Jobs

Write a “Killer” resume’

June 20, 2006

How to Write an Interview Winning Resume’

A great resume’ can be produced by just about anyone with a computer equipped
with a jet ink or other “quality” printer and a word processing program . This guide tells
how to do it step-by-step. If you feel uncomfortable doing it yourself, get a professional
resume’ writer to do it.

I can suggest a couple of “pro” resume’ writers on the internet:

Click here for a free resume critique from A and A Resume!

Pongo Resume – Better resume = better job.

If you decide to go this route, use this guide to assure yourself that the writer is preparing a high quality resume’ for you.

Introduction
Writing a resume’ can be defined in simplest terms as “putting yourself on paper”.
and the only real objective of the resume is: To get the interview.

The most common resume’ is the “chronological” resume’. It follows a simple format
consisting of a header containing your full name, address, and phone number, followed
by a job objective, a job history, an educational history, a section outlining outside
hobbies and interests, and some standard statements such as I am willing to relocate,
and REFERENCES WILL BE PROVIDED UPON REQUEST, etc.

Another resume’ used less often is the “functional” resume. The “functional” résumé’s
purpose is to provide a sampling of what the applicant has done but without the dates.
It is sometimes used by those who have time gaps in their educational or job history.
If such time gaps can be explained more easily in person, then you are probably better
off using this kind of resume’. Most if not all human resources managers are also aware
of the reasons for using this kind of resume’, and may put your resume’ on the bottom of
the pile, or throw it out because they think you are trying to hide something.

Keep your resume’ to only 1 page. Reason: in cases where the job has been
advertised the busy human resources manager may receive hundreds of résumé’s
for each opening. If he/she have 10 positions to fill, that multiplies
to thousands of résumé’s. Because of time limitations, most managers use
screening to eliminate as many résumé’s as can be done
practically, and let them then narrow down to only a few candidates(3 or 4
in many cases). A one page resume will get past this first screening tool
of discarding all the multipage resume‘s.

Another screening tool may be to eliminate all those who say that they are
unwilling to relocate, demand a high salary and/or benefit package, age, and
more. Even something as innocent sounding as sending a picture of yourself may
work against you. The human resources manager may just not like your looks, so
if you send him a picture, you may be out. Some refer to this inclusion of
unnecessary information as “giving the screener a handle to beat you with.”
You need to create a document that will pique the screeners
curiosity enough that your resume’ stays on the pile.

Note: Do not send a hand written resume’. Yours may stand out
but it is very “unprofessional” and will probably be discarded
early in the process.

Your finished resume’ should fill the whole page. If you don’t
have enough material to fill a page, it’s better to dig and come
up with more material. Some “experts” have recommended a letter
alone as a resume’. The letter would contain your name and address,
your job objective, and a paragraph of information about yourself
and asking the employer to contact you if they are interested. My
opinion is that if the employer already have a stack of résumé’s,
they will not likely take the time to write back asking for a full
resume’.

A standard resume’ can be divided into the following parts:

1 – Name, street address, phone number, and Email address

2 – Job objective

3 – Education and Work Histories

4 – Awards & achievements

5 – Outside Interests

6 – A statement that references will be furnished upon request.

Detailed explanation of each part above:
1 – This is straightforward. You might want to put a horizontal line under this
information to make it look more professional.

2 – Best advice here is to use the exact objective stated in the ad,
use laboratory manager as your objective. The writer of the ad may
have a certain mental image of a laboratory manager. If you write
lab supervisor and this company’s organizational structure consists
of a 3 laboratory supervisors who all report to a laboratory manager,
he may think you are applying for a lesser position and use this to
eliminate considering you for the job. Another point – keep it simple.
I have seen resume’s with a job objective like – To better
the company’s profits by using my extensive training in this
area. If you can indeed do this, that is great, but save this
ammunition for the interview. The resume’ is not the place for
it.

3 – Use the forms in the appendix to this article organize the information
before you start
on the resume’. The education and job histories
should be complete with beginning and ending dates, degrees earned,
job titles held, etc., brief summary of duties, and reasons for the
changes. If you have just graduated, then obviously your educational
history should be stated first and covered more extensively. Any part
time jobs that relate directly to your field should certainly be included
as work history. If you have had many years of experience on
the job, the education history is likely less relevant and should be
listed after the work history.

Note – If you have any time gaps in your education or work history be
prepared with answers to questions will almost certainly be asked about them.

4 – Awards and achievements could be anything from honorary societies to
special awards to top grades, to patents for inventions, on the job safety
awards, etc, etc.. Anything that will give you an advantage over your
competitors should be mentioned. This is a time to toot your
own horn but don’t toot it so loud that your are labeled as a braggart.

5 – Outside interests is the section where you can show you interests. Any
that are related to your field are especially important. Also important
are any that indicate an interest in performing civic service, volunteering
at a hospital, etc.

6 – Statement about references. The standard statement: “References will be
furnished upon request” is best here. I advise that you not list the
references on your resume’. First of all a one page resume’ doesn’t allow
much room for lists, and second, the employer might call your references
and decide not to grant the interview. It is better that you tell your own
story than to allow one of your references who may not know your whole
background to do it for you. Remember that your objective at this point
is to get the interview.

Form and format

Paper – use an off white or light pastel high quality paper.
Most office supplies stores stock paper labeled as “resume” paper.
Use matching envelopes if available.
Printing – Use black ink and a standard font if using a computer to prepare.
Use a laser or ink jet printer, not dot matrix. If you use a typewriter, use
a new ribbon. Use your own copier or a good copy shop for copies.

Use the same paper for your cover letter. The cover letter is like a letter
of introdution telling the person receiving the resume’ why you are writing
and the for which job you are applying. Keep it short and to the point and
write it to a specific person if possible (rather than just addressing it to
the human resources manager).

Other notes
The resume’ outlined above is the standard used by most. Other formats may be used and to find
out more, buy a book specifically addressing resume’ writing. You may also want to look at
computer programs available, as well as resume’ writing services on the internet.

Appendix -WORK HISTORY
Instructions:

1 – Start with most recent job and work backwards
2 – List additional work on a separate blank piece of paper

Start Date_________________________End Date_________________________
Employer Name_____________________________________________________
Street Address______________________________________________________
City, State, Zip______________________________________________________
Job Title and Duties__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Start Date_________________________End Date_________________________
Employer Name_____________________________________________________
Street Address______________________________________________________
City, State, Zip______________________________________________________
Job Title and Duties__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Appendix -EDUCATIONAL HISTORY
Instructions:

1 – Start with most recent education and work backwards
2 – List additional education on a separate blank piece of paper

Start Date_________________________End Date_________________________
School Name_____________________________________________________
Street Address______________________________________________________
City, State, Zip______________________________________________________
Major, Degrees, Date Graduate____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Start Date_________________________End Date_________________________
School Name_____________________________________________________
Street Address______________________________________________________
City, State, Zip______________________________________________________
Major, Degrees, Date Graduate____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Appendix – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Awards received:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Patents:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Achievements:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hobbies and extracurricular activities:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Honors:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Job promotions:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Volunteer Work:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Additional Educational Courses, etc.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Other Notes

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Below is an example of a simple chronological resume’:

Samuel Brown
100 Evanston St.
Eksburg, PA 11111
Objective: Maintenance Supervisor

Highlights:

New home construction – 4 yrs.

22 yrs. residential and commercial remodeling including carpentry, plastering, drywall
installation, electrical wiring, plumbing, and more.
Machine shop experience including setup and running a wide variety of machine tools and

plant equipment Small engine repair and rebuilding experience

Work Experience

11/84 – Present Self employed residential remodeler, all phases
12/80 – 10/84 Pantoon Tool Co., Thistown, PA Machine operator

7/76 – 11/80 Georges Homes, Georgestown, PA New home construction

Educational History

1972 – 1976 Keystone High School, Eksburg, PA11111 – Graduated in 1976
1964 – 1972 Kerr Jr. High School Georgestown, PA

Hobbies: Fishing and hunting

REFERENCES WILL BE FURNISHED UPON REQUEST

Posted in Get a Job 2006 | Leave a Comment »

Find the Jobs

June 20, 2006

How to Find the Openings

This is the step where many job seekers stumble, generally because of a
lack of knowledge of how to find ALL the openings available. We will help you learn how to find them.

Want a quick start? Click this link to get started right now, then come back later to finish your learning.

With your FREE My Monster Account, you can: Set up job search agents and have your dream job emailed to you!

Classified Ads
The first thing the average person will do is go to the classified section of their
local newspaper. This is OK but it is only one source and it may not be the
best, depending on your circumstances.

There may be fierce competition for newspaper advertised openings, especially
in areas of high unemployment. I know of an ad a few yearsago in the
Greensburg, PA area where an ad was placed that received over 1200
applicants and it was for 12 actual openings (100:1 is pretty tough odds)

Also you should know that advertising jobs in the classifieds is usually the last
try by the company to fill the opening. Most human resources people advertise
inside the company first, and when they can’t fill the opening they try the last
resort, the classifieds. If you have a contact inside the company, you can weed
out much of your competition by contacting the company BEFORE they run ads.
If you wait, then you are competing with all the other ad answerers out there.

Networking
In Appendix A of the book, I have included a checklist of 84 possible sources
of job leads using “networking” techniques. The “magic” of networking is the large
pool of possible job leads. If you were able to work every one of these 84 and
each of these knows of 10 job openings, then you have 10X84 or 840 job leads.
Even half this many job leads may be more than you can handle, but you get the
idea. I have included this network list form as an appendix to this article. Your job
is to print out this list and write in your own peoples names.

Bird Dogging
The so-called “bird dogging” technique is really a variation of networking. In this
case you are looking specifically for “bird dogs”, who are persons more likely
than the average person to know of job openings. Go to each of these persons
and ask them to keep their ears to the ground for news of any openings and
contact you when they find any.

Direct Approach
Another technique sometimes overlooked is the “direct approach”.Go to your
local library and find the local directories of companies and get the names,
addressed and phone numbers. While you are in the library, also learn to use
their computers (in the event you don’t have one of your own). Many of the
directories you find in the library are also online, and most companies now have
their own websites.

After you get a list of those companies of interest to you call them directly
and ask if they have any openings. It’s best here to ask for the person who
does the hiring and talk to them rather than a receptionist or other whose
principal job is to answer phones. If you get a “no” in response to your
question, you may ask if you can send a resume’ anyway in case of
openings they may have in the near future. At this time you should ask
for the name and specific address of the person who does the hiring
so you can send to them directly. A letter addressed to a specific person
is more likely to get attention than one addressed simply to the Human
Resources Manager, so be sure to ask them for a name. Don’t forget the
internet. Some companies list openings on their website in addition to an
agency. You may get preferential treatment by going direct because they
may avoid paying an agency commission by getting together with you directly.

Miscellaneous other techniques
Employment Services – Many are FREE to the applicant. Remember to
use the internet where you can. An Email means no postage, no worry about
what kind of paper, or what font to use, etc., Temporary Services – This is a
very good way to get a permanent job by hiring in with a “temp” agency,
then once you get on the job, ask about possibilities of a permanent job.

In conclusion
Once you find the openings you need to send the cover letter and resume
and hope for an interview. By the way, although these articles emphasize a
step by step approach, you need to keep doing all the steps continuously
and track your progress. Also – don’t stop looking until you are absolutely
sure you have been hired.

Posted in Get a Job 2006 | Leave a Comment »

Jobsblog Intro

June 20, 2006

How to Get a Job Anywhere Anytime

Hi — I’m Frank

You need a job?
Are you just graduating?

Looking for more cash in your pocket?

Tired of your present job (and/or boss)?

Want to live somewhere else?

You need new friends(new co-workers, not new fellow bar-flies)?

If you answered YES to any of these or have your own reason for making a job change
, keep reading this blog. I will start with a blitz of articles that will get you started on
your search. I’ll also keep you entertained by adding cryptograms and puzzles (mental
gymnastics to help keep your brain going along the way), recipes, tons job getting tips,
and anything else I can come up with to keep you coming back.

Want to know where I’m coming from?

Go to my website Get a Job Anytime

You may be asking yourself “Why is Frank giving out all this FREE info?
Is he selling a $97 course on getting a job? No – no -no! It’s all FREE

So — if it’s all FREE, what’s the catch?

It’s pretty simple! I have put in links you can click. Some of these links go to advertisers
who want their name out on the internet I get paid when people click on the links. For
instance if you click on my Ebay link, then end up going there, I may get paid a few cents
per transaction. If you’ve read this far you know my name is Frank and I’m just trying to live
up to my name by being frank!

Congratulations on reading to this point! Now please take a break, grab a cup of coffee
and then read the first article called:

“How to Find the Openings”

Posted in Get a Job 2006 | 1 Comment »

Jobs

Write a “Killer” resume’

June 20, 2006

Find the Jobs

June 20, 2006

Jobsblog Intro

June 20, 2006

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