All That You Need To Write an outstanding CV or Resume for all job situations. Use your Career Tools to track job selection criteria and tailor your application for every job opportunity. Pt 2

Essential resume tips

How does your resume measure up against these timeless principles? Does your resume make you stand out from the competition? Does it clearly show why you deserve to be interviewed for the job? Does it achieve these goals in less than 20 seconds?

Presentation is everything!

Until the reader meets you, you 'are' your resume. They don't know about your charming smile, your ability to multi-task effectively, or your warm way with customers. All they know is what they see on paper, and if they don't like it, you'll never have a chance to impress them with your positive features in person.

There are NO excuses for errors in your resume. Take the time to read, re-read, then have someone else read, your resume.

Careless formatting, sloppy presentation and spelling errors will suggest that you are also careless, sloppy and prone to error. That's not the kind of first impression you want to make, is it?

20 seconds is all you have!

Your resume has no more than 20 seconds to engage the reader's attention. The pre-screening process is brutal, hence the importance of outstanding presentation. If your resume doesn't scream out that you are worth meeting, then your resume will meet the recycle bin, quickly.

Invest the time necessary to structure and format your resume so the reader understands at first glance how and why you meet the requirements of the role. Doing this will also send a powerful message that you have invested time and care in preparing your application; a signal that you have not applied on a whim. If the reader cannot understand quickly the link between your experience and what is required for the role, they will assume you are not qualified and you will not get the crucial opportunity to present yourself in person.

Choose the right resume layout!

Resume layout refers to how you present your employment history; your skills, experience and achievements.

How you present the facts of your career has a major impact upon how they are interpreted. You can conceal your weaknesses and accentuate your strengths by choosing the right resume layout to match your needs.

You have three basic styles to choose from:

1. The chronological resume
2. The functional resume
3. The combination resume

Learn and understand the differences between the main resume styles available to you.

Leave irrelevant information out!

Irrelevant information will dilute the power of your resume. Keep your resume focussed and concise and you will maximise its impact.

Your resume has one goal: to convince the reader that you are worth interviewing. That's it. Focus on presenting enough information, but not too much. Make the reader want to know more.

Target your resume!

If possible, never send a 'general purpose' resume. At best it will make you look ordinary. At worst it will make you look disinterested in the role.

Understand exactly what qualities and experience are being sought by the employer. Word your resume to demonstrate that you possess these qualities. State yourachievements relevant to the target role, so the hiring manager is compelled to interview you.

In some cases, such as when meeting a recruiter for a scoping or exploratory interview, you may not have enough information to tailor/target your resume completely. In this case, you still need to be aware that the recruiter will be trying to 'put you in a box'; that is, to put a label on you so that when that type of role arises, you will be called. Why not take the initiative and decide yourself which box you'd like to be put in? Targeting your resume is a great way to do this.

How are you unique?

You must communicate why you are unique. Remember, your goal is to be invited for an interview.

This doesn't mean you should use hot-pink paper for your resume. It means to phrase your achievements in a way to demonstrates how you think and act.

Provide examples to show that you are 'highly motivated'. Don't just write 'I'm highly motivated'. Make it abundantly evident that you make a great candidate and deserve the opportunity to present your full case in person.

Think like a hiring manager

Part 1. Putting yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager can help you decide what information to include in your resume, and what to leave out.

You are a hiring manager

Consider this situation:

• You're responsible for hiring a new staff member
• 200 applications fill your inbox to bursting point
• 50 paper resume's wait expectantly on your desk
• Time constraints mean you can interview only 5 candidates for the role

Who do you interview?

Fact

It's often not the most qualified, experienced or capable candidates who get called. A poor resume can make a fantastic candidate look average, while a well planned, well structured resume can make an average candidate look very promising, at least on paper.

Here are 3 ways you can increase the chances of receiving that phone call:

• Identify the specific qualities being sought by the employer
• Invest time to analyse your personal career history to identify which of your skills and achievements are relevant to the role
• Present these in a compelling way to match the position's requirements. Make it plainly obvious that the hiring manager needs to speak to you!

Your resume has 20 seconds

Your resume has 20 seconds or less to communicate why you deserve an interview. Your resume needs to arrest the reader's attention with a blend of active language, concise statements of your capability and signal that you are sincerely interested in the role.

Does your resume pass the 20 second test? Can a person with some understanding of your target role immediately see how and why you are suited to that role?

Think like a hiring manager

Your resume is competing with many, if not hundreds of other resumes for the attention of an overworked, underappreciated hiring manager. The hiring manager is responsible for hiring the talent that will ultimately determine the organisation's future success; an important job!

Each hiring manager will be looking for slightly different things when they read your resume, but three categories succinctly sum up these different approaches:

• Will you add value to my business?
• Will you destroy value in my business?
• Will I personally regret hiring you?

Think like a hiring manager - part 2

Part 2. Learn how to signal to the hiring manager that YOU are the right candidate for the job!

Back to think like a hiring manager part 1

Will you add value?

How likely are you, based on your experience, achievements and other factors, to contribute positively to the organisation? How does your resume signal this?

Here are a few ways you can show the reader you will add value:

• Signal that you've taken time and care to understand your target role by arranging your achievements and experience to correspond with the areas of achievement and experience sought by the employer.
• Set out your information clearly, be concise in your expression and ensure your resume is free of mistakes.
• Structure your resume to reflect your most positive aspects. If you boast a smooth and definite career progression, then draw attention to it by choosing an appropriate resume format such as a chronological resume. This may help to highlight your positve attributes such as employer loyalty.

Will you destroy value?

An employer might interpret these signs as evidence that you will destroy value:

• You a serial job hopper and a flight risk (meaning you might leave soon after being hired) or are not loyal to your employer
• You are changing careers so your experience, skills or qualifications are not an exact match with those sought in the desired applicant
• You will require extensive training, mentoring, monitoring or other investment to ensure you perform in the role, especially when compared with competing applicants
• You are exploring a new career, which you may later discover does not suit you and hence leave the organisation.

Does your resume send any messages that you might destroy value? If so, you'll want to use the appropriate resume format to ensure any negative messages are kept to a minimum.

Remember, it is not just the content of your resume, but how you highlight aspects of that content while downplaying less attractive aspects, that influences how you are perceived.

Will I regret hiring you?

If for any reason you are hired and then leave the organisation within 6 to 12 months, it will reflect poorly on the hiring manager, so understand that it's not just your own success at stake here. The hiring manager will be taking each hire personally (at least in some small way), so work to ensure that you don't set any alarm bells ringing, especially when all you are to that person is a faceless resume.

Chronological resume guide - part 2

Part 2. Should I be using a chronological style for my resume? What information should I include? How should I order it?

Back to the chronological resume guide part 1

Is the chronological resume style right for me?

If you're unsure, try this simple exercise.

Prepare your work history and achievements in chronological order, separate from any other information such as a Profile statement or cover letter. Consider this information from the perspective of your target hiring manager, in the context of your job application.

Does your work history immediately communicate how and why you are suited to your target role? If not then an alternate resume format might be more appropriate. Remember, the reader should immediately understand how and why you fit the requirements of the role.

Click here to learn more about the alternative functional resume style and the combination resume style.

Sections in a chronological resume

Group and order your information in the following way:

• Contact details - your identifying information

• Profile statement - the executive summary of your resume; your most marketable points. Click here to learn how to write an outstanding resume Profile statement

• Key achievements - optional. A summary of your most outstanding achievements that are relevant to your target role

• Employment history - the core of your resume. See below for detailed instructions on how to prepare this section

• Education - qualifications and training relevant to your target role

• References - a short note saying 'available upon request'

To learn how to prepare the contact details, profile statement, education and references sections of your resume, click here to view essential resume information.

To learn about how to present your key achievements as well as guidance on what not to include in your resume, click here to view optional resume information.

Chronological resume guide - part 3

Part 3. How should I arrange my employment history? Follow these 5 simple steps to create your best chronological resume yet!

Back to the chronological resume guide part 2.

5 Steps to prepare your chronological work history

Step 1 Review your employment history

1. List your past employers beginning with your current or most recent, ending with your first employer
2. List each role you had
3. Record the date and geographic location of each role as accurately as possible

List unpaid, casual, part-time and full time jobs you've held, as well as volunteer work or any type of work that contributed to the development of your knowledge, skills and competencies. This is particularly important in the early stages of your career, where you may need to draw on experience gained while studying or through volunteer work.

Clearly state the dates you were employed using full years (2005 - 2007) or months and years (Jan 2005 - Oct 2007). Full years can help to obscure gaps between employment. If neccessary you can clarify these during your interview.

Step 2 Clean up your employment history

If your career is young, or you are still at school, include any part-time jobs or jobs unrelated to your objective. At this point in your career, any experience is good experience.

If your career is mature, omit or consolidate any part-time positions or roles where you were employed for a brief period of time. The focus of your resume should be on the last 10 years, and then on your most recent employer and positions.

Do not omit a position or employer if it will create a substantial gap in your resume. Instead consider how the position title, duties or achievements can be rephrased to build the overall message of your resume. Make it easy for your reader; change your past job titles to ones the reader will understand.

Step 3 List all your career achievements

Your achievements are the foundation of your resume. Your achievements tell the reader about your responsibilities and duties throughout your career, and how well you performed in the tasks assigned to you. They speak to your work ethic, ability, commitment and motivation.

Create a list of all of your career achievements, whether they seem related to you target position or not.

Sometimes it's difficult to recall your achievements. If you're having difficulty, try these simple techniques:

1. Use your list of employers and positions to prompt your thinking
2. Follow a proven model, such as the S.T.A.R. model
3. Using you list of your knowledge, skills and competencies to prompt your thinking

Example achievement statements

• Improved usability by 50% over 14 months as measured by click-thru and deep page views
• Decreased staff turnover in the design area by 25% by implementing monthly review sessions with each staff member

If you need more ideas or would like to learn how to discover your own achievements, click here.

Step 4 Select and phrase your most relevant achievements

The more relevant achievements you can provide to support your employment history, the better.

Include achievements related to your technical skills and your transferable skills. Technical skills are those specific to a particular job area; for instance 'computer programming in the C+ language' is a technical skill.

Transferrable skills including persuasion, negotiation, problem solving etc.

Don't make the common mistake of omitting achievements related to your transferrable skills. If there are many technically skilled applicants, your transferrable skills might just prove the edge you need.

If any achievements seem irrelevant to your target role, see whether you can reword or re-classify them so they can be included.

Step 5 Explain any gaps in your employment history

The chronological resume style emphasises dates of employment. Any gaps between the end of one role and the beginning of another will be obvious, and a reader might conclude incorrectly that a gap relates to some type of adverse career event.

Common gaps are maternity leave, unemployment, travel and so on. If you can, justify the gap with a one line explanation.

Example

• Between January and July 2004 I travelled internationally with my family.

Advice to graduates

• Consider renaming this section 'experience' (rather than employment history), which will allow you to include non employment-related duties in place of paid work experience.

• Consider changing the order of 'employment history' and education, in the absence of any significant employment information.

What to leave out

There is endless information you might be tempted to include in your resume. Use discretion. Information like photos, family details, hobbies etc. can detract from an otherwise powerful and focussed resume, lessening its overall impact.

Every word in your resume should work to build your overall message. If in doubt, leave it out.

For more on this topic, click learn about optional resume information.

Resume presentation and language

As your personal sales document, your resume should reflect your personal qualities. If you are sloppy or careless with spelling and grammar, if your resume is difficult to scan or peruse, if your resume is boring and lifeless, then expect the reader to associate these qualities with you.

Pay close attention to factors such as formatting, spelling, grammar and document layout. The reader will expect that you have invested all the time you needed to get your resume just right. There are no excuses for presentation errors.

Use active language to give your resume life and energy.

Click to learn all about correct resume formatting, presentation and language.

Ten Things Recruiters Hate about your CV

Every day recruiters are receiving hundreds of CV’s and resumes from job applicants. Though there is no perfect recipe, there are some general guidelines of what a good CV should include. Keep in mind that most recruiters will only spend a few minutes scanning your CV, so your front page needs to be compelling.

In a recent LinkedIn discussion between recruiters, there was an interesting discussion about what frustrate recruiters when they review CVs or resumes. Here are ten things that recruiters hate about your CV:

1. Spelling mistakes and poor formatting immediately distracts from your experience and ability to sell you as a good candidate. Even with spell checks you can still have “diary” instead of “dairy” company, unless of course you worked in the stationary industry.
2. CVs those are too long and detailed, with too much focus on past experience and not enough information on the last 5 to 10 years. As you update your CV, don’t simply add another page.
3. Too much description of responsibilities and not enough information on achievements and skills, making it difficult to assess fit and suitability.
4. Gaps between jobs that are not explained and create uncertainty and doubt. Start with most your most recent job and check that dates are all correct.
5. Using strange or too many different scripting fonts, too many colours and makes the CV look busy and messy.
6. No personal summary or description of what role the person is looking for, which is further complicated if the person has been in various roles or different industries.
7. Including the phrase – References will be furnished on request. This is redundant and should be excluded, as recruiters will ask for references during or after the interview.
8. Writing in paragraph form and complete sentences, instead of using bullet points for each position, which is more effective and easier to scan quickly.
9. General laundry lists of skills, accomplishments and training, followed by a brief breakdown of work experience and roles. This is a potential risk of functional CV’s.
10. Personal information such as hobbies and interests, as well as any other information personal and family details. Any information that could be potentially discriminatory – age, gender, disability - should be excluded.

The Career GPS includes a comprehensive CV Manager, including a CV library with CV components to quickly organise and customise your CV.

CVs should be kept short and sweet with just enough information to make a potential employer curious and interested, so they invite you for an interview. Your CV is not a book about yourself - it is a brief summary of your work experience.

Travel safely!

Top 10 Resume Mistakes

Abbreviations

Avoid abbreviations! They are unprofessional and not universally accepted.  Trust me; nothing looks worse on a resume than seeing sentences resembling the following: “duties included answering the fone and going 2 c clients.” This is a resume, not a text message. Make sure you use correct words and proper sentences.

Personal Information

Leave off anything related to hobbies or personal interests. If it doesn’t relate to employment it doesn’t belong on a resume. Information such as weight and height is irrelevant (unless of course you’re trying out for basketball team). I have seen resumes where people include their eye colour and comments about their skin (“glowing skin”). Do not give the reader a reason to eliminate you because of your personal characteristics.  Again, stick to the formula – if it does not relate to the job it doesn’t belong on the resume.

Graphics / Artwork

People feel that in order to be noticed they need their resume to look like a piece of artwork. This perception is wrong and has the opposite effect of appearing unprofessional and amateur. At the end of the day, the employer only wants to see skills, duties, and achievements. He or she is not interested because your resume is shaded yellow with a butterfly in the top right-hand corner.

Negativity

Never, never, never be negative on your resume or cover letter (and most importantly, in your interview). If you left your previous job because you hated your boss, keep it to yourself. Do not try to explain this on your resume because you cannot explain those reasons in writing.  Remember, a resume’s job is to promote and sell. Do not get eliminated immediately for being negative.

No Dates

Do not make the reader have to guess! This is such a killer on any resume. Include dates. What years did you go to high school? How long did you go to university? When did you graduate? How long did you work at your current job?

Do not make the person reading your resume have to ask these questions.  The minute this happens, your resume is going to one place—the trash bin! Make sure your resume flows and you have no gaps in your dates. If you took a year off to go travelling, include this. When you include dates do not just include years. For example, “I worked at McDonalds from 2006-2008”– what does this mean? Did you work for 3 from January 2006 to December 2008, or for a little over 1 year from December 2006 to January 2008.

Long-winded

Long long long long long resumes are boring!!!!  If an employer sees an extremely long resume, they will immediately develop a negative frame of mind. Remember, resume readers tend to have little patience, especially when they need to read 100 resumes. You do not gain extra brownie points for writing the longest resume—enough said!

Lack of achievements / highlights

I never understand how people get this wrong, but so many times people fill up their resumes with irrelevant information, and they leave off the most vital part of a resume—showing off your highlights and achievements. Think about it—most people who apply for the same job can all do the standard day to day duties. So what separates the good resume from the bad resume? It’s the one that includes achievements and highlights. It includes how they were an asset at their previous job. Employers want to see not that you just worked and did a good job, but that you added value to the company.  Leaving off your achievements is the best way to get your resume tossed in the bin. Alternatively, including value-added achievements is the best way to get your resume put on the top of the list.

Irrelevant information

Everyone is proud of achievements they have accomplished throughout their life. Finishing second place in the 100 metre sprint final in my first year of high school was a great thrill, but is it relevant on my resume? Does it add value to it? Use common sense when including “extra information.” Receiving your CPR certificate is relevant when you’re applying for a job that requires this, such as a lifesaver or swimming instructor. It isn’t so relevant if you received your CPR certificate 10 years ago, and now you’re going for a job as a CEO.

Grammar mistakes and typos

People read this point and think, “Obviously my resume isn’t going to have spelling mistakes and typos.” I can tell you from experience that 1 in 5 resumes will make this vital mistake. When an employer has 100 resumes, the first 20 are eliminated because of grammar mistakes or typos. These mistakes are glaringly obvious on a resume. Make sure you use spell-check, but more importantly, re-read your resume. Even give it to someone else to read over.

Trying to sound “Too Clever”

You may think that using words such as “meticulous,” “scrupulous” or “industrious” to describe yourself may make you sound smart, unfortunately they can have the opposite effect. Your resume is a representation of you. Don’t forget this!

What makes a good resume?

With any resume, there is no set rules or guidelines to follow. Each resume needs to be uniquely written for that particular person. A student resume will be structured and written totally different when compared to a senior resume. The number one mistake I see on a resume is a lack of achievements. With competition for jobs so fierce, it has never been more important to stand out in a crowd, and there is no better way of doing this than by emphasizing your achievements and the values you can bring to your next job.

Is there a certain way to write a resume?

Traditionally speaking, there are three alternate resume formats. The chronological resume is the most commonly used resume format, and it is straightforward, and easily traces a candidate's career path and progression in a given field. There is also the functional resume, which highlights an applicant's specific experience and skills rather than a chronological listing of work history experience. A functional resume is often used to emphasize or de-emphasize specific experience. A combined resume emphasizes a little bit of both. As is always the case, the most important aspect of any resume is to ensure that it grabs the reader's attention immediately. Statistically, a hiring manager will spend less than 10 seconds reading a resume before deciding whether to keep reading or delete, so make sure your most important information is on the first page in immediate eye view of the reader!

What about cover letters - How important are they?

Without a doubt, a cover letter is as important as your resume - if not more important! The presence of a cover letter shows a genuine interest in a job position because you actually took the time to write it. More importantly, the cover letter is the first thing a hiring manager will read. Once you pass the cover letter stage the hiring manager moves onto the resume. Pass this stage and you get the interview. Remember - your cover letter lets you explain certain things that your resume cannot. If you are looking to change industries or roles, the cover letter is the perfect opportunity for you to let the reader know what you are looking for.

How important is using a professional resume writer?

This is obviously an easy question for me to answer! But here is something to think about ... how many times have you picked up a magazine while waiting for an appointment and flipped through the hundreds of pages of articles? How long did it take you to decide whether or not to turn the page?

This is the exact same scenario with your resume—it can be discarded within a matter of seconds. When applying for jobs, you can be assured that 50% of all the other applicants have similar skills and knowledge. So how do you make your resume stand out from the others? How do you ensure that you’re at least given the chance to present yourself in person?

Your resume is a marketing document, a convincing reason to want to meet with you for an interview. Without an appealing and marketable resume that contains information employers require, you will not get the job you want. While you may feel that you are a perfect fit for a job, it means absolutely nothing if you don’t have a convincing resume that is written, structured and formatted correctly.

A well written, formatted, structured resume you will get more calls, more interviews and find a new job faster… guaranteed!

Just like you would call upon a professional builder to help construct your house or a professional mechanic to repair your car, you need a professional resume writer to help you get a job and also aid you in adding money on to your annual salary.

I can’t get a job interview!

A true story… A candidate was applying for a job that he felt was probably beyond him in terms of experience and skills, however he figured he’d apply and “hope for the best”. The job application asked for a resume and personally written cover letter to be submitted to the hiring manager. When the candidate went to send the resume and cover letter he decided that instead of writing the generic “To whom it may concern” on the top of his letter, he would call up the company and find out the name of the hiring manager. Thus, he began his letter with “Dear Mr. xxxx”

As insignificant as this seems, the candidate ended up getting the job. Years later this young man became the right hand man to the hiring manager who had now become the CEO of the firm. When the hiring manager was asked why he had originally employed the boy he said, “He was not the strongest academically or experienced candidate, but he was the only person out of 100 candidates who had taken the time and effort to find out my name…”

Although gaining employment is subject to many unpredictable factors that are far beyond your control (such as employer perceptions, competition and personal choice), there are countless factors that are controllable that you may be doing wrong. Remember, your resume only has 10 seconds to make an impact. When the hiring manager has 100 resumes on his or her desk and needs to pick the top 5, all it takes is the simplest error for your resume to be deleted.

My advice is this: If you’re going to spend time applying for jobs then do it properly. You are not going to get an interview by sending out a resume that is written or formatted incorrectly. By doing just the smallest things correctly you will find that success is just around the corner.

Is your resume full of clichés? Do you use words such as “hardworking”, “loyal worker” or “enthusiastic”? Do you send out the exact same resume for every job? If the answer is yes, then you need to take greater effort to differentiate your resume and make it stand out from the crowd. Include your achievements with examples. Don’t just write “I am a hardworking individual” as this does not inspire. Rather, explain to the reader why you are a hardworking individual. If you’re not inspired by your resume then why is a hiring manager going to be inspired?

Your resume is your selling tool. Take a look at it. Are you proud of how it reads? Does it sell your strengths, skills and accomplishments? In this tough economic climate you need to go the extra length to get an interview.

Find below 15 reasons why you may be missing out on getting that interview:

• Generic resume

• Resumes that do not inspire

• Clichéd resume

• Your resume does not use key words

• Your resume is formatted incorrectly

• Your resume is not targeted

• You don’t use a cover letter

• Your cover letter is boring/generic/clichéd

• Your resume and cover letter are too embellished

• Your job search is restricted to the Internet/Google/Yahoo

• You are only seeking out the perfect job (Is there such a thing?)

• Spelling mistakes / bad grammar

• Lack of professionalism

• No follow up

• Unqualified / Overqualified (you need to be realistic)

Instant Resume Killers

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.