Well, it is resume update time, so I took a "Today's Resume" class through the LDS Employment Service. Say what you want about Mormons, but every service they offer is well considered and highly detailed.
The LDS Church has a reputation and when they call and make an appointment with a potential employer, they are listened to. Unlike the various employment services or our DWS, the LDS make it their job number one to put you to work. I was not tossed to the wolves and wished good luck, a Mormon elder calls employers and sets the appointment; I did not have to wait for the employer to call me.
Just setting up my personal LDS web page took four hours and it was a simple "fill in the forms" affair. Every line was fully explained, detailed and worked over until it was perfect.
Things I learned in no particular order:
Resumes must be one page in length.
Short forms and brevity means short sentences and the other grammatically "incorrect" (according to Word) sentences required these days make for a green squiggle filled document. So many recommend you convert your resume to PDF so "errors" do not fill the page and make the document hard to read and perhaps tossed.
You have 30-60 seconds to wow a hiring manager, so you need a powerful "Objectives" statement no longer than 90 words. You need to interest the HR people ASAP so they keep reading.
Fold your resume in half, fold the top inch over and the space left over is what usually sells or fails to sell you to the hiring manager.
Many HR people now use "Crawlers" to see how many key words in your resume match what the HR wonk is specifically looking for in a candidate.
No more mailing address on your resume. Add email and a phone number.
Years you worked at a company are not needed; they will get that info from your job application.
Resumes must be specifically targeted to the position you apply for. This means you need two, three, ten resumes, custom targeted.
Cover letters are mandatory and very specific.
If you are creative and you say so in your resume, you must also give examples and the result achieved. Be prepared to explain every statement or boast in your resume.
After you leave HR's offce, go to your car and quickly write a thank you note. This is one I never considered but some HR people report it helped sell the new employee. Handwritten is better than email.
The HR hiring manager wants to know you CAN, not that you only think you can. If they want to hire a person to run a lathe, they want a lathe operator who can, not a worker who only thinks he can. Saying you think you can says you are not sure you can. Why should the company hire you these days if you are not sure you CAN!
Learn to use Power Words in your resume.
According to some, nearly half of all resumes are simply tossed. About 60 % of the remaining resumes are more carefully reviewed, then filed and never considered again. If posted online, people will not read a long document. They want it short and to the point.
Here in Utah, more than 50% of all jobs are word of mouth so networking is vital. Many jobs are posted because a company knows they will need people to fill future positions.
Watch what you say online. You are Googled these days. You never know what innocent comments tick of some HR manager or other person looking for workers.
Do not be afraid to use use technical jargon in your resume. My resume mentions my particular skill with an HP-3070 In-Circuit Tester, BABT Testing, and other tech crap.
If you use a phrase like “team leader,” make sure you can prove it. Show what team you lead and always provide the end results. Everyone says they are a team leader or team player and these days, HR expects you to justify every word you use; every statement you make in your resume, so avoid useless hype and over-used words.
For example, “problem solver.” Cats and monkeys are problem solvers, after all. What problems did you solve and how did it affect the company? If you can’t provide examples—specific examples—omit them.
Avoid hype and buzz words/phrases:
For example, “salary negotiable.” They know this.
“Detail oriented . . .” They expect you to be detail oriented.
“Hardworking.” They expect you to work hard. Do you really think they want people who are not hard workers?
“Proactive . . .” a completely deflated buzzword, AVOID this particular phrase at all costs!
“Responsible For . . .” Do not use this because being responsible for something is not something you did; it is something that happened to you.
“References available upon request . . .” Never add this. You must put it on your application, but never add it to your resume. Also, omit references from any cover letter as well as your resume.
Anyone want to add to this or deflate these points?
The LDS Church has a reputation and when they call and make an appointment with a potential employer, they are listened to. Unlike the various employment services or our DWS, the LDS make it their job number one to put you to work. I was not tossed to the wolves and wished good luck, a Mormon elder calls employers and sets the appointment; I did not have to wait for the employer to call me.
Just setting up my personal LDS web page took four hours and it was a simple "fill in the forms" affair. Every line was fully explained, detailed and worked over until it was perfect.
Things I learned in no particular order:
Resumes must be one page in length.
Short forms and brevity means short sentences and the other grammatically "incorrect" (according to Word) sentences required these days make for a green squiggle filled document. So many recommend you convert your resume to PDF so "errors" do not fill the page and make the document hard to read and perhaps tossed.
You have 30-60 seconds to wow a hiring manager, so you need a powerful "Objectives" statement no longer than 90 words. You need to interest the HR people ASAP so they keep reading.
Fold your resume in half, fold the top inch over and the space left over is what usually sells or fails to sell you to the hiring manager.
Many HR people now use "Crawlers" to see how many key words in your resume match what the HR wonk is specifically looking for in a candidate.
No more mailing address on your resume. Add email and a phone number.
Years you worked at a company are not needed; they will get that info from your job application.
Resumes must be specifically targeted to the position you apply for. This means you need two, three, ten resumes, custom targeted.
Cover letters are mandatory and very specific.
If you are creative and you say so in your resume, you must also give examples and the result achieved. Be prepared to explain every statement or boast in your resume.
After you leave HR's offce, go to your car and quickly write a thank you note. This is one I never considered but some HR people report it helped sell the new employee. Handwritten is better than email.
The HR hiring manager wants to know you CAN, not that you only think you can. If they want to hire a person to run a lathe, they want a lathe operator who can, not a worker who only thinks he can. Saying you think you can says you are not sure you can. Why should the company hire you these days if you are not sure you CAN!
Learn to use Power Words in your resume.
According to some, nearly half of all resumes are simply tossed. About 60 % of the remaining resumes are more carefully reviewed, then filed and never considered again. If posted online, people will not read a long document. They want it short and to the point.
Here in Utah, more than 50% of all jobs are word of mouth so networking is vital. Many jobs are posted because a company knows they will need people to fill future positions.
Watch what you say online. You are Googled these days. You never know what innocent comments tick of some HR manager or other person looking for workers.
Do not be afraid to use use technical jargon in your resume. My resume mentions my particular skill with an HP-3070 In-Circuit Tester, BABT Testing, and other tech crap.
If you use a phrase like “team leader,” make sure you can prove it. Show what team you lead and always provide the end results. Everyone says they are a team leader or team player and these days, HR expects you to justify every word you use; every statement you make in your resume, so avoid useless hype and over-used words.
For example, “problem solver.” Cats and monkeys are problem solvers, after all. What problems did you solve and how did it affect the company? If you can’t provide examples—specific examples—omit them.
Avoid hype and buzz words/phrases:
For example, “salary negotiable.” They know this.
“Detail oriented . . .” They expect you to be detail oriented.
“Hardworking.” They expect you to work hard. Do you really think they want people who are not hard workers?
“Proactive . . .” a completely deflated buzzword, AVOID this particular phrase at all costs!
“Responsible For . . .” Do not use this because being responsible for something is not something you did; it is something that happened to you.
“References available upon request . . .” Never add this. You must put it on your application, but never add it to your resume. Also, omit references from any cover letter as well as your resume.
Anyone want to add to this or deflate these points?
