Good references are important to any job search; but you need to know when and how to offer them. In the United States, references do not belong on a resume. First, you want to protect the privacy of your references; resumes go out to the world. Second, you want time to alert your references to the call or email they may receive. If your references are listed on your resume, you lose control. Employers assume you can give them references… Read More
What Not to Say in a Resume
Some resume mistakes are easy to find: you typed “manger” instead of “manager” or you transposed the numbers on your zip code. But what about this job description on the fourth page of a resume: “Kept books for our company for 5 years before it went out of business due to poor economy.” That one sentence is guilty of several mistakes: Using the first person word (I, me, my, we, us, our) in a resume. The first person is fine in… Read More
Taking Your Job Hunt Online
Paper resumes are still a valuable job hunting tool. Almost all of the current generation of Human Resource managers grew up in the era of paper and still prefer it. But you need to consider posting an online resume also. It widens your job hunting reach, and it gives you a professional presence on the Internet. Many companies will research you online even after receiving your paper resume. When posting an online resume, make sure: The online information is consistent… Read More
Resume Style Insights
A graphic designer asked an online forum if she should highlight her skills by creating a unique design for her resume. Every hiring manager who responded answered, “No!” They wanted a resume formatted for easy reading, scanning and printing. If a professional graphic designer has to reign in her artistic talent, you should, too. That means: Using a standard font like Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica If you wander away from standard fonts, the computer that receives your resume… Read More
