Results tagged “interviews” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:

Glenis writes:

I read your blog regularly, but recently it has become of more interest to me because my son is job-hunting. He has been a financial-aid counselor at two universities, having moved to take the position at the last one because it was a career advancement. Unfortunately his position was eliminated due to budget cuts.

After being unemployed for a 6 months, he decided to take whatever employment he could get just to help pay the bills, which happened to be at minimal pay. He has not included this employment history on his resume because he feels it would not look good. He has interviewed with 2-3 universities but so far no offer of employment.

Do you think the lack of employment information for the last year is affecting his chances of being hired?

The Career Doctor responds:

I hope by the time you are reading this column that your son has a new job in his career field, but if not, let me make a few observations.

I think there is a possibility of three things happening here that your son needs to address.

First, the stigma of being fired. We can call it something prettier — his job was eliminated — but the bottom line is that he was forced to leave his place of employment. He needs to focus on this issue and make sure he is totally over the trauma of the experience — especially since he was let go through no fault of his own. He obviously has valuable skills since he was able to move forward in his career.

Second, he needs to deal with his resume — and the reality he is living. A lot of displaced job-seekers in this current economy have been forced to take survival jobs so that they don t end up homeless and bankrupt. Most prospective employers would rather see an applicant that has been doing something productive — even if outside his or her field — than a large gap on the resume. Of course, if he has been doing any kind of consulting or volunteer work in his field, he should put that on his resume.

Third, perfect interviewing skills. If he has gotten a few interviews, then at least some of the colleges are not bothered by the gap on his resume enough to not interview him, so if he is not having success in the interview, then he is either not interviewing well or not following-up his interviews. He may want to conduct a mock interview with a career professional to judge the quality of his interviewing skills.

I suggest he read, Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth, published on Quintessential Careers.

He may also want to read this article on Quintessential Careers: The Pros and Cons of Taking a Survival Job. What Should You Do?

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:

Cathy writes:

For the first time in 23 years, I am conducting a job search that includes the Internet. I understand the importance of having a resume in text format to submit where requested.

I am also hearing that most recruiters, employers, etc. prefer resumes now be submitted electronically. Is this true?  Maybe it’s the old-fashioned marketer in me, but my tendency is to search the web for jobs and then send my resume the traditional way by mail so I can differentiate by different fonts, paper style, appearance-related factors. Could this be working against me?  

If so, even when I am asked to attach my resume as a Word document, I fear that various PCs will alter formats, fonts and spacing — so it’s back to the plain Jane text, or is it?  

  The Career Doctor responds:

While I totally agree with you about the power of print resumes, I have to sadly state that their influence in job-hunting is definitely on the decline. Job-seekers will still need these documents for job fairs, interviews, and a direct-mail campaign, but because the Internet has so dramatically changed how we search and apply for jobs, you know need to focus on having a text resume.

Employers want text resumes — especially electronic versions (submitted online or via email) — because they can easily deposit every resume into a massive database and then use keywords to search and find the resumes that most match their needs.

Text resumes are almost completely void of any style — and when printed, they look pretty ugly.

So, not only are resume formats changing, but so is the content. As you work on your electronic resume, you must be focused on keyword and keyword phrases for your occupation and industry. Where we often avoided industry jargon in the past, now we embrace it. Of course, accomplishments are still extremely important, but you must now also try to phrase them the way you think a hiring manager might conduct a resume database search.

One final thought, though. I always recommend — when possible — to follow-up an emailed resume with a formatted resume sent through the mail. I think job-seekers who use this combination approach have an edge over those who do not.

Read more about electronic resumes in this article on Quintessential Careers: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online. And for a quick review of resume-writing, you might want to review this article: Avoid These 10 Resume Mistakes.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

This posting is a guest entry from The Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen

Mauro writes:

I read an article of yours — Resume Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers — and found it very interesting. I have been applying for quite a few jobs recently and have not had much luck getting interviews, and I think this has a lot to do with my resume. I know it can be improved a lot and was wondering if you could provide me with some critique given your knowledge and experience. I sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.

The Career Doctor responds:

I’m sorry for your lack of job-searching success, but pleased that you have taken the time to analyze your situation and recognize that your resume is probably the problem. Anytime you are not getting job interviews, the problem generally lies with your resume or cover letter. (It could also be that you are applying for positions for which you are not qualified — or overqualified, but let’s assume that is not the case.)

I was kind of stunned recently when the results of a recent online poll revealed that almost 50 percent of business professionals thought their resume needed improvement. I can only imagine how high that percentage would be for all job-seekers.

Your resume is one of the most — if not the most — crucial career-marketing tool a job-seeker uses, and yet, as evidenced from the thousands and thousands of resumes I have seen over my career, many job-seekers just do not get either the importance of the resume or simply do not put the time in that is necessary to produce a resume that results in employer interest.

Sometimes, all it takes is some tweaking and minor adjustments, but other times, it is best to start from scratch. How do you decide? Get your resume professionally critiqued. If you are a college student or alum, go to your college’s career services office. Or, hire a professional resume writer (many will critique your resume at no cost). Or, even just ask some of the people in your network to critique for you.

Here are some suggested links for mastering the resume-preparation skills you need:

• Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume
• Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers
• Resume Tutorials for all Job-Seekers
• Why Hire a Professional Resume Writer?

  A career change gives you the opportunity to sharpen the focus of your resume toward the new career or industry. Study ads and job postings in your desired new field, and frame your resume bullet points so that your skills and accomplishments in your current career can be seen as directly applicable to your new career. Use copious keywords that relate to your new career, and tailor your profile, headline, branding statement, or objective statement to your aspiration. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.

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  Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

  

When you’re planning to relocate, submitting your resume with a cover letter to various companies in hopes of establishing a relationship and inquiring about employment opportunities is a great idea. A cover letter is an extremely important part of your employment opportunities but also be sure you’ve devised an overall strategy about relocating. Research companies in the new location, decide which ones to target, and identify key people to contact. Our Quintessential Careers Directory of Company Career Centershttp://www.quintcareers.com/career_centers/ can help you reach major targeted companies. And once you’ve sent out your cover-letter and resume packages, make sure you follow up and contact these people to try to get some interviews, either by phone or as soon as you arrive at your new location. For help with your cover letter, visit Cover Letter Resources for Job-Seekers, which includes a link to our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

When you’re planning to relocate, submitting your resume with a cover letter to various companies in hopes of establishing a relationship and inquiring about employment opportunities is a great idea. A cover letter is an extremely important part of your direct-mail campaign, but also be sure you’ve devised an overall strategy about relocating. Research companies in the new location, decide which ones to target, and identify key people to contact. Our Quintessential Careers Directory of Company Career Centershttp://www.quintcareers.com/career_centers/ can help you reach major targeted companies. And once you’ve sent out your cover-letter and resume packages, make sure you follow up and contact these people to try to get some interviews, either by phone or as soon as you arrive at your new location. For help with your cover letter, visit Cover Letter Resources for Job-Seekers, which includes a link to our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.