This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
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:
Julie writes: I have been unemployed for a little over a year, but I have been doing all the paper work for my husband’s business he has on the side. I also live on a farm. So I really haven’t been employed. How would I add this in my resume? If I leave it off they will think I haven’t been working.
So many job-seekers are in a similar situations as yours. Perhaps they worked for a family business, perhaps it was volunteer work, or perhaps it was taking a year off to go back to school…But what you and all these other job-seekers don’t understand is that all these things add up to your specific mix of skills and abilities. Employers are more interested in job-seekers that have been doing something during a hiatus from full-time, paid employment than job-seekers who appear to have been doing nothing,
What’s the answer? Don’t discount any of the year that you’ve been working on the farm and helping your husband’s business. Instead, embrace that experience. Find experience, skills, and accomplishments that you can pull from the past year’s work. If you find the experience doesn’t quite fit into a neat career path, then consider experimenting by supplementing your conventional chronological resume with a chrono-functional style. What’s the difference? Chronological resumes focus on your job history while chrono-functional resumes focus on specific (transferable) skills sets you’ve mastered. Read more in these articles published on Quintessential Careers: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? and Strategic Portrayal of Transferable Skills is a Vital Job-search Technique.
You can also find many more resume-related articles and tutorials in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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.
Place a powerful headline at the top of your cover letter, says Jimmy Sweeney, president of CareerJimmy and author of the “Amazing Cover Letter Creator.” “Just above the greeting in your cover letter (Dear Mrs. Smith), place your ‘killer’ headline in boldface print and center it on the page. (Two lines maximum.),” Sweeney suggests.
He offers these three examples of first-rate cover-letter headlines — the secret, he says, to landing more quality job interviews:
- Three reasons I feel confident I’m the candidate you’re searching for regarding the [insert job opening title here].
- I have visited the [company name] website and believe I am a great match for the position of [insert job opening title here].
- I would love the opportunity to be interviewed in person for the position of [insert job opening title here].
“By creating a stellar headline you are attracting attention to your cover letter,” Sweeney says, “and bringing it the attention it deserves. Starting your cover letter off with an attention-grabbing headline is a highly effective way for you to stand out from the crowd in a positive light.”
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:
Kris writes:
Should I have a cover letter to accompany my resume when I go for an interview on Tuesday?
If you can assist me in any way I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
The main purpose of a cover letter is to entice a prospective employer to review your resume in consideration for a job interview, and since you have cut through the process and already have an interview, a cover letter seems unnecessary at this point.
Do make sure your resume is sharp in appearance and directed specifically at the job you are seeking. Just as you would write a different cover letter for each position, so too should you tweak your resume for each position.
Instead of the cover letter, if you have a portfolio of samples of your work experience, bring it along to the interview. And be sure to bring multiple copies of your resume.
And before the interview, be sure to brush up on the types of questions you are expecting in the interview. You don’t want to memorize your answers, but you do want to have a basic story prepared so that you will showcase your experience and fit.
Let me just add a final comment about cover letters. First, when you are applying for any position — unless the employer specifically requests you not send one — you should always send a cover letter and resume as part of your job-search package. Your cover letter should be brief and specifically address why you are the perfect candidate for the position. Cover letters should be no longer than 3-5 short paragraphs — and never longer than one page.
You can read more about special cover letter formats that grab employers’ attention, as well as find lots more articles and tools in the cover letter section of Quintessential Careers.
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:
Shawn writes:
I have worked for Wal-Mart for the past three years. Last year I was promoted to
department manager. Around that time I also started college studying software programming.
About nine months after I started the department-manager position, I voluntarily stepped down
to concentrate more on my school work. The thing is, I have a job interview coming up in my
desired field that I have been going to school for. What I was wondering was, if they ask
why I stepped down, what should I say? I don’t want it to seem as if I am not willing to “go
up the corporate ladder” within the company. I am willing to do so, it just wasn’t in my
career path to be a manager in a retail company.
The Career Doctor responds:
It’s funny, because I don’t see it as much of a problem for the interview as I do on your resume. If you already have at least one interview lined up, then I assume you’ve handled it properly on your resume.
In normal situations, a step backward could easily be perceived by prospective employers as being a major red flag. Many might see your situation and assume you are either lacking the skills or the drive to be successful.
However, you can totally spin your situation into a win-win. Here’s what you have going for you: First, you highlight your time-management skills by showcasing how you managed to work full-time and attend college. Second, you can showcase your loyalty to the company by voluntarily stepping down from the manager position for their best interest — since you knew you could not do the job justice and attend college. Third, you can discuss how retail was simply a tool to help pay for college (while also gaining valuable experience) and that what you are studying in college is preparing you for your future career.
Just don’t go negative. Don’t trash retail or the company. Instead, talk about some of your key accomplishments, as well as the transferable skills you have developed while working there. Show how the combination of your experience and education make you the ideal candidate for the position.
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:
Randle writes:
My question for you is how heavily do prospective employers consider the fact that you have been fired? I have asked others whether I should I remove this place of employment from my resume, and most have said no because it will leave an unexplainable gap in my employment. I was only employed there for 6 months and was terminated because I didn’t fit in. I was told there was no room there for me anymore and they were going to hire someone else.
The Career Doctor responds:
Your letter just goes to show how callous some employers can be. So sorry, we don’t really like you and you don’t fit, so see you later. Of course, in some ways, that employer did you a favor because it’s certainly better to find out sooner rather than later.
My opinion is that as long as this was not a dead-end job, that you should include it on your resume.
There are several ways to judge whether you should put this job on your resume. You need to decide how important it is to your career advancement. If this was your first job in your field, then you need to use it to show you have experience… If you gained valuable skills from this job, you need to include it. And if you have solid accomplishments, you need to include the job.
On the other hand, if you were taking classes or volunteering at the same time as this job — and you have something to fill the gap, then you might consider omitting it.
Most importantly, do not call attention to it. Don’t say you were fired. Simply list it as you do any other employment on your resume. Remember: no negative information on your resume.
Once you get to the next level of your job search — the job interview — you will need to have an explanation about the short stint. And what employers are looking for is not any kind of excuse; what employers want to hear is what you learned from it, so always look for a positive lesson.
Being fired can certainly be traumatic, and job-seekers sometimes feel as though they have been branded with a big “F” on their foreheads, but you need to clear your head and move on, otherwise your lack of confidence will come through in your job search.
Read more in my article, Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth, published on Quintessential Careers.
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.
Jimmy Sweeney, president of CareerJimmy and author of the www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com, advises “Ask for the job interview upfront. Says Sweeney: “Make your intention clear. “May we meet to discuss the position of [Fill in job title here]. I’m available at your convenience. I look forward to the opportunity for a personal interview.” (Now there’s a statement that practically commands a response.)
Another nice, clear and direct statement requesting a job interview:
“I’m eager to meet you in person to discuss [Insert job title here] how I can exceed your company’s expectation for this position. All I can ask for is the opportunity to be interviewed and I am prepared for that chance. I sincerely thank you for your consideration.”
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:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
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:
Julie writes: I have been unemployed for a little over a year, but I have been doing all the paper work for my husband’s business he has on the side. I also live on a farm. So I really haven’t been employed. How would I add this in my resume? If I leave it off they will think I haven’t been working.
So many job-seekers are in a similar situations as yours. Perhaps they worked for a family business, perhaps it was volunteer work, or perhaps it was taking a year off to go back to school…But what you and all these other job-seekers don’t understand is that all these things add up to your specific mix of skills and abilities. Employers are more interested in job-seekers that have been doing something during a hiatus from full-time, paid employment than job-seekers who appear to have been doing nothing,
What’s the answer? Don’t discount any of the year that you’ve been working on the farm and helping your husband’s business. Instead, embrace that experience. Find experience, skills, and accomplishments that you can pull from the past year’s work. If you find the experience doesn’t quite fit into a neat career path, then consider experimenting by supplementing your conventional chronological resume with a chrono-functional style. What’s the difference? Chronological resumes focus on your job history while chrono-functional resumes focus on specific (transferable) skills sets you’ve mastered. Read more in these articles published on Quintessential Careers: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? and Strategic Portrayal of Transferable Skills is a Vital Job-search Technique.
You can also find many more resume-related articles and tutorials in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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.
To get what we need and want we must ask for it,” advises Jimmy Sweeney, president of CareerJimmy and author of www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com. “Yet, when it comes to including in a cover letter, the all-important request for a job interview, some job-seekers shy away from asking, ‘May I meet you to discuss the opening for restaurant manager (or whatever the position may be)?’ or ‘May I come to your office for an interview?’”
ASKING is essential, Sweeney says. “Without the question, the hiring manager has no reason to respond. Your cover letter might read well, but unless you ask for an interview, the manager will likely set your letter aside. You risk the chance of never hearing from that person about your interest in the job opening.”
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.
Jimmy Sweeney, author of the “Amazing Cover Letter Creator,” suggests writing a cover letter that “take[s] back control and win[s] more interview opportunities immediately.”
Here’s how Sweeney says to do so:
- Write a NEW kind of cover letter. ASK for the job interview and mean it. No polite suggestions or innuendos. Be upfront, clear and direct:
“I would appreciate meeting in person to discuss the position of [fill in job title here]. I will adjust my schedule to meet yours. What time and date work best for you? I welcome the opportunity for a personal interview.” (Now THAT’S a statement that all but demands a response.)
“May we schedule an interview when it works best for you? [Insert company name here], is at the top of my list of companies I’d like to work for and I’d love to meet with you in person to discuss the position of [fill in job title here].” (Another nice, clear and direct statement to be called for the job interview).
- Dial an interview. Wait for several days after you mail your cover letter. Then pick up the phone and call the person in charge and ASK for an interview person-to-person. Don’t sound pushy, just eager to get together. Your enthusiasm will impress him/her. Example: “Are you free for 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon? I would love to interview for the position of [fill in job title here].
- Send an e-mail. Professionals today rely on e-mail for quick messages. Use this effective means of communicating to your advantage. Follow up your original cover letter with an e-mail reminder. Something like this will work.
Dear Mr./Ms. Jones:
On September 10 I sent a cover letter and resume to apply for the position of sales manager at Sunshine Corporation. I’m sure you have many applications to sort through but I feel confident that I’m just what you’re looking for. I would welcome the chance to interview for this position and am asking for that opportunity when your schedule permits. Thank you for taking a moment to read my request. I look forward to meeting with you in person.
Jill Job Seeker jilljobseeker@xyz.com
“That’s it!,” Sweeney says. “Take charge in an upbeat and friendly way, and you’ll be in charge. And remember to follow up everything. Step up to the quality job interviews today — and tomorrow you just may be launching the career of your dreams.”
Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the new www.amazing-cover-letters.com. Jimmy is also the author of several career-elated books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets.”
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:
Brian writes:
I came across Quintessential Careers last night as I was trying to unearth the answer to a question which was plaguing me all night.
I’d be most grateful if you could tell me whether or not one should include a resume with a broadcast letter.
I’ve heard conflicting opinions on the subject. What’s your advice?
The Career Doctor responds:
The answer is: it depends.
Although not talked about as much compared to networking and online job-hunting, a broadcast cover letter is part of a direct marketing campaign by the job-seeker —in which you identify a list of prospective employers, research the names of the hiring managers at each employer, and send an unsolicited letter to tap into what has been called “the hidden job market.”
The strength of this strategy is that you can sometimes catch a hiring manager just as an opening is occurring, giving you sort of a first-strike advantage over other job-seekers before the position is even advertised — internally or externally. Because turnover happens frequently, a broadcast letter is still a good job-seeker strategy.
But I never liked using the term broadcast letter because it carries the implication that the job-seeker can write one cover letter and broadcast it to a large number of employers — and that strategy will just not work.
If you want to effectively use a direct-marketing approach, you will need to target (customize) each letter for each prospective employer. While parts of the letters can be the same, you will need to adjust other parts to showcase your knowledge of the company.
Should you include a resume with your cover letter? My view is yes — always. But again, as with the cover letter, you will need to customize each resume to each employer. You’ll want to use some of the keywords that each employer uses in describing themselves in describing yourself.
Other experts, such as Jeffrey Fox, author of Don’t Send a Resume, say that job-seekers should send resume after first winning over the hiring manager with a dazzling cover letter. In fact, Fox says a job-seeker should not send a resume to the employer until after the job interview — so that the resume can be as narrowly targeted to the position and employer as possible.
Read more about cover letters — and resumes — in these sections of Quintessential Careers.
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:
Kris writes:
Should I have a cover letter to accompany my resume when I go for an interview on Tuesday?
If you can assist me in any way I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
The main purpose of a cover letter is to entice a prospective employer to review your resume in consideration for a job interview, and since you have cut through the process and already have an interview, a cover letter seems unnecessary at this point.
Do make sure your resume is sharp in appearance and directed specifically at the job you are seeking. Just as you would write a different cover letter for each position, so too should you tweak your resume for each position.
Instead of the cover letter, if you have a portfolio of samples of your work experience, bring it along to the interview. And be sure to bring multiple copies of your resume.
And before the interview, be sure to brush up on the types of questions you are expecting in the interview. You don’t want to memorize your answers, but you do want to have a basic story prepared so that you will showcase your experience and fit.
Let me just add a final comment about cover letters. First, when you are applying for any position — unless the employer specifically requests you not send one — you should always send a cover letter and resume as part of your job-search package. Your cover letter should be brief and specifically address why you are the perfect candidate for the position. Cover letters should be no longer than 3-5 short paragraphs — and never longer than one page.
You can read more about special cover letter formats that grab employers’ attention, as well as find lots more articles and tools in the cover letter section of Quintessential Careers.
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:
LaVerne writes:
I am preparing to send a letter requesting an informational interview. However, I was wondering if it would be appropriate for me to enclose my resume with the letter?
Would you be kind enough to let me know what is proper professional etiquette?
The Career Doctor responds:
Informational interviews are the ultimate networking technique, so I applaud your efforts to not only conduct one, but to do so properly and professionally.
Informational interviews are meetings you request to gather information and expand your network of contacts. What kind of information? The information you need to choose or refine a career path, learn how to break in and find out if you have what it takes to succeed. It’s the process of spending time (usually about 20-30 minutes, but sometimes much longer) with someone at a more advanced level in their career in a highly focused conversation that provides you with key information you need to launch or boost your career.
The letter you send to a potential interviewee should be short and to the point. It is similar to a cover letter, but instead of asking for a job interview, you are requesting an informational interview. Do NOT send a resume with your letter, but DO bring a copy of your resume to the interview in case the interviewer asks to see it. Remember, an informational interview is NOT a backdoor method of gaining a job interview.
Your letter should include a brief introduction about yourself and why you are writing to this particular individual. Be specific about your career interests and request an interview to gain his or her insights into the field. The last paragraph should include a sentence about how and when you will follow-up with this person.
Get a much more detailed overview of everything you could possibly ever want to know about informational interviews by going to the Quintessential Careers Informational Interview 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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Yuanjie writes:
I am now writing my resume and cover letter based on your online advice. I am a student and will get my PhD degree in mechanical engineering soon.
My resume is slightly more than one page. Do I have to compress it into one page?
The Career Doctor responds:
I’m glad you are thinking ahead and working on your job-search materials. What do you plan to do after you receive your Ph.D.?
Do you plan to go into business/industry? If so, then you probably do want to write a resume. In this case, I would guess your resume will be longer than a page — just based on your education alone. I believe it’s almost always best to go to a two-page resume than to reduce font size and margins (and readability) just to get your resume to fit on one page. Remember the rule that if you go to a second page, that the second page should have enough content to fill at least half a page.
Or do you plan to go into academia? If so, then what you really need is a curriculum vitae, which shares some attributes with a resume, but which tends to be longer because there is more information is included in a CV. An academic CV would include information beyond your education and experience, including scholarly contributions, professional development, teaching, and service.
That said, the goal of a resume and CV is the same. These are marketing documents designed to help you get to the next step in the job-search process — the job interview.
Learn more about CVs by reading this article published on Quintessential Careers: Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV).
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.
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.
Today’s posting is a guest entry from the “Career Doctor,” Randall S. Hansen, PhD
Jeff writes:
Recently I was terminated from a sales position after two months. I am considering whether or not to include the employment on my resume. My employment gap will only be two months if I exclude the position.
Would it be better to list the position and use the term downsized? Or should I use terminated?
Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.
The Career Doctor responds:
Let me reiterate a critical point about resumes that all job-seekers should tuck into the back of your heads: A resume is not an all-inclusive job history. Your resume is a marketing document. You tailor the facts in your resume to fit each job with each employer. Notice I did say facts. I am not advocating lying on a resume; I am advocating making your resume a unique document for each opportunity you seek.
And here is a second point about resumes. Never provide unnecessary information. You do not need to make any mention on your resume why you left a particular job — simply put the start and end dates. You should also NOT put your supervisor’s name, your salary information, or phone numbers. For each job you have held that you wish to include, you should list your job title, the organization’s name and location (city, state), dates of employment, and your key accomplishments.
You don’t say why you were terminated so quickly, but two months is such a short stint that I would never recommend including it on your resume. And you’re right, two months is not much of a gap, especially in the current job market.
Regardless of how you handle this job on your resume, however, you will need to have some sort of story to tell in the job interview — either about why you only lasted two months on the job or why you have a two-month gap on your resume. In terms of lingo, downsized usually results from budget cuts and does not reflect on the quality of your work while terminated says your work was no longer needed (or was bad, ineffective, etc.).
If you are working on your resume, visit this section of Quintessential Careers for much more resume advice, tips, and samples: Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers.
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.
Today’s posting is a guest entry from the “Career Doctor,” Randall S. Hansen, PhD
Tanya writes:
I saw your web site while searching for advice on cover letters. Someone told me that cover letters are really obsolete, yet I find a lot of stuff written about them. So, what’s your advice? Should job-seekers like me really still be concerned with writing cover letters?
The Career Doctor responds:
I wonder where some of these ideas come from, but I can tell you as directly as I can that cover letters play a vital role in the job-search process when done correctly. Cover letters should entice the reader, draw him/her into your story — enough so to turn the page and review your resume.
Is that all, you may ask? Yes, that’s the function of a cover letter — to get your resume reviewed a little more carefully than without it, which in turn, ideally, leads to an invitation to a job interview.
A cover letter specifically addresses the job you are seeking and how your unique attributes make you the ideal candidate — the perfect fit — for the job and the organization.
Here’s a quick rundown of what your cover letter should entail.
First, the length. Always err on the side of being brief, so no more than one page, and really about four paragraphs total. If it’s an email cover letter, it should be even shorter.
Second, the content. The first paragraph must engage the reader. Make it dynamic. Make it weave the reader into the rest of the letter. Don’t waste it with some boring formulaic sentence. The second and third paragraphs give specific details that highlight your qualifications and your fit with the position and the organization; if possible, use some of the employers own words here. Your last paragraph should thank the reader and request an interview. You should also say you plan to follow-up the letter at a later date — you must be proactive.
Third, the follow-up. Sending out the cover letter and resume is an extremely important step, but only the first of many. Job-seekers must follow-up by contacting the employer shortly after they expect the letter to arrive — to show your interest and enthusiasm for the job and organization.
For more cover letter tips, please visit this section of Quintessential Careers: Cover Letter Resources for Job-Seekers.
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.
Has this ever happened to you? You’ve been instructed to list your career accomplishments, and you can’t think of any. Or you’re asked in a job interview, “What accomplishments are you most proud of?” — and you freeze up. You know you have had accomplishments, but you just can’t dredge them up. The inability to come up with accomplishments happens to lots of job-seekers. We know because we’ve asked our resume and cover-letter clients to list accomplishments as part of the process of preparing their job-search materials. Although we stress that accomplishments are far more important than duties and responsibilities, a surprising number of clients are unable to articulate beyond the day-to-day tasks they performed in their jobs. Accomplishments are the points that really help sell you to an employer — much more so than everyday job duties, and you can leverage your accomplishments for job-search success at all stages of the process: resume, cover letter, interview, and more. Find out more about why and how to use your accomplishments in our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.
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.
Cover letters play a vital role in the job-search process when done correctly, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD. Cover letters should entice the reader, draw him/her into your story — enough so to turn the page and review your resume. Is that all, you may ask? Yes, that’s the function of a cover letter — to get your resume reviewed a little more carefully than without it, which in turn, ideally, leads to an invitation to a job interview. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see 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.
It is the well-written cover letter — not the resume — that can single-handedly land you more job interviews, asserts Jimmy Sweeney in his article for Quint Careers, the 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. The cover letter is your one chance to really market yourself to an employer using proven marketing strategies rarely found in the typical cover letter.
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.
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