume Writer and Certified Professional Resume Writer, with years of experience writing technical, federal and corporate resumes at all levels, I will give you advice you can trust and a resume to be proud of.
    • 



What Employers Want–and Do Not Want–in Your Resume


You are struggling to understand what employers want in a resume: What will make them stand up and take notice? In many ways, what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in.


Employers and recruiters welcome a resume that shows:


    

  • You have the skills to handle the job.
    • 

  • You will contribute something in addition to skills, as demonstrated by achievements at your current job (“chosen employee of the month,” “saved company $1500 in recycle costs”), volunteer work and work-related courses.
    • 

  • You take pride in your work, as shown in part by the care you take to create a presentable resume.
    • 



What employers and recruiters do not want in a resume is:


    

  • Your life history. Focus your resume on the requirements of the job. Employers and recruiters want to know that you can handle the job you are applying for.
    • 

  • Excuses. If you do not have job experience, stress education. If you lack one skill, stress another and your ability to learn.
    • 

  • Inconsistencies. Always tell the truth on your resume. Also, if you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other online site, make sure you appear in a professional light at all times and that the information on those sites matches the information on your resume.
    • 



If your resume is giving employers too little of the right information and too much of the wrong, please contact me. I have solved resume problems for countless people and I can help.


Interview Tips: How Your Resume Helps You Interview Well


Recently, several recruiters and business managers replied to an online request for a few interview tips. The tips that they offered most often were to be honest and to show a genuine interest in the company. The best resume, the kind that I pride myself on writing, prepares you for the interview by providing a strongly worded, truthful summary of your skills and achievements. It shows that you understand what a company wants in its next employee.


When I work with you, I make sure that together we capture all of your most important skills and achievements. A well-written resume lets you head out to the interview with a sense of pride in what you have accomplished. During the interview, you will not have to scramble for explanations because your resume truly reflects you.


The best resume is crafted for the job you want, not the job(s) you left behind. Therefore, every word targets the types of industries, companies and positions that you are most interested in. That focus provides the groundwork for the interest you will show during the interview.


Bring a copy of your resume with you to any interview. It is helpful when filling out forms and may be needed by the interviewer. But most important, while you wait for your appointment, you can remind yourself of how much value you will bring to the company.


Organizing Your Resume


Sometimes the hardest part of writing your own resume is knowing where to begin—and end. How do you know which of your many achievements should be highlighted? How much detail do recruiters expect? Will you lose a job opportunity if you leave something out or if you reveal too much? How much space should you give to past jobs compared to your current position? How far back should you go in your career?


Organization is one of my greatest skills. I’ve developed proprietary questionnaires that help you detail all of your skills, background and accomplishments. Then I take that information and create a powerful, focused resume that targets the job you want. As a former engineer and project manager, I know how to marshal facts and describe them accurately, briefly and with conviction.


Once you receive my draft, you have three weeks to review it, making any changes you like. My clients often find that the draft and final resume give them a renewed sense of purpose and boost their confidence, as they realize exactly how much value they bring to future employers.


Resume Formats: What They Can and Cannot Accomplish


Recently an online job seeker asked where she could find a special format suitable to someone in marketing. Earlier in this blog I described some of the formatting issues she should be concerned with; see the posts on “Resume Style” and “The Great Debate: Which Type of Resume Works Best?” But interviews and jobs are not won by formats; they are won by content.


Beware of anyone who says they have the one and only format for marketing, sales, management, software development or any other career. Unless you are applying for federal jobs (which have very stringent requirements), any readable and professional format is appropriate. As a professional resume writer, I will make sure your format meets those criteria and is suitable for both paper and electronic submission.


But more importantly, I will make sure your resume’s content wows the recruiters and companies you contact. When your resume describes in clear, powerful words what you achieved and how, it is perfectly tailored to send you on the road to the job you want.


Fitting Small Company Experience into Large Company Opportunities


Small companies have different structures from large companies. When you are looking to enter a large company, you may find that your job description is associated with a less impressive title. You may find yourself reporting to someone who holds the title you used to have in a smaller company.


This is not a demotion; it reflects the difference in complexity working for a small company versus a large company. A difficulty may also arise in presenting yourself as a candidate to a large company. Suppose the large company needs someone to supervise 80 people. From their perspective, if your last position was with a company of 20 employees total, you could easily be overshadowed by candidates from larger companies.


So what can you do if you want to move from a small company to a large one? These four strategies may help:


    

  • First, relax your requirements for a title. Concentrate on what is really important to you, such as opportunities for advancement.
    • 

  • Second, seek advice about positioning yourself correctly. When I counsel clients transitioning from a civilian role to the federal government, for example, I can determine their “level” based on the amount of control they had in their previous jobs (not just the title).
    • 

  • Third, make sure your resume highlights the breadth of your experience. Instead of worrying over the size of your current company, stress the size of your achievements.
    • 

  • Fourth, when you interview, carry yourself with confidence. If you know you can do the job, you will go far toward convincing interviewers.
    • 



You want the big guys to realize that your small company experience is exactly what they need.


Identify Your Soft Skills on Your Resume


Recently, several managers were asked what one attribute they would look for in a job candidate, any position, any industry. The responses included innovation, commitment, leadership, teamwork, intelligence and organizational “fit.” Industry knowledge and skills were important but most managers concentrated on what are known as “soft skills.” Managers and business owners know it is much easier to teach someone the information and skills they need for a job than to teach them, for example, how to get along with coworkers.


Candidates who understand that fact often fill their resume with phrases like “innovative and intelligent professional”; “able to work independently or as part of a team”; and “committed to the organization’s growth.”


But I urge my clients to move beyond a bare statement to prove they have the qualities that company’s want.


How do you prove all those soft skills—innovation, commitment, leadership and so on—in a resume? You give examples. You provide testimonials. You state the problem and how you responded to it:


    

  • “Worked closely with representatives from Marketing, Sales and Finance Departments to identify ten potential cost-savings measures.”
    • 

  • “Found an Internet provider to develop the company website.”
    • 

  • “Identified service issues, revamped the company’s customer complaint procedure and raised customer satisfaction rates from 85% to 98%.”
    • 



When you cooperate on a project with several departments, when you independently locate a new vendor, when you calm an angry customer, when you establish a procedure where none existed before, when you train other employees, when you volunteer to serve a local nonprofit—you demonstrate soft skills that any company would prize.


Details Make Resumes Stronger


Details in your resume give recruiters confidence in your ability and make you stand out from the crowd.


Wherever possible, refer to exact numbers (“supervised a staff of four”), dollar amounts (“brought in $200,000 in new business”), titles (“selected by the VP of Operations”), company names (“acted as liaison to XY Co. and WZ Inc.”), locations (“traveled to vendors in China, Japan and Sri Lanka”) and quantifiable achievements (“ranked 3rd out of 14 sales people”). If you haven’t left your old job yet, now is the time to research and compile those details.


Suppose you are interviewing two plumbers. One plumber says, “I am a plumber.” The other plumber says, “I’ve been a licensed plumber since 1998. On my last job, I came in 10% below the estimate, and I always guarantee my work for six months.”


The plumber who gives you specific information certainly sounds like the stronger candidate. Resumes work the same way: the more specific the resume, the stronger it appears and the more likely it will land you an interview.


If you have trouble identifying places where details would help, contact Robin’s Resumes®. I have proven techniques for sharpening your resume and making it more attractive to recruiters.





    

    


    
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