Six Serious Résumé Blunders

Résumés are tricky: If done well, they can put you in the running for a job; if done poorly, they end up in the hiring manager's recycling bin. They should be easy since you're just talking about yourself. No one knows your work history, qualifications and skills better than you. Unfortunately, they are hard work.

Making years of experience fit on one or two pages is no easy task. Yet, while there is no one way to craft the perfect résumé, there are some moves guaranteed to hurt your job hunt.

Here are some résumé blunders you should avoid at all cost.

1. Forgetting the employer
Although the résumé is about you, it's not for you. After all, if you were the intended audience, you wouldn't bother sending it out. The résumé is meant to show prospective employers why you're the perfect match for the job. They want to see the skills, experience and qualifications mentioned in their job postings. If you have skills that don't line up exactly with the position but you know are transferrable, make that clear in the résumé. Don't assume they'll infer what you mean, because if they don't, you won't be considered for the job.

2. Not using keywords
Keywords, like career summaries, are signs of the time. Today, many employers use software to scan submitted résumés for keywords that suggest an applicant is a good match for the job. Although you won't know which exact words the software is looking for, a job posting can give you a good idea. Incorporate phrases and terms from the posting, and see what words reappear in several industry ads. Concrete terms such as "infrastructure development" and "strategic planning" will fare better than generic phrases like "hard worker" and "team player."

3. Using an objective instead of a career summary
An advantage of updating your résumé regularly is that you can not only update your skills and accomplishments but also its format. For example, just five or 10 years ago most résumés included an objective at the top. These days, the career summary has taken its place. Like an objective, the summary should give the employer an idea of who you are, except it allows you to focus more on your experience than on your goals. You can briefly mention your career highlights, including past roles and your strongest skills.

4. Not proofreading
Typos and grammatical errors on a résumé are the textual equivalent of showing up at an interview chewing gum and wearing tennis shoes. A résumé full of mistakes suggests you care neither about the quality of your work nor the impression it makes. An employer wants someone who produces exemplary work and will be an excellent representative of the company.

5. Lying
Embellishing is a common practice that rarely impresses hiring mangers because they've seen it all. They know "childcare leadership executive" means "baby-sitter." Outright lies, however, have no place on a résumé. For one thing, it's not hard to verify any information you put down, so you could get caught at any point between submitting your résumé and getting a job offer. Plus, it's a small world, and the truth has a way of coming out when business associates bump into one another at conferences. If your boss mentions your name to your supposed former supervisor only to be told you never worked there, you could get fired.

6. Not keeping up appearances
Before an employer even reads your résumé, he or she forms an impression based on how it looks. It's a snap judgment that can't be avoided -- after all, don't you immediately zone out when you receive an e-mail that's one huge block of text? Make your résumé visually appealing by using bulleted lists, plenty of white space and subheadings. Also, avoid fonts that are full of distracting swirls and colors. It doesn't matter how well-written your résumé is if no one wants to read it.

Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

Copyright 2009 CareerBuilder.com. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without prior written authority.



By Anthony Balderrama

From Good To Great Recruiting

"The World Makes Way For The Person Who Knows Where They Are Going"-Anonymous


As recruiters- whether for a staffing company or corporate recruiter, we guard the gates of our companies by choosing who gets to join our team and who doesn't. We have the power to create and dictate who we bring on board, how we set the hiring standards, as well as the tone and professionalism of our work environment. But, it is not ever enough just to be a good recruiter; you have to be a great one in order to differentiate your company and yourself in the today's market and to assure that you are only hiring the "Best". Why settle for being a lamb when you can be a Lion and dominate. The way we dominate is by having a strategic and competitive edge; we get that edge by attracting, hiring and retaining the best talent available. In order to succeed in this competition for talent, we must do five things before each interview:

Come up with five reasons why your company is amazing to work for. Think of reasons why you are at your company when there are so many others to choose from.

Come up with five reasons why you are great at what you do. Confidence is key for the person looking for a job, but it is even more important for recruiters, because we are selling a potential superstar on joining our company.

Empathize with the person you're interviewing. Look over this person's resume with admiration and respect and ask yourself: what is something about this person I can respect and admire? Do not start your interview until you come up with at least 5 reasons. (He/She is a leader, President of Student Body, likes to travel, etc).

Remember your success stories. View your greatest hires as your own children whom you have seen grow up and become successful. Think of your best hires and how well they are doing for the company. Think of how great it makes you feel that you have had such a great impact on the company.

Get excited: stand up straight, put your shoulders back, take a deep breath, smile and get yourself so excited about working for your company that when you shake your applicant's hand for the first time he feels that they finally found the job they always wanted.

Passion and profits go hand in hand, and things work best when you are at your best. Be your best every day by incorporating these five exercises into your routine and you will see everyone at your company profiting from your experience.

How to Keep Your Best People

"Statistics say that 22% of high value employees often think of quitting, 20% would leave for a similar position and 13% are looking for a new job right now-- or at least as soon as the economy recovers." (humaneticsllc.com)

Hire right
Who do you blame when a new employee doesn't work out? It may surprise you that the majority of executives blame themselves. Or, to be more specific, they blame their hiring procedure. Therefore, the first step on your mission to control the turnover rate is to re- evaluate your company's hiring practices and policies. Here a re a few tips to keep in mind:

Identify your needs
Understand the work flow and when peaks occur, so as to know when you are more likely to need more employees and for how long. Also, take some time to evaluate the collective skill sets and personal attributes of your staff and decide if there are any proficiency gaps to fill. Take your time before you begin interviewing-- to determine exactly what it is that you are looking to hire for and what specific skills you need out of a candidate for you and the employee to succeed. Create a specific and detailed job description for each position-- be sure to include core competencies and duties that speak to your target audience.

Be rational
Overstating your needs might get you a candidate, but chances are the candidate is not going to last very long. Honesty is always the best policy, especially when it comes to hiring. So be sure to be candid about the company, the position and the opportunities ( short and long-term). This will assure that you will find the right candidate and that they are joining you team for the right reasons.

Don't ignore your employees
Previous studies have shown that candidates hired under the recommendation of current employees are more likely to stay longer than those who come on their own. Current employees know the organization and are less likely to risk their reputation by recommending someone who is not going to work out. They are also more likely to speak honestly about the company and the opportunities and therefore attract the candidate without the "sales pitch" that hiring managers usually use.

Rehire a previous employee
The advantage of rehiring a former employee who left under favorable circumstances, is that you already know the caliber of work to expect from them and the learning curve is substantially lessened. Aside from that, you also already know how to coach that employee best and how they will fit in with your current employees. So don't shy away from rehires, instead keep an open mind and place them back on your team with a strategic mindset.

Provide exciting incentives
Incentives can be anything from allowing people to take an extended lunch break to perhaps even leaving early. Loving the feeling of being a winner is something we can all relate to. Providing something to work towards will allow for employees to feel motivated to take that extra step or to make that extra call, simply because they know there is something additional waiting for them at the finish line. Other incentives can include things like, tuition assistance, casual dress days, and additional vacation time. Remember that people work for much more than a paycheck.

Start off on the right foot
Make sure that all new employees are fully aware of their duties the company's organizational structure, and what is expected of them. You cannot possibly expect someone to live up to your standards if you do not make those standards clear form day one. So, be sure to take a look at your new-hire orientation process, and make sure that it is up-to-date and effective. If you set the right pace from the beginning, you will ensure that your new employee will be performing at their very best.

Keeping your best employees is essential to your organization. These are the employees that make you look good and keep your organization oiled and fine tuned. So be creative, innovative, and exciting when thinking of new retention methodologies. And keep in mind that your employees (whether they are the best or average), are the driving force behind your business; so take the time to acknowledge their efforts and let them know that their loyalty and hard work is appreciated. You will be surprised how the little things can sometimes make the biggest difference.

Simple Steps to Better Recruiting

"The best changes often start as a single, simple thought. Think big, and discover the ways to make your dreams real."-- Anonymous

There are only 175,000 US Marines in the entire world (which is about a quarter of the size of the US Army), yet they are known as the "best of the best", "the few the proud" etc... They have attained the reputation because, they don't allow just anyone to become a Marine, and those who do become Marines share a common passion and a sense of pride for what they do. With the limited amount of personnel that they have, they have achieved things and made victories possible that might have not otherwise been achievable if it was not for them.
That same mentality of being the best, and only hiring a selected few can be applied to any company in order to make it successful in today's struggling economy. But to attract the best you must market yourself accordingly and strategically as well as have an aggressive plan of attack to help you achieve your goals. So in today's posting we will cover a few simple steps that we can take to assure that we are filling our open positions with the best talent possible.

Step 1
Improve your candidate Pool
Complacency is one of the worst habits that a recruiting manager can pick up.It occurs when we get used to applicants walking in to apply and all of a sudden we stop searching for the ideal candidate and settle for what's in the "pile". A candidate pool is not simply having a bunch of applications handy for any give position, but instead having a few strong solid candidates that you have already screened and believe are the best for the job and are ready to start at the drop of a dime. Having a solid pipeline can make the difference between being the best recruiter and just being average.

Step 2
Look Internally for the Ideal Candidate
A lot of the times we get so caught up with looking through the "Careebuilders" and the "Monsters" that we forget that we already have a source of applicants that have already proven their loyalty, work ethic, and responsibility to you. Allowing current employees to apply for your openings will help boost morale and show that there is potential and room for growth in your company-- which in turn is a marketing tool for you company all on its own. Give potential internal candidates a chance. It is a great opportunity to get to know your employees better and for them to learn more about your organization and its needs. A lot of the times a good fit can be found between your needs and theirs.

Step 3
Be Known as a Great Employer
Employee practices for retention, motivation, accountability, reward, recognition, flexibility in work-life balance, promotion, and involvement are all key factors needed to be a great employer. If as an employer you are continuously practicing these things, they will give your employees a sense of pride in who they work for, as well as a sense of loyalty which in turn will allow them to spread the word about how much they enjoy working for you. A company's reputation is a sensitive thing. It can take years to create and only seconds to destroy, so it is just as important to maintain a strong reputation internally as it is externally.

Step 4
Use your website for Recruiting
Your company's website is one of the most overlooked recruiting tools now a days. It is important for us to understand that when we are interviewing top candidates, they are interviewing us as well-- just as we want to know about their history, stability, and reputation; they want to know about ours. Which is why an updated and attractive website is such an important part of the recruiting process. How can you possibly ask a candidate what they know about your company, if your website hasn't been updated in months or sometimes even years?

Being an average recruiter should never be an option, otherwise you or your company will never join the ranks of the "Selected Few". Keep that "best of the best" Marine Corp mentality and constantly apply it to everything that you do. Do it because you want to improve yourself and be the best at what you do and not so much for the recognition. Recognition will come with time, but the sense of accomplishment and pride in what you do will remain constant.

Good luck and happy hunting...