Resume Writing

Tips from the Pros

Aug

Your Resume … just how important is it?

When the time comes to looking for a job, your resume is by far the most important link between you and your potential new job. Once you interview and are given the two greatest words of “you’re hired,” your resume becomes a worthless document. That is, until years later when you decide you want a new challenge, and you reach back into the drawer, dust off the resume and start again.

In a recent college poll, over 90% of college students said they had no idea about how to write a good resume. Even more alarming was that 95% of the students interviewed did not list achievements on their resumes.

In the current economic climate, it is imperative that your resume is not only structured and formatted correctly, but that it is also easy to read and pleasing to the eye. For every single job you apply for, there are potentially 100, 200, and maybe even 300 other people with similar skills who are applying for the very same position. With so many applications it’s no wonder that a candidate who has written an incorrect resume is not getting the interview requests.

In my experience, the main reason candidates finds their applications continually rejected has nothing to do with their skills or experience (or even with the lack of skills or experience) – it is because their resumes are just not good enough to get them an interview.

Don’t let this happen to you. If writing your resume is stressing you out, think about using a professional resume writer. Many applicants these days use professionals to help them get a leg in front of their competition. Remember – your resume is the most important tool you have to get a job. A professional writer knows how to highlight your strengths and portray this on your resume. In the competitive world we live in, you need to be one step ahead of your competition. A professional writer can help take your resume to the top of the pile.

Tags: college student job, cover letter tips, graduate job, graduate resume, interview tips, interviewing, job interview, resume tips, student resume, successful job interview, telephone interview, writing a resume

Jul

Instant Resume Killers

By RedStarResume No comments yet

Want to cause a recruiter to toss your resume instantly? When an employer is faced with several – possibly hundreds – of applications, he or she will try to narrow this list down quickly. Making one of the following mistakes can get your resume tossed in just a matter of seconds.

1. No cover letter attached

This is not a good start to any job application. Failing to include a cover letter instantly means that you have failed to put in that extra 10 minutes of effort, and this is never a good thing. A lot of recruiters delete their first round of applicants simply because they have not included a cover letter.

2. Applying for the wrong job

It happens all the time – candidates get so caught up in applying to as many jobs as possible that they accidentally send their resume sand cover letters to the wrong people. When a recruiter sees that a cover letter has been accidentally addressed to the wrong company, it will get tossed immediately.

3. A bad picture on a resume (especially an inappropriate one)

It’s true that different resume standards apply to different countries. That being said, some countries are more accepting (and encouraging) of pictures on resumes than others, however please stick to professional-looking photos only – you are applying for a job after all. There is no need to include a picture of yourself posing in a tank top or drinking with friends. Better to stick to no picture at all.

4. Providing little to no details about your work experience

Employers want you to be as specific as possible with regards to your qualifications, and therefore you should provide an adequate amount of information. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people list their job titles ONLY under “work experience”, and that will just not cut it. Once an employer sees that you’ve provided little to no detail on your experience, they will immediately delete your resume.

Laura is the Marketing Coordinator for RedStarResume, a business that provides resume and cover letter writing services for students, graduates and young professionals.

http://www.bestresponseresume.com
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RedStarResume

Tags: college student job, cover letter tips, cover letter writing, expert resume, graduate jobs, graduate resumes, how to find a job, how to write a resume, need a job, resume example, resume writing, student resume, successful job interview, writing a resume

Jul

How to make sure you WON’T get hired!

By RedStarResume No comments yet

The Job search market can be a tricky place to navigate. Whether you are just starting out, moving up the ladder or changing your current situation, RedStarResume have all the resources to help improve your chances of success. http://www.bestresponseresume.com/

Tags: 2010 graduates, cover letter, cover letter secrets, cover letter tips, cv writing, graduate job, graduate resume, graduate resumes, graduates in 2010, how to write a resume, interviewing, student jobs, student resume, successful job interview, writing a resume

Jul

Job Interview Killers

By RedStarResume No comments yet

When it comes to your job interview, you want to leave it with nothing but positive energy. You want to leave the interviewer thinking that you will most certainly be a positive addition to his or her company. The last thing you want to do is to kill your chances with a simple mistake or two. While there are a number of ways to prepare for a successful interview, there are also a number of ways to quickly end your chances of getting hired. Below are some simple things to avoid during an interview:

Showing up late: This is not only rude, but it also reflects poorly on your work ethic. Do you routinely show up late? Are you someone who can’t be counted on? Don’t disqualify yourself before even meeting the interviewer.

Forgetting to turn your cell phone off (or keeping it on silent): Having a cell phone ring during an interview is not only disruptive – it’s also disrespectful. While it may not be an automatic interview-killer, it certainly won’t improve your chances.

Chewing gum: This looks/sounds unprofessional and tacky. No employer appreciates someone talking to them with a mouthful of gum. It’s even worse if you’re someone who chews loudly without even realizing.

Using “I don’t know” as a response to questions: The purpose of an interview is to provide the interviewer with more information about you. The more you give them, the better.

Using slang or profanity: This is never a positive in the workplace. Speak professionally.

Bringing up personal problems: An interview is about the job in question and about your specific qualifications, not about your personal life. While you will almost always be asked to talk a little bit about yourself, try to keep the personal talk to a minimum. Certainly don’t bring up any “issues” that will raise red flags.

These “killers” may seem a little obvious, but they happen all the time. Avoid these mistakes and you’re already ahead of a large part of the competition.

Good Luck!

Laura is the Marketing Coordinator for RedStarResume.

Tags: asking for a raise, college student job, cover letter tips, cover letter writing, expert resume, graduate, graduate jobs, graduate resume, how to write a resume, interview tips, interviewing, job interview, job interviews, need a job, resume, resume writing, successful job interview, telephone interview

Jun

How Far Back Should Your Resume Go?

By RedStarResume No comments yet

I recently came across a resume that listed a summer cashier position in 1976 as part of a person’s “professional experience.” While it may seem a little strange or ridiculous to include an irrelevant position from nearly 25 years ago, I can tell you that it’s actually not that uncommon to come across something like this. A lot of people think that they literally need to include everything they’ve ever been involved with on their resumes, and I can assure you that not only do you not have to follow suit, you also don’t really need to go back any longer than 10 years.

The main goal of your resume should be to impress the reader with the specific qualifications and experiences that make you fit to be hired for a desired position. That being said, the reader is most interested in what you have done recently, not in what you did over 10 years ago. The bulk of your resume should be devoted to the last few years of your working history – this is what potential employers want to know about.

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably held a number of jobs over time if you include the part-time and casual positions. If wrote a little bit about each one of these, your resume would probably near the 4 page mark on experience alone. Considering it shouldn’t be longer than 2 pages, this is far from ideal.

When it comes to listing your professional experiences, stick to the most recent and relevant positions. There is no need to include everything, and writing about too much will sometimes blur your positions together and detract from your real qualifications. Unless you’ve held the same position for over 10 years, there is really no reason to go back any longer than this, and employers don’t even expect to go back that far on your resume anyway. If you do have quite an extensive work history of relevant positions, focus on the most recent ones and then simply list the earlier positions under a new category for “previous or other employment.”

Just remember that there is such a thing as “too much” on a resume. Focus on what the hiring manager wants to see, not on how much information you can cram onto it.

Laura is the Marketing Coordinator for RedStarResume, a business that provides resume and cover letter writing services for students, graduates and young professionals.

http://www.bestresponseresume.com

Tags: 2010 graduates, cv writing, expert resume, graduate resume, graduates in 2010, how to write a resume, internship, job interview, resume tips, successful job interview, writing a resume

Jun

What Spelling and Grammar Check Won’t Pick Up on Your Resume

By RedStarResume No comments yet

You’ve probably been told over and over that the use of proper spelling and grammar are extremely important on your resume and that one little mistake can ruin your chances at obtaining a particular job. It seems to me that these warnings are given out all the time. When I ask people to tell me the number one mistake on a resume, they almost always say that it’s bad spelling and/or grammar. This really makes me wonder because it’s pretty rare that I come across an error-free resume. There always seems to be something, whether it’s a misspelled word or a missing comma. The best explanation I can come up with is that people today seem to rely a little too much on spell and grammar check programs.

Spelling and grammar check programs are great in many ways, and they seem to pick up a lot of common mistakes. For example, they automatically add apostrophes to words like “can’t” when you forget to put one in there. Or they might automatically capitalize the word “I.” They also do a good job at highlighting some clearly misspelled words. Despite all of these benefits, however, programs like these should not be seen as flawless. There are tons of things they can miss, and below are a few examples:

Same word, different spelling: Some words sound exactly alike, but have different spellings with entirely different meanings. Spell check will not pick up when these words are used improperly. These words could include: then, than, your, you’re, too, to, two, their, there, are, our… and this is only naming a few.

Word choice: Did you know, for example, that the words “which” and “that” can not exactly be used interchangeably?

Punctuation: Comma omissions and unnecessary commas are usually not picked up.

Overall structure of your resume: Is your resume written in past or present tense? Or are the tenses all over the place? Consistency is something these programs won’t notice.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use these programs – they are useful in many situations. I’m saying that you shouldn’t rely solely on them to check over your resume because they aren’t foolproof. It’s important to check and re-check it yourself and to then also show it to a couple of friends and see what they can find. We sometimes rely on computers to do too much for us, and we forget that they aren’t even close to flawless. Don’t underestimate the capabilities of the human eye.

Laura is the Marketing Coordinator for RedStarResume, a business that provides resume and cover letter writing services for students, graduates and young professionals.

http://www.bestresponseresume.com

Tags: 2010 graduates, cover letter, cv writing, expert resume, graduate, graduate resume, graduate resumes, how to write a resume, internship, job interview, resume tips, student resume, successful job interview, writing a resume

May

Intern, Travel, Volunteer – What are the best ways for students to spend their summers?

By RedStarResume No comments yet

• Internship:
Internships provide opportunities for students to gain experience in their chosen fields, determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or earn school credit. Although you may feel that graduation is still a long way off, if you can gain experience in your chosen area, you will help to reduce the challenge of interviewing post-graduation without any real work experience. Remember there are at least 3 summers as a college student. If you can make use of at least one of them it will put you in a good position when your time comes to graduate.

• Travelling:
Travel and experience the world! Broaden your mind and experience different cultures and traditions. From the beaches of Australia to the jungles of Brazil, the memories you gain while travelling are priceless and you just never know who you’re going to meet along the way. Go see the world while you can – you have the rest of your life to work!

• Volunteering:
Volunteer your time for free. This could include working for free for a company related to your field of interest or sacrificing your time to help others (there’s no better feeling than helping those less fortunate than ourselves). In the long-term, volunteering looks great on your resume, and it could open doors for future opportunity. Remember to network. This is by far the most important advice to give a student.

• Combine travelling and working:
Find a job or internship in a foreign country. Perhaps learn a new language. You never know the opportunities that can present themselves.

• Spend time with your family and friends

• Get some exercise, stay healthy and active!

Whatever you decide, just make sure you have fun and enjoy yourself.

To view all “Tips from the Pros” Check out our website www.redstarresume.com

Tags: 2010 graduates, college student job, dream job, graduate jobs, graduate resume, graduates in 2010, intern, internship, resume writing, student internship, successful job interview, volunteer, writing a resume

May

Ever have one of those days?

By RedStarResume No comments yet

Tags: 2010 graduates, boss, cover letter, graduate job, graduate resume, how to write a resume, interviewing, job, job search, resume writing, successful job interview

Apr

How to Avoid Spelling and Grammar Mistakes on Your Resume

By RedStarResume 1 comment

It’s common knowledge that spelling and grammar mistakes can be extremely damaging to your resume’s chances of landing you a job interview. Everyone seems to be aware of this fact, and this is why they are constantly reminded to check and then recheck their resumes.

So then why are these mistakes found all the time on resumes? A lot of times, people are reluctant to share and have their resumes edited by others, and failing to do so can result in small errors going undetected.

Showing your resume to someone else benefits you in more ways than one. For one, it provides an extra pair of eyes to look for any spelling of grammar mistakes. While you may be absolutely positive that there are none, especially since you’ve edited it numerous times, it can’t hurt! I can tell you from experience that 7 out of the 10 resumes I read contain some sort of spelling error, and I’m willing to bet that most of these people did several edits on their resumes.

Have you ever read something so many times that you started memorizing and reciting it more than actually reading it? This happens a lot with resumes. We get so caught up in what we think it says that we sometimes forget how this translates onto paper. I notice a lot of times that people write things like “… responsible updating data…” or “…selected represent the company at various trade shows.” If you just read that for the first time, you probably noticed that a few words are missing there. Obvious, right? Read it a few more times and you might find yourself automatically inserting the missing words. This is what happens quite often with people who write and then edit and re-edit their resumes.

Showing your resume to someone else eliminates the chances of this happening as they will be more likely to catch small mistakes like these. They can also provide an objective critique on your resume.

While you clearly know more about your past experience than anyone, translating this onto paper for a stranger to understand is sometimes very difficult, and the person critiquing it can point out any job descriptions that don’t make sense or aren’t very clear.

Overall, having another person or two look at your resume before you send it off can do nothing but help you. The job market out there is tough at the moment and you want to give yourself the best chance possible – don’t let small errors that you looked over damage your chances of landing an interview.

Tags: college student job, cv, cv writing, expert resume, graduate job, graduate resume, graduate resumes, how to write a resume, interview tips, resume example, resume writing, student resume, successful job interview, writing a resume

Apr

When Should I Look to Apply For an Internship?

By RedStarResume No comments yet

Author: JAMES ALLEN

Internships are extremely important and beneficial to college resumes, so if you have the opportunity to apply for one, I would 100% recommend it. Internships are huge resume boosters and will no doubt give you an advantage over the competition when it comes to real world job seeking after your college graduation. The key thing to note, however, is that with internships, planning ahead is always your best option.

Most do not work like jobs in terms of the actual hiring process. With jobs, ads are posted and can be filled within only a few days because the start date is almost immediate. With an internship, the process is quite different – the actual start date could be months away, which is why you need to think about it in advance.

If you’re thinking about applying for an internship with a major corporation (or with one that you anticipate will be accepting applications from thousands of students around the country), you will definitely need to apply for this months in advance. Many summer internships are filled by the spring, and, in turn, ones for the fall are filled during the summer.

While most internships are filled months in advance, this does not make it true for all internships. Colleges all over offer internships with various departments or with school-based organizations that you can usually apply for toward the beginning of the semester. While they may not seem like the most exciting ways to spend some of your free time, they will definitely add value to the resume you send out to that internship you really want.

The main thing is that if you’re just starting to think about internships and haven’t found one you’re interested in yet, it’s never too early to at least start drafting and preparing your resume. You won’t be able to apply for a job or internship without one, and you want to be prepared the minute you see one you like.

James Allen is the USA Director of Marketing for RedStarResume, a business that provides resume and cover letter writing services for students, graduates and young professionals.

Tags: 2010 graduates, college student job, graduate job, graduate jobs, graduate resume, graduates in 2010, internship, student intern, student job, student summer jobs, successful job interview, summer jobs

Resume Writing

Tips from the Pros

Your Resume … just how important is it?

Instant Resume Killers

How to make sure you WON’T get hired!

Job Interview Killers

How Far Back Should Your Resume Go?

What Spelling and Grammar Check Won’t Pick Up on Your Resume

Intern, Travel, Volunteer – What are the best ways for students to spend their summers?

Ever have one of those days?

How to Avoid Spelling and Grammar Mistakes on Your Resume

When Should I Look to Apply For an Internship?

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