Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Resume

Does your resume stand out? Will employers quickly see you are the one to do the job? Your resume has less than 15 seconds to capture an employer's attention according to our national survey of 600 hiring managers published in the book, Winning Resumes. You must also incorporate effective keywords or the electronic search tools will never put you on the hiring manager's screen. Resume writing is a critical skill to advancing your career so here are some of the top survey results to follow.


1.EMPHASIZE RESULTS! This was #1 with all surveyed employers. Accomplishments get attention, not just job descriptions. State the action you performed and then note the achieved results. Include details about what you increased or decreased. Use numbers to reflect, how much, how many, and percentage of gain or reduction. Stress money earned or time savings. For example: Managed the project implementing a new tracking system that resulted in a 17% decrease in cost overruns, saving $200,000.

2.SPECIFICS SELL. Vague, general resumes don't cut it, employers say. Target each resume to the job sought. Incorporate only the information pertinent to doing that specific job title in the resume. This will alleviate the tendency to crowd your resume with too much non-related information, or too much detail on jobs more than ten years in your past. Start each sentence with a descriptive action verb such as directed, organized, established, created, planned, etc. as they add powerful impact to your sentences.

3.DO NOT LIE! A USA TODAY survey of executives stated that over 50% tried to exaggerate their skills, which was almost always uncovered during interviews and reference checks. Lying resulted in candidates not getting the job, or worse, being fired once the fraud was revealed. Employers are on the lookout for this misrepresentation so be as positive as possible without exaggerating or misstating the truth.

4.BIG MISTAKES MUST BE AVOIDED. The TOP mistake annoying every manager and HR person in our survey was spelling mistakes and typos. Many said: "I stop reading when I find spelling mistakes." Typos scream: "Don't hire me." Proofread -- you cannot trust computer spell checkers. Cramming too much into a resume and using microscopic fonts can result in your resume never being read. Make your resume visually appealing on paper with fonts sizes in 11 or 12 points. Use concise sentences and adequate white space between points. Many online resume-posting programs incorrectly read boxes and graphic designs causing unintentional page breaks, so be sure to avoid using these. Also, many home computers use a mini-word processing program called WORKS, which is not compatible and can't be read by many employers' business computers that use MS WORD. Be certain you only use WORD in any communications you send on to employers.

5.THE FINAL TEST -- IS YOUR RESUME GETTING RESULTS? Are employers calling on appropriate jobs you are qualified for (not over or under) to perform? If not, rework your resume, or get professional help to improve it, since a great resume is the prelude to landing a terrific job.

- Robin Ryan
From www.net-temps.com

POS Analyst

Famous restaurant is in need of an POS Analyst who can work out in the field to help maintain the locations POS system. This position will involve the handling of the administration of each store system, managing and supporting the company's display system rollout, providing level 2 support for store applications and escalated calls from help desk, assisting with developing and implementing support for new initiatives and working on special projects. Qualified candidate must have POS experience within the retail/restaurant industry.

Job-Clinching Interview Secrets and Tips

The entire interview process is designed to sift the average from the extraordinary and to select the candidate who will be the "right fit". To facilitate decision-making, hiring managers often leverage behavioral interviewing (an interview technique relying on past performance as an indicator of future success). Interview success is largely dependent on how the candidate delivers responses.

Consider the following tips:

Communicate effectively, focus on the beef

During many interview coaching sessions, I have observed that candidates often deliver closed-ended responses to interview questions. Brevity is certainly appreciable, but if the response fails to communicate the message effectively, it won’t do much good either.

When asked about clinical research skills, for example, many professionals would frame their responses along the following lines:

Weak Strategy:

"I have excellent clinical research skills."

Better:

"My superiors, including XYZ Pharma’s CEO, have often called me the ‘Prize of the Clinical Department.’ During my 12+ years’ in clinical research, I have provided my expertise to the world’s top three pharmaceutical companies. As clinical research director at XYZ, I not only directed the testing of eight multi-billion dollar, blockbuster molecules, but also spearheaded their approval process from Phase I of clinical studies all the way through market launch. My Ph.D. in pharmacology serves only to enhance my clinical knowledge."

Showcase past results, demonstrate potential value

Wherever possible, highlight results, not just duties. It is very important to demonstrate how you were driving results at past positions and how you can continue bringing value in your future role as well.

Weak Example:

"I consistently generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenues for XYZ Pharmaceutical Company."

Better:

"From a sales force of 900+ at XYZ Pharmaceutical Company, I was ranked in the Top Five. My performance was consistently at 140% to quota and I was instrumental in winning many sought-after deals. It was primarily my leadership that helped the inclusion of three of our company’s products into the formularies of major managed care organizations in our state. I have won 14 ‘top salesperson’ awards in the past seven years."

Translate benefits for the decision maker

Instead of allowing the hiring manager to draw conclusions about your candidacy, provide material that will do the job for them. In other words, it is not enough to say what you have to offer; the response must go a step further and explain how your qualifications will benefit the organization.

Weak Example:

"I am an experienced pharmacist."

Better:

"My eight years’ experience in working for nationally-recognized pharmacies, such as XYZ and ABC, have honed and developed my ability to fill prescriptions efficiently and accurately. My ability to fill over 300 prescriptions per day with 100% accuracy would save thousands of dollars for your organization as it will eliminate the need for having two pharmacists during an eight-hour shift. My patient orientation and communication skills helped build a loyal patient base for my past employers, and I am confident I can do the same for your company as well."

Understand your employer

Conduct thorough research about the employer, including its past, present, and future. This will not only help you prepare for the interview, but will also help you identify and address issues that would be unique to the specific employer. Employees, vendors, customers, Internet research, SEC filings -- there are a number of information sources you can leverage to facilitate your research.

Convey how you are the candidate for the job

Once you have understood the company’s needs, prepare a convincing strategy to position you for those needs. Consider the following example:

Lu was interviewing for a regulatory affairs manager position with a large pharmaceutical company. His research made him aware of some problems the company’s compliance division was facing in Asia. He leveraged this information to his advantage and at every meeting during the interview process, he used past examples and results to showcase his ability to resolve FDA issues in Asian markets. The strategy was a hit.

Anticipate and prepare responses to common interview questions

Prepare responses for common interview questions. I also ask my clients to prepare short, almost commercial-like messages and scripts positioning them for the role.

- Nimish Thakkar, Career Coach
From www.net-temps.com

Single Most Important Career Question to Ask Yourself

Most people are absolutely unaware of some of seemingly subtle points in their résumé that positively screams out certain things to employers. What may seem vague and somewhat insignificant to you usually is one of the first things that an employer looks for when evaluating candidates.

Employers are evaluating résumés and looking to see what you’ve done to keep yourself up-to-date, and many are on a talent shopping spree. This means they are hiring top industry subject matter experts who have demonstrated their understanding of applying new skill sets and ideas in the workplace.

To wit, I jokingly (but not really) say your résumé is not an obituary, but instead, a dynamic, driving career road map.

And there’s one thing that can help ‘wake’ job seekers up more than anything by asking the single most important question that will impact their competitiveness in today’s job market:

“Are my skills obsolete?”
If you ask this question, and realize the skills you offer are just run-of-the-mill abilities or are outdated, this is your red flag cue you need to get moving…FAST.

If you hope to survive what is now being termed the “Great Recession,” which is continuing with no foreseeable end in sight, your ability to navigate the requirements of companies hiring will rest solely on how you have kept up your skill sets.

Being aggressive in stockpiling skills and knowledge will be critical to making your candidacy the best value in the marketplace…and you’ll need to be strategic about how you map out acquiring those skills.

Apply the following questions to your résumé to better see what employers are thinking when they read this document:

■Have I attained any industry-specific certifications?
■Have I taken any classes, workshops, trainings, conferences, conventions, webinars, continuing education units, or gone to any corporate learning university sessions?
■How have I demonstrated the practical application of what I have learned into my work?
■Has there been any peer recognition for my subject matter expertise (as in any awards, speaking engagements, publications, etc.)?
These factors alone are worth their weight in gold to employers. They simply don’t want someone who will do the minimum possible and push papers around their desk from 8am-5pm. Companies today are struggling to optimize every company system while squeezing every ounce of profit out as possible in order to stay afloat in this volatile economy.

Similarly, you need to take the same approach.

Don’t wait for a company to offer to send you to a conference. You NEED to be your own advocate. Identify the key opportunities where you can enhance your skill sets, and present these to your boss as ways you can improve your on-the-job productivity.

Be prepared to provide justification in terms of return on investment.

And if your manager doesn’t approve the expense and your time out of the office, you’ll need to make a life-changing decision and empowering one:

Invest in yourself.

Be willing to pay for additional professional development yourself. If you are currently employed, think of it as a way to become more indispensable. The job may be eliminated, but if you have demonstrated ROI every step of the way, chances are, the company will find a way to retain you.

If you are looking for work, the good news is everyone who is currently employed is so busy doing the work of 2-3 other people due to staff cutbacks, they don’t have the time to go out and take class. You have the time to identify those core skill sets and take classes that add to your value proposition.

Passivity and blatant ignorance aren’t going to cut it today. You need to cast a critical eye to your résumé and look at it from an employer’s view…what have you done to keep your job skills up to date? Is your professional development section blindingly empty? Or was the last class you took over 5 years ago?

If so, you’ve got your work cut out for you…and by updating your skill sets, you’ll improve your viability as a candidate for open positions.

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Dawn Rasmussen
From www.careerealism.com

Surgery Scheduler- Temp to Hire

If you have scheduled spine surgeries you will love working with this successful, compassionate & growing practice. This practice focuses on working as a team to best serve the patients. Use your experience to schedule spine surgeries for this busy practice and you will be appreciated by your team. Some of your duties will be to manage the surgery schedule by phone & in person, obtain medical records, provide appropriate forms to patients, coordinate office & surgery schedules on physicians' calendar, schedule pre & post-op appointments, work with medical records, plus other duties as needed. This practice is ready to hire.

Avoiding Jargon and Acronyms on Your Resume

I recently met a woman who had started a new job with a Fortune 50 company several months ago. While she enjoyed some aspects of her new position, she was having a very difficult time adjusting to the culture of her new company due to the other employees constantly using acronyms she didn’t understand. The situation is so bad, every day she writes down a list of terms she doesn’t grasp and asks her assistant to explain them.
This is a fairly extreme example of corporate culture gone awry, but it reminded me of something I see often in reviewing resumes. Candidates who have worked for one company or in one industry for a long time often fill their resumes with acronyms and jargon that would only make sense to another employee at their current company. People often don’t even notice they‘re doing this, as they have been using these terms for years and forget not everyone knows them.

A related issue is candidates capitalizing terms on their resume because they’re used to seeing them written that way by their current employer. For instance, while your current company may have you complete a Baseline Analysis of Risk report every time a critical incident occurs, your resume will read much more clearly if you simply write, “completed risk analysis of serious incidents.”

This issue also occurs in relation to job titles. Let’s say you’re a family therapist, but for some reason your business card reads, “Family Centered Practitioner.” It is in your best interests to either write “Family Therapist” as your job title, or to write a clear summary of your role so that your duties are obvious.

As you write your resume, remember that jargon and acronyms not only vary by company and by industry, but sometimes by geography as well. Also, you cannot assume someone in your own industry will be the first person screening your resume. As you describe your former accomplishments, strive to do so in a way that reads clearly to an outsider. Someone who doesn’t understand the content of your resume will never fully grasp what a qualified candidate you are.

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Jessica Holbrook Hernandez
From www.careerealism.com

Administrative Assistant to assist 8 Project Managers and Marketing Manager

Organizational skills a must and previous experience in engineering or as project secretary is highly desirable. Will be compiling data and reports, producing multi-volume proposals, manage calendars, handle travel arrangements, process expense reports, and act as backup to the front desk Receptionist. Must be able to think on feet and work with little to no direction. Intermediate to advanced Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and DeskTop Publishing skills but also open to performing a bunch of grunt work.