| BLAND OR GENERIC OBJECTIVE: If your objective | | | | those sites aren't even valid. You don't know how it will |
| could be applied to a marketing resume as easily as a | | | | come out on the other end. You don't even know |
| resume for an accounting position, then your objective | | | | where it's going or if the landing targets are |
| says nothing and will get you nowhere. An objective is | | | | employment related. It's bad form and just....NOT the |
| NOT some required paragraph at the top of the page | | | | way to find your perfect job. Finding your perfect job |
| that is an exercise in 5 lines of job speak. It's an actual | | | | takes focus, attention, detail, individuality, tailoring, |
| and real description of your skills as they're related to | | | | specifics. Resume blasting is about as far from that as |
| who you are and what you want. It should vary with | | | | you can get. |
| the type of job for which you are applying. | | | | 11. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part |
| 2. BLAND JOB DETAILS: "Responsibilities included | | | | two: If it's an ad, you probably have instructions as to |
| overseeing construction of 4 Hilton Hotels in Tri-City | | | | how to send it. If it says email, cut and paste it in the |
| Metro Area, each 50 floors in height." Yeah? So what? | | | | form, AND attach it. You never know what it can look |
| That doesn't say if they went up on schedule or if you | | | | like on the other end because of the variety of |
| brought the projects in under budget. It doesn't say if | | | | settings available to each user. Quite frankly, you're |
| you took all four from site work up or if the guy | | | | better off not emailing it at all, because it usually just |
| handling two of the four hotels was fired and you | | | | goes into cyber space, and then it's all about the hiring |
| were promoted to overseeing all four. Differentiate | | | | company - but unfortunately, besides not sending it at |
| yourself from the others coming in to interview. If you | | | | all, sometimes that's your only choice. Emailing your |
| don't tell the hiring company how you will be an asset | | | | resume takes any option for further participation right |
| to them, how will they know? | | | | out of your hands, because often there's not even a |
| 3. WHO'S THE MYSTERY COMPANY?: Don't | | | | name given for a follow up contact. You've no other |
| assume the name and purpose of your company is | | | | option than to wait and wonder. (And half the time it's |
| common knowledge. If it's a competitor, it might be, and | | | | going to HR or an admin department to be scanned |
| if it's in the same industry and located nearby, it might | | | | into an electronic database.) |
| be. To be on the safe side, provide a sentence or two | | | | 12. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part |
| about the focus of your company's products or | | | | three: If you know the company, call and ask if they |
| services. | | | | prefer email, fax, or snail mail. I know a recruiter who |
| 4. ANOTHER JOB, ANOTHER PARAGRAPH: Don't | | | | never even opened his email. Because he was listed in |
| keep adding on to your resume job after job, year | | | | The Kennedy Guide to Executive Recruiters, he |
| after year. By the time you're in your 40s, you need to | | | | received so many resumes emailed to him cold (so |
| have weeded out some of the earlier stuff. You don't | | | | NOT pro-active) that he just did a mass delete every |
| need all the college activities, just your degree. You | | | | morning. Candidates contacted for a specific search |
| don't need ALL 5 bullets for each of your first two | | | | were requested to snail mail their resume to him. How |
| jobs. | | | | about that? I'll bet less than 10% of those who emailed |
| 5. REFERENCES: Shouldn't be listed on your resume. | | | | their resumes even bothered to follow up to see if it |
| "References available on request" is the proper | | | | was received (this isn't a numbers game). |
| phrase. You present them separately when they're | | | | 13. RESUME VISUALS: Ivory paper. Black ink. Individual |
| requested. This isn't about protocol. This is about | | | | pages. No plastic, 7th grade, science report cover with |
| protecting your references so they aren't called until | | | | the plastic slider or metal push down tabs. Your name |
| you and the company are serious about each other. | | | | centered at the top, not on a cover page that says |
| 6. IT'S NOT A STORY!: Don't - whatever you do, | | | | "Introducing Clifton Lewis Montgomery III". No |
| DON'T - write your resume in the third person! | | | | exceptions. Your resume is a professional document, |
| 7. SKIP THE PERSONAL INFO: You might think your | | | | not a school book report or an art project. Until every |
| weekend baseball coaching or your church choir | | | | resume is done this way, yours will still stand out in the |
| participation shows you're an interesting and | | | | crowd. |
| well-rounded person, but they're irrelevant. If the | | | | You are the product, and your resume is the marketing |
| interviewer wants to know who you are as a person, | | | | piece. To find your perfect job you must differentiate |
| aside from the job interview and your qualifications, he'll | | | | yourself from the other people who will be interviewed. |
| ask. | | | | Your resume must be specific, individualized, easy to |
| 8. DEGREE DATE: No matter how old you are, don't | | | | skim so it invites a closer reading, and focused on the |
| leave the date of when you were graduated off your | | | | differences you've made with your previous |
| resume. It looks like you're hiding something (well, you | | | | companies, as well as the accomplishments you've |
| are, aren't you?), and then everyone counts the years | | | | achieved with - and for - them. This tells the hiring |
| backwards and tries to figure out how old you are. | | | | company what you can do for them - and it IS about |
| Sometimes you can be ruled out - just for leaving the | | | | the hiring company, not you. |
| date off. If you're trying to hide your age by not stating | | | | Of course this assumes you meet the requirements |
| the date, what else might you not be forthcoming | | | | for the job - otherwise it doesn't matter how good |
| about? | | | | your resume is! The resume is what gets you in the |
| 9. SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK: | | | | door. If your resume is poorly written, looks sloppy, is |
| Spell checking visually by you AND someone else, any | | | | difficult to read, is cryptic in any way, or necessitates |
| fewer than three times, isn't enough. And don't forget | | | | being slogged through to learn your information (they |
| to check your punctuation. | | | | won't bother), you won't even get in the door. And |
| 10. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part | | | | how can you decide whether you like the company, if |
| one: Don't use one of those resume blaster things. Half | | | | they've already decided they don't like you? |