This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Will writes:
I have a whole lot of experience, but not a tremendous amount of in any
one area. How could I narrow down my choices so I know what kind of job
to pursue? Also, what would be the best way to lay out my resume?
The Career Doctor responds:
There’s good news and bad news here. As employers continue to downsize
and have employees multitask by combining job functions, there is certainly
a need for job-seekers who have multiple talents and abilities. On the other
hand, job-seekers without a specific focus will rarely ever get a second look
from employers.
So, as you mention, your task is to find a way to parlay your years of
varied job experiences into some cohesive strategy that plays itself out
on your resume. You don’t want to be seen as someone who does not
know what you want to do, or one who gets easily bored.
What is it you want to do next? If you truly have no clue, take the time to
conduct some self-assessment. First, spend some time reviewing all your
experiences (work, hobby, etc.) and make two lists — one with activities you
enjoy and one with activities you never want to do again. You could also
consider taking one or more assessment tests, many of which you can find online.
Once you have a better picture of your likes and interests, the next step
is researching careers that closely match your profile. Take the time to
do this important career exploration. There are a lot of online and print
resources that can help you in this process. My favorite is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Once you’ve identified a career path (or paths), the next step is finding
employers in that field — and developing a strategy for breaking into it. In
any job market, but especially in this job market, your key to success is
building a new network for your new career. Find and join professional
organizations in your new career field, use alumni networks to find
people in your new career field.
Use the Career
Exploration Resources section of Quintessential Careers to help you.
And learn more about networking in the The
Art of Networking section of Quintessential Careers.
And all sorts of great resume-writing tools can be found 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.
- abilities,
- assessment tests,
- career field,
- career path,
- cohesive strategy,
- employers,
- job experiences,
- job market,
- job-seekers,
- Occupational Outlook Handbook,
- resume,
- Resume Resources,
- resume-writing tools,
- self-assessment,
- talents,
- U.S. Department of Labor
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
The Career Doctor responds:
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these
days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward
employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for
advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers
and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues
such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple
glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of
functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers,
and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it
is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing
both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a
functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic
version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based
resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground
daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of
education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer.
On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not
be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify
whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers:
What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner,
Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things
You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
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.
- accomplishments,
- career advancement,
- career changers,
- career field,
- cell phone,
- chrono-functional resume,
- chronological resume,
- colors,
- e-resume,
- email,
- employment gaps,
- employment history,
- fonts,
- headhunters,
- home phone,
- job market,
- job-search,
- job-seeker,
- Katharine Hansen,
- margin widths,
- marketing document,
- misspellings,
- new college grads,
- qualifications,
- Quintessential Careers,
- resume,
- typos
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Eugene writes:
I am a student studying law, and I recently decided to apply for a position as a
paralegal with some law firms. I spent some time looking at your Quintessential
Careers website. Now, I do not doubt for a minute that much research is able to
substantiate the information that you have presented, but I find it difficult to
imagine that some of the techniques you mention do work. What immediately
springs to mind is the section on closing paragraphs: “I will call your office in
the next week to schedule an appointment.”
To me, that sounds quite unorthodox, and perhaps even pushy and rude. I
actually incorporated a line to the same effect in my cover letters after
reading your website, but now I am wondering whether it was the best thing
to do. Could you please explain to me why this works?
The Career Doctor responds:
In any job market, but especially in this job market, job-seekers need to know
how to best market themselves to prospective employers. This self-marketing strategy has several components when writing cover letters.
First, rather than saying something like “I hope you’ll find my qualifications a good
match with what you’re looking for,” you need to show — and tell — the employer that
you are a good match for the position. Describe how your accomplishments, skills, and training are a perfect match for the employer’s needs.
Second, you do need to end your letter with an aggressive stance. If you do not want
to be so aggressive as to say you will call for an interview, you can simply say you
will call to discuss the job. Employers want go-getters, not passive employees.
Third, as I have stated numerous other times, you MUST follow-up all your cover
letters and job applications. Saying you are going to call is the easy part; the hard
part is actually making the phone call. And in the phone call, you need to still be
aggressive in not taking no for an answer — just remember to stay professional
at all times — while showcasing why you are the perfect person for the job.
Find lots more helpful information and resources in the
cover letter 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.
- accomplishments,
- cover letter,
- go-getter,
- interview,
- job applications,
- job market,
- job-seeker,
- prospective employers,
- qualifications,
- Quintessential Careers,
- self-marketing strategy,
- skills,
- training
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Rajan writes:
I have a resume that has large employment gaps. This may be OK for females, but for males, it is a no-no. I have tried different types of resume styles. Nothing.
I don’t get interviews. Is there any way to increase the number of interviews?
How should I explain my resume? At one time I stopped looking for work for about 1.5 years, the biggest gap to explain.
Then I did telemarketing and took a course in it. Telemarketing is not for me. I have stopped again for about 10 months. I don’t want to sit around. Right now I am looking for work as a network administrator. I have a background in hardware and software development, but I can’t move. In this area there is not much call for tech work.
The Career Doctor responds:
The first rule of job-hunting is never expose a weakness to the employer — and never do it before you’ve had a chance to have an interview and build a case for yourself. Yes, employers do worry about employment gaps — for both genders — but you can do some things to make the gaps less obvious and to project yourself in a better light.
First, I would recommend you experiment with a chrono-functional resume that focuses
on your technical achievements and skills. If you already have one, then I suggest you ask a professional colleague, mentor, or resume professional to evaluate and critique it for you. My guess is that you are so focused on these gaps that this weakness comes through on your resume.
Second, plan a strategy for explaining these gaps. Were you doing volunteer work? Were you taking classes? Were you working part-time or as a consultant? You will need to fill these gaps with something so that it doesn’t seem as though you were just sitting
home all that time (even if you were).
Third, are your technical skills current? If not, you might want to take a course or two to make you more marketable.
Fourth, once you have a professional resume and feel more confident about yourself, you need to go back into the job market. And don’t worry so much about location, as there are definitely high-tech jobs where people work from home at least some of the time. Use all the tools available to you to find a job — your network, the Internet, etc.
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.
- chrono-functional resume,
- colleague,
- employment gap,
- female,
- hardware,
- high-tech,
- interview,
- job market,
- male,
- mentor,
- network administrator,
- resume,
- resume professional,
- software,
- strategy,
- telemarketing,
- weakness
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Diane writes:
I would like to send my resume with a cover letter to recruiters/employment
agencies. The career development office I’m working with advises that it is
better to have someone’s name to address the cover letter to. Since it would
require a great deal of time to try and get a staff member’s name for each
agency, would it be acceptable to use a generic salutation, such as Dear
Recruiter?
The Career Doctor responds:
The rules of cover-letter writing are a bit different when writing letters to
headhunters than when writing letters to employers, but the one rule of
all cover letter writing is that the job-seeker must — as best as possible —
address the letters to named individuals. Think about it, when was the last
time you read (junk mail) addressed to “Dear Homeowner” or “Dear Pet
Owner.” If you don’t read these kinds of letters, why should busy professionals?
Job-seekers must always take the time to get names and titles for cover letters.
Before I get to the differences in content, let me also address one other red flag
in your question. Why would you be sending off so many letters to recruiters?
Take the time to research the recruiting agencies that specialize in your field
and in your preferred location — and contact only those recruiters. Don’t waste
your time — and the time of those recruiters — by writing to recruiters who don’t
work in your area.
One other comment about strategy. The majority of recruiters say that the resume
is the single most important document they look at when evaluating job-seekers;
cover letters are a distant second. The message here? Make sure your resume is
exceptional.
Your cover letter to a recruiter should focus on these elements:
- Contact information
- Why you are on the job market
- Job titles and industries of interest to you
- Salary history and salary expectations
For more information about this topic, please read the article published on
Quintessential Careers written by my partner Katharine Hansen:
Cover Letters
to Recruiters Require Special Handling.
You can also follow this link to a
sample cover letter to a recruiter.
And don’t forget to follow all the other guidelines for good cover letters —
especially avoiding typos and misspellings and always being truthful. Find
more resources in this section of Quintessential Careers:
Cover Letter 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.
- career development,
- cover letter,
- Cover Letter Resources,
- industries,
- job market,
- job titles,
- job-seeker,
- junk mail,
- Katharine Hansen,
- Quintessential Careers,
- recruiter,
- recruiting agencies,
- resume,
- salary expectations,
- salary history
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Will writes:
I have a whole lot of experience, but not a tremendous amount of in any
one area. How could I narrow down my choices so I know what kind of job
to pursue? Also, what would be the best way to lay out my resume?
The Career Doctor responds:
There’s good news and bad news here. As employers continue to downsize
and have employees multitask by combining job functions, there is certainly
a need for job-seekers who have multiple talents and abilities. On the other
hand, job-seekers without a specific focus will rarely ever get a second look
from employers.
So, as you mention, your task is to find a way to parlay your years of
varied job experiences into some cohesive strategy that plays itself out
on your resume. You don’t want to be seen as someone who does not
know what you want to do, or one who gets easily bored.
What is it you want to do next? If you truly have no clue, take the time to
conduct some self-assessment. First, spend some time reviewing all your
experiences (work, hobby, etc.) and make two lists — one with activities you
enjoy and one with activities you never want to do again. You could also
consider taking one or more assessment tests, many of which you can find online.
Once you have a better picture of your likes and interests, the next step
is researching careers that closely match your profile. Take the time to
do this important career exploration. There are a lot of online and print
resources that can help you in this process. My favorite is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Once you’ve identified a career path (or paths), the next step is finding
employers in that field — and developing a strategy for breaking into it. In
any job market, but especially in this job market, your key to success is
building a new network for your new career. Find and join professional
organizations in your new career field, use alumni networks to find
people in your new career field.
Use the Career
Exploration Resources section of Quintessential Careers to help you.
And learn more about networking in the The
Art of Networking section of Quintessential Careers.
And all sorts of great resume-writing tools can be found 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.
- abilities,
- assessment tests,
- career field,
- career path,
- cohesive strategy,
- employers,
- job experiences,
- job market,
- job-seekers,
- Occupational Outlook Handbook,
- resume,
- Resume Resources,
- resume-writing tools,
- self-assessment,
- talents,
- U.S. Department of Labor
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
The Career Doctor responds:
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these
days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward
employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for
advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers
and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues
such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple
glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of
functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers,
and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it
is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing
both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a
functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic
version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based
resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground
daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of
education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer.
On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not
be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify
whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers:
What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner,
Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things
You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
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.
- accomplishments,
- career advancement,
- career changers,
- career field,
- cell phone,
- chrono-functional resume,
- chronological resume,
- colors,
- e-resume,
- email,
- employment gaps,
- employment history,
- fonts,
- headhunters,
- home phone,
- job market,
- job-search,
- job-seeker,
- Katharine Hansen,
- margin widths,
- marketing document,
- misspellings,
- new college grads,
- qualifications,
- Quintessential Careers,
- resume,
- typos
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Eugene writes:
I am a student studying law, and I recently decided to apply for a position as a
paralegal with some law firms. I spent some time looking at your Quintessential
Careers website. Now, I do not doubt for a minute that much research is able to
substantiate the information that you have presented, but I find it difficult to
imagine that some of the techniques you mention do work. What immediately
springs to mind is the section on closing paragraphs: “I will call your office in
the next week to schedule an appointment.”
To me, that sounds quite unorthodox, and perhaps even pushy and rude. I
actually incorporated a line to the same effect in my cover letters after
reading your website, but now I am wondering whether it was the best thing
to do. Could you please explain to me why this works?
The Career Doctor responds:
In any job market, but especially in this job market, job-seekers need to know
how to best market themselves to prospective employers. This self-marketing strategy has several components when writing cover letters.
First, rather than saying something like “I hope you’ll find my qualifications a good
match with what you’re looking for,” you need to show — and tell — the employer that
you are a good match for the position. Describe how your accomplishments, skills, and training are a perfect match for the employer’s needs.
Second, you do need to end your letter with an aggressive stance. If you do not want
to be so aggressive as to say you will call for an interview, you can simply say you
will call to discuss the job. Employers want go-getters, not passive employees.
Third, as I have stated numerous other times, you MUST follow-up all your cover
letters and job applications. Saying you are going to call is the easy part; the hard
part is actually making the phone call. And in the phone call, you need to still be
aggressive in not taking no for an answer — just remember to stay professional
at all times — while showcasing why you are the perfect person for the job.
Find lots more helpful information and resources in the
cover letter 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.
- accomplishments,
- cover letter,
- go-getter,
- interview,
- job applications,
- job market,
- job-seeker,
- prospective employers,
- qualifications,
- Quintessential Careers,
- self-marketing strategy,
- skills,
- training
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Diane writes:
I would like to send my resume with a cover letter to recruiters/employment
agencies. The career development office I’m working with advises that it is
better to have someone’s name to address the cover letter to. Since it would
require a great deal of time to try and get a staff member’s name for each
agency, would it be acceptable to use a generic salutation, such as Dear
Recruiter?
The Career Doctor responds:
The rules of cover-letter writing are a bit different when writing letters to
headhunters than when writing letters to employers, but the one rule of
all cover letter writing is that the job-seeker must — as best as possible —
address the letters to named individuals. Think about it, when was the last
time you read (junk mail) addressed to “Dear Homeowner” or “Dear Pet
Owner.” If you don’t read these kinds of letters, why should busy professionals?
Job-seekers must always take the time to get names and titles for cover letters.
Before I get to the differences in content, let me also address one other red flag
in your question. Why would you be sending off so many letters to recruiters?
Take the time to research the recruiting agencies that specialize in your field
and in your preferred location — and contact only those recruiters. Don’t waste
your time — and the time of those recruiters — by writing to recruiters who don’t
work in your area.
One other comment about strategy. The majority of recruiters say that the resume
is the single most important document they look at when evaluating job-seekers;
cover letters are a distant second. The message here? Make sure your resume is
exceptional.
Your cover letter to a recruiter should focus on these elements:
- Contact information
- Why you are on the job market
- Job titles and industries of interest to you
- Salary history and salary expectations
For more information about this topic, please read the article published on
Quintessential Careers written by my partner Katharine Hansen:
Cover Letters
to Recruiters Require Special Handling.
You can also follow this link to a
sample cover letter to a recruiter.
And don’t forget to follow all the other guidelines for good cover letters —
especially avoiding typos and misspellings and always being truthful. Find
more resources in this section of Quintessential Careers:
Cover Letter 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.
- career development,
- cover letter,
- Cover Letter Resources,
- industries,
- job market,
- job titles,
- job-seeker,
- junk mail,
- Katharine Hansen,
- Quintessential Careers,
- recruiter,
- recruiting agencies,
- resume,
- salary expectations,
- salary history
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Rajan writes:
I have a resume that has large employment gaps. This may be OK for females, but for males, it is a no-no. I have tried different types of resume styles. Nothing.
I don’t get interviews. Is there any way to increase the number of interviews?
How should I explain my resume? At one time I stopped looking for work for about 1.5 years, the biggest gap to explain.
Then I did telemarketing and took a course in it. Telemarketing is not for me. I have stopped again for about 10 months. I don’t want to sit around. Right now I am looking for work as a network administrator. I have a background in hardware and software development, but I can’t move. In this area there is not much call for tech work.
The Career Doctor responds:
The first rule of job-hunting is never expose a weakness to the employer — and never do it before you’ve had a chance to have an interview and build a case for yourself. Yes, employers do worry about employment gaps — for both genders — but you can do some things to make the gaps less obvious and to project yourself in a better light.
First, I would recommend you experiment with a chrono-functional resume that focuses
on your technical achievements and skills. If you already have one, then I suggest you ask a professional colleague, mentor, or resume professional to evaluate and critique it for you. My guess is that you are so focused on these gaps that this weakness comes through on your resume.
Second, plan a strategy for explaining these gaps. Were you doing volunteer work? Were you taking classes? Were you working part-time or as a consultant? You will need to fill these gaps with something so that it doesn’t seem as though you were just sitting
home all that time (even if you were).
Third, are your technical skills current? If not, you might want to take a course or two to make you more marketable.
Fourth, once you have a professional resume and feel more confident about yourself, you need to go back into the job market. And don’t worry so much about location, as there are definitely high-tech jobs where people work from home at least some of the time. Use all the tools available to you to find a job — your network, the Internet, etc.
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.
- chrono-functional resume,
- colleague,
- employment gap,
- female,
- hardware,
- high-tech,
- interview,
- job market,
- male,
- mentor,
- network administrator,
- resume,
- resume professional,
- software,
- strategy,
- telemarketing,
- weakness
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Aldon writes:
I read your website with great interest and was thinking you could help me in my situation.
I’ve resigned my job of 2.5 years looking for a better opportunities and prospects. I
found a new job about 2 months ago. However, I feel that the way the management
manages the company is very unprofessional, and I was never paid for my very first
month. (Basically, this company has cash-flow problem, so I can forget about my
bonus!) I have decided to resign during my probation period. I need to look for a new
job, however, I don’t know how I should indicate this job of 2 months on my resume.
(I like this job scope but I do not see my long term growth and prospects in this
company.)
If I do include the job, how should I do it such a way that I do not reduce my chances
of securing an interview? And, during interview, how should I explain to prospective
employer of my plight?
The Career Doctor responds:
Remember when developing your resume that the resume is not a depositary
of all your experiences and accomplishments — just the ones that will help you
attain your next position. Note: I am not advocating adding material that is not
true to your resume, but rather editing it to contain only the most important and
relevant information to the position you seek.
That said, in most cases, I would be tempted to not include the most recent job.
Your time there is too short and it sounds like you only have negative things to say
about the company — and you never want to say those things when you are trying to
explain why you only stayed with the company for 2 months.
In today’s job market, many people go much longer than 2 months between jobs, so
keep it off your resume. If you do decide not to include it, you may need a story about
what you have been doing since you resigned your previous job.
Your situation is also a good lesson for other job-seekers to understand: when job-hunting
you must learn as much as you can about the companies where you interview — including
the corporate culture, management style, financial stability, and growth prospects.
It’s also important that the company you work for respects your values. For help identifying
some of these values, go to this Quintessential Careers assessment:
Workplace Values
Assessment: Do You Know the Work Values You Most Want in a Job and an Employer —
and Does Your Current Employment Reflect Those Values?
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.
- accomplishments,
- and growth prospects,
- corporate culture,
- experiences,
- financial stability,
- interview,
- job market,
- job-hunting,
- job-seekers,
- management style,
- probation period,
- prospective employer,
- Quintessential Careers,
- resume
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.
- accomplishments,
- budget cuts,
- employment gap,
- job history,
- job interview,
- job market,
- job-seekers,
- marketing document,
- phone numbers,
- Quintessential Careers,
- resume,
- salary information,
- supervisor's name
As the saying goes, we get only one chance to make a first impression, explains
Elizabeth Freedman in her article for Quint Careers,
Cover Letters That Count.
In a competitive job market where human resources departments are flooded with applicants,
a first impression may be your only opportunity to make an impact. When trying to land a first
job or internship, a strong, succinct cover letter is one of the best tools you can use to get
noticed. And unlike other first impressions, the cover letter puts the opportunity to succeed
largely in your hands.
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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