Job Hunting

Continuing to cite resume and cover-letter aspects of Alison Greens excellent slideshow-style article on what hiring managers really want in which each slide represents an article shes written in the past:

Your résumé is for experience and accomplishments only, Green declares. Its not the place for subjective traits, like great leadership skills or creative innovator. I ignore anything subjective that an applicant writes about herself, because so many peoples self-assessments are wildly inaccurate and I dont yet know enough about the candidate to have any idea if hers is reliable or not.

Now, if you can substantiate those subjective claims with accomplishments-driven facts and metrics, you may convince the reader. F

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Your resume should conveys your distinctiveness, passion, and unique understanding of the business environment. It must answer the employers question: Why you over any other candidate? Clearly, uniqueness is closely related to both branding and focus. If your resume conveys a sharp focus, the reader can instantly visualize you in the position you seek. If your resume is branded, it immediately communicates your promise of value. The uniqueness factor takes your resume to the next level by portraying you as not only in the position but the best person for the position, even the only logical choice for the position.

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CONCISE: Forget the debate about should a resume be 1 page, 2 pages, or can it be more. For each person the answer is dependant on what they bring to the table in terms of knowledge, experience, education, skills and achievements and how they choose to get this information across. For me a 1 page resume is optimum for those in the earlier stages of their career; 2 pages is best for job seekers with 10+ years experience who have a lot to offer, and some cases require going beyond 2 pages to get the full message across, and I have no problem with that.

No matter how many pages you have, the key to success is to be concise with your sentences words and avoid useless information.

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College students often question whether they should list college coursework on their resumes.

• Probably not unless it contributes something different from what any other student in your major would offer an employer.
• You can also list coursework if you have very little else to include on your resume and need some padding.
• Note: It is better to list major course projects you completed rather than names of the classes themselves.
• Similarly, dont list course numbers; they will mean nothing to readers outside your university.

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume is in a functional format or otherwise lacks dates. Employers do not like functional formats or even chrono-functional because they want to see dates and get a clear picture of how your career has progressed. I ignore resumes that do not include dates, said Miriam Torres, president of HRStaff Consulting, an executive-search firm in Miami Beach, FL.

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