5 Things that Kill Your Resume

 Most HR departments, even those smaller businesses get hundreds and maybe thousands of resumes a week. The bigger the company, the more that pour in. 

Seriously? They can't respond to everyone or they'd have no time to read the next one. However here's some things that will put you at the bottom of the heap. 

1. Spelling mistakes. Tell me you were a secretary and spell it secratary and that goes in the trash. If you can't even run a spell check or have someone look at your resume then what will you do when or if you're hired? 

2. No dates. Every work experience should be dated. Don't tell me you worked for this place but with no dates I have no idea if you worked there last week or ten years ago. I also need to know how long you worked there; Dec 2019 - Nov 2021. 

3. If you have a work gap with a good reason, tell me why. Did you quit to have a baby? Were you moving? Did the company close? Tell me. If I see big gaps in that resume I have to wonder if you just don't want to work. I once worked 3 months for a company and they shut their doors due to a conflict with the partners. My resume read; Jan 2003 - April 2003 (Company closed) 

4. Put that work history in order from newest to oldest. If  have to jump around on the page to figure it out I'm moving on to the resume that is easier to read. 

5. Read the job requirements carefully. If you apply for a job as an artist or writer they might have asked for samples of your work. No samples? In the trash. You evidently can't follow instructions. 

So here's 5 things that will kill your chances for an interview. Check and double check your resume. 

Good luck out there! 

Job Search & Covid-19

 There has never been a bigger challenge for the job seeker since the Great Depression but there are still jobs out there.  You just have to find that little something extra that puts YOU in front of the crowd.  Here's a few tips to make your resume/interview rock their world. 

Aside from skills needed to do the job, those listed in that long ad from the company, recruiters also look for other things. 

• Appearance. No one wants to sit next to a slob so put some effort into your interview look. Wear your best and most conservative outfit. (Yes, I used the word conservative! Yikes!) This is important even for the jobs where you won't be required to dress in suits and ties. Putting effort into your clothing shows the company you respect them, that you're seriously trying to put your best forward. 
• Cleanliness. Shower, brush your hair & teeth. Yes, you'd be surprised what walks through the door. Back to; No one wants to sit next to a slob, especially a smelly one. 
• Clean up your resume. If there's a gap don't be afraid to step up and say why. Were you home raising kids? Going to school? Note; Whatever you say don't say you were in jail. That's probably a deal breaker.  See tips for resumes here
• Research that company. In an interview one of the top questions is, What do you know of our company? This is a test. Are you here because you know and like what we do or are you just hitting all the companies hoping someone hires you. They want you to appreciate what they do. They want to hire someone who will care about the job. Your research shows them you took the time to find out who they really are under the name.
• Don't be afraid to tell them your skills. What are you good at? Computer work? What programs can you ace? Or customer service skills? Go prepared with a short story on how you helped someone. Think about these things before going into your interview so you don't freeze up because you're nervous. 
• Be polite and watch your language. Don't answer a question with "yeah." The word is "yes." Say thank you no matter how the interview went. Tell them you appreciate them taking the time to see you. 
• Bring questions. They want someone interested in the job so don't be afraid to ask things like; What would a normal work day look like? What's the biggest challenge for this job? These give you openings to say things like, "Good, I like to keep busy." Or "This sounds really interesting, I love a job that challenges me." 

Hang in there. 

There are jobs out there and you will find one. Just don't give up. Don't be afraid to take a job just beneath your skill level that has room for growth. Get the job and then impress them with your knowledge and skills. 

A Day in the Life of a Recruiter

In office by 9 am, sometimes earlier.

• Review interviews that are scheduled for the day and reread the resumes

• Listen to phone messages

• Open email

• Print out the incoming resumes

• Forward them to our resume tracking system

• Date stamp each resume 

• Return any phone messages

• Separate resumes into job catagory

• Get out the pen and highlighter and read every resume 

• Good ones are put in one pile, unqualified go in a separate pile to send  regrets reply

For each resume;

• Check dates first. How long did they work in each place? Mark it; 2y, 6m, 12y, etc. 

• Job hoppers? (Less than a year at each job) Look for an explanation on resume or in cover letter. Temp work? Stay at home mom? Recent move? No reason? Regrets pile

• Read the skills and highlight matches on every resume 

• Make three piles Good match & Great match and maybe resumes. Maybe's are not well written, but have possibilities. Put aside to call after better resumes are processed

• Go to lunch

• Start calling great matches then good matches

• Phone interviews

• Set interviews for those who pass the phone interview

• Check email for new resumes

Remember, throughout the day the recruiter is also doing interviews, meetings, processing paperwork, answering return calls from yesterday, checking on new hires, and other HR responsibilities.

Good luck in your job hunt! 

Why I Ditched that Resume

There are a lot of reasons Recruiters stop reading a resume. Here's the short list;

1. Not capitalizing your name. Really! I've seen this a hundred times. Unless you're e.e. cummings, proper grammar is extremely important to your entire resume. Not capitalizing the first letters of your first and last name? I don't read any further; resume ditched.  Think of it this way, your resume is like a first meeting. You should want to shine, be out to impress. Stupid mistakes makes me think if this is your best, why would I want you on my team?

2. Long lists of skills. I want to see where you worked, dates and name of company and then a bullet-ed list of what you did there. BULLETS! Don't give me long rambling sentences. Just the facts!
I have limited time and reading resumes is not my only task. I've got a lot of stuff to do and if your resume is a bunch of rambling paragraphs I'll start to skim, looking for key words and I might miss something. A bullet-ed list lets me see what I need to see and saves time.

3. No longer than 2 pages. The other day I got a 10 page resume. I skimmed the first two pages and ditched it. This person evidently doesn't know how to write a resume, never took the time to Google it and now I have a book to read. Um...no.

4. Read the job description. I get resumes for construction management that say; I'm looking for a teaching position where I can use my skills....  Hello! You didn't read the job. I imagine a person sitting there just clicking through to every job on indeed and hitting the send resume button. Or maybe they haven't looked at that resume in a long time.

5. Explain the gaps. If you haven't worked in the last two years, tell me why. I see gaps and wonder. Sure, the reason could be understandable; stay at home mom, studied overseas for a year, husband/wife got a new position and you had to move, etc. Could be anything, but letting me know will save your resume from the discard pile.

6. Short work periods. Dates of how long you held a job is the first thing I look for when reading a resume. People who change jobs every few months are called job hoppers. No staying power. On one resume the person only worked in a place for 3 months but next to that they wrote, "Partners split up, company closed." That's reasonable. It makes sense, that resume got a second look because they had a good explanation. Maybe your significant other was in the service and you had to move around a lot or they were jobs from a temp agency. Tell me and save your chance at that interview.

Okay, that's a quick list of resume killers. Good luck in your job hunt!

Resume Killers

Some resumes kill themselves as soon as I open the document. Here's the list -

• 
  WRITE THE WHOLE THING IN CAPITALS
• Capitals in the digital world represents SHOUTING. It's annoying to read and makes the resume hard to read.
• Not bullet-ing your job responsibilities 
• Long run on lines of print slows down my process. I have between 30 to 50 resumes to get through in a addition to the phone calls and interviews I have scheduled for that day. Give me a clear, easy to read bullet-ed list.
• Give me the facts
• Don't say you were the best salesman in the region, tell me your stats. I want to see exactly what you did to be the "best" salesman, technician, or office worker
• Make your list count
• I see a lot of resumes that just give me the name of the place you worked. Yeah? So what? Show me what you did there in that bullet-ed list. Think about your day to day tasks and start there. Show me your skills
• Don't forget your dates
• If you list where you worked with no dates I have no idea if you worked there two days or two years. Show me you have staying power in the jobs

Next up? The phone call and how important it is in getting that job.

Resume Killers

What stops the Recruiter from reading your resume? Here's the top reasons they toss you in the "No Thank You" pile. 

Not Capitalizing Your Name
     I've seen this too many times. Name in all lower case, first name capitalized and last name lower case. I really need people who can at least write their name correctly. This shows lack of basic skill or just a total disregard for the job. If you really wanted it, you'd actually read what you wrote before sending it to me.

Grammar or Spelling Mistakes
     Come on! We all have spell check today. There's no reason for this except that you threw something together quickly and didn't care. I need people who won't embarrass us in front of our customers. I want people who know the little things count.

No Company Name
    You say you were an administrative assistant from January 2015 to July 2017 but don't give a name of the company where you worked. So, I'm thinking either you didn't really have a job, or there's a reason you don't want me to know where you worked.

Job Hopping
     If you were only at each job two months at a time a red flag goes up. Why were you moving around so much? Were you fired or do you repeatedly quit? Either way I'm done.  If you were working for a temp agency, put that down. Let me know the reason you had to move so often. If the reason is good, I'll understand.

Keep these things in mind and go update that resume. The jobs are out there. Your resume is the first thing companies see so make it a good one. Sell your skills and experience.
Good luck in that job search!

Phone Interviews - Why do they do this?

Phone interviews can be scary for the candidate, but can translate so much information to the recruiter. Yes, it can catch a person off guard, but that's not why we do it. I liked your resume, but know that it's almost impossible to put everything on a page or two. Maybe I want more information on something or just want to talk about what you are expecting from possible employment. Don't panic. If you're qualified and a good fit, you'll do fine.

First thing I ask is if the person has time to talk. What I really mean is; are you working now and maybe don't want to talk where your present employer can hear? It's okay to call me back. I understand.

Depending on your resume and cover letter, I might ask;

What are your responsibilities where you work now?

How do you handle challenges at work?

What do you know about our company?

Where do you want to be in five years?

Why do you want to leave your present job?

Or if you are presently unemployed; How did you leave your last job?

Do you have any questions for me?

There are no magic answers. Be honest. Think about it, you want this new job to be the perfect fit for you, too.

Depending on the answers, my schedule, and how many other "great" resumes I'm calling that day, I might ask you to come in. Sometimes I just put you in the "good possibility" pile to get back to after I make all my calls.  Or after my training schedule next week, or maybe I'm going to be out for a few days. Recruiting is an ongoing adventure. Sometimes I put you on the bench. It's a file that I might not need right at this moment but I really liked the resume so I'm saving you for that perfect job that sooner or later will open up.

When you get a phone interview remember;

1. Go to a quiet place where you can talk without interruption
2. Stay calm 
3. Think about your answers  
4. Be honest
5. Be polite
6. Make sure you know where you sent your resume
7. Don't be afraid to ask if you can call back later

Good luck with your job search!