Beginning your job search

The first step is to decide what type of job you are looking for, or what interests or skills you have. This can be done by making a list such as, working with computers, working with animals, organised etc. This will help to match your interests and skills to areas of work or specific jobs. The second step is where and how to look for a job.

Speculative letters

A covering letter is an application for a specific advertised job. A speculative letter is sent directly to a company to enquire about a job matching your skills. It is a good idea to send speculative letters to companies which interest you. You might have just the qualifications and skills needed to fill a vacancy. Even if there is nothing available at the time, many employers would rather turn to their pile of speculative letters than spend money on advertising.

Some estimates say more than 50% of vacancies are never advertised, so it is always worth contacting an employer to find out what job opportunities are available.

How to write a speculative letter:

• Research - research means finding out about job opportunities or companies which match your skills/interests. A starting point is your local paper for job advertisements and also articles which may announce new companies moving to the area, or companies that are expanding and therefore likely to be taking on extra staff. Your local library or the Yellow Pages can help locate companies.
• Content - Once you have identified a company you would like to work for and call them and explain the type of job or which department e.g. accounts you are enquiring about and ask who is responsible for recruiting new staff. Make sure you get the full name and job title of the person concerned and check your spelling! This shows you have done your research and want to make a good impression.
  
  Write your speculative letter making it as specific to the company as possible. The letter needs to outline the main reasons why you are interested in working for the company or organisation. Match what you can offer with the work of the company and highlight your strengths, qualifications and experience. Remember to send your CV with your letter.

Key tips for letter layout

• Use A4, 80g, white paper to print your letter and CV
• Make sure you set equal margins on the page e.g. 2cm
• Use one side of paper only
• Include the company address and date
• Start your letter with Dear + (name of person writing to)
• End your letter with Yours sincerely and type your first and last name
• Sign the letter with your name
• Use a font style and size which is clear and easy to read e.g. size 12 font, Arial
• Check for spelling mistakes and ask someone else to look over your letter before you send it.

Techniques for an effective job search

Searching for a job can be time consuming and frustrating. Make it easier for yourself by creating positive job search techniques - one step at a time will turn your hard work into your dream job.

Seven steps to success

Step one: self analysis

Before you start frantically searching through your local paper and applying for any jobs going, it is a good idea to think about what you really want to do. Make a list of your interests, skills, achievements, experiences, goals and values. Ask yourself - What is important to you? What are you enthusiastic about? What do you want from an employer? It is these things that can make you stand out as the ideal candidate for a job. Knowing what you want to do gives you much more focus when applying for jobs - saving you time and energy.

Follow the self-analysis techniques as described in the 'Making career choices' section will help you to think about the type of employer that will offer you what you want. Think about:

• what you want from work e.g. training/9am-5pm working hours
• where you want to work
• an appropriate and realistic salary

Realistically, no job is going to be perfect. For example, you have applied for an office job with training, leading to a recognised qualification and benefits of a pension/healthcare. However, the salary is less than you were expecting. Consider if the advantages outweigh the disadvantage of the initial lower salary.

Step two: get organised

It is best to think about job-hunting as a job in itself. Set aside time to:

• make phone calls
• research different jobs, companies and vacancies
• write and send out letters, CVs and application forms,
• prepare for and attend interviews

This is all perfectly manageable if you give yourself a daily schedule. Plan the days and times that you are going to work on your job search. Give yourself deadlines for each task.

The real scoop on resume length

Add focused power behind communicating what you offer to a potential employer in your resume without making it too lengthy and wordy by following these simple rules.

You’ve spent your career being the A-list “go-to” person in your department or company. Awards hang on your wall, and the company exec pops in to personally give you a “good job” handshake every so often. You’re in good standing with an admirable track record. Does your résumé reflect that?

Most people spend the majority of their résumé space citing a laundry list of what they did, rather than focusing on their accomplishments, and worrying about the length of the overall document. More importantly, they don’t effectively showcase their top-line value proposition to prospective employers.

When it is not uncommon for hiring managers to receive 100, 200 and even up to 500 résumés for each open position, communicating what makes you stand out is even more critical. And résumé length has everything to do with it. The devil is in the details, and in this case, the details have to be short, sweet and to the point.

Delivering a concise, value-laden résumé takes critical editing skills. Many people end up edging past two pages once the details start to flow. This is exactly the point where the red pen needs to come out and ruthless changes need to happen. One résumé writing expert recently announced that she is now down to a one-page résumé summary for executives, who are usually the ones who flow onto three pages. (!)

So how do you shorten your background into a tidy and clear illustration about your value to prospective employers?

You need to show what you are capable of doing, not what you’ve done on a daily level. To get to this point, the truth hurts as you begin the editing process. A good way of thinking about it is to frame your background the following way:

Action (what you did) + Results (what was the outcome to company) = your value to the prospective employer Take off that one responsibility that you really enjoyed but didn’t produce results. Trim down extensive training and professional development classes that you’ve taken…leaving just the “cherry picked” top-notch opportunities that are the most relevant to your background.

Train yourself to think about your background in terms of not what you did on a daily basis but what the overall results were to the company as a whole.Did you make them money? Save them money? Save them time? Or in the case of non-profit organizations…did you expand services? Make efficiency changes? Increase outreach and exposure?

By adopting this approach, you can drastically shorten your résumé but add focused power behind communicating what you offer to a potential employer. It’ll have an amazing effect on your viability as a candidate, and you won’t be worrying about how long your résumé is at all.

What employers want – and do not want – in your resume

What makes recruiters take notice of a resume, and what do they wish the candidate had omitted from it? Here are some tips to help you create a perfect resume that gives the recruiter the right amount and kind of information.

You are struggling to understand what employers want in a resume: What will make them stand up and take notice? In many ways, what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in.

Employers and recruiters welcome a resume that shows:

• You have the skills to handle the job.
• You will contribute something in addition to skills, as demonstrated by achievements at your current job (“chosen employee of the month,” “saved company $1,500 in recycle costs”), volunteer work and work-related courses.
• You take pride in your work, as shown in part by the care you take to create a presentable resume.

What employers and recruiters do not want in a resume is:

• Your life history. Focus your resume on the requirements of the job. Employers and recruiters want to know that you can handle the job you are applying for.
• Excuses. If you do not have job experience, stress education. If you lack one skill, stress another and your ability to learn.
• Inconsistencies. Always tell the truth on your resume. Also, if you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other online site, make sure you appear in a professional light at all times and that the information on those sites matches the information on your resume.

10 common resume flaws

An effective resume is a vital tool when you are looking for a job. However, most resumes fail to draw the attention of potential employers for predictable flaws and are rejected outright.You can rectify these with a little help.

An effective resume is a vital tool when you are looking for a job. However, most resumes fail to draw the attention of potential employers for predictable flaws and are rejected outright. Here’s a look at some of the resume sinkers and how you can avoid them and prosper in life!

• Dense text: A content heavy resume with running text on the page is taxing for the eyes and looks highly unprofessional. Your resume should not be a never-ending one with minute details. Rather, stick to the standard norm of a two-page resume,  skimming the most relevant information. Use headings and sub-headings if required. Remember - your resume is not a biography, rather a marketing tool to land you the desired job.
• Faulty font style: Resumes with various font types and sizes make them look as though they are lifted and pasted from various sources. Standardise the font sizes and styles to hold on the reader’s attention. Never use “all caps” mode as it’s not eye-friendly at all. (Also read: 4 steps to the right resume format)
• Improper career Objective: The career objective is meant to tell the recruiter what you want to do. Don’t try and hyper the effect and make it a means to impress recruiters. Be job-specific and stick to the basics by being precise, terse and crisp.
• Bluffs or lies: These days, the employers do a background check on the information provided by you in the resume. So, never lie on stuff for which you have no documented proof. Rather, highlight your strengths and achievements effectively. (Read: Is your CV a lie?)
• Inserting picture: Never put your picture in the resume, unless asked for. Most employers look for skills rather than the looks of the employee and the picture is immaterial.
• Understating skills: Not showcasing your actual skills in the resume is a fatal flaw. The recruiter checks for specific skills, so put relevant skills for the job you are applying in bold to avoid being overlooked. But, don’t boldface everything as it loses effectiveness then. Make your skills and knowledge relevant and compatible to the job you are applying  for.
• Work experience in chronological order: Not listing work experience in reverse chronological order is zany. A resume should never be  chronological, so that your work history is not buried under unrelated work. Don't make it a past-oriented resume, rather, make a future-looking resume matching your skill sets, highlighting your unique selling points.
• Presence of grammatical errors: Poor sentence structure and construction and grammatical flaws are a strict no-no. Review it many times to cross-check on the same so that the resume is impeccable. A grammatically flawed resume is not worth reading.
• Consisting irrelevant information: Don’t include information about your school time projects or basic trainings that you may have attended. Also, do not list your height, weight, marital status and other irrelevant details in the resume.
• Missing the important industry keywords: Leaving out important industry keywords is like ruining your chances in the fast changing competitive scenario. Try and use technical jargon as much as possible to showcase your strength in marketing yourself. (Also read: Using the right keywords)

By following these tips, you can avoid flaws that prevent employers from considering your resume seriously. But the basic rule is that your resume must be concise, clear, focused, persuasive and credible. It must be aesthetically-pleasing, strategically formatted, and relevant and essentially answer the question of the employer,"Why should I hire you?"

Resume mistakes: The 5 worst resume sins

Resume is a company’s first look at what skills and accomplishments you might bring to the job. Don’t make it their last look! Be sure to avoid these major resume mistakes.

Your resume is a company’s first look at what skills and accomplishments you might bring to the job. Don’t make it their last look! Be sure to avoid these major resume mistakes:

1. You failed to tailor your resume to the specific job you want. So even though you have the skills that the company asked for in their advertisement or posting, you left the details out of your resume. Those specific skills must be in your resume and should be prominent, preferably at the top of your resume. (Also read: Tips to write an effective resume)

2. Your contact information is incomplete and does not include a professional e-mail address. A professional e-mail address consists of your first and last name. Cute e-mail addresses are not professional. If you have a common name, try putting your last name first or adding numbers after your name. Avoid the numbers 1 and 0. In some fonts, they look like letters and can confuse people reading your resume. Does your johndoe1 address refer to John Doe One or John Doel?

3. You lied about or apologized for or over-explained your qualifications. If you lack confidence in your abilities, how can an employer have confidence that you are the right person to hire? A resume should describe you honestly but also show you at your best. (Also read: Over-qualified or under-qualified? Handle it )

4. You did not proofread the last draft. A last minute change might affect your entire resume. For example, if you add a word on page one, it might force a line awkwardly onto page two or even create a blank page. Or perhaps you corrected the spelling of a company name in one place but neglected to change it in another place. Always proofread the last draft as carefully as the first draft.

5. You never sent the resume out. You had so much advice from friends and relations that you became paralyzed by the chance of making a mistake. If you never send out a resume, you will never be asked to interview. In truth, no one keeps track of how many resumes you send out or how many never receive a response. All you need is one “yes.” Send your resume out today and start asking for that “yes.” (Read more on Resume preparation)

Tips to get your online resume noticed

Job portals are one of the easiest, most convenient and also the most economical ways of going about a job search; but to make sure your search is successful there are some must-dos you need to follow.

You sign up for a web portal and then sit back – waiting for a deluge of jobs to appear in your mailbox… Three months later, you have only those first few, that appeared in week one of your signing up. You wonder if the portal is just a gimmick and begin to lose hope. Sounds familiar?

Well here are some handy tips to get your online resume to work for you. Yes, you need to do more than just fill in a few fields and wait, if you are seriously interested in landing a job. Job portals are one of the easiest, most convenient and most economical ways of going about a job search; but to crack it you must know the nuances of doing your search right. (Also read: 6 deadly job search traps) Here are some important must-dos you need to follow.

Completing your profile
The first time you log in, you possibly create only 60% or less of your profile. It is advisable that you complete your profile 100% and this means completing all given fields, the earliest possible. Many job search engines have a matching based technology like shine.com, which match your profile with the recruiter’s desired profile and accordingly throw back results to the recruiter. A completed profile therefore has a better chance of getting short-listed, as there are more fields available to be matched. It may seem like a tedious task completing the forms of any portal, but remember it is well worth it.

Use of keywords
Recruiters/companies find candidates online by searching certain key words as relevant to their job requirement. Example if they need a content writer some of the keyword matches could be content writing, edit, CMS, etc. If a web designer is needed, words like html, dreamweaver, creative, may be key. This means functional skills and of course designation, relevant qualifications and number of years of experience, are all very important key words. It is therefore imperative that your profile as well as the resume you upload mentions these keywords as relevant to your desired job profile. (Also read: Using the right keywords)

Regular update of your profile
Remember - creating your profile is the first step, not the last! Once you have created and completed your profile, interspersed with relevant keywords; it is important that you regularly log in to your created profile. Once you log in you can tweak it or make some minor changes and so also keep it updated it. However logging into your profile at least once a week, is a key element as this insures that your resume remains amongst the active resumes and so takes precedence in search. This means if a recruiter is searching for say an HR manager and you fit the bill – along with possibly another 40 candidates; but you have recently logged in to your profile, then your resume will be amongst the top few searches of the 40 candidates eligible for this position.

Hence if you are on a serious job search it is important to keep logging in to your profile regularly. Finally do insure that when your resume does get noticed it has the right contact information. (Also read: 4 steps to the right resume format)

Make sure all contact details are updated. Your phone number should be one on which you are easily accessible. Always prefix details of STD code in case it is a landline number; and it goes without saying never ever give your workplace landline number or official email ID. Your email ID should be a personal one and again one which you access regularly.

These handy tips when implemented will insure your online resume gets noticed and followed up too. Get ready for the phone to start ringing!

4 steps to the right resume format

A well-formatted resume makes you stand out from the rest and also makes it easy for the recruiter to find what he wants. Here are 4 steps to insure you don’t go wrong in your resume format.

 A well-formatted resume makes you stand out from the rest in two ways. Firstly it makes the resume pleasing to the eye and secondly a well organized resume makes it easy for the recruiter to find the information he wants. Here are 4 steps to make sure you don’t go wrong in your resume formatting.

FONTS
The first step is to insure you have the right fonts and spacing so your formatting is not lost while emailing/uploading and is compatible across all platforms.

Keep your font plain and easy to read. Use a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, especially for faxes, as these come out clearer. For an online resume you can be more experimental and use fonts like Tahoma, Helvetica, Times New Roman or Courier. However make sure you use only these common fonts that are available across different versions of MS Office, Vistas etc; as you do not know what operating system the recruiter may be using.

Once you have selected one font type, use this font type across the resume – including the cover letter. Do not vary your fonts.

You may vary the font size, especially for headings and to highlight you name at the top –you would necessarily need to do so. For the main body of the resume you should select a font size between 9 and 11 points.

Always use a black font and again avoid using varied colours or any kind of graphic embellishments. As far as possible avoid italics, shadow or shading effects. Also do not use condensed or expanded spacing between the letters

FORMATTING
An attractively formatted resume catches the eye. Some simple rules to follow:
 • Use left margin justification i.e. keep all text in the main body left-aligned.
• Use single line spacing between the lines.
• Use straight lines to break sections and also to give an outline to the resume, if you wish to.
• Simple bullet points under each category head give a neat format.
• For a hard copy print on plain white or cream paper.
 • A resume should ideally be two pages in length, and a cover letter strictly one page.

Senior or IT resumes could run into three pages. (Also read: Resume tips for experienced people) For IT candidates, if you have a lot of projects to detail, only add the most recent and important ones in the main body of your resume. The others can be added on as an annexure to the resume.

Further each industry has its own resume norms. For example if you are applying for an advertising or design profile then you have the license to be more innovative and creative in the presentation of your resume. Let it look different in terms of layout, fonts, paper and style of writing.

However if you are applying for a finance, sales, manufacturing, operations or HR job, stick to a strict conservative style and fonts. Focus on a crisp, to the point resume. In a resume for a finance position, make sure your educational qualifications are brought up front.

If you are applying for a marketing or editorial position some innovation is acceptable, but overall the tilt should be towards the conservative.
If you are an IT professional, insure your resume clearly reflects technical skills upfront and as a separate section. A tabular format is also good to use for IT resumes.

REGULAR STRUCTURE
Organize all information under the regular headings as 'Synopsis/Profile', 'Work Experience', 'Skills', 'Achievements', 'Awards', 'Extra-curricular' and 'Personal Details'. Ensure your headings stand out clearly and the recruiter does not have to hunt for these. (Also read: Listing employment history in your CV)
It is important to follow the standard patterns as recruiters have little time and working their way through an unfamiliar format or a disorganized resume is time-consuming and may just cause them to reject a resume without even reading it.
Also remember that work experience, achievements and other content with datelines must be organized in reverse chronological order. (Also read: Does you resume project you as an achiever?)

ORGANISING CONTACT DETAILS
How you organize the top bar of the resume is important as it is the first impression.

Ensure your name comes right at the top of the resume in bold and is at least 2 font sizes bigger than the rest of the resume. The email ID, phone number and address should come below the name in a smaller font. Do not add any other details like date of birth, father’s name or have two addresses here. The top should include only the above four factors to give it a clean and clutter-free look. All remaining details can come right at the end of the resume under the heading ‘Personal Details’.

Make sure the email ID you provide is a professional sounding one and not something like hotguy@xyz.com. Also never provide your official email id. Ensure that the phone number you provide is one on which you are easily available and always prefix the ISD and STD codes. The address you give here should be your address for correspondence.

These simple steps will help you create a well-formatted resume – that gets you noticed.

Tips to write an effective cover letter

A cover letter is the first impression for a recruiter and must encourage him to read your resume further. Read on to find out why you need a cover letter and how to go about writing it.

Your cover letter must specifically talk about the position you are applying for. It is important for you to tailor-make your cover letter for each job you apply to. A resume cannot be targeted to each job, but a cover letter can and must necessarily be so. Also remember a cover letter should complement and not duplicate your resume.

The purpose of the cover letter is:

•  To tell the employer the type of position you are seeking, and how exactly you are qualified for that position. This information also tells the hiring manager how well you know the organization and position.
• You need to also tell the hiring manager what caused you to apply: whether an advertisement, the recommendation of a friend who works there, or your own interest in the company.
• Further your cover letter can explain things that your resume can't. If you have large gaps in your employment history or are re-entering the job market after break, a cover letter is the best way to explain these circumstances and project things in a positive way. (Also read: Explaining work gaps and job hops)
• Again, if you are changing the focus of your career, or planning to relocate and so are conducting a long-distance job-search, the cover letter can explain your outlook on your new career path and the kind of employment you are seeking and why.

Introductory Paragraph:  This states why you are writing to the recruiter/employee. Some basic options are:

•  “Please find enclosed my CV, which I am forwarding to you as an application for the position of...”
• “In reference to your advertisement in... dated... attached is my resume.” 

 It may also include a synopsis of why you are a top candidate for the position. Some examples:

• “Your position advertised on Shine.com is an excellent fit with my qualifications, as the enclosed resume will attest."
• "My background includes... years of successfully managing... I offer particular expertise in..., with in-depth knowledge of …”
• “My extensive experience in... and my commitment to achieving the highest quality aligns extremely well with the ... position that you are currently advertising.”
• “My extensive top-level background in ...makes me exactly the kind of value-added executive you need ... as advertised by you in ..."

Main body of the letter: The main body of the letter should be two to maximum three paragraphs. Here you must summarize key experience and skills. You also need to highlight your area of specialization, number of years in the industry etc. You should also highlight any unique points that you might have and include a brief description of your personal skills.

Further you need to demonstrate how your credentials, motivation and track record would benefit the company’s operation. You can begin by "Highlights of my credentials include:" or "Key strengths I offer include…”

Closing Paragraph: The closing paragraph should ask for action from the recipient. It should also thank the recipient for giving you the opportunity to apply. You can add things like:

• "Should you require further information..."
•  “Look forward to a face to face discussion”.
• "Thank you for your kind consideration.”

Use the above tips to get started. Remember you need to tailor-make each cover letter for the organization you are applying to. (Also read: 10 Tips to improve and manage your resume better)

There's no need to pad your resume

Sometimes, without prejudices we just try to make the resume a little better by padding unnecessarily. Remember, lying on a CV is a crime and it's best to portray what you are without resorting to lies.

It seems like a good idea, harmless in fact. Your friends assure you that everybody does it and that employers rarely check resume facts. Going on blind faith and convinced the truth hasn’t been helpful so far, you seriously consider fabricating information on your resume. You adapt the school of thought that a little white lie never hurt anyone and lying on a resume is just that, a little white lie. Is your CV a lie?

Cheating on a resume can be tempting, especially when one has been searching for a job for months or even years. However, we all know that fibbing is never a good idea, and the likelihood that you’ll be caught is extremely high. Even if your “creativity” slips through the cracks, karma has a way of catching up with you. So either way, lying gets messy.

That said, many job seekers have major hiccups in their professional life - employment gaps, lack of education and/or experience - and it is becoming increasingly difficult for most to write their own resumes without exaggerating or flat-out lying. Since resume fraud is on the rise, employers are taking much more care in verifying information, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to mislead them. The good news, however, is that lying isn’t necessary if the resume is well-written and strategically organized.

The education and experience sections of a resume are the ones most job seekers are fixed on fabricating. They are under the impression that if they lack the educational requirements or the experience described in the job description they won’t be considered a serious candidate. That, however, is a myth. (Also read: Over-qualified or under-qualified? Handle it )

Education doesn’t top an employer’s list

Many people incorrectly believe hiring decisions are made based on the candidate’s education, and they feel compelled to stretch the truth in order to compete with their degreed counterparts. The reality is that education, though important, isn’t the driving force behind hiring decisions unless, of course, your profession requires a degree (e.g. doctors, lawyers, CPAs, etc.).

When a candidate lacks a college degree but has a solid work history, education quickly falls down the ladder of necessary requirements. But is it ok to pad your resume? Let’s take a look at this point from an employer’s perspective. 

The situation: The job description reads, “Seeking an accounts payable specialist with comprehensive experience in processing expense reports, reconciling vendor accounts, and performing bank reconciliations. Successful candidate holds an associate’s degree in accounting.”

Candidate #1: Jose has worked in accounts payable for the last five years. During his career, he has set up new policies, cross-referenced purchase orders with invoices, and interacted with vendors to resolve invoice discrepancies. His experience comes from the school of hard knocks and he doesn’t have a college education.

Candidate #2: Maria recently received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. While earning her degree she worked as a front desk clerk for a Fortune 500 company where she was in charge of filing and answering a multi-line phone system.

Who would you rather hire, Jose or Maria? Chances are that you named Jose as the clear winner because his experience supercedes Maria’s education. Jose will be able to jump into the position with little or no training because he has hands-on knowledge of best accounting practices. Maria, on the other hand, is green. The hiring organization would have to spend time, money, and resources to train her, which they most likely won’t have an interest in doing.

Show ’em what you’ve got

Employers spend most of their time scrutinizing the experience section of the resume, and unfortunately, the homespun resume rarely tells the whole story. Most resume do-it-yourselfers fear their accomplishments won’t fare well against the competition and they decide to embellish facts in an effort to attract an employer’s attention.

Again, fabricating information isn’t necessary. Most likely the experience you have garnered throughout your work history is impressive. The challenge, however, is expressing your accomplishments in a way that entices the hiring organization to give you a call. Therefore you should know how to improve and manage your resume better.

When dealing with hiring organizations you have to connect all the dots. For each position that you are applying for, there is an average of 500 applicants so you have to make it very easy for the reader to distinguish between you and every other qualified candidate. The only way to achieve that is by writing strong resume copy.

As a job seeker you are intimately involved in your own search, so much so that it is hard to take a step back and write a resume that is marketable. You are probably your own worst critic. If you have attempted to write your own resume you know how difficult it is to write about yourself objectively.

To make the resume-writing process easier, answer the following:

• What skill set do you bring to the table?
• What are your competitive strengths?
• For each position you held, list three to five achievements. (Also read: Does your resume project you as an achiever?)
• How is your company better off since you joined their team?
• Have you been involved in designing and/or implementing new initiatives?

The point here is to start thinking about your career as a portrait of who you are professionally, and not just as a job. When you make that mind shift, it will be easier to put words to paper. Lying isn’t a necessary evil. The trick to obtaining the job you desire is making the most of what you have to offer.

Have a 'truthful' resume

Many applicants lie about their accomplishments and professional skills in their resume like stretching dates of past employment to exaggerating professional and educational qualifications. The advice is - just tell the truth.

Stretching dates of past employment to exaggerating about professional and educational qualifications are some of the common lies resorted to by job seekers to make themselves appear attractive to the employer. What these individuals do not realise, however, is that by misrepresenting facts, they run the risk of damaging their careers.

Some common lies include:

Stretching dates to cover employment gaps. Employment dates are often fudged to hide gaps in employment or a period of job hopping.

Enhancing job titles and embellishing past achievements. Many prospective employees lie about previous job responsibilities. They exaggerate past accomplishments and professional skills. They claim bogus degrees, computer skills and language fluency to inflate their resumes. Some even claim to having been paid a higher salary at a previous job in a bid to get more money.

Inventing employers and fabricating reasons for leaving the previous job.

Providing fraudulent references. Many applicants submit incorrect information relating to their references and think that the potential employer would be too busy to verify them. Many think they can get away with these white lies and the company will not perform any background checks. On the contrary, many companies today take background checks very seriously.

A white lie can follow you places and if discovered, it can destroy your career. If you lie in your resume, the prospective employer will presume you will also fib at the workplace. So, just do not do it. The next time you go job hunting, always remember to tell the truth. If you do not, better be armed to back up those claims.

Resume for freelancers

Resumes are essential for every job seeker but if you are a freelancer, your need is more urgent. More than your work and your projects, your resume has to establish how you can be of value to the company and work in discipline.

Your work and word-of-mouth positioning aren’t good enough to sell you. So, handy comes a resume, which helps you to get gigs and also allows your profile to be assessed by clients. Having an updated resume is effective for you and gives insights into what you can offer, adding a professional tone to the brand YOU.

At times, you do not understand what you should do to add weight to your resume. So, how do you present your expertise and get the much needed freelancing or contracting projects? Here are some tricks. 

• Focus on your best attributes: To make a statement, you need relevant material. Instead of a drab, “…a strong worker who enjoys challenges” dig out your strengths and focus on them. Figure out whether you’re a glib talker or not, if yes, present yourself as a “Dynamic presenter” to add value. If you’re analytical, write critical thinker as the attribute. Make your profile statement effective, highlighting your characteristics and strengths. As a freelancer, try to embellish your strengths for that impact.
• Forget the objective: Never focus on a standard job listing requirement as it seems vague and limits your abilities. Instead, focus on a project, company initiative, or maybe on an expertise you possess. Also, do not to write an objective, rather go for a profile as that helps you to squeeze in a lot of thoughts and your abilities. Instead of a generic statement on what you wish to do, get real with a profile. From, “…To do something that allows my creative instincts in writing…” create a profile which focuses on who you’re as a professional. This works as it harps on the strengths like creativity, communication skills, etc.
• Include keywords: These days, most employers search for keywords. So, liberally sprinkle them to make the resume more effective. This goes for all resumes but it's more effective for a freelancer. Whatever is your profile; pick the words that sum up your qualities best so that your resume is a gateway to your expertise, meshing all your skills. You can mention some technologies and applications you use, but don’t make it laundry list.
• Cover letter: A cover letter is very important and more so for freelancers. Make sure you understand the clauses of the contract and the project in which you work. Draw parallels if you’ve worked in similar capacity. Be clear of the emoluments.
• Stick to the basics: Use only third person narrative and never use “I”. It’s a strict no-no. Write your resume focussing on your skills, work and successes, in a clear tone. State your education and a small section with keywords. Harp on your skills and the projects you’ve undertaken. Also mention the name of clients you’ve worked for to get more mileage. If you’ve had gaps, don’t bother much as that’s not a constraint for freelancers.

Freelancing gives you the flexibility but there’s no certainty of steady income. But as a freelancer, you don't get bored as there are no fixed schedules and you can work as per your convenience. So, with the above tips, make your resume effective and  get those options which help you to enjoy the flexibility.

How to mention unrelated work experience on your resume

How do you deal with work experience in a resume that is unrelated to the job you are keen to apply for? Should you omit it or include it in the resume, and if the latter, then how can you phrase it right? Read on to find out.

Many candidates who come to us for resume help have the same question. They have years of professional work experience, but a lot of it isn’t relevant to the position they’re currently seeking. On the one hand, they don’t want to waste resume space detailing work that doesn’t relate to their application. On the other hand, they don’t want to omit years of work that developed them as a professional.

The right phrase

I use a magic phrase to address this issue: “additional experience includes.” It’s perfectly all right to sum up large portions of your career in one sentence that lists previous employers or positions. If you spent the first 10 years of your marketing career performing lower-level tasks, you could say: “Additional experience includes marketing positions with ABC, DEF, and XYZ (1990-2000).” If your previous work was in an unrelated field, you can simply list the companies: “Additional experience includes positions with ABC, DEF, and XYZ.”

The age game 

This technique can also be very helpful to those who are concerned about age discrimination. I summarized the first 15 years of one candidate’s career into one sentence to downplay the fact that she was 55. Because her experience was relevant to her field, removing it from her resume entirely would have been a disservice, but we did not include the years that experience encompassed.

The experience issue

I recently worked with another candidate who used this technique to show she was a more experienced professional than her education suggested. This woman had worked for 10 years before going back to complete her bachelor’s degree. From looking at her graduation dates, you would assume she was in her 20s. In fact, she was an experienced manager in her 30s—a fact that was important to show for the level of job she was seeking.

Many of us have work experience that doesn’t fit neatly with our current goals and objectives. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving it off your resume altogether, using the phrase “additional experience includes” can help you mention the experience quickly without wasting precious resume space.

Revive your resume!

Apprehensive about venturing into the job market after a long gap? The first step for you is to update your resume. Here’s how to polish up key information in the document that will get the attention of recruiters, and a job.

Setting out on a job search, especially if it is after a long gap is not easy. The last time you updated your resume and actively set out on a job hunt, you landed yourself the current job you are in. You joined, advanced through different job responsibilities, added new skills to your professional profile, and possibly a higher designation too.

 Now that you are about to enter the job market again, you sift through old folders to find your old resume, but does it speak of the professional accomplishments you have achieved or is it still frozen in a time when you joined the current company? Well, if it is the latter case, then sit up and get active. Your resume needs some work. Here is a list of things that you will require to look into:

Contact details – As a job seeker, you want to be contacted by recruiters, don’t you? Then ensure that the phone number that your resume mentions is one that is currently in use. You might also leave footer at the end of the resume (or even your cover letter) about the best time to be contacted.

Is the same email ID you used for your last job search still operational? It is a good idea to create and use a separate email address solely for the purpose of receiving job notifications and sending out applications. Either way, ensure that the contact information mentioned in your resume is correct, up to date and complete.

Skill set and transferable skills – Skills that you have picked up along the way in your current job and that will be helpful in the next one are a must-addition. Briefly list your core competencies relevant to the job you are applying for. This is of even more importance if you are switching domains or making a complete career change.

References – References are best provided from the most recent employments – your current job and at most the previous one. As you set out floating your resume this time around, include details of people from the current workplace too who will be willing to serve as referees.

Training undertaken – Learning acquired both on-the-job and through formal courses will lend you a competitive edge; be sure that your resume highlights just how you have progressed through the previous employment to the current one.

Current role responsibilities – Did your job title and description evolve along the way in your current job? Include the latest job title held by you, your achievements, and the various changing job responsibilities you undertook along the way, and also include durations of the same.

Lastly, as you set pedal on the job search wagon, take time to update your resume with key skills that highlight the particular job opening’s requirement. Target positions that specifically interest you by tailoring your CV to land yourself an interview, and further the job!

Does your resume project you as an achiever?

In today’s competitive scenario - it is achievements that distinguish one candidate from the next. Here are 3 tips on how to effectively turn your resume around - to project you as an achiever.

 In today’s competitive market, where qualifications and work experience of a candidate are often on par, it is achievements that make a candidate stand out from the rest. The importance of packaging your resume right –to project yourself as a result oriented candidate – therefore cannot be underestimated. Here are three quick ways to turn your resume from that of a normal candidate to one who is achievement oriented.

Convert work responsibilities to achievements: One of the smartest ways to do this is to make use of power verbs, even when you talk of work responsibilities, thus converting them into achievements. What I mean by power words and how these make a difference is demonstrated below:

Before : Responsible for sales in North region.
After: Spearheaded sales of entire North region.
See how changing the word “responsible for” to an action verb “spearheaded” makes so much difference to the image conveyed. If a resume only details responsibilities, it is merely telling the recruiter what you were supposed to do – and not what you actually did.

Make sure your daily responsibilities are delineated with powerful action words as: led, initiated, spearheaded, controlled, accelerated, attained, conceptualized, conducted, devised, directed, drafted, executed, enhanced, established, ensured etc.

These words effectively portray you as a person in action, thus leaving a positive impact. When you talk about how your work achieved something rather than was just something you handled, you project yourself as a candidate who takes initiative and responsibility at work, rather than one who simply does what has to be done

Delineate how well you discharged responsibilities
It is important for you to give the recruiter a sense of how well you handled your job. To do this – again you need to use more than just ‘responsible for’ as delineated in the example below:

Before: Responsible for MIS interface in the company
After: Interfaced with MIS to develop technology enhancements to facilitate new markets and better serve existing client base.

In the first there is no clarity in the recruiter's mind as to how effectively you handled the responsibility. In the second the use of the word “interface” shows you as an action-oriented candidate. The addition of what you achieved by this interface shows the contributions you have made - and therefore in the recruiter’s mind the contributions you can be expected to make in the future.

Though we are pretty quick at putting together a basic resume with contact details, an objective, a synopsis, work experience, extra-curricular and other information. Where we most often get stuck is at the point where we need to talk about actual contributions we made.

Yet the key element of a powerful resume is the 'evidence' that you will live up to your value proposition – and this evidence lies in the vital stats, that is, quantifiable facts and figures or results obtained, that substantiate your earlier words as an achiever and a doer.

How to quantify your achievements
Whether you are in HR, editorial, technical, administration or marketing, you can always quantify results if you put thought to it. Here are some questions to help you look at your achievements - keeping numbers in mind.
 • Did you save costs for the company? How and how much?
• Did you increase sales? How much?
• Did you recruit new hires? How many? How soon?
• Did you launch a new product? What was the reach and impact?
• Did you run campaigns? How many, which places and medium?
• Did you help improve productivity and efficiency? By what percentage?
• Did you put in place new systems or processes? What was the impact?
• Were you able to achieve more with (same or fewer) resources?
• Did you give inputs for any technical/operational improvements?
• Did you manage faster turnaround time on any project/delivery?
 • Did you resolve any pending issues? How soon?
 • Did you undertake or get selected for any training program/workshop or conference?
• Are you a member of any committee/board/special projects?

 Action words project you as a candidate who takes initiative and responsibility at work, rather than one who simply does what has to be done. Use these questions to figure out your contributions to the company – then portray these contributions effectively through use of action words. This will help you prepare an achievement oriented resume

Recruiter’s first impression – Your resume's length

A one-page, two-page or three-page resume? Read on to know how much information your resume should carry and how to put it forward in a crisp and concise manner.

Either fresh out of college or seeking a change, creating or updating your resume is the first step as you begin a job search. Two important aspects of resume building are ‘what’ and ‘how much’ information to include, as these determine the length of the final document and ultimately how recruiter-friendly your resume is.

A very short resume might skip important details regarding your skills and qualifications while an extensive resume would leave the recruiter searching for relevant information. Thus, it is important to determine your resume’s length and include necessary information in it accordingly. Here are some pointers to get you started on the same:

• Catch recruiter’s attention in the beginning itself

Yours is only one among the many resumes that the recruiter receives and will screen for building an interviewee list. Thus, you would want that he/she finds your resume interesting enough in preliminary glance to call you for an interview. Hence, have a crisp and concise professional summary and objective at the top of the page, followed by a concise listing of your skill set to present your professional profile.

• Length can be determined by work experience

A fresher resume will not have much or any work experience to show and a one page CV with career objectives and qualifications should suffice. With few years’ of work experience behind you, you can elaborate by including job responsibilities and achievements of previous employments.

• Keep it effective by mentioning skills and job responsibilities handled in previous employments

A mid- or senior level resume will have more information to include than a fresh graduate resume and can thus extend to two and in some cases even three pages. Core competencies, key work responsibilities and even achievements in various projects or jobs should be highlighted.

• Be concise yet cover relevant information

The key lies in listing all information relevant to the job vacancy in question in a crisp manner – too less information will provide no head start on your profile and extensive detail will only convey a lack of focus on your part. Your resume should provide a snapshot of your career profile enough for the recruiter to ascertain whether you have the necessary qualifications and experience to fit the position and call you in for an interview.

• Adjust details about the earliest jobs as you accumulate more experience

Your expertise will grow and even diversify within your domain as you progress in your career (change jobs, get promotions). The skills you will need to highlight to a potential employer in your fifth job search could be markedly different from the first or second job hunts. Thus, you can opt to elaborate upon the duties held in the more recent employments (that would be closer in relevance to the job you are applying for now) and limit the job descriptions from when early in your career.

Thus, understand that the basic purpose of sending out your resume as part of a job application is to get the recruiter to notice your career profile. In few seconds that he/she will screen your aptness for the role, ensure that your resume covers your professional profile in its entirety yet does not come across as an information overload.

The creative resume

You want your resume to be memorable and stand out from the others in the pack, but the design should match the position you are applying for and the company environment.

I recently volunteered to review a client’s resume. She was applying for a job at a large Financial Institution. She had her artistic husband design a very creative resume, which showcased his graphic design skills. The resume looked great, if she was applying for an artistic position. You want your resume to be memorable and stand out from the others in the pack, but the design should match the position you are applying for and the company environment.

Unless you are applying for a very conventional job with a conventional employer who will not appreciate a creative resume, you want a job resume that will set you apart for the other individuals vying for the job. You want a resume that is creatively smart and will best reflect your qualifications, giving you the opportunity to sell yourself to a potential employer.

How to make a creative resume

If you really want to make a job search resume that surpasses the competition, there are some key elements that must be included, especially if you want your potential employer to notice that little something different that you will bring to the company. Here are 4 tips that will help you prepare the perfect job resume:

• Choose a font that will catch the attention of the reader. However, make certain it’s still easy to read and looks professional. Some fonts are great for letters and cards, but they are totally inappropriate for a professional resume.
• Choose a theme that reflects a bit of your personality, while still remaining professional. For example, a person applying for a graphics artist position may create a template that reflects his/her talents in a professional way. Some resumes include a header that coincides with the applicant’s job qualifications. A nurse may choose a nursing header on the resume. It’s a good idea to have the resume divided into sections for easier reading.
• Color is also important. If you are applying for a more traditional position, a white background is best. For example, you probably wouldn’t apply for a job with the FBI on pink stationary. However, if the job entails computer graphics or artistry, the resume should reflect something of your talents and expertise.
• A creative resume should include all of the elements of any job resume. In fact, there is a recommended order that helps organize the information and assists your potential employer in locating the data.

A creative resume doesn’t have to be difficult. You simply need to include all of the necessary elements, while making sure the design reflects the position for which you are applying and stands out amongst all of the other resumes in the pile. Then, your job resume is more likely to be selected for the next step in the job application process.

Five things recruiters look for

Chris Greaves, managing director of Hays-Recruitment Experts Worldwide, Gulf region and India, gives tips on how to give your resume an edge and on what candidates, in turn, should look out for in a recruiter.

Recruitment agencies find honest appraisals of successes attractive and are put off by frequent job changes. Avoid jargon on your CV and get your grammar right.

Job searches—like Internet searches—tend to throw up results that may be completely irrelevant to what you are looking for. Recruitment agencies could well be the one-stop shop to help you get the right job. Chris Greaves, managing director of Hays-Recruitment Experts Worldwide, Gulf region and India, gives tips on how to give your curriculum vitae (CV) an edge and on what candidates, in turn, should look out for in a recruiter. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Should candidates meet with their recruiters?
I think if geography permits, then recruiters should interview candidates before they put forward their resumes. We as an organization would endeavour to interview people face-to-face before we submit them to the client.

What is the lead time you should give a recruiter after you send them your CV?
 If there is a live or current vacancy available to the candidate, it should be instantaneous. I would also expect the recruiter to be sufficiently knowledgeable about their marketplace and clients; and be able to spot organizations that may be of interest to their candidate. I think an insightful recruiter will be able to look at the skill set of a candidate and be able to make some judgements, such as which organizations they deal with might be interested in that CV.

What are a few points people must keep in mind while writing their resumes?
The general advice is to keep away from jargon. It seems to be superficial and repeated in everyone’s resumes. For example, listing a quality like “hard working”. Everyone is “hard working”, so how do you differentiate yourself from everyone else? I think resumes need to be a more honest appraisal about your genuine interests and successes rather than what comes across as a lot of bland jargon.

What are the five things recruiters look for while short-listing resumes?
I'd say—and this is a personal view for the staff I hire—that I don’t think people like to see candidates who have job-hopped excessively. That is something that will put employers off. A stable and secure work history with some evidence of career development is highly attractive. If people are moving jobs every three or four years, then I think that’s an acceptable period of time. It shows that they hold value to the organization. But three-four jobs in less than five years are looked at dubiously.

Second would be a commitment to one’s education. I think that’s always an admirable feature in a resume.

Third, recognition or promotion within an organization, different experiences or opportunities.

We can also look into things like reference checks, see previous targets, if they have been achieved, etc., if there are jobs that are not quantifiable into targets, then we look at different parameters on your achievements.

How important is it to tailor your resume to the job you are applying for? Should, or will, the recruiter do that for you?
If an individual is applying directly to an organization then it does make sense to tailor a resume to the organization. When applying to a recruitment business, it has to be an all-encompassing resume and the responsible agency should be able to tailor the resume according to the client’s requirement.

Why would you turn away a candidate?

For candidates, first it would be advisable for people to make sure their CV is grammatically correct because if it’s not, they must remember they are up against 99% people who have got it correct. And it may be representative of a wider shoddiness that may get exposed, such as inability to keep time, etc.

In the world of LinkedIn, Facebook, does networking prove equally—if not more—beneficial than a recruiter? Does a recruiter ask a candidate to lie low or join such platforms?

If we’ve got a lot of suitable opportunities, we would ask the candidate to lie low, it comes down to a matter of trust between the recruitment company and the individual. What a recruiter doesn’t really want to have is a lot going on with the individual, like direct applications, etc., if they are working towards finding that person a job. Clearly what is not in the candidate’s interest is if they are asked to lie low by the recruiter and the recruiter is not able to find them a suitable job. So this comes back to the trust issue.

Should a candidate deal with more than one recruiter? What are the advantages of this?

Sometimes it is advantageous, and sometimes, counterproductive. The agencies will all submit your CV to all companies at the same time. I think if you find that it’s got a good market present in the skill that you have and the job that you do, you build up a good level of trust with your agent; they know their market and they’ve met the client they are working on behalf of, then I would say it’s perfectly comfortable to leave that job search in their hands. If your recruiter cannot answer those questions successfully then I would say that you leave them in the hands of a limited number of players.

Avoid resume mistakes - Get noticed in seconds!

Make your resume pass the first cut by ensuring that the different headings carry relevant information to highlight your career skills and experience in the best light, and showcase you as a professional who is right for the job.

Thirty seconds.

That’s all the time a recruiter spends on an average on any given resume. Coupled to the volume of applications he/she receives, that’s a very short time to make a positive impression. The presentation of specific information like skills must be such that the document should speak – “These are my skills, I am an achiever, and I believe I can contribute to the growth of your company”. Every word and phrase must be incorporated to market your candidature.

However, there are also certain things that can stand out in a poorly crafted resume and drive recruiters away. Here’s a list of resume faux pas that you should omit under all circumstances:

How personal is professional

Gone are the days when resume included personal details like parents’ name, marital status, ethnicity and personal health details like your blood group. Add information that is relevant to the job – you can include languages spoken if the job in question requires multi- or specific lingual proficiency, or nationality if you are applying for jobs abroad.

Including a photograph is not an absolute given, and you can leave it out from your resume unless specifically asked for. Employers these days are also careful about letting any personal information about age, gender, marital status, etc to create bias. Let the first impression about you be solely through your qualifications and professional facts.

Irrelevant work experience

If you are someone with over 10-15 years’ of work experience, you need not list your first job or intern experience. Not only does it make the resume lengthy, it also increases the recruiter’s task of sifting through to find information that makes you suitable for this particular role.

Also, put across the previous jobs’ responsibilities in a result oriented fashion rather than merely listing tasks that you were in charge of. For example: “Ideated and implemented marketing strategy for xyz product” instead of “In charge of developing a marketing strategy for xyz product.”

Words that kill a resume

Avoid using superfluous and over-generalised words in the career objective and skills section. Words like ‘driven’, ‘team player’, ‘hardworking’ don’t add as much weight as they consume space. Highlight the same through specific instances where you led and/participated in a challenging task in the ‘Job responsibilities’ and ‘Achievements’ sections.

Save salary talk for interview

Do NOT mention salary information in your resume. Discussion on current and expected salary should be at the interview stage, but if you have been specifically asked to mention the same, you can mention it as negotiable.

Gaps

Mentioning work gaps in resume is a tricky task. Skipping it completely raises red flags and doubt in the recruiter’s mind and so does giving lengthy explanations. A concise statement in form of ‘sabbatical from work’, ‘freelance/ part-time projects’ can be used to maintain the chronological continuity of your work history.

3 ways to quantify your experience with numbers

Sometimes our responsibilities don’t sound that impressive until we start detailing how much work we’ve been doing. An important part of writing an effective resume is to quantify your experience. Here’s how.

If you’ve been doing your homework about how to write an effective resume, you’ve seen a recurring theme: you have to quantify your experience. Although most people understand the general idea of this, I find that job seekers often struggle with applying this idea to writing their resumes.

Here are 3 easy ways to do it:

Let’s show how many

Sometimes our responsibilities don’t sound that impressive until we start detailing how much work we’ve been doing. For instance, if one of your job responsibilities is tracking your company’s compliance with filing a set of forms every year, you could write that two different ways:

Ensured compliance with filing of annual forms.

or

Ensured compliance with the filing of 75 annual forms by 7 different company departments.

Doesn’t the second example sound much more impressive?

Then show how much

If you have a job in sales, marketing, or any other business where profitability is the ultimate goal of your position, citing exactly how much money you’ve either made or saved your company is the way to go. For example, if you’re an internal auditor, your resume could say:

Saved company money by finding ways to cut costs.

or

Implemented new payroll and tax accounting systems that saved firm $1M in personnel costs over the next 10 years.

Estimates are fine when citing these types of numbers, as long as you can justify your claim if someone asks you in an interview.

Last, show how often

I frequently talk with job seekers who have previously been successful in very high-volume environments. If you’ve worked in this type of setting, please give yourself credit! Even an administrative assistant’s job sounds completely different when given some context:

Answered phones at the front desk.

or

Managed switchboard with 10 incoming lines, effectively receiving and routing an average of 500 calls per day.

My goodness, who wouldn’t hire the second candidate?

As you write your resume, ask yourself these three important questions: How many? How much? How often? The key to landing an interview is to answer those questions as you describe your previous professional accomplishments.