September 15, 2014 Leave a Comment

Resume Writing Basics – Step 5: Completing Your Resume

This is the final post in my ongoing Resume Writing Basics series, which included the following:

an overview of the basics of resume writing, including an outline of the information to be included in a resume
a detailed description of the formatting needed to create an easy-to-read resume
tips for writing a Profile Summary that catches employers’ attention
a guide for outlining an impressive Employment History

All that remains is to list your education and training, and volunteer experience, if relevant. Most resumes also end off with a mention of references.

List your education and training

Most employers are impressed by the candidate’s education, regardless of whether it is directly related to the job, so it is always worthwhile to include your highest education, as well as any other degrees of certifications. The best format: the degree, the school and its location (e.g. Bachelor of Art, Ryerson University, Toronto).

It is generally not necessary to include dates, as these just give the employer too much information about your approximate age. However, if you just recently graduated and you want to explain the employer what you have been doing in the last few years, add dates and consider bringing the section up higher up in the resume, above the Employment History.

In addition to all your degrees, it may be useful to list any relevant courses or certification you might have obtained. This might include any on-the-job training, as well. List only courses that are relevant to your work.

Don’t leave off volunteer work

Employers tend to be impressed by involvement in community activities, so it’s well worth including it in the resume.

You can add it, using the same format recommended for Employment History under a separate heading, or you may include the volunteer jobs in your employment history. If you add your volunteer roles to your jobs, make sure to clearly indicate the volunteer jobs clearly as such.

Mention (but don’t include) your references

It is generally recommended that candidates do not include references in or with their resume. So, by way of reassuring the employer that you do have references and will share them when the right time comes (i.e. at the interview), you can add a line at the end that states something to the that “References are Available Upon Request” (One of my clients even cheekily stated that “Enthusiastic References are Available Upon Request”).

Final note..

For resume samples, there are some good online resources such as The Balance’s Sample Resumes, Monster.ca and WorkBloom. Keep in mind though, that resumes differ by industry, country and sector. This means that job seekers should thoroughly research the best resume formats by consulting with employers and employees who work in their target jobs, before finalizing the resume.

August 25, 2014 2 Comments

Resume Writing Basics – Step 4: How to Write an Impressive Employment History

Once your Profile Summary has been written for your resume, the next step — arguably the most important — is to showcase your work history in an easy to read, yet comprehensive way.

When reading through a work history, employers look for certain information.

Solid work history — that goes back 10-15 years, without too many unexplained gaps
Consistency — not too many job changes over a short period of time; employers are often suspicious of frequent hopping from one job to another
Career progression — evidence of being promoted from one position to another more senior one
Diverse skills — record of new skills being learned

[Read more…]

August 4, 2014 2 Comments

Resume Writing Basics – Step 3: Write an Eye Catching Profile Summary

Picture this: a hiring manager sits down at her desk to review the dozens of resumes which just arrived via email in reply to a job she just posted online. She decides to sort through them, quickly glancing through the top of the first page of each resume, looking for a few stand-out documents which catch her eye, as well as those which are easy to exclude.

Do you know what her reaction would be to your resume? Will she quickly find the words she’s seeking, or will she dismiss it as unimpressive and set it aside?

While it’s true that many of the larger employers sort through resumes using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), many of the small to medium size companies do not. Those companies rely on the ability of the hiring manager to identify the best candidate, based on their own perceptions and priorities. With limited time and more resumes than ever arriving on her desk, you can be pretty sure that decisions will be made in seconds after a brief glance through the resume.

A well laid out resume is important to create that first good impression, but when the hiring manager begins reading through the document, it is going to be important to capture her attention quickly. I am continually surprised to still see — even recently — that many candidates still use the old-fashioned objective statement at the top of their resumes which does not include any useful information, rather than a well written, concise profile summary, which we recommend.

What is a profile summary?

A profile summary shows “what is in it FOR THE EMPLOYER. It allows you more opportunities to showcase your talents; i.e. a snapshot of all of the great things you have done, all wrapped up in a bow at the top of your resume. So instead of employers having to search through your resume for the reasons to interview you – you make it easy for them by listing them right at the top, where it will be seen first.”

In essence, the summary is a brief introduction of the most important information an employer needs to know about you. It is similar to your answer to that dreaded interview question “tell me about yourself“, otherwise known as the seven second elevator speech, which we have also discussed before here; it also could also be included in your LinkedIn Summary.

What information should be included in the profile summary?

The summary should list about five points, written either in point form or as a paragraph. It should list the most important information that an employer should know about your professional background.

It could include any of these items:

– a suitable professional title, years of experience and expertise, e.g. “Highly respected Human Resource Manager, with over 10 years’ progressive experience working in the non-profit sector”

– relevant educational achievements and/or professional designations, e.g. “University educated and a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP)”

– the most important (core) skills and achievements, e.g. “Skilled negotiator, having successfully handled and resolved union disputes; knowledgeable on issues regarding payroll; designed and implemented professional staff development training”

– work values and principles, e.g. “Strong commitment to inclusive non-discrimination hiring practices”

– relevant personal characteristics, e.g. “Highly energetic, enthusiastic and confident”

– basic abilities

– relevant languages, computer software knowledge, driver’s license

How do I write the summary?

Read through job postings to which you are planning to apply and identify the qualifications listed by the employers. Use them as your guide — try to echo the employers priorities; for example, if they mention education first, then start your profile summary with your education. If they don’t mention education, leave it off the summary.

Make sure to load it with proper key words — don’t assume that the employer (or the the computerized Applicant Tracking System) knows your acronyms or abbreviations. Also, be specific — for example, if the employer asks for knowledge of Microsoft Word, don’t just say Microsoft Office — list the specific software that they are asking for.

To sum up…

Write approximately 5 sentences
Keep the sentences short, crisp and readable
Include your relevant background, skills, values and personality
Be specific
Use the correct key words, focusing on the priorities of employers

For inspiration, check out the almost 200 sample summaries in Susan Ireland’s resume site.

July 14, 2014 Leave a Comment

Resume Writing Basics – Step 2: Create an easy-to-read resume

How you present your resume can be just as important as what you say, if you want to attract the interest of an employer. At first glance, even before even reading the resume, an employer’s impression will be determined based on the appearance of the document: its length, font, neatness, ease of reading and clarity. In this digital age, the challenge is to create a document which is easily read both on a screen (which is how most employers read resumes presently) as well as on paper.

To make the best possible first visual impression with your resume:

1. Create a clear and distinct letterhead at the top of the first page of the resume (not in the document header, since headers are not always visible) which includes:

your name — not necessarily your legal name; it’s more important to provide the name by which you are identified at work
your address — most people list their full street address; if you prefer not to do so, at least mention your city and province/state
your contact information — cell and home phone and email address
additional sources of information about you, such as a LinkedIn URL, twitter handle or website URL

This letterhead has multiple uses beyond the resume — it can be used on the cover letter that goes with the resume, as well as on the Thank You letter you send after the interview. You can also write your references list which you present to employers at the interview on a letterhead.

2. Make it easy to read: space your lines well (not too densely packed) and neatly, with lots of white space, so not to overwhelm the reader, while still keeping the document to no longer than two pages in length.

3. Keep the formatting simple: don’t overuse the bold or italics, and stay away from underlining all together (underlining makes a word look like a link).

4. Avoid CAPITALIZATION, even for headers; caps look like yelling — and when you capitalize more than two words in a line, it becomes difficult to read.

5. Don’t use images or complicated symbols as bullets on a list; a simple dot or dash is sufficient.

6. Justify/align your spacing to the left — “full” justification sometimes leaves awkward spacing in some lines in a document.

7. Choose a font which is readable both on screen and on paper — consider using a clean, san-sarif font such as Verdana, Calibri, or Tahoma,and stay away from the predictable, too-often used fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman.

June 23, 2014 Leave a Comment

How Employers Identify the Best Person for the Job (and what job seekers can do to be that person)

A few weeks ago, I posted an article on LinkedIn, titled What do Employers Really Want in a Candidate? which seemed to really catch the attention of job seekers and employers alike. It described some of the unexpected skills which large employers such as Google and Apple value in candidates. The skills were surprisingly “soft”, focusing on personality traits and behaviours (which are generally more difficult to assess and identify), rather than the traditional (more measurable) “hard” skills such as technical abilities and knowledge.

These included:

the ability to learn as you go
taking initiative when appropriate
humility and self-criticalness
confidence
ownership / responsibility
collaborativeness
adaptability
friendliness
enthusiasm
helpfulness

In the responses to my article, a number of job seekers asked how they could convince potential employers that they have the requisite soft skills. A few employers also commented, wondering what they could do to identify these in candidates. The discussion was so robust that I thought I’d share some of the ideas in this follow-up post.

Identifying and evaluating personal attributes is not an easy task. For employers, the concern is whether candidates are being honest about their abilities, or whether – in their desperation to find work – candidates are telling employers whatever they think the employer would like to hear. Candidates on the other hand, worry about how to ensure that employers will be able to discover their soft skills and whether their skills will be genuinely valued.

Drawn from the comments to my original post, here are recommendations to help employers identify candidates who can bring the best personal attributes to a job, as well as tips to help job seekers communicate those skills to employers:

1. A well thought through and detailed job posting which clearly describes the preferences, values and priorities of the employer, both in terms of hard and soft skills is an important first step. It allows candidates to self-select based on the qualifications listed in the posting, as well as to begin thinking what they might want to share with employers. While some employers express reluctance to list the soft skills (calling them “obvious”), candidates and recruiters seem to appreciate this insight into corporate culture and values.

[Job seekers: take careful note of the wording, priorities and even the order in which the qualifications are listed in the posting. Make sure that your resume and cover letter address the listed qualifications very specifically. Start thinking of examples of your work that demonstrate the priority skills.]

2. Resumes are the first opportunity for candidates to share their vision of themselves in their own words. However, a number of employers and recruiters remarked that the computerized Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which are commonly used to scan resumes for keywords, often do not include the soft skills, and cautioned employers to rethink their methods of sorting through applicants if they want to identify these types of personal skills.

[Job seekers: think carefully through your soft skills and identify 3-5 skills about which you feel most confident; make sure to include them on your resume, both in your profile summary as well as in descriptions of your duties and examples of achievements in your various jobs.]

3. A personal referral from a well-respected colleague or employee is probably the most effective way for employers to learn more about the personality and soft skills of a candidate. The simple act of referral comes with an implicit recommendation for the candidate’s personal as well as technical skills.

[Job seekers: network actively, especially with people who already know your work and character. Remember that referrals are meaningless (and unlikely) if they come from people who don’t know you well enough to attest to your character. Take opportunities such as volunteering to showcase your abilities to people from whom you could get referrals and recommendations later.]

4. Thoughtful Interviews, which encourage candidates to share specific and concrete examples from their work history to demonstrate their skills, are the most effective way for employers to get to know candidates better and to assess their soft skills. A number of employers and recruiters recommended that interviewers ask open-ended behavioural type questions such as: “What is it that you can count on from yourself to always get you through tough situations, no matter what? Can you give us an example of when this worked for you?” or, “What irritates you about yourself?” to encourage candidates to be more open.

Also, the ways in which candidates handle the interview is also very telling about their attitude and personality, including their punctuality, how they handle difficult questions, their ability to solve problems in the interview, whether they are able to be self-critical and or able to accept feedback.

[Job seekers: think through how you would answer behavioural questions, including questions about your weaknesses and strengths. Remember to identify examples from your work history that demonstrate your strengths, especially those that refer to your soft personal skills, such as the ones listed here. Practice telling the stories that demonstrate those skills. Also, remember that how you behave during an interview speaks louder than words: demonstrate your friendliness, your ability to be self-critical yet confident, your enthusiasm. Finally, consider asking employers which skills and attributes they value in a candidate, and ask for feedback about how well you fit with their expectations.]

5. Reference checks can be an opportunity for employers to ask questions about the attitude and personality of the candidate. Questions about the candidate’s relationships on the job, their teamwork style, as well as a description of their weaknesses are particularly useful to help clarify soft skills.

[Job seekers: choose your referees carefully and communicate with them once you have provided their names to potential employers. Make sure they understand which skills and personality traits are important to you and the employer, and — if possible — help them identify examples from your work that demonstrate your personal strengths. Also, gather LinkedIn Recommendations which speak about your personality — ask the people who are recommending you to mention your soft skills].

Ultimately, an ideal hiring process would encourage mutual openness and dialog to enable employers to see beyond resumes and keywords into candidates’ authentic character and values. Many of us, both job seekers and employers, are encouraged to see that companies such as Apple and Google are beginning to do just that. Let’s hope this trend continues to grow and be adopted by more companies of all sizes and industries.