Career Fire » Resumes

How to Write a Resumé That Doesn’t Annoy People

Dave Rigotti — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:08:46 +0000

Over at the Harvard Business Publishing blog, there’s a great post titled “How to Write a Resumé That Doesn’t Annoy People” that’s well worth the read. The nine tips are:

Get the formatting right.
Insert dates for everything.
Fill up on the buzzwords.
Choose verbs that mean something.
Rewrite your resumé for each job application.
State career objectives or outside interests — but be very careful.
The further into your past, the less detail you should have.
Keep it short.
No typos.

What are your resume tips?

College Seniors Mess Up Their Resumes, According To Career Assessment Book

Guest Blogger — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:26:26 +0000

“A third of the resumes came with spelling or punctuation errors,” according to “LAUNCH!…Get That First Paycheck In 90 Days,” a new career assessment book for college seniors. “Twelve percent used obsolete addresses or phone numbers,” the book says.

“Most stated objectives that were generic. Some tried to tell so much that their unique characteristics, the truly distinguishing things about them, got lost. A few used unreadable type. Resumes that were emailed often bounced as spam.”

The career assessment quiz in LAUNCH! can also be taken online at WhoAreYouAnyway.com. It tells college seniors if they’ll do better in large or small organizations, among other things. The quiz ranks students’ energy, ambition, ethics, status needs, social abilities and fifteen other vocational traits. Results are translated into the best career path.

LAUNCH is a career guide aimed at college seniors and recent graduates, with more practical, hands-on advice than offered in other career assessment books. It’s available in paperback book, downloadable PDF, audio CD set, or downloadable MP3 audio book format at Launch-Your-Career.com.

Resume Writing Services Now Offered By Career Fire

Dave Rigotti — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:31:26 +0000

Career Fire is proud to announce that we now offer resume review, editing, and writing services performed by the same people who write the posts. Our writers have years of experience in writing for a wide range of skills and positions. Our experience allows us to highlight your skills to help you get the position you’ve always wanted. In fact, our resume writing services have helped past customers get their dream job (or at least an interview) at such companies as: Ernst & Young, Microsoft, Google, Insight, and Marathon. Because we do all our work by hand, including writing, your resume will stand out from the crowd.

Should Your Resume Include Tags?

Dave Rigotti — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:44:34 +0000

One way people discover blog posts through search engines, is by the tags provided by the writer. Tags make it easier for search engines and visitors to find out what the specific post is about. Since it’s fairly common knowledge that large companies have databases of resumes, which can be indexed and served via certain keywords, doesn’t it make sense to include tags on your resume? I’ve seen “Skills” on resumes, which usually include maybe 3 to 5 mostly common skills, but how about an in-depth tags at the end of your resume, like a blog post does, to facilitate indexing and serving of our resume out of potential employers databases? Do you or someone you know do this? If so, do you think it has helped or just created clutter and distracted potential employers from your real content (like relevant work experience)?

Here are the tags I have on my resume, though I’m still not sure if they’ll be included next time I send me resume out:

adobe photoshop, microsoft office suite, wordpress, html, css, php, google adwords, microsoft adcenter, yahoo search marketing, panama, search engine optimization, seo, pay per click management, ppc, link building, google analytics, facebook, myspace, twitter, digg, linkedin, stumbleupon, word of mouth marketing, blogging

Free Resume Templates From DocStoc

Dave Rigotti — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:00:51 +0000

DocStoc, an online hosting service for Microsoft Word and other documents, has an abundance of sample resumes for download, which have been added by users. Below is one of the better resumes, but be cautious; it’s not perfect . To download and make it your own, click here, then on “download this doc” (registration required).

College Resume Checklist

Dave Rigotti — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:04:16 +0000

Many times writing a resume can be a daunting task – especially if you’re in college. However, it’s often easier to compare works with a specific list and that’s no different for resumes. Below, you’ll find check list of things you should have on your resume, or at least consider. It’s designed for college students, however many of the items are also relevant for even the most seasoned professional. Give it a look, print it out, and compare the list with your resume.

Demographics

Are the style and abbreviations, if used, consistent?
Have you included your appropriate professional e-mail address, cell phone, address?

Objective

Is it specific? Does it include type of position, type of career field? (e.g., public relations specialist within the retail industry)
Is it work-centered rather than self-centered? (e.g., offer proven leadership, extensive writing experience and excellent problem-solving skills)

Education

Is your most recent degree listed first?
Are all degrees, majors, minors, certifications included?
Is the University (if applicable) spelled out, and is city and state included?
Is month and year of graduation included?
Is grade point average accurate? Include both overall and major GPA’s if you wish.
Is High School information omitted?

Accomplishments

Are accomplishments specific and relevant?
Are high school accomplishments omitted unless they are unique and relevant accomplishments?

Honors

Are scholarships and honor societies spelled out?
Did you include the date(s) inducted?

Skills

Are skills relevant to position?
Is level of competency described with the skill? (e.g., Proficient, Familiar, Fluent, etc.)

Relevant Courses

Are course titles used rather than course numbers?
Are obvious courses omitted?

Experience

Have you categorized your experience into Relevant Experience and Employment or Work History?
Is your most relevant experience listed first?
Are position titles, name, city, and state of organization and dates employed included?
Are descriptions of your experiences quantified? (e.g., trained 5 employees).
Is it action oriented? (“Drafted and organized” versus “Duties included: drafting and organizing”.)
Is it concise, and did you avoid redundancy?

Activities/Memberships

Are activities and memberships spelled out?
Do activities demonstrate leadership, sociability and/or interests?

Additional Information

Is information relevant to your career objective?
Does it add information or repeat it?
Is it clear and concise?

References

Is this section necessary (do you have room for it? Employers assume you have them.)
Are references current?
Do you have complete address, telephone number, and e-mail (if available) included on your reference page?

Adapted from Career Search Manual, BGSU, and The University of Toledo.

Tips for Writing an Awesome Resume

Guest Blogger — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:40:30 +0000

Writing a resume is always a challenge simply because it requires you to sum up your amazing talents and qualities in one sheet of paper. Since the employer can’t read between the lines you must come up with the best wording to convey all you can do. The following tips will help you write an outstanding resume for each industry you apply for.

Tip #1 Short and Sweet

Resumes should really only be one full page in length. No resume should be longer than two full pages and this is an extreme only highly trained and experienced applicants would have the need for. Every job babysitting or waiting tables should not be on your resume unless that is the type of job you are applying for – include “relevant work experience” (see below) only. Start with your education, then your most recent three to four jobs, then sum up with your skills and qualifications at the bottom of the page. The top center should have your full name and contact information. Short, sweet, and to the point is just what employers are looking for.

Tip #2 Relevant Work Experience

Only include relevant work experience on your resume. If you are applying to jobs in different industries it is recommend to have a different resume targeted to each skill set and experience. Don’t include experience as a dog walker in a resume for a job as a radio host. There really is no correlation. Show what experience you have that relates to the job at hand, and nothing else.

Tip #3 Skills

Include the skills you possess that are most relevant to the job you are applying for. You probably have many skills, like most people do. However, only include the skills that you have that are necessary for the job. Consider using some of the skills the employment ad stated the job required if they relate to you.

This post was guest blogged by Laura Ruppert.