Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
If you’re just starting out in your chosen profession and you’re faced with having little professional experience to offer an employer, there are ways to maximize what you do have.
1. Focus on Academics in the Chosen Field or Relevant Training:
Rather than placing education or training last, as is the case in most resumes, move that section directly beneath the Opening Summary (and before Professional Experience). Within that section, (whether you’re a recent graduate or a seasoned professional transitioning to a new career), list all coursework that is relevant to your new profession. For example, an aspiring Accountant would list tax courses, finance, bookkeeping, and computer proficiency in Quicken, Excel, and Peachtree software. If you’ve excelled academically in your chosen field, and have been granted a scholarship or won a school award, this should also be mentioned.
2. Choose a Resume Format that will Emphasize Your Skills, Rather than your Lack of Experience:
Although most employers do prefer a reverse-chronological format (that is, your most recent experience detailed first, followed by your next most recent, etc.), there are times when a functional format is best. Functional formats showcase professional skills learned in school (or on the job). These formats can also stress pure academic experience – in the case of an entry-level Accountant that would mean listing coursework taken or specialized training under the subheading of Accounting Skills.
3. Build your Skills List for the New Career by Studying Job Postings from Online Sources (HotJobs, Dice, etc.):
Match up any qualifications the hiring manager wants that you also have learned academically. Then use those matches as proof that you have what it takes to get the job done.
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
What do you do if you have gaps between jobs? It’s not that you decided to drop out for a while to find your inner self. Perhaps you were laid off at the beginning of this historic recession and like millions of others have had difficulty finding a job in your industry or in a new area. Perhaps you had a baby and took some time off. Maybe you suffered an injury or had to take care of an aging parent. Whatever the situation, many people have employment gaps for very legitimate reasons. A resume doesn’t explain why the gaps are there and employers often don’t take the time to find out. How do you get past this?
If you have gaps in your employment history, consider highlighting what you did during your time off. Perhaps some volunteering, part-time consulting, or freelance work encompassed the skills or experience the company is looking for.
You could also use a functional resume rather than a reverse-chronological resume. When you write a functional resume, you list your skills as they apply to a specific job. With this format, your resume explains what you can do, what you have learned, and what precise abilities you bring to a new job. Although not many job applicants use this format, it is often far more effective than the reverse-chronological resume in answering the prospective employer’s most important question: “What skills do you have and how can they help me in my company?” This format is especially effective for job hoppers, career changers, people just entering the job market who have little work experience, and applicants who have been out of the job market for an extended length of time.
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO TAILORING A RESUME:
1. Use online resources to determine job requirements within the targeted industry: Search online job sites such as HotJobs or online versions of newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times for employment openings. Then match your skills/knowledge/abilities to their requirements.
2. Prioritize data within the resume that meets the requirements stated within the job opening. Don’t hope that hiring managers will search for this data – they won’t.
3. Determine what’s most important to the employer – educational background or professional experience – and list it in that order: The key is to place relevant information first.
4. Pull out industry jargon (also known as keywords) from the job posting. Failure to provide keywords, especially when submitting to large corporations that use scanning software, will result in the resume being dismissed.
5. Use the appropriate formatting and tone as it relates to the targeted job: A conservative approach would be employed at law and accounting firms. The entertainment field or high fashion world would warrant a more stylish/casual approach.
6. Include ONLY what is relevant to the targeted position.
No Comments yet; your thoughts are welcome.
Category: Curriculum Vitae (CV), Entry Level, Executive, Job Search, Professional, Resume, Tips | Tags: Tags: meeting employer expectations, Resume, resume format strengths, resume tips, updating skills,
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Private sector resumes demand clear language that even those outside of a candidate’s industry can easily understand.
For example, a Certified Public Accountant who works with non-profit companies and the self-employed would not write:
- Oversaw 501 (c)(3) accounts; provided 1099s to meet government regulations.
A non-accountant would be mystified when reading the above. A better way to present the same data would be:
- Oversaw non-profit – 501 (c)(3) – accounts; provided self-employment tax forms (1099s) to relevant parties to avoid IRS related fines and penalties.
One government site – The Defense Finance and Accounting Service – suggests the following:
Using Appropriate Terminology
Use plain English. Write your resume as though you are submitting it for review by someone who has no technical understanding of the kind of work done in positions you may have previously held. Imagine that you are explaining what you have done and the skills you have used to a friend who has never worked in the same kind of jobs as you.
Describe the knowledge and skills you possess and the duties you have performed using terminology common to the general occupational field. Describe skills and experience in universally accepted terms that could be readily understood in both the public and private sectors.
Minimize the use of acronyms in your resume narrative. If you must use them, explain what they represent, what processes or systems they describe, and how you have used the knowledge, skills, or abilities associated with them.
The following examples demonstrate ways “technical goulash” can be translated into something understandable for both the Resume Builder and staffing specialists:
BAD: Use IATS to process travel vouchers.
BETTER: Use an automated financial system, IATS, to compute and process travel reimbursements for transportation, meals, lodging, and similar entitlements.
BAD: Process vouchers and issue a variety of disbursements using SRD1.
BETTER: Using knowledge of disbursing principles and procedures, examine requests for payments to individual military and civilian employees, private sector vendors, and other public agencies. Perform a quality control review to ensure that these requests are in order, assign appropriate accounting classifications, and prepare checks or electronic transfer payments. Use an automated disbursing system, SRD1, to accomplish these actions.
This straight forward, three sentence paragraph might be sufficient to describe all of the major duties performed by a disbursing clerk or technician position.
BAD: Assist functionals in writing SCRs. Develop interfaces and serve as the POC for all EC initiatives.
BETTER: Work with functional users of automated financial and accounting systems to help identify needed changes and to write system change requests (SCRs). Write computer programs to enable automated systems to interface and to communicate with each other. Serve as the primary contact for automated electronic commerce (EC) systems and improvements.
Descriptions of duties performed, knowledge used, and skills applied in accomplishing those duties should be simple and straightforward, descriptive, and reduced to only essential information. When finished writing a paragraph, it is helpful to stop and ask yourself the following questions:
Would a third party who is not familiar with my occupational background understand the kind of work that I do?
Is there nonessential information (nice to have, but not helpful in meeting mandatory qualification requirements) in what I have written?
Have I omitted any unique, but relevant special experience or skills I possess that might distinguish me from other candidates if my resume reaches the desk of a selecting official?
Have I adequately described the major characteristics of my occupation or background and skills that are most common to my occupation?
