Resume's - Getting The Interview

An example of a formatted Resume'

With unemployment over 10%, it is extremely important that your interview goes well. Getting to the interview can be hard enough and if you blow it, it not only kills your chances of getting the job, but it can also be a blow to your interviewing confidence. Having interviewed for companies with success several times as well as having interviewed many candidates as an employer, I can tell you, that what you say, how you look, and your non-verbal communication can and will affect the outcome of the overall interview.

The first step is getting your foot in the door, your Resume'. After going through innumerable Resumes, I can honestly say that short and to the point is best. If your resume' is 3-4 pages of gibberish and industry language, you will likely not even get a look over. The people that are reviewing the resume's do not want a boring novel. They are looking for 1 page and to the point. If you need 2 pages, that is okay, just try to avoid anything more. Try to make it a full page if you can. Anything less than a full page shouts I don't have enough time or concern to write a decent resume' and that is how I feel about work. Whatever job you go for, don't be fooled into thinking that a resume' is not required because they make you fill out an application. If you are not applying to Burger King or McDonald's to flip burgers, don't apply without submitting a resume'.

A few key points about what the Resume' should incorporate. Your name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail should be in bold at the top. Be sure that your information is correct. There is nothing more annoying to a prospective employer than calling one of the numbers on the resume' and it is disconnected or inactivated. Also, if you are seriously looking for a job, your voice mail and/or answering machine should sound professional. If the prospective employer calls your phone and it goes to voice mail and they get some explicit rap/metal song or some sarcastic or humorous message it is a turn-off and they will not likely even leave a message and just go to the next resume'. 1st impressions are lasting impressions and a voice mail leaves a lasting impression. A simple, "Hello, this is John, please leave your name, number and a brief message and I will get back to you at my earliest convenience." is perfect.

Next, your resume' should look professional. A simple typed resume' will not stand out. There are plenty of programs out there that can format a resume to be eye catching. with the proper bullet points and margin lines. They certainly say a lot about a person. They scream "Look at me!" and reflect the fact that the person who did it took the time to make it look professional. Never, never, never hand-write a resume'. If you have to, go to someone who knows how to design a professional resume' and ask for their help or pay a professional, but keep in mind, a professional does not know your background so be careful to fully explain what your responsibilities were at each company or organization.

The Objective should be professional and to the point. Using big fluffy words doesn't always work. You need to be specific and it should sound professional and not desperate. Something like, "My objective is to obtain a career with a company in the wireless communications industry that offers cutting edge products, opportunity for growth, a team atmosphere and unlimited potential for top producers. I offer several years experience in sales and customer service....". Professional, to the point, and not sounding desperate. YOU can make it generic per industry or special field, but I suggest being as specific as possible when you can. That way it looks like you took the time keep them in mind.

The Job History content is very important. You have to decide whether the format should be chronological or based on relevance to the job you are applying for. For example: If you are looking to become an outside sales rep, then it would be best to reference all of your previous sales experiences. If you are applying for an entry level position maybe the chronological format is best for that position. In general, you resume', should be appropriate to match the job you are applying for.

Your resume' is a reflection of you and your history. It can be a boring thing to read so be creative. If you were a cook in an Italian restaurant, don't just write. "I was a cook". Write something more creative like, "Worked in the food service industry, cooking Italian Cuisine." Make it have action. Passive sentences are boring. Don't describe what you were; describe what you did. Make it exciting, focus on ways that you helped the business. If you invented your own menu, say it. That tells a lot about you. Your history should reflect you and not be a generic stereotype. If you were a professional football player you would not write "I was a football player.". You would would want to write, "I played wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, caught 1200 passes and scored 200 touchdowns in my career." Obviously, you would want to write more than one line for each job, but you see what I mean. You are being specific of the job as you did it. If you were a car salesman you would also want to mention any specific achievements you made, like if you made Salesman of the month for so many months. You see how that tells about you and not just the job. Remember, you are only trying to show your positive qualities and your strengths, not your needed areas of improvement.

Even though some employers may not be looking for experience, experience can certainly help. If you are applying for a position in which you lack the experience to meet the minimum qualifications, don't be surprised if you don't even get an interview because there is always someone out there with more experience than you. BY applying for a position that you seriously lack the necessary minimum experience, you are wasting your own time and the prospective employers time. A rejection is almost guaranteed. A rejection can lower your level of confidence during you job searching. Too many rejections will certainly affect your confidence, which may affect your performance in future interviews by causing unnecessary nervousness and anxiety.

For instance, if you are considering applying for a nursing position and have no medical training, you will look ridiculous and waste precious time you could have used to apply to jobs that you have a real chance of getting. Furthermore, if you apply for a position within a company and lack even the minimum qualifications, you can hurt your chances of ever applying for that company again. Say, for instance, that you applied for a nurse position at a hospital, but have no medical training and you they reject your application. Later a receptionist position comes up and you are more than qualified for that position so you apply for it. However, it is very likely that the prospective employer will check to see if you were ever rejected by them before. In most cases they will even ask if you have ever applied or worked for their company before. You've already wasted their time before so they won't even consider wasting their time with you again.

Occasionally, you will run across a job that you may not have had the exact experience necessary. However, you do have some similar experience at different levels. You may be applying for a retail manager position, but have never truly been a retail manager. After considering your own job history, you realize that you were a trainer and mentor for several years; you were in charge of ordering and keeping track of inventory and was a key holder for a convenience store. Although you were not a manager, you performed many of the duties, that a retail manager performs so you have to word your resume' with that information in a way that reflects and highlights those attributes.

Your resume' is a work in progress. It should be up to date and reflect dates of employment. Gaps do not look good on a Resume'. If you were unemployed because you had a child and were playing home maker, list that. No need to go into too much detail, people understand having to raise a family. If you were unemployed because you were between jobs, that is fine, as long as the gap is not long and if there was there should be a good reason, like "Wrote a Novel". If you did not have a good reason for a long gap, then you may want to keep the dates of employment and gaps off the resume' and just list the number of years employed at your previous jobs. It will likely come up again on the application and you will have to list the dates there and be ready to explain the gaps.

Some people put hobbies and extras in there. They are nice, but they are not essentially needed. If you hobby is basket weaving, and you are applying to be an accountant, it really will not make a difference if it is on there. However, if your hobby is photography and you are applying to be a photographer, it certainly is relevant. Don't get me wrong, I used to put Golf and some interviewers would ask about that. Sometimes it helped to break the ice, other times it was irrelevant.

Some necessary info in addition to the objective and job history is your education and military background. Your college history should be listed. High School is usually assumed in these days and they do not need to be listed, unless it was for something like a performing arts HS and you are applying for an performing arts job. Otherwise, college as well as any other education like technical schools, etc..., should be listed. Years attended is not necessary as it can give away your age (but you can if you want), therefore, you only need to list the name of the school and degree obtained and/or number of years attended. If you had awards or honors, list them per school. If your GPA was high list it. If it was less than a 3.0, don't bother listing it. If you list any other section just make sure that they are relevant. If they are not relevant, they do not likely need to be there. Also, I would not provide a list of references with the resume'. If the prospective employer need s them, they will ask you for them, usually on their application.

I do suggest an nice cover letter suited for the position you are applying for. Reiterate your objective and be specific to their company. Don't just copy your objective. You need to paraphrase it and expand on it briefly. You can also write if you researched their company and tell them what you liked about their company. It doesn't need to be more than one or two paragraphs.

Whatever you do, DON'T LIE!!! Lying will get you rejected quickly if you get caught and if you don't get caught, you may get hired and be fired for lying, which is even worse, so whatever you do just tell the truth. Companies can and in most cases, do check your background. You'd be surprised how much they can find out about you. Additionally, if you have a Blog or Social page like Facebook or Myspace, etc..., the prospective employer may do a see search for you. If you are public, you can sabotage your own chances for employment, so be careful what you put out there (Pictures, videos, blogs...).

Additionally, do not write the reasons for leaving your previous employers on your resume'. They will likely ask this during your interview if you get one. The application may ask, and if it does, you can write stuff like found better opportunity. Never, put your previous employer down or write that you disliked or did not get along with someone. Furthermore, it is extremely important to make sure your grammar and spelling are correct. Have others edit it for you. Errors can stand out like a sore thumb and can be taken as an applicant being too lazy to proof read. The less mistakes you have and the more professional it looks, the greater your opportunity for an interview.

Please remember, If you do not get an interview, it does not mean that your resume' was no good; it may just mean that there were many other applicants who were better qualified. Many times companies hire internally and give the internal person 1st dibs on a job. Other times it is your resume' Was the spelling and grammar correct? Did you appear professional or did it appear sloppy and effortless? Did you have someone else review it to see if it sounded good. Always ask them to be 100% honest and tell them you will not get mad if they tell the truth. Even if it hurts your feelings, you need them to be candid with you. Lastly, don't get discouraged if it takes some time. A resume' is always a work in progress. In most cases, the more time you put into it, the better it gets.