IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | Hi! I am Mariann Siegert, and welcome
to Creating an Effective Resume.
| | 00:10 | In this course, I'll cover techniques
for building your marketing campaign by
| | 00:14 | creating a resume that will catch the
eye of a potential employer by showcasing
| | 00:19 | your experience and
skills in the most effective way.
| | 00:23 | We'll start by laying the
groundwork of building your resume.
| | 00:26 | We'll examine best practices for
getting your resume online, including how to
| | 00:32 | find essential keywords which will make
your resume stand out in search engines,
| | 00:37 | leading recruiters and
potential employers right to you.
| | 00:41 | We'll clear up some of the most common
questions job seekers have, such as the
| | 00:46 | ideal resume length, and how
to fill in employment gaps.
| | 00:51 | We'll identify the most popular resume
layouts to help you decide which format
| | 00:57 | you should use to build your resume.
| | 01:00 | We'll complete your marketing campaign
by taking a look at how to create a cover
| | 01:05 | letter, references, and thank-you notes.
| | 01:08 | I am really excited to share these
techniques for resume building with you,
| | 01:14 | so let's begin formulating and
developing your marketing campaign by creating
| | 01:20 | an effective resume.
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| Using the exercise files| 00:00 | The exercise files that come with this
course have been made available to all users:
| | 00:05 | Monthly, Annual, and Premium members.
| | 00:08 | They can be downloaded from the
normal exercise files link or from the free
| | 00:13 | exercise files link on the course page.
| | 00:15 | I've downloaded the
exercise files to my desktop.
| | 00:20 | From it, I can see the folders named by
chapter number: chapter 02, 03, et cetera.
| | 00:24 | You won't necessarily need them to follow
along, but they are there if you need them.
| | 00:30 | There is also a Bonus Materials
folder that contains sample cover letters,
| | 00:35 | reference sheets, resumes, and
a Career Management worksheet.
| | 00:39 | I hope you'll find these useful.
| | 00:41 | Be sure not use the samples without
making them your own, by personalizing to
| | 00:46 | make them your own style.
| | 00:47 | You don't want your resume to look like
anyone else's but your own. Are you ready?
| | 00:52 | Let's get started.
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| Filling out the career management worksheet| 00:00 | The Career Management worksheet, which
is located in the Bonus Materials folder
| | 00:04 | of the exercise files, can be used to
gather together all of your information
| | 00:09 | needed for your resume and beyond.
| | 00:12 | It will be a handy place to keep up with
all of your past and ongoing achievements,
| | 00:16 | accomplishments, classes, seminars,
awards, honors, or any other pertinent
| | 00:25 | information that is relevant to your career.
| | 00:28 | You can then use this information you
gather to better target each resume,
| | 00:33 | whether the resume be targeted towards your
career, a particular employer, or a certain job.
| | 00:39 | As you can see, some of the sections
here are your Personal Information; your
| | 00:44 | Education; your Vocational or
Technical Training; Professional Development
| | 00:50 | section; Professional Experience,
which goes on for quite a while here
| | 00:55 | in case if you've had a lot of jobs;
and then it starts with Other Pertinent
| | 01:00 | Information. You've got related
Qualifications, Technical Skills.
| | 01:05 | So there are a lot of information in here.
| | 01:07 | It's actually 16 pages long.
| | 01:09 | Just to note, the form was
designed to be double-spaced.
| | 01:12 | So in the fields that are longer than
one line, you may need to press Enter
| | 01:17 | or Return key twice.
| | 01:19 | So, for example, here underneath of
Networking, if I click in this box and I
| | 01:23 | start to type, I may need to hit the
Enter or Return twice to get to the next line.
| | 01:29 | I hope you find it a useful tool for
your career and in your job search.
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1. Gathering and Organizing the FactsCreating a marketing campaign| 00:01 | There is a common misconception that a
resume is just a list of job duties and
| | 00:06 | responsibilities you've performed.
| | 00:09 | This is what keeps most people from
creating a resume that really highlights
| | 00:13 | their skills and their talents.
| | 00:16 | So what exactly is a resume?
| | 00:19 | Your resume should be an advertising and
marketing campaign designed to sell one thing, you.
| | 00:27 | And since your resume is your
advertising and marketing campaign, creating a
| | 00:32 | resume is much more involved than simply
writing down your education and your work history.
| | 00:38 | You can use the same strategies that
advertising firms use in their campaigns.
| | 00:44 | You may be asking, how do I do this?
How do I create a marketing and advertising
| | 00:50 | campaign designed to sell me?
| | 00:53 | This course will cover in detail
exactly how to do that, and I'll be walking you
| | 00:58 | through each step of the way.
| | 01:01 | First of all, we'll find out exactly
what you want and what your goal is in
| | 01:06 | order to know what to focus on.
| | 01:09 | Once you know exactly what it is that
you want, we'll begin conducting research
| | 01:14 | to know which employers meet your goals.
| | 01:18 | From this research, we'll write down the
top ten employers you would like to work
| | 01:23 | for and begin focusing on
your number one on down.
| | 01:28 | Then we'll figure out what the employer
is looking for by continuing your research.
| | 01:34 | All of this research will help you
target each resume that you send by matching
| | 01:39 | the needs of the employer with your
transferable skills and your experience.
| | 01:45 | When writing your resume, keep in mind
that the idea is to promote your largest
| | 01:50 | personal investment, you.
| | 01:53 | Tell them what you could do for them and
how you will be an asset to their company.
| | 01:59 | And don't think of it as bragging.
| | 02:01 | You're simply showing employers what
they will get if they hire you and how you
| | 02:06 | can make a difference in their company.
| | 02:09 | The most important thing to
remember is, don't give up.
| | 02:13 | If you still haven't obtained employment
after exhausting all of your avenues of
| | 02:17 | your marketing campaign towards your
top ten employers, write down your next top
| | 02:22 | ten perspectives and retarget your campaign.
| | 02:26 | Create a resume that showcases the
experience that you bring to the table in
| | 02:31 | the best possible light, by
showing off your accomplishments and your
| | 02:35 | achievements, demonstrating what you
can offer, and how you will be an asset to
| | 02:40 | the company overall.
| | 02:43 | If you do, get ready to open the
door; opportunity will come knocking.
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| Discovering your dream job| 00:01 | There is a quote that I love by
Confucius: "Find a job you love and you will
| | 00:06 | never work a day in your life." What about you?
| | 00:09 | Do you sit around daydreaming of the
perfect job, one that makes you want to
| | 00:14 | jump out of bed on a Monday
morning with a smile on your face and
| | 00:17 | ready and raring to go? It is possible.
| | 00:20 | First, you must decide what your dream job is.
| | 00:24 | Try this quick exercise.
| | 00:27 | Start by writing a table with three
columns: hobbies, interests, and talents.
| | 00:34 | Set a timer to five minutes.
Then quickly write down as many things that come to
| | 00:40 | mind under each category as
you can in those five minutes.
| | 00:45 | For your hobbies, write down
things that you currently like to do.
| | 00:50 | Under your interests, write down
things that you have always wanted to do or
| | 00:54 | that you are interested in.
| | 00:55 | Don't just write down
things that interest you now.
| | 00:59 | Let your mind take you back to your
childhood dreams and your teenage wonders.
| | 01:04 | What did you want to do as a child?
| | 01:06 | Who did you want to be when you were a teenager?
| | 01:10 | What things were you interested in
then that you never got around to doing?
| | 01:15 | And don't forget to
include your current aspirations.
| | 01:19 | Finally, in the last column,
fill in all of your talents.
| | 01:23 | You will be surprised how
quickly those five minutes go by.
| | 01:29 | As you can see, some of my
hobbies are scuba diving and painting.
| | 01:34 | I like to travel and some of my
natural talents include art and teaching.
| | 01:40 | Next, as quickly as you can without
really thinking about it long, circle two to
| | 01:46 | four things in each category
that interest you the most.
| | 01:50 | Now, put it all together.
| | 01:52 | Start writing down jobs that you could
do using your favorite circled hobbies,
| | 01:57 | your talents, and your interests.
| | 01:59 | Try to come up with at least five jobs.
| | 02:02 | For example, based on my table, I can
be an art teacher, which combines my
| | 02:07 | writing, painting, children, helping
people, art, and teaching. Or I can be a
| | 02:15 | teacher overseas, which combines
writing, traveling, helping people, children,
| | 02:21 | and teaching. Or I can be a foreign missionary.
| | 02:25 | I can be flight attendant, a pilot, a
sailing instructor, or a lynda.com author.
| | 02:32 | The more of your hobbies, interests, and
talents that you can use on one job, the
| | 02:37 | happier you will be.
| | 02:39 | The last step in this exercise is to
pick the job that interests you the most.
| | 02:43 | Out of all the jobs that you came up
with, that you created from the combinations
| | 02:48 | of all your hobbies, interests, and
talents, it's time to select your favorite.
| | 02:54 | It's a fun exercise, and you can really
learn a lot about yourself from doing
| | 02:57 | something so simple.
| | 02:59 | Try with family and friends, too.
| | 03:02 | Once you know what it is that you
want to do and what is your dream job,
| | 03:06 | it's time to go for it.
| | 03:08 | Start by researching employers to
find out which employer will meet your
| | 03:12 | qualifications for the perfect dream job.
| | 03:16 | Add things to your dream job list, such
as benefits, vacation time, ability to
| | 03:22 | work from home, and so on.
| | 03:25 | I personally think that
Confucius hit it right on the head.
| | 03:29 | Now that you know what it is that you
love to do, it's time to realize your
| | 03:33 | dream job and never work
another day in your life.
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| Understanding the importance of keywords| 00:00 | One of the most important and
essential steps in creating your resume is
| | 00:05 | incorporating the use of keywords.
| | 00:08 | You may be asking, okay, so what are
keywords, and why are they so important?
| | 00:13 | Recruiters search for potential
employees the same way you use Google to search
| | 00:17 | for a topic, that is, with one or more words.
| | 00:21 | But instead of using Google, they use an
applicant tracking system, or ATS for short,
| | 00:27 | that quickly scans for
words matching their criteria.
| | 00:31 | If the keywords in your resume match
the criteria they typed in, voila, you have
| | 00:36 | now won the first round by simply being found.
| | 00:40 | If those keywords are
not found, neither are you.
| | 00:44 | Therefore, it is crucial to
incorporate these keywords throughout your resume
| | 00:49 | to maximize your chances of being found in
a sea of hundreds of thousands of resumes.
| | 00:55 | Keep in mind in larger resume banks,
yours may be bobbing amongst millions of
| | 01:00 | other resumes swimming in the same sea.
| | 01:03 | You can turn the tide in your favor
by finding just the right job-specific
| | 01:08 | keywords that will allow
the employer to find you.
| | 01:12 | When web site designers create a web
site, they add keywords to drive more
| | 01:18 | traffic to their site based on the
criteria they think people will be searching by.
| | 01:23 | This is known as search engine
optimization, or SEO for short.
| | 01:29 | When you add keywords to your resume,
you are using the same principles as
| | 01:34 | web site designers.
| | 01:36 | Think of adding keywords as SEO for your resume.
| | 01:39 | By adding these keywords, you are
optimizing your chances of being found by
| | 01:44 | recruiters and employers.
| | 01:46 | Instead of SEO, or search
engine optimization, it's RSO, resume
| | 01:52 | search optimization.
| | 01:54 | I will coin the phrase now.
| | 01:56 | At this point, you may be
asking yourself, that's great,
| | 01:59 | I'll use keywords, but how do I know
what words they are using to search by so
| | 02:05 | I may include them throughout my resume?
| | 02:08 | If you follow me to the next movie,
I'll be showing you exactly how.
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| Finding essential keywords| 00:00 | Incorporating keywords into your
resume is a crucial part of your
| | 00:04 | marketing campaign.
| | 00:06 | If you don't include applicable
keywords throughout, the employer or recruiter
| | 00:10 | will never be able to find you.
| | 00:12 | It's imperative to find and incorporate
keywords that best fit your employment goals.
| | 00:19 | The number one place to look for
keywords is by looking through current job
| | 00:22 | descriptions that match your target position.
| | 00:25 | If you have a position in mind already,
use as many keywords as possible from
| | 00:30 | the job description at hand.
| | 00:32 | If you are creating a resume to
upload to resume banks, follow these steps.
| | 00:38 | Start by searching for online resume
banks or job banks that list employer job
| | 00:43 | openings and positions.
| | 00:45 | Search for 'resume banks' or 'job banks'.
| | 00:48 | One of my favorites is monster.com.
| | 00:54 | There are many others, such as indeed.com,
careerbuilder.com, and a host of others.
| | 01:00 | Of course, use the ones you prefer,
but I would recommend using as many as you
| | 01:05 | can to ascertain that you are
being as thorough as possible.
| | 01:09 | That way you can create a broader
base of keywords to choose from.
| | 01:13 | Another keyword resource is to search through LinkedIn
profiles of people that are in your same field.
| | 01:20 | I am going to use monster for this
example, and that's www.monster.com.
| | 01:26 | And I am going to search
for a web site designer.
| | 01:29 | So, I am a web site designer.
| | 01:31 | I'm looking for my keywords.
| | 01:33 | So, I am just going to
type in 'web site designer'.
| | 01:37 | You don't want to include any other
criteria because at this point, the
| | 01:41 | location doesn't matter.
| | 01:43 | We want to find jobs we would be
interested in applying for and harvest the keywords.
| | 01:51 | Let's say that I'm interested in the
web site designer here in Vermont, so I
| | 01:55 | will click on Website Designer.
| | 01:58 | And notice that you also have just a
little bit of a description underneath of
| | 02:01 | each of these that you can read
through and kind of see if it sounds
| | 02:04 | interesting to you.
| | 02:05 | So, I am interested in this one
in Vermont as a web site designer.
| | 02:09 | Now I click on the link, and it takes me here.
| | 02:12 | Now, the next thing that I want to do
is copy and paste keywords and keyword
| | 02:17 | phrases from this open position.
| | 02:20 | So, let's say that in this case I'm
going to copy all of the duties for
| | 02:25 | this particular job.
| | 02:27 | I going to take all of this and I
am just kind of copy, so I can either
| | 02:31 | right-click of course to copy, or I
can do Ctrl+C as a keyboard shortcut.
| | 02:36 | And then I am just going to go
to Word and I am going to paste.
| | 02:41 | And then, the next thing that I'm going
to do is say okay, you know what, I like
| | 02:45 | all this information.
| | 02:46 | Let's see what else that I can find.
| | 02:47 | Now, my keywords in here, by
the way, might be, let's say
| | 02:51 | e-commerce applications.
| | 02:53 | That could be a keyboard, so I
can select that and highlight it.
| | 02:57 | Then I can go back to my search and
I can say you know, I need a BS or BA
| | 03:04 | degree, and also let's say that I
need excellent client-relational skills.
| | 03:09 | So, I am going to select that.
| | 03:11 | So, I can hold down my Ctrl key
and I can select more than one thing.
| | 03:16 | Next, let's say, oh, I need all
this information, expert in XHTML.
| | 03:20 | Let's go ahead and select all of that.
| | 03:23 | I'm still holding down my Ctrl key and
selecting the rest of the information.
| | 03:27 | Now, I am going to do a Ctrl+C to copy.
| | 03:30 | I am going to go back over to my
Word document and do a Ctrl+V to paste.
| | 03:35 | On the Mac, you are not able to copy
and paste more than one thing at a time,
| | 03:39 | but you can copy individually.
| | 03:42 | You may have to clean this up a little when
you are using your Ctrl key to copy and paste.
| | 03:46 | I am just going to hit
Enter, and we are good to go.
| | 03:49 | And you want to repeat this.
| | 03:51 | You are going to find another job that you like.
| | 03:53 | You are going to find the keywords.
| | 03:55 | And a good thing to do, again, is to
go through and just select and highlight
| | 03:59 | those keywords that you
think are going to be important.
| | 04:03 | You can delete all the other text,
or you can highlight it, either way.
| | 04:07 | Now, what you want to do is be aware of
keywords that are repeatedly being used
| | 04:12 | to describe your targeted job.
| | 04:15 | You can of course copy entire
descriptions if you really liked the job or just
| | 04:20 | paste pertinent keywords or phrases
relevant to your job-hunting target, such as
| | 04:25 | job titles. It might be technical terms,
skills, and professional expertise.
| | 04:30 | It might be software or hardware.
| | 04:33 | It may be degrees you need or colleges.
| | 04:37 | It could be industry jargon and buzzwords.
| | 04:40 | You may later consider copying the most
pertinent information into your Career
| | 04:44 | Management worksheet, which you will
find in the Bonus Material folder in the
| | 04:49 | exercise files that came with this course. Okay.
| | 04:53 | So, now I know how to research, identify,
and collect my keywords and phrases.
| | 04:58 | Now, what do I do with them?
| | 05:00 | Well, some people still place a keyword
section at the top of their resume with
| | 05:05 | the list of keywords but no context.
| | 05:08 | Years ago, rumor had it that old
applicant tracking systems, or ATS systems,
| | 05:13 | would only search the first
100 words of your document.
| | 05:16 | If this was true, this
limitation no longer applies.
| | 05:20 | Instead, it's better to sprinkle
keywords throughout your entire resume.
| | 05:25 | Highlight them in each section, such
as your career summary, professional
| | 05:30 | experience section, technical expertise,
and throughout your education sections.
| | 05:36 | Make sure you standardize your job titles.
| | 05:39 | Let's say the work you are doing is
that of a technical trainer, but the
| | 05:43 | employer has just given you some strange,
off-the-wall title, such as Employee
| | 05:48 | Improvement Specialist.
| | 05:49 | If this is a case, consider using the
industry-standard title of technical
| | 05:54 | trainer in your resume instead.
| | 05:56 | You can then put the obscure title in
parentheses next to it if you prefer.
| | 06:01 | Whatever you do, be sure to include
the title of the job you're looking for
| | 06:05 | somewhere in your resume.
| | 06:07 | It's one of your main keywords.
| | 06:10 | Including keywords in your
resume is crucial in your job search.
| | 06:14 | Be sure to perform job search
optimization by using keywords throughout.
| | 06:19 | The more keywords you use that match
the employer's search criteria, the higher
| | 06:24 | rating you will receive in their
search results of possible candidates.
| | 06:29 | Not optimizing your
resume will lead to no leads.
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| Incorporating action verbs| 00:00 | Action verbs. What are they, and how can you
use them to help you create a verbally animated
| | 00:06 | resume that captures the
attention of the employer?
| | 00:10 | To better understand how you can use
them, let's take a look at this example.
| | 00:14 | Use action verbs in your resume.
| | 00:17 | It's to the point, but it's a bit boring.
| | 00:20 | Now, let's take a look at a
sentence that says the same thing but uses
| | 00:24 | different action verbs.
| | 00:26 | Electrify and charge your
resume by integrating action verbs.
| | 00:31 | As you can see, you can add
excitement by using action verbs to make an
| | 00:35 | otherwise dull sentence come
to life and jump off the page.
| | 00:39 | It's the same for your resume.
| | 00:41 | Finding and incorporating the right
action verbs will add a sense of energy and
| | 00:46 | excitement to a dry and dreary page.
| | 00:48 | Since you are being hired by
the employer to do something,
| | 00:52 | you need to put action verbs to work in
your resume to really make it come alive.
| | 00:58 | Action verbs can be your helping
hand by highlighting what you've done.
| | 01:03 | In order to find the best action verbs
to incorporate into your resume, begin by
| | 01:08 | scanning the description of your
target job. Or if you don't yet have a
| | 01:13 | particular job in mind and are
creating your original, or your main resume to
| | 01:18 | post on job boards, jump online and
find postings that match your interest.
| | 01:22 | Let me show you how to do this.
| | 01:23 | I'm on monster.com and I am going to go
in and look for a position as a senior
| | 01:33 | field service engineer, and let's say
that my location in the United States here
| | 01:42 | is in Pittsburgh PA, and I
am going to click on Search.
| | 01:47 | Now, let's say that I'm very
interested in the Senior Field Service and
| | 01:52 | Commissioning Engineer.
| | 01:53 | So, I am just going to click on it, open it up.
| | 01:56 | I look through it and decide,
yeah, I really like this position.
| | 01:59 | I am going to copy the information
from the job description, and I am going
| | 02:08 | to paste it into Word.
| | 02:12 | Now, what we want to do is
start looking for action verbs.
| | 02:18 | So, performing you can see
is here, performs, performs.
| | 02:22 | We have another performs down here.
| | 02:25 | So, they really like the word perform, so that's
something I probably want to use in my resume.
| | 02:30 | So, I'm going to highlight
it with my highlighter tool.
| | 02:33 | You can delete the words around it.
| | 02:35 | You can copy and paste it into a
different document, whatever you like to do best.
| | 02:40 | I am just going to continue highlighting them.
| | 02:42 | So, we have performs.
| | 02:44 | We also have troubleshooting.
| | 02:46 | We have determining, implementing.
| | 02:51 | Let's see. What else do they have here?
| | 02:53 | Developing. Promoting again, they used
that more than once as well. Providing.
| | 03:02 | So, you would continue going through
your document, and there is probably some
| | 03:06 | more down here that we can grab,
ability to prioritizing. That's enough.
| | 03:15 | I think you get the idea.
| | 03:16 | Next, you may want to copy and paste
information from the job description that
| | 03:21 | fits your transferable skills and experience.
| | 03:24 | So, I am going to rewrite this sentence
to match my own using their action verbs.
| | 03:29 | So, I am just going to copy this and
paste it into another document, so I can
| | 03:33 | work with it a little bit better,
and just clean it up a little bit.
| | 03:39 | Next, what I want to do is rewrite
this sentence using the action verbs.
| | 03:44 | Make sure that you don't use word-for-
word, and be sure to include your skills
| | 03:49 | to match the employer's needs.
| | 03:51 | For example, I am going to use the
sentence, "Diagnosing and troubleshooting
| | 04:00 | problems, determining solutions, and
taking action to resolve the issues onsite."
| | 04:13 | Then I can simply take my sentence, copy
it once again, and paste it into my resume.
| | 04:25 | And there we go.
| | 04:26 | Employers seek action-oriented people.
| | 04:29 | Action verbs set your
achievements and accomplishments in motion.
| | 04:33 | By fully exploiting the power of action
verbs, you can make your experience jump
| | 04:39 | off the page and convey a sense of energy.
| | 04:42 | Using action verbs enables you to grab
the employer's interest and attention and
| | 04:47 | places the emphasis on what you can do for them.
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| Getting results using PAR statements| 00:00 | There's a simple technique that you
can follow to help you create a more
| | 00:04 | compelling and effective resume.
| | 00:07 | It's called a PAR formula.
| | 00:09 | PAR stands for Problem-Action-Result.
| | 00:13 | The PAR formula tells a business story.
| | 00:16 | In the case of your resume, you can use
this formula to tell your success story
| | 00:21 | to potential employers,
| | 00:23 | the story that will show how you can
help them and why you are the perfect
| | 00:28 | candidate for the job.
| | 00:31 | All the stories have one thing in common,
| | 00:33 | a beginning, middle, and end.
| | 00:37 | The PAR formula works the same way.
| | 00:40 | The beginning is the problem, the middle
is the action, and the end is the result.
| | 00:45 | During your career, you've had problems,
you've taken the action to solve those
| | 00:51 | problems, and hopefully
received positive end results.
| | 00:55 | Your resume should not be a
laundry list of boring job duties, and
| | 01:00 | responsibilities that you've performed.
| | 01:03 | You'll get much greater results by
using PAR formula to showcase how you will
| | 01:07 | help their bottom line.
| | 01:10 | As an added bonus, creating PAR
statements can even help prepare you for
| | 01:14 | behavior-based interview questions,
such as 'what do you consider to be your
| | 01:19 | greatest achievement?'
| | 01:21 | So how does it work?
| | 01:23 | Let me begin by giving you a few examples.
| | 01:26 | Let's say that you're a web site designer.
| | 01:29 | The problem that you may have had as a
web site designer is a client who is not
| | 01:33 | getting enough traffic to their
web site, resulting in low sales.
| | 01:38 | What action did you take?
| | 01:40 | Well, you interviewed the client,
researched their competition, created a new
| | 01:45 | web site based on your findings,
and then performed search engine
| | 01:48 | optimization, or SEO for short.
| | 01:52 | The result was increased web site
traffic by 70%, increase in the client
| | 01:57 | sales and profits by 55%.
| | 02:01 | Based on the situation, your PAR
statement would be, 'designed new Flash web site
| | 02:07 | based on competitive market
evaluations and client needs, resulting in a 70%
| | 02:12 | increase in web site
traffic and 55% profit margin.'
| | 02:17 | Doesn't that sound better
than 'created a web site'?
| | 02:20 | Now, let's take a look at what PAR
statement would look like if you were a secretary.
| | 02:26 | The problem was that the company was
using an antiquated Rolodex system for
| | 02:31 | their contact management system.
| | 02:33 | The action that you took was that
you created a new contact management
| | 02:37 | database using Access.
| | 02:40 | Your result was that the company
can now use the information from the
| | 02:43 | database to merge addresses for
mass mailings and electronic mail
| | 02:48 | distribution, saving time and money.
| | 02:51 | This also increased efficiency,
shortening the time it takes to send out
| | 02:55 | mass mailings by 90%.
| | 02:58 | The PAR statement for this example would
be, 'created a contact management system
| | 03:03 | using Access to store data from
outdated Rolodex systems, increasing efficiency
| | 03:09 | of mass mailings to our clients by 90%'.
| | 03:11 | Doesn't this sound better
than 'sent out letters to clients'?
| | 03:17 | Both of these examples
contain action verbs and details.
| | 03:20 | They also use numbers to
quantify the results of the action.
| | 03:24 | It sets your experience in motion.
| | 03:27 | How do you write your own PAR statements?
| | 03:29 | Always start at the beginning, the problem.
| | 03:34 | What are some of the biggest problems
that you faced in your career, the action
| | 03:38 | that you took to resolve the problem,
and the positive outcome that ensued as a
| | 03:43 | result of your actions?
| | 03:45 | Think of things you've done in your
career that you're proud of. Show the
| | 03:49 | employer that you can take
action when the situation arises.
| | 03:53 | And don't let PAR statements intimidate you.
| | 03:55 | It's not rocket science. It's easy.
| | 03:58 | Have fun with it!
| | 03:59 | If you're still stuck, try answering
questions such as, did you win any awards?
| | 04:05 | Did you direct, oversee, or manage any projects?
| | 04:09 | Did you implement any new ideas?
| | 04:12 | Did you organize an event or a function?
| | 04:15 | Did you save the company time, money, or
make something on the job more efficient?
| | 04:20 | It can even be something such
as getting promoted quickly.
| | 04:24 | For example, you could say, promoted
from Helpdesk Technician to Helpdesk
| | 04:29 | Manager within eight
months of your initial hiring.
| | 04:33 | Think back, think hard, and have some
fun creating your own PAR statements.
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| Researching the employer| 00:00 | Finding the perfect job is a job in
and of itself, but the work you put into
| | 00:06 | your job search will be well worth it.
| | 00:09 | What exactly do you want? Who do you
want to work for? Where would you best fit
| | 00:13 | in? Do you want to work for a small
company that is family-oriented, or perhaps
| | 00:19 | a huge corporation with
plenty of upward mobility?
| | 00:22 | Once you know what you want,
it's time to begin your homework.
| | 00:26 | Always keep in mind that your
resume is your advertising campaign.
| | 00:30 | Advertising executives always
begin a campaign with market research.
| | 00:34 | Write down the top then
employers you would like to work for.
| | 00:38 | Then focus your marketing campaign by
conducting research on your number one on down.
| | 00:44 | After you've decided who you want to target,
find out as much information as possible.
| | 00:49 | Researching the employer will help you
to better target your resume by knowing
| | 00:53 | the employer's needs.
| | 00:55 | The closer you can match your skills and
achievements to their needs, the better
| | 01:00 | your results will be.
| | 01:01 | It will also help you during the
interview to show the employer you're
| | 01:05 | interested enough in their company
to find out all you can about them.
| | 01:10 | So where do you begin?
| | 01:12 | As you may have guessed, one of he
best research tools at your disposal is
| | 01:16 | by using the Internet.
| | 01:18 | Begin by locating their web site using
a search engine like Google or Yahoo!
| | 01:23 | Let's say that you want to work for lynda.com.
| | 01:25 | Once you've located their web site,
look for section such as About Us.
| | 01:32 | And there it is right here,
about us, the lynda.com story.
| | 01:36 | You may also look for information
such as history and careers and their
| | 01:41 | executive team, find out who their
CEO is and who their president is.
| | 01:47 | Make note of the company's mission
statement and consider trying to incorporate
| | 01:51 | your own version of it into
your cover letter and your resume.
| | 01:54 | Next, find out if it's a
privately or a publicly held company.
| | 01:59 | If the company you're looking at is
publicly held, you've got a few more
| | 02:02 | options for research.
| | 02:04 | Look them up on NASDAQ.
| | 02:06 | NASDAQ lists about 3,200 securities, more
companies than the New York Stock Exchange.
| | 02:13 | It executes stock trades through
computers instead of on the trading floor.
| | 02:18 | You can research public
employers on the New York Stock Exchange.
| | 02:21 | It is the world's largest stock
exchange by market capitalization.
| | 02:26 | SEC stands for Securities
and Exchange Commission.
| | 02:31 | You can research SEC filings to find out
more about the company's financial health.
| | 02:37 | Check out employers on the Hoovers web site.
| | 02:40 | Hoovers includes an extensive database
that gives insight and analysis about
| | 02:45 | companies, organizations, and industries.
| | 02:48 | See if you can find anything about the
company through the Chamber of Commerce
| | 02:53 | or the Better Business Bureau.
| | 02:56 | Research statistical information in
your industry, such as projections, trends,
| | 03:01 | and layoff information, through the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Check out
| | 03:06 | newspaper articles, trade
journals, and business magazines.
| | 03:10 | What other information should you look for?
| | 03:12 | While seeking out information,
keep these things in mind.
| | 03:16 | Who are their competitors?
| | 03:18 | By the way, during my last interview, I was
asked if I knew who their competitors were.
| | 03:22 | Research the market and find
out all about their competition.
| | 03:26 | What are their products and their
services? How many years have they been in
| | 03:29 | business? How many employees
and locations do they have?
| | 03:33 | Are they a subsidiary or a parent company?
| | 03:37 | When beginning your job search, you
must know what you want first and which
| | 03:41 | employers will be your best fit.
| | 03:43 | One size does not fit all.
| | 03:45 | Then you must know what the employer wants.
| | 03:48 | Remember, each resume should be targeted
towards a particular employer and job description.
| | 03:54 | The more you know about the employer
and their wants and needs, the better
| | 03:58 | you'll be able to match
your skills to those needs.
| | 04:01 | And the more you know about the
company, the better you will be able to do
| | 04:05 | during your interview by
appearing more knowledgeable.
| | 04:08 | By doing your homework, you'll leave a
positive impression with the employer and
| | 04:13 | stand out from the crowd.
| | 04:15 | You'll be prepared to answer any
questions they may have and will be in a better
| | 04:19 | position to create your advertising campaign,
| | 04:22 | beginning with your resume.
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|
|
2. The Dos and Don'ts of Resume WritingTargeting your resume| 00:00 | One of the biggest mistakes people make
when they are job hunting is sending out
| | 00:04 | the same generic one-size-fits-all
resume to each and every potential employer.
| | 00:10 | The problem with using this method is threefold.
| | 00:13 | One, every company has different needs.
| | 00:16 | Two, every position requires different
skillsets to do that particular job.
| | 00:23 | And three, you have different
skillsets, knowledge, and experience that will
| | 00:28 | match those different needs.
| | 00:30 | Targeted resume showcase and match
the skills and experience that you have
| | 00:35 | that is needed by each individual employer.
| | 00:38 | When people use a one-size-fits-all
resume, they force the prospective
| | 00:42 | employer to search through their
resume, trying to figure out which of their
| | 00:46 | skills they may be able to use.
| | 00:48 | You could call it hide-and-
seek for busy professionals.
| | 00:53 | Employers are looking for very specific things.
| | 00:56 | They spell out what they are
looking for in the job description.
| | 01:01 | Since employers are looking for very
specific things, your resume cannot be vague.
| | 01:06 | It must be targeted to
match the employer's needs.
| | 01:11 | Every resume you send out should be
customized and tailored to meet the needs of
| | 01:16 | each prospective employer.
| | 01:17 | Items on your resume that are unrelated
or irrelevant to the targeted position
| | 01:23 | should be downplayed or removed.
| | 01:25 | Related accomplishments and
achievements should be highlighted, as should your
| | 01:29 | transferable skills, throughout
each and every position you've held.
| | 01:34 | Targeting your resume for each desired
position allows you to emphasize how you
| | 01:40 | are the perfect match for that particular job.
| | 01:44 | Here's an easy way I found of
specifically targeting a particular position
| | 01:48 | and employer's needs.
| | 01:50 | First, go to a resume bank and
then type in your search requirements.
| | 01:56 | Let's say that I am a technical
trainer, and I am looking for a position in
| | 02:02 | Grand Junction, Colorado. There it
is, and I am going to click on Search.
| | 02:08 | And here's a technical
trainer job that I am interested in,
| | 02:11 | so I am going to click on it.
| | 02:15 | Now what I am going to do is I am
going to find the job duties and
| | 02:19 | responsibilities for this particular position.
| | 02:21 | Then I am going to copy and paste it into
Word, or any other word processor for that matter.
| | 02:30 | Now what I want to do is I want to
create a table for my job description.
| | 02:34 | So I am just going to simply select it,
| | 02:37 | I am going to go to the Insert menu,
click on Table, and then select
| | 02:42 | Convert Text to Table.
| | 02:44 | The Number of columns is 1.
| | 02:46 | That's fine. Click on OK. There's our table.
| | 02:49 | Now, what I want to do is I want to
create a column to the right, so I can write
| | 02:54 | down what my transferable skills are.
| | 02:57 | So I am going to go up to Layout
and click on Layout and click on Insert Right,
| | 03:04 | because I want to insert
columns to the right. And there we go.
| | 03:08 | Now I also want to include a header,
| | 03:11 | so I am going to select the first row
by holding my mouse out here to the left
| | 03:15 | of this column and clicking.
| | 03:17 | That selects the entire row.
| | 03:19 | I am going to go back up here to
the toolbar and click on Insert Above.
| | 03:24 | Now the next thing that I want to do
is I want to set the Style for this
| | 03:29 | table to Normal to make sure that
I've gotten rid of anything that we've
| | 03:33 | copied over from the Internet.
| | 03:35 | So when you're holding your mouse over
the table, you'll see a little box with a
| | 03:39 | cross in it, with some arrows, and if
you click, it'll select your whole table.
| | 03:44 | To set the style back to Normal, we're
going to go to the Home tab, and then
| | 03:50 | we're going to click on the little down
arrow here underneath of Change Styles.
| | 03:54 | When you click on it, you'll
see your Styles pane appear.
| | 03:58 | With the table selected, we're going to
click on Normal, and that should set it
| | 04:03 | back to your Normal style.
| | 04:04 | Now I am going to add a header
that says Essential Functions and
| | 04:12 | Transferable Skills.
| | 04:13 | Now I am ready to start
typing in my transferable skills.
| | 04:19 | When it's completed, you can
change it around to look like this.
| | 04:25 | Using this format will help in several ways.
| | 04:28 | It will get you to thinking about
what your transferable skills are, and
| | 04:32 | matching them to the employer's needs.
| | 04:35 | It'll help you focus and concentrate on
what the needs of the employer actually are.
| | 04:40 | It'll give you an easy format for finding
potent keywords to include in your resume.
| | 04:46 | It will assist you in selling
your true worth during the interview.
| | 04:50 | Speaking of interviewing, when you
get to that stage, copy your table into
| | 04:55 | another document, such as the one the
we're looking at of its own, and format to
| | 05:00 | match your resume with the same heading style.
| | 05:04 | Now, make sure that the heading style
of your resume, your cover letter, your
| | 05:09 | references, and your
transferable skills all match.
| | 05:13 | Your table of transferable skills can be
part of the package you hand out to the
| | 05:18 | interview panel or hiring manager.
| | 05:21 | It will show you're thinking ahead of
the game and value their time by not
| | 05:25 | making them try to play
hide-and-seek or match-the-skill.
| | 05:28 | Once you have your chart in hand, you
can begin incorporating these skills
| | 05:32 | throughout your resume,
| | 05:34 | add your keywords, update your
headline, your qualification summary, your
| | 05:39 | professional experience, and all of the
sections throughout with your matching skills.
| | 05:44 | Don't simply repeat phrases
found in the job description;
| | 05:48 | use your own words to
describe your matching skills.
| | 05:52 | Remember, your goal is to match as many
of the needs of the employer as you can
| | 05:56 | with your own background.
| | 05:58 | Another thing to keep in mind when
creating a targeted resume from your original
| | 06:03 | resume is to be sure you don't
save over your targeted resume.
| | 06:07 | Keep the original resume intact and
use it as a template for your targets.
| | 06:12 | Also, you can use the main resume as the
version you will upload to resume banks.
| | 06:18 | Another important thing to keep in
mind when targeting your resume for each
| | 06:21 | position is organization.
| | 06:23 | Keep a copy of each version of your
resume that you need to send to each company.
| | 06:27 | This is very important for
tracking and recordkeeping.
| | 06:31 | Once you get to the interview, you
should bring several copies of the targeted
| | 06:35 | resume with you, so you want
to be sure not to overwrite.
| | 06:39 | Once you have your target in sight,
it's time to hit the bull's eye.
| | 06:43 | Hit the center of the target by
matching your skills to the employer's needs.
| | 06:48 | The more closely you match yourself to
the position, the more likely it will be
| | 06:52 | that you'll be invited to an interview.
| | 06:54 | Just be sure not to simply repeat
phrases found in the job description.
| | 06:58 | Your goal is to prove your transferable
skills are a match for that position at hand.
| | 07:03 | If you succeed in showing hard proof
to the potential employer and submit the
| | 07:08 | evidence that you are the perfect fit,
you will hit your target right on the
| | 07:12 | mark and land the perfect job.
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| Sidestepping blunders and the "10-Second Screen-Out"| 00:01 | Did you know that your resume only has
about ten seconds in front of the reviewer
| | 00:06 | to entice them to read on?
| | 00:07 | And the reality is, in today's job
market, it may be as little as five seconds.
| | 00:13 | So how do you make it through the first
round and avoid that ten-second screen-out?
| | 00:18 | First, you must put yourself in the
reviewer's shoes. Think about this.
| | 00:23 | If you were a hiring manager or a
recruiter and had a stack of 100 resumes
| | 00:28 | sitting in front of you to plow
through, all from people applying for the
| | 00:32 | same job, how would you begin?
| | 00:35 | The truth is most recruiters begin by
weeding out as many resumes as they can
| | 00:40 | into a 'no' pile and end up with a
much smaller pile of 'possiblys'.
| | 00:47 | If you want to make the first cut,
you need to sidestep some common resume
| | 00:51 | blunders in order to turn a
'possibly' into a possibility.
| | 00:56 | So let's do some sidestepping
of our own by looking at some of the most
| | 00:59 | common resume blunders.
| | 01:01 | We'll look at the do's, the don'ts, and things
that you just need to leave off of your resume.
| | 01:08 | There are always exceptions to every rule,
| | 01:11 | so be sure to keep your own situation in mind.
| | 01:14 | First of all, when submitting your
resume, be sure to follow the employer's
| | 01:18 | instructions to a tee.
| | 01:20 | For example, if they ask for a cover
letter, be sure to submit a cover letter.
| | 01:26 | Your resume may be a masterpiece,
but just one typo can end it all.
| | 01:32 | Unintentionally including misspelled
words or the improper use of grammar on
| | 01:37 | your resume can portray you in a negative light.
| | 01:42 | Use spell check and then have
several trusted people check and then
| | 01:46 | double-check your work.
| | 01:48 | Do not staple, fold, or put paperclips
on your resume when mailing. In sending
| | 01:55 | through the mail, invest in a
professional-looking envelope that's large
| | 01:59 | enough to encompass your resume without
folding--one where you can just slide it in.
| | 02:04 | For example, use an 8.5 x 11 clasp envelope.
| | 02:09 | Also, it will look much more
professional to invest in mailing labels instead of
| | 02:14 | writing the address and the name on the front.
| | 02:17 | Make sure you have
professional-looking paper as well.
| | 02:20 | Don't use hot pink paper sprayed
with perfume, or fluorescent green paper.
| | 02:26 | You'll get their attention
all right, and not in a good way.
| | 02:31 | Speaking of things you shouldn't do,
here are some more things you should avoid.
| | 02:37 | Don't use a personal email
address with an inappropriate or
| | 02:41 | unprofessional username.
| | 02:43 | Consider using an email
address that includes your name.
| | 02:47 | Also, don't let your email address date you.
| | 02:51 | It's best to use an email address
from one of the current popular email
| | 02:56 | providers like Gmail or Yahoo!
| | 02:58 | If you don't have a professional
email address, create one. It's free.
| | 03:04 | Another option of course is to use an
email address from your own custom domain.
| | 03:09 | Personal pronouns such as I and me
shouldn't be used in your resume.
| | 03:14 | For example, instead of
'I managed', just start with 'managed'.
| | 03:20 | Don't include references on your resume.
| | 03:22 | Your references should be a separate document.
| | 03:25 | Don't include them on the resume itself.
| | 03:29 | Don't include the line,
'references available upon request' either.
| | 03:33 | Employers expect you to
have professional references;
| | 03:37 | therefore, this
statement is not needed. Please!
| | 03:41 | Leave your clipart at home.
| | 03:42 | It'll make your resume look unprofessional.
| | 03:46 | Don't include an objective on your resume.
| | 03:48 | Instead, replace with a powerful
headline and qualification summary.
| | 03:55 | Stay away from including
TMI, or too much information.
| | 04:00 | Don't include such things as why you
left your last job or list your current
| | 04:05 | or past supervisors.
| | 04:07 | Whatever you do, don't lie.
| | 04:10 | Don't try to pull a fast one just to
get the job when you don't know the
| | 04:14 | software, don't have the degree,
or the experience that they need.
| | 04:20 | These things are easily checked.
| | 04:23 | Now, here are a few things you
should make sure to leave off.
| | 04:27 | Leave off the word 'resume'.
| | 04:30 | Hopefully, the employer is
intelligent enough to know it's your resume.
| | 04:35 | No need to tell them this,
| | 04:37 | so don't place the word 'resume' at the
top unless you're creating an online
| | 04:41 | resume and you're using it as a keyword.
| | 04:44 | Do not include a personal section
that lists things such as your age, your
| | 04:48 | weight, your height, or your marital
status, unless you're outside of the
| | 04:54 | U.S. and it's required.
| | 04:56 | And no photographs, please!
| | 04:59 | Please do not include a photograph of
yourself, even if you are gorgeous, except
| | 05:05 | of course if it's required for the
position, such as you're an actor or a model.
| | 05:11 | Including your salary may ruin your
chances of getting an interview by being too
| | 05:16 | high or may ruin your chance of
getting a better salary by being too low.
| | 05:21 | And last but not least, leave off your
hobbies, unless they're relevant to the
| | 05:26 | position that you're applying for.
| | 05:28 | Sidestepping these common resume
blunders will help you make the first cut by
| | 05:34 | avoiding the 10-second screen-out.
| | 05:37 | Jump over these pitfalls, stay
out of the 'no' pile, and open up your
| | 05:42 | own possibilities.
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| Deciding on resume length| 00:00 | How long should a resume be: one page or two?
| | 00:04 | You may have read or heard that it
should be no longer than one page.
| | 00:08 | The true answer to this
question depends on multiple factors.
| | 00:11 | Let's take a look at some
of those deciding factors.
| | 00:14 | First of all, how much experience do you have?
| | 00:17 | When people write their resumes
something rather ironic and interesting happens.
| | 00:22 | People with lots of experience tend
to try to jam everything onto one page.
| | 00:26 | They make the font too small to read
easily, they shrink their white space, and
| | 00:31 | they end up with hardly any margin at all.
| | 00:34 | People with hardly any experience try
to get a teeny bit of information to
| | 00:38 | expand onto two pages.
| | 00:41 | They make the font and their margins
larger and include relevant information
| | 00:45 | to try to make it look as
if they have more experience.
| | 00:48 | If you have more than then years of
experience, you'll probably need more than
| | 00:52 | one page, especially if you need
to list such things as professional
| | 00:57 | experience, technical skills,
certifications, publications, patents, or
| | 01:04 | speaking engagements.
| | 01:05 | Rule of thumb: if this information is
important to the position you're currently
| | 01:10 | seeking, don't crunch everything onto
one page simply because of the outdated
| | 01:14 | concept of the one-page-fits-all resume.
| | 01:18 | If you're just out of school or college, try
to make the resume no more than one page.
| | 01:23 | If you have less than five years of
work experience, a one-page resume should
| | 01:27 | suffice in most cases.
| | 01:29 | You may have heard from seemingly
credible sources that you should only include
| | 01:34 | your last ten years of experience.
| | 01:36 | Unfortunately, this well-intentioned
advice could actually keep you from
| | 01:41 | getting an interview.
| | 01:42 | Consider the example that a hiring
manager recently shared with me. An applicant
| | 01:47 | must referred by a personal reference.
| | 01:49 | During the interview the hiring manager
looked at the resume and didn't see any of
| | 01:54 | the experience she expected.
| | 01:56 | She inquired, "Is this all
of the experience you have?
| | 01:59 | I was told do you had experience as a paralegal?"
| | 02:02 | The applicant replied, "Well, yes I was
an IP litigation paralegal for twelve years,
| | 02:08 | but my recruiter told me I should
include only the last ten years of my
| | 02:11 | experience on my resume, so I left it off."
| | 02:15 | The hiring manager told me the recruiters
advise almost cost the paralegal the job.
| | 02:20 | If she had not known someone and got
in through the back door to the interview, she
| | 02:26 | would have most certainly been passed over.
| | 02:28 | Anyone simply reading the resume
would never have called her in the first
| | 02:32 | place, and she got the job because of the
experience she have prior to the ten-year cutoff.
| | 02:38 | Don't leave off relevant information,
because of a one-page limit or a 10-year cutoff.
| | 02:44 | Keep your resume concise but
targeted with pertinent information.
| | 02:48 | On the other hand, if you delivered
pizza, worked in a nail salon or other such
| | 02:53 | shops that may be unrelated ten years
before, you may leave these irrelevant
| | 02:58 | positions off of your resume.
| | 03:00 | Just be careful about leaving
gaps in your employment dates.
| | 03:04 | If you find and taking this
information off will leave gaps, consider instead,
| | 03:09 | changing the job description to
include your transferable skills.
| | 03:13 | If you have many years of experience,
you may consider setting up an Early
| | 03:17 | Career section where you briefly
summarize or even combine employers, maybe even
| | 03:22 | job titles and employment dates.
| | 03:24 | Other expendable items include
obsolete technology and your high school
| | 03:29 | information after your attending college.
| | 03:32 | Be careful of setting off flares;
employment dates they go back too far will
| | 03:36 | attract about as much attention.
| | 03:39 | Consider including as much of your
more recent experience as possible and only
| | 03:44 | what is pertinent to the job.
| | 03:45 | Use your best judgment depending on the
field you're in to figure out what your
| | 03:49 | cutoff date would be and when
you would start dating yourself.
| | 03:53 | For example, I started working at fourteen
years old while attending high school and I
| | 03:58 | worked my way through college.
| | 04:00 | As I gained more experience, those jobs
dropped off of my resume, but they were
| | 04:04 | very valuable when I was just getting my start.
| | 04:08 | Do you hold a senior- or
executive-level position?
| | 04:11 | In addition to your resume, you may
need to include a portfolio of documents,
| | 04:15 | including an executive biography or
leadership process profile to clearly
| | 04:21 | illustrate your track record of
accomplishments and leadership abilities.
| | 04:26 | Ask yourself these questions: Are you,
including information that is totally
| | 04:31 | irrelevant to the position you're targeting?
| | 04:33 | Will the information provided
assist you in getting the interview?
| | 04:37 | Are you trying to crunch your
resume into one page by eliminating
| | 04:42 | pertinent information,
| | 04:44 | making the margins too small, decreasing the
font size, and eliminating their white space?
| | 04:50 | In other words, are you making it hard
to read simply because you've heard it
| | 04:54 | should only be one page?
| | 04:56 | Is it as concise as possible?
| | 04:58 | Stay to the point and keep
focused on your target position.
| | 05:02 | And the survey says, Robert Half Technology,
| | 05:06 | a respected recruiting firm, shared
some information with me about a recent
| | 05:10 | poll they conducted.
| | 05:12 | They interviewed senior executives for a survey
regarding their preferences in resume length.
| | 05:18 | They found that the best rule of thumb
is to allow the breadth and depth of your
| | 05:22 | experience to dictate resume length.
| | 05:25 | They suggest before putting anything on your
resume ask, does it add value to my candidacy?
| | 05:32 | If it doesn't, eliminate the
information or recast it in more meaningful terms.
| | 05:38 | So, how long should your resume be?
| | 05:40 | Your resume should be exactly the
length it takes to market and sell yourself
| | 05:45 | for each targeted job.
| | 05:47 | Try to keep it between one
and two pages; be concise.
| | 05:51 | Keep focused on your qualifications
accomplishments and achievements, but don't
| | 05:56 | sell yourself short.
| | 05:57 | And remember, although a one-page
resume is no longer hard-and-fast rule, you
| | 06:03 | certainly should never create a 10-page resume.
| | 06:06 | You may want to rethink your strategy
or perhaps create a portfolio in addition
| | 06:10 | to your resume if it's
running onto multiple pages.
| | 06:14 | The most important thing to remember is
to include as much relevant information
| | 06:18 | as needed to advertise and
market yourself to your target.
| | 06:23 | Just be sure to make yourself
shine and cast yourself in the best
| | 06:27 | possible light.
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| Keeping your resume concise| 00:00 | Your resume is your
advertising copy, not an autobiography.
| | 00:05 | It's not meant to tell your entire
life story; it's meant to tell the employer
| | 00:09 | what you have done in your
life that will help them.
| | 00:12 | It's your sales pitch.
| | 00:14 | When creating your resume, think like an
advertising copywriter. Would they put a
| | 00:19 | lot of irrelevant information that has
nothing to do with selling their product
| | 00:23 | in their advertisement? Of course not.
| | 00:25 | First of all, they would lose your
interest in the product and you would walk
| | 00:29 | away not knowing why you should buy
their product, or even what their product is.
| | 00:33 | Second, advertising space is expensive.
| | 00:37 | The client wouldn't want to waste one
single penny of their precious advertising
| | 00:41 | dollars on unrelated fluff.
| | 00:43 | The advertiser wouldn't sell a thing, and
they would most assuredly lose their client.
| | 00:49 | It's same with your resume; it must be
written in a clear, concise manner all the
| | 00:54 | while highlighting your
assets for a particular job.
| | 00:57 | Your resume is not a place to show
off your creative writing skills.
| | 01:01 | If you find your resume is running
onto three pages and more, it's a good
| | 01:06 | sign you need to rethink the information
you're including and go to the cutting table.
| | 01:10 | It's a red flag that you
need to be more concise.
| | 01:13 | The exception to this rule would be if
you are in a senior-level or Executive
| | 01:19 | position, or you're writing a CV.
| | 01:22 | For more information on the
differences between a CV and a resume, there is a
| | 01:26 | whole movie on CVs that you may refer to.
| | 01:29 | When going to the cutting table,
consider combining unrelated positions,
| | 01:33 | highlight transferable skills or
positive personal attributes that you can use
| | 01:38 | in your targeted position.
| | 01:40 | Take a look at this example.
| | 01:42 | Let's say you worked a bunch of part-
time jobs through college. You may have
| | 01:46 | included information such as, 1990 you
worked several part time jobs 91, 92, 93,
| | 01:52 | and each one of them you separated out.
| | 01:55 | First of all, this takes up a lot of
precious room, especially if you're running
| | 02:00 | onto multiple pages.
| | 02:01 | Second, it looks as if you weren't
holding down a full-time job for four years when
| | 02:07 | the truth is that you were taking a
full credit load while paying your way
| | 02:11 | through college by working part-time jobs.
| | 02:14 | And don't expect the hiring manager to
put your college dates together with
| | 02:18 | your part-time work.
| | 02:19 | They don't have time.
| | 02:20 | Don't assume. Instead, spell it out
for them like this: 1990 to 1993 worked
| | 02:27 | several part-time jobs to support myself
through college by taking a full course loan.
| | 02:32 | This says a lot about you. It says you
were self-sufficient and hard-working, a
| | 02:36 | real go-getter, and it took
one line instead of four.
| | 02:40 | Let's take a look at some other
ways to make your resume more concise.
| | 02:44 | Target your resume to the position
you're applying for by taking out any
| | 02:48 | nonessential information and anything
not relevant to the position you are
| | 02:51 | seeking. But don't cut out entire job
that you've held for a long time because
| | 02:56 | they're not relevant.
| | 02:57 | This will leave a gaping hole in your
employment history. Instead, look for a way
| | 03:01 | to highlight your transferable skills.
| | 03:03 | If you are a receptionist, for example,
and now you're in sales, find a way to
| | 03:07 | highlight the experience you acquired
meeting people and the communication
| | 03:11 | skills you've gained that you
can now use this as a salesperson.
| | 03:15 | Avoid the laundry list of job
responsibilities and long description of job duties.
| | 03:20 | Remove the words
'responsible for' and 'duties included'.
| | 03:23 | They take up a lot of precious room and
are presumed by the employer anyway.
| | 03:28 | Instead, highlight your
accomplishments and achievements.
| | 03:31 | Delete hobbies and personal information.
| | 03:33 | Remove 'References available upon request',
| | 03:37 | and never include references on your resume.
| | 03:40 | If you have the word 'resume' at
the top of your resume, remove it.
| | 03:43 | We know it's your resume.
| | 03:45 | The exception to this is if you're
creating an online resume and you're using it
| | 03:49 | as a keyword for searches.
| | 03:51 | Take off technical skills that
are no longer used in the industry.
| | 03:55 | They will not only make you look like a
dinosaur, but will lead the employer to
| | 03:59 | assume you aren't up to date with technology.
| | 04:02 | Let's look at a few things to
avoid while trying to trim the fat.
| | 04:06 | Don't shrink your font to the point that someone has
to strain to read it; instead trim words
| | 04:12 | or go on to a second page if need be.
| | 04:14 | The only thing a recruiter likes less
than a resume that is hard to read is the
| | 04:18 | applicant who submitted the
resume that's hard to read.
| | 04:21 | Don't whittle away your
white space and your margins.
| | 04:24 | Next, review your resume while
asking yourself these questions: Have I
| | 04:29 | deleted all non-essential and
irrelevant information that does not pertain to
| | 04:34 | the targeted position?
| | 04:36 | Did I include all the gory details?
| | 04:38 | Recruiters don't need to know every
single detail of every little task you've
| | 04:42 | ever done and every job you've ever had.
| | 04:44 | Is it focused, targeted, and to the point?
| | 04:47 | Will my resume make the
employer reach for the phone?
| | 04:51 | When writing your resume, make every
word count towards winning an interview.
| | 04:56 | Make it easy for the employer
to read and easy for them to find
| | 04:59 | pertinent information.
| | 05:01 | Don't make them work for it.
| | 05:02 | Convince the employer with your
words that you are the most qualified
| | 05:07 | candidate for the position.
| | 05:08 | The purpose of your resume is to
attain an interview where you can further
| | 05:12 | elaborate upon your experience,
but first you must get the interview, and
| | 05:17 | your resume is your key.
| | 05:19 | Remember, sometimes less is more!
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| Refreshing your resume| 00:00 | Keeping your resume up to date and
refreshed is one of the most valuable tools
| | 00:05 | you have in your career toolbox.
| | 00:07 | Don't let your resume become stagnant.
| | 00:10 | Even if you aren't presently looking for
a new position, keeping your information
| | 00:15 | updated on job boards is very important.
| | 00:18 | You never know when opportunity will
come knocking. And not to be negative, but
| | 00:23 | unless you have a crystal ball, you
never know when you may need an updated
| | 00:27 | resume, and in a hurry.
| | 00:29 | One of the best ways of keeping your
resume up to date is by creating and
| | 00:34 | updating a career management document.
| | 00:37 | A career management document could be a
huge asset to working professionals with
| | 00:41 | more than a few years of experience.
| | 00:44 | There is the sample career management
worksheet and the bonus materials in your
| | 00:48 | exercise files, which are
included free with this course.
| | 00:52 | The more time goes by it gets harder and
harder to look back and remember all of
| | 00:57 | your professional
achievements and accomplishments.
| | 01:00 | You can use this document to keep track of
these achievements by updating it regularly.
| | 01:06 | Then when you see a position you're
interested in, you can easily find your
| | 01:10 | accomplishments and achievements
that relate to the targeted job.
| | 01:14 | In this way, you're sure your resume
is focused and custom-built for the
| | 01:18 | particular position you are seeking,
| | 01:21 | opening the door to your targeted job.
And when you're updating this information,
| | 01:27 | it's a good time to stop an update
your resume, and online resumes as well.
| | 01:31 | So what information should you
be on the lookout to refresh?
| | 01:35 | Let's take a look at some of the things people
most often forget to update on their resumes.
| | 01:41 | You may have learned a new application,
such as Flash or Excel. Make sure that you
| | 01:46 | add that new technology.
| | 01:48 | How about all the new certifications
and things you've learned on lynda.com?
| | 01:53 | Don't forget to add those.
| | 01:55 | Delete any outdated information.
| | 01:58 | Delete expendable items, such as
obsolete technology, and take off your high
| | 02:02 | school information once you've
begun earning college credits.
| | 02:06 | Add any new achievements and accomplishments.
| | 02:10 | Have you changed jobs or gotten a new promotion?
| | 02:12 | Do you have new
responsibilities in your current position?
| | 02:16 | Have you won any awards or received
special recognition for something?
| | 02:20 | Make sure you add these types of things as
they happen so they don't slip your mind.
| | 02:26 | Include new quantifiable results.
| | 02:28 | Have you saved the company money?
| | 02:31 | Have you made the job or company more efficient?
| | 02:34 | Add any of these types of things using
dollar amounts and percentages if possible.
| | 02:38 | Numbers tend to jump off the page.
| | 02:41 | Update relevant information.
| | 02:43 | Add any new classes, seminars,
conference, continuing education courses, or any
| | 02:51 | other relevant information that's pertinent
to your career or industry. Trim the fat.
| | 02:57 | As you add more information to your resume,
you also need to remember to keep it concise.
| | 03:02 | Get rid of any unnecessary, outdated information.
| | 03:06 | Cut, edit, and trim your resume.
| | 03:09 | Cut information from older positions
that is irrelevant and highlight the
| | 03:14 | information that is.
| | 03:16 | Rewrite your past experience by
concentrating on including transferable skills
| | 03:21 | and the career or job that
you seek. Add new keywords.
| | 03:25 | Industry keywords are constantly
changing. Make sure your keywords are
| | 03:30 | up to date and managed the search criteria
recruiters and hiring managers will be searching by.
| | 03:37 | Refresh your numbers.
| | 03:38 | Review numbers throughout your resume.
| | 03:40 | For example, if your resume states
that you have five years of experience in the
| | 03:45 | industry and two years have gone by,
don't forget to change the number of years
| | 03:49 | of experience to seven.
| | 03:51 | Conduct new research.
| | 03:53 | If you are actively pursuing a new
challenge with a particular employer, don't
| | 03:58 | forget to research current
information on the company.
| | 04:01 | For example, do they have a new CEO?
| | 04:04 | Have they merged with another company?
| | 04:06 | Find out the newest and most updated
information on your prospective employer.
| | 04:12 | When refreshing your resume and you
have many years of experience, consider
| | 04:17 | setting up an early career section where
you briefly summarize, or even combine,
| | 04:22 | employers job titles and employment dates.
| | 04:25 | Don't send up any red flags by dating yourself.
| | 04:29 | Revitalizing your resume and keeping
your career management document refreshed
| | 04:34 | is a very important step
in managing your career.
| | 04:37 | If you keep your resume up to date and
ready to go, you'll be prepared at all times.
| | 04:43 | And keeping updated versions of your
resume out on job boards may result in
| | 04:48 | opportunity pounding on
your door and ringing the bell.
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| Critiquing your resume| 00:01 | Does your resume present you
in the best possible light?
| | 00:04 | Take a ten-second look at your resume from the
perspective of a hiring manager or recruiter.
| | 00:10 | Would you read on?
| | 00:12 | Does it grab your attention right off the bat?
| | 00:15 | Review your resume against these checkpoints.
| | 00:18 | Is it professional looking and
visually pleasing? Is it consistent?
| | 00:23 | Is it inviting?
| | 00:25 | Did you use a resume wizard or a Word template?
| | 00:28 | If so, have you completely changed
the formatting and made it look as
| | 00:33 | professional as possible. Or does it
look like it came off of an assembly line?
| | 00:39 | Have you placed your most significant
and outstanding accomplishments at the top
| | 00:44 | by outlining the most important
information in a qualifications summary?
| | 00:49 | Did you create and add a compelling headline?
| | 00:52 | Have you used proper headings for
each section, such as the Professional
| | 00:57 | Experience and Education sections?
| | 01:00 | Is it concise and the proper length to
target your particular goal? Is it focused?
| | 01:07 | Does it include relevant information?
| | 01:10 | Does it contain typos,
misspelled words, or improper grammar?
| | 01:16 | Does it avoid the use of
personal pronouns, such as I, me, and my?
| | 01:20 | Were you totally honest?
| | 01:24 | Have you done your homework and
conducted research to find pertinent keywords?
| | 01:29 | Have you sprinkled them throughout your
resume, or have you so many keywords your
| | 01:34 | resume doesn't flow or sound natural?
| | 01:38 | Did you include action verbs to help make
your resume come alive and jump off the page?
| | 01:44 | Is your resume targeted
towards one particular job or career?
| | 01:49 | Have you clearly pointed
out your transferable skills?
| | 01:53 | Is it focused on your goal?
| | 01:56 | Is your Professional Experience
section filled with boring job duties and
| | 02:00 | responsibilities, or did you highlight
your accomplishments and achievements?
| | 02:06 | Have you added quantifiable result by
including as many numbers, percentages,
| | 02:12 | and dollar amounts as possible, to back up your
accomplishments and make them pop off the page?
| | 02:18 | Have you remembered to include
applicable information, such as publications,
| | 02:23 | awards, and memberships?
| | 02:25 | Critiquing your resume is
a difficult thing to do.
| | 02:29 | We have an emotional interest in it.
| | 02:31 | Therefore, the next very important
step is to give it to others to critique.
| | 02:37 | Family members have an
emotional interest in you as well,
| | 02:41 | so try to find several professionals
in your industry to review it for you,
| | 02:45 | preferably people that
have hired others before.
| | 02:48 | Perhaps you have a mentor or a trusted
colleague you can ask to review it for you.
| | 02:54 | Also, do you know someone that has
excellent spelling and grammar skills?
| | 02:58 | Run it by them as well.
| | 03:01 | It goes without saying that you should
use caution when giving to others in your
| | 03:06 | current organization to review.
| | 03:08 | Once you receive feedback, be
prepared to make necessary changes.
| | 03:14 | So, how did your resume measure up?
| | 03:16 | Do you have a job-winning resume on your hands?
| | 03:20 | If not, be sure to review the movies
where your resume fell short, or is lacking.
| | 03:25 | If so, congratulations!
| | 03:28 | Get ready for the phone to ring.
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| Avoiding identity theft| 00:01 | As we all know, the ugly truth is that
there is a substantial rise in identity
| | 00:06 | theft, and it's getting
worse and is still on the rise.
| | 00:10 | One way to protect yourself is being
careful when posting your resume and
| | 00:14 | personal information on the Internet.
| | 00:16 | For example, there used to be a
hard-and-fast rule that you must include your
| | 00:21 | full home address on your resume.
| | 00:24 | Providing your home address used to be
a means of communication, but this is
| | 00:29 | rarely the case in today's times.
| | 00:32 | Do you really want just anyone to
have your home address, home phone, fax
| | 00:37 | number, and all your email addresses?
| | 00:40 | This information is not needed
by an employer to contact you,
| | 00:44 | so why leave yourself open?
| | 00:46 | So what information should
you include on your resume?
| | 00:50 | Simply list your phone and email address.
Or you may consider only listing your
| | 00:55 | email address and not your phone number.
| | 00:59 | You can give them this
information after the initial email contact.
| | 01:04 | Speaking of email addresses, it's a
good idea to set up a separate new email
| | 01:08 | address when looking for a job.
| | 01:11 | It helps with protection for
security purposes and protects your normal
| | 01:16 | email from spammers.
| | 01:18 | A separate professional email
address gives you an added bonus of keeping
| | 01:23 | better track of job correspondence, and will
help you to stay organized in your job search.
| | 01:29 | You may get a phone call from someone
introducing themselves as a potential
| | 01:34 | employer asking for your personal
information, or you may get an unsolicited
| | 01:40 | email with an application
for employment attached.
| | 01:44 | Never include such information as your
driver's license number, birthday, or
| | 01:49 | Social Security Number on an application
that's someone sends you through email.
| | 01:54 | Unfortunately, identity
thieves can be pretty smart cookies.
| | 01:58 | They can make themselves look
and feel just like real employers.
| | 02:04 | To avoid identity theft or job scam
offers, protect yourself by asking these
| | 02:09 | questions prior to answering any questions
over the phone or responding to an email.
| | 02:15 | Are they asking me for any
personal information upfront?
| | 02:19 | Real employers won't be asking this
kind of information right off the bat.
| | 02:25 | Did they send an application to be completed
without even calling first for an interview?
| | 02:31 | If so, do not fill out the application.
| | 02:34 | You can be 99.9% sure it's a scam.
| | 02:38 | Are they offering too much
money for the job offered?
| | 02:42 | Ask yourself if it sounds too good to be true?
| | 02:46 | If so, it probably is.
| | 02:49 | Is this a legitimate business?
| | 02:51 | Do an Internet search and see if you
can find their web site, but remember, it's
| | 02:56 | easy to set up a fake web site.
| | 02:59 | Next, see if you can find a
physical address for that company.
| | 03:04 | See if you could find a business
license under that company name.
| | 03:08 | Businesses receive licenses sometimes,
known as charters, under the state in
| | 03:14 | which they're based.
| | 03:16 | The business license is public
record that can be easily accessed online.
| | 03:22 | Perform a web search of 'business
license' and include the state in which the
| | 03:26 | business is located in your search.
| | 03:30 | Identity theft can rear
its ugly head in many ways.
| | 03:33 | If something doesn't sound right, or
it sounds fishy, trust your instincts.
| | 03:39 | Protect yourself from online
identity theft by avoiding giving out TMI, or
| | 03:44 | too much information.
| | Collapse this transcript |
|
|
3. Resume RemediesEntering the workforce| 00:00 | So, you're ready to enter the workforce.
| | 00:03 | Let me begin by saying congratulations!
| | 00:06 | Keep in mind that we've all been there.
| | 00:08 | Even hiring managers and
recruiters have been in your shoes.
| | 00:11 | Although writing your first resume can be
challenging, it can actually be quite fun.
| | 00:17 | Think of it this way.
| | 00:18 | What other time do you have to create
your own marketing campaign and do a
| | 00:22 | little boasting on yourself?
| | 00:23 | When creating your resume, be positive,
be honest, and above all, be yourself.
| | 00:30 | Don't feel as if you have nothing to
offer simply because you have little or
| | 00:34 | no work experience.
| | 00:36 | You have what's known as transferable skills.
| | 00:39 | It's your job to find your transferable
skills and then put them down on paper.
| | 00:44 | So what are transferable skills?
| | 00:46 | Simply put, they are skills that you
have accumulated throughout your life.
| | 00:51 | Some examples of transferable skills
are your education, jobs you've held,
| | 00:58 | classes you've taken, some projects
that you've worked on, extra-curricular
| | 01:03 | activities, clubs and memberships
you've joined. How about hobbies and sports
| | 01:07 | you might have participated in?
Even your own character traits can be
| | 01:11 | transferable skills.
| | 01:13 | Each of these types of life
experiences bring along their own skillsets and
| | 01:19 | transferable skills that
will help you in finding a job.
| | 01:22 | This concept is crucial to
understand for every person writing a resume,
| | 01:27 | although understanding this concept
is most especially important to you,
| | 01:32 | someone just entering the workforce.
| | 01:34 | So, how do you do this?
| | 01:36 | First, you must know what you want.
| | 01:39 | Make sure you complete the exercise in
the movie for "Discovering Your Dream Job."
| | 01:44 | Next, you must do your homework.
| | 01:46 | You must know what the employers are
looking for in order to best meet their needs.
| | 01:51 | Get on the Internet and start looking
at job openings and job descriptions
| | 01:55 | specific to your goal.
| | 01:57 | And if you're not sure how to do
this, see the chapter on "Gathering and
| | 02:01 | Organizing the Facts," if you haven't already.
| | 02:04 | Create a spreadsheet and begin
copying and pasting words, sentences, and
| | 02:08 | paragraphs from the online job
descriptions that you like best.
| | 02:12 | Then in the second column
list your transferable skills.
| | 02:17 | But first, of course you must know
what these transferable skills are.
| | 02:21 | To find your transferable skills,
create a second spreadsheet and begin filling
| | 02:26 | in the following types of information.
| | 02:28 | For example, underneath the skill, you
might put in education, and you might
| | 02:34 | have done white papers,
term papers, or projects.
| | 02:37 | And example of the transferable skill
might be research, time management, or
| | 02:43 | even for presentations made during
class, your oral presentation skills.
| | 02:49 | Let's say that you had a GPA
that's pretty high, maybe 3.0 or above.
| | 02:54 | An example of that of course
is 3.5 GPA, and what does it show?
| | 02:58 | Your transferable skill would be
shows dedication and intelligence.
| | 03:03 | Let's say that you have experience working.
| | 03:06 | So it might be a part-time position.
| | 03:08 | You could have babysat, or you
might have had pizza delivery.
| | 03:12 | You might have been a student aide,
or even done some lawn mowing.
| | 03:15 | Almost any prior experience that you
have can be transferred into positions that
| | 03:21 | are out there in the real
job market. Character traits,
| | 03:24 | it could be you are honest,
you have strong moral values.
| | 03:28 | Their transferable skill would be
positive character traits; any kind of
| | 03:34 | positive character traits can
always be transferred to a position.
| | 03:37 | All employers are looking for
someone that's honest. Your activities,
| | 03:41 | maybe you were in tennis or swimming.
Perhaps you are in a basketball team, or a
| | 03:46 | baseball team, a soccer, or football team.
| | 03:48 | It shows that you're a team player.
| | 03:50 | And again, you see in a lot of job
descriptions out there that team player is needed.
| | 03:57 | What if you're in a club?
| | 03:59 | Perhaps you are the president of
Drama club or the Math club, and the
| | 04:02 | transferable skill would be
leadership and organizational skills.
| | 04:07 | There's lots of skills that you can
have such as computer applications, and
| | 04:12 | Office tools that you might have, such
as a fax, or a copier, even a scanner.
| | 04:17 | That's knowledge of common office tools.
| | 04:19 | Maybe you had some awards and honors,
| | 04:22 | the Dean's List, that
you're in the Honor Society.
| | 04:26 | That shows that you're going above and beyond.
| | 04:29 | It shows extraordinary skills in this area and
that you're just better than the average bear.
| | 04:34 | Internships, study abroad programs,
your oral and written communication skills,
| | 04:40 | or even if you were doing some training
on the side or tutoring, such as math or
| | 04:44 | English, this shows how you can
relate to other people, your communication
| | 04:48 | skills, and also your leadership skills.
| | 04:51 | Once you know what your transferable
skills are, match them to the employers
| | 04:56 | needs in your worksheet.
| | 04:57 | You can use this
information throughout your resume.
| | 05:00 | For example, here you list your
employer wants and your transferable skills.
| | 05:06 | So, the employer here said that they
need someone to conduct training courses,
| | 05:11 | both on-site and on-line, for the
company's applications and systems to include
| | 05:16 | lectures and hands-on sessions.
| | 05:18 | Under Transferable Skills, you
created and conducted training materials and
| | 05:22 | courses for continuing
education classes on campus.
| | 05:26 | When you're just entering the
workforce, it's best to use either a
| | 05:30 | Functional Resume format or the
Chrono-Functional format, also known as a
| | 05:34 | combination format.
| | 05:36 | The Chronological format
focuses on professional experience,
| | 05:40 | so it's best not to use that at this point.
| | 05:43 | What about the order of your resume?
| | 05:45 | After your contact information, you
can create a headline that states your
| | 05:49 | career goal in bold text.
| | 05:51 | A headline should include your job
target as well as the benefit of hiring you.
| | 05:56 | Following your career goal comes one
of the most important parts of your
| | 05:59 | resume, the grabber.
| | 06:01 | It's called the qualifications summary.
| | 06:03 | A qualifications summary is not an objective.
| | 06:06 | An objective tells the
employer what you what.
| | 06:09 | Unfortunately, the employer could
really care less what your objective is.
| | 06:14 | You need to tell the
employer what you can offer them.
| | 06:17 | So, what is the objective of the employer?
| | 06:20 | First, you need to know what they
want and what their objective is.
| | 06:24 | This is the information that you
found during your research phase above.
| | 06:28 | Now, you need to convince them that
you are the best fit and that you can
| | 06:32 | meet their objective.
| | 06:33 | Spend some time studying your
spreadsheet and find the top qualifications,
| | 06:38 | degrees, certifications, and skills
from column two that you listed that best
| | 06:43 | meet their job requirements
for this specific opening.
| | 06:46 | Remember to target your
resume for each particular job.
| | 06:49 | Put your top qualifications in bright
lights, your marquee so to speak, at the
| | 06:54 | top of your resume by placing
them in your qualifications summary.
| | 06:58 | This is your chance to shine
and to get them to read on.
| | 07:02 | If you just graduated from college and
your degree is important to your chosen
| | 07:06 | career, be sure to showcase your
education at the top of your resume.
| | 07:11 | Rule of thumb: the most important
information should be placed in the top
| | 07:15 | one-third portion of your resume
to better highlight these points.
| | 07:18 | Remember, you only have approximately
ten seconds to grab their attention,
| | 07:22 | so use this space wisely.
| | 07:24 | Just because you're new to the
workforce, doesn't mean that you don't have
| | 07:27 | experience you've gained in your life
that you can use in your professional
| | 07:31 | life and your career.
| | 07:32 | Find out what your transferable skills
are, so that you can match it to what the
| | 07:36 | employer are seeking.
| | 07:37 | Remember, we've all been there, and the
more you can show the employer what you
| | 07:41 | can do for them by using
transferable skills, the more likely you will be
| | 07:46 | invited to an interview.
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| Filling in employment gaps| 00:00 | It's a fact. That thing called life happens to all of us.
| | 00:04 | Life might bring a new baby, a job
layoff, a sick family member, a personal
| | 00:10 | illness, or perhaps life
leads us back to college.
| | 00:14 | But sometimes these life events leave
behind a gap or even a gaping hole in our
| | 00:19 | resume. And of course there are a whole slew
of other reasons that leave gaps in a resume.
| | 00:25 | If this is you, you're probably
wondering how to handle these holes and what, if
| | 00:29 | anything, you can do to fill them.
| | 00:31 | For example, how can you prevent being
out of work from keeping you from working?
| | 00:38 | First of all, keep in mind that there
is nothing wrong with being out of work,
| | 00:42 | no matter what the reason.
| | 00:44 | If you have a negative or apologetic
tone while writing your resume, it may keep
| | 00:49 | you from writing effectively and
from being shown in the best light.
| | 00:53 | Keep in mind that it's very
honorable to continue your education, raise a
| | 00:57 | family, or care for a sick family member.
| | 01:00 | Begin by writing a headline, and then a
qualifications summary that lists your
| | 01:05 | top qualifications, located
at the top of your resume.
| | 01:08 | These strategies will marquee your
qualifications and downplay your employment dates.
| | 01:14 | Shorter time periods that need to be
filled in can be covered by simply removing
| | 01:19 | the months from your resume
and only including years.
| | 01:22 | Take this example, for instance.
| | 01:24 | If your employment ended in February
of 2009 and began again in October of
| | 01:31 | 2010, you can glaze over the gap,
simply by only listing the years.
| | 01:36 | The end date for your last employer
will be 2009 and your begin date for
| | 01:42 | your present employer would shows 2010, which
does not make the eight month gap as glaring.
| | 01:48 | Have you started your own business?
| | 01:51 | A friend of mine had been
caught in a layoff a year prior.
| | 01:54 | In the meantime, she started her own business
| | 01:57 | photographing pets.
| | 01:59 | She created a web site and she did
all the advertising, but her resume
| | 02:03 | didn't include her new business and her goal
was to make a career change as a photographer.
| | 02:10 | She didn't have a job gap at all.
| | 02:12 | She had only a shortchanged to
herself by not including this pertinent
| | 02:15 | information on a resume.
| | 02:17 | Don't distinguish between paid
and unpaid work on your resume.
| | 02:22 | If you did volunteer work, or you
home-schooled your children, place this
| | 02:26 | information on your resume by
highlighting your transferable skills.
| | 02:30 | And if you home-schooled your
kids, believe me, that's work.
| | 02:34 | If you need more information on what
transferable skills are and how to find out
| | 02:39 | what yours are, see the movie
entitled "Entering the Workforce."
| | 02:43 | Include any consulting or freelance
work that you've done, even if you
| | 02:47 | didn't make it dine.
| | 02:49 | How about community involvement,
special projects, consulting, or
| | 02:54 | speaking engagements? Get creative.
| | 02:56 | If what you've been doing and the
experience you've gained can be considered
| | 03:00 | relevant to your job target, it
doesn't matter if you were paid.
| | 03:05 | Add it to your
Experience section of your resume.
| | 03:07 | Remember not to lie;
information is easily checked nowadays.
| | 03:12 | Never misrepresent your current
employment status by stating 'to present' when
| | 03:17 | you're no longer working there. Be upfront.
| | 03:20 | Consider addressing glaring gaps of
multiple years on your cover letter.
| | 03:24 | Make the explanation one to two sentences only.
| | 03:28 | Keep in mind that if you do decide to
wait until the interview, you may never
| | 03:32 | get the chance to explain yourself,
because the interview may never come.
| | 03:36 | When doing so, make sure that you bring out
your enthusiasm for returning to the workforce.
| | 03:41 | Don't draw attention to short
gaps of time in your resume.
| | 03:45 | You don't need to address those gaps.
| | 03:48 | You also don't need to address gaps
that happened longer than ten years ago.
| | 03:51 | Consider filling them in using years
instead of month/year or combining work history.
| | 03:58 | Draw attention to your
strengths. Accentuate the positive.
| | 04:03 | If you have a huge gap or gaps
throughout your resume or extremely poor
| | 04:07 | employment background, you may want to
consider using the Functional resume layout.
| | 04:12 | Chronological or
Chrono-functional formats are what recruiters and
| | 04:16 | hiring managers prefer.
| | 04:18 | So keep in mind that the
Functional format may put them on alert.
| | 04:22 | In today's economy, you don't want
something as simple as the format to keep it
| | 04:26 | from being read it all.
| | 04:28 | Review the movie on using the
Functional resume format for some great ways of
| | 04:32 | presenting your information.
| | 04:34 | You can minimize the job hopper
image when using the chronological or
| | 04:38 | combination formats by combining
several similar jobs into one chunk.
| | 04:43 | For example, from 2004-2006, you're a
waiter/busboy at several different places.
| | 04:50 | From 2003-2005, you were a secretary/
receptionist at several different places as well.
| | 04:57 | So just combine them into one chunk.
| | 04:59 | The bottom line is, life happens.
| | 05:02 | We just need to learn how to fill
on the gaps life leaves behind.
| | 05:06 | It's not an impossible task.
| | 05:08 | If you can't think of anything to fill
on the gaps, start volunteering or taking
| | 05:12 | courses to help fill in those blanks.
| | 05:15 | Remember, don't let being out
of work keep you from working.
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| Dealing with long-term employment| 00:00 | Unfortunately, there is not a lot of
loyalty on either side in the workplace anymore.
| | 00:05 | The good thing is is if you have been
with one company for a long time, this
| | 00:09 | could put you in a positive light.
| | 00:12 | Then again, you don't want to be seen as an
outdated relic with the skills of a dinosaur either.
| | 00:17 | So how do you make sure you're
marketing yourself in the best possible light in
| | 00:21 | your resume when you've been in the
same company for an extended period?
| | 00:25 | Let's take a look at some of
the ways to accomplish this.
| | 00:27 | Have you been promoted within a
company over the years, or have you held
| | 00:31 | different positions with different titles?
| | 00:33 | If so, list each position you've held
separately, with its own title and time periods.
| | 00:39 | Use action verbs such as
'promoted to' to describe your transition.
| | 00:43 | If you've held the same position at the
company without changing titles, try to
| | 00:47 | remember how your position has evolved
over the years and how your duties and
| | 00:51 | your responsibilities have changed.
| | 00:53 | Rewrite your job duties and
responsibilities to reflect your achievements and
| | 00:57 | accomplishments, while
highlighting your transferable skills.
| | 01:01 | Keep your skills up to date.
| | 01:03 | Being in the same position for a long
time may be a red flag to recruiters that
| | 01:07 | your skills may be outdated.
| | 01:09 | Develop new skills.
| | 01:10 | Do you feel stagnant in your current position?
| | 01:13 | Try volunteering or taking classes to
experience new challenges and develop new
| | 01:17 | skills. Attend seminars if possible.
| | 01:20 | Then add this information to your
resume by creating a Professional
| | 01:24 | Development section.
| | 01:26 | Keep your computer skills up to the minute.
| | 01:28 | If you've taken job-related continuing
education courses, or if you've taken
| | 01:33 | related classes on lynda.com,
add these to your resume.
| | 01:37 | Don't fossilize yourself.
| | 01:39 | Remove obsolete applications such as
MS-DOS or WordStar from your list of skillsets.
| | 01:45 | Refresh your resume with new technology.
| | 01:48 | Use your longevity to your advantage.
| | 01:51 | Make sure to highlight and use this in
your marketing plan, that you're dedicated,
| | 01:55 | you're committed, you're
trustworthy, and you're loyal.
| | 01:59 | Focus on matching your experience and
skillsets that you've gained over the
| | 02:03 | years with what the new employer needs.
| | 02:05 | Make sure that you target your resume.
| | 02:08 | Start your resume with a well-written
headline, followed by a qualifications
| | 02:13 | summary presenting the employer right
off the bat with an initial hard sell.
| | 02:17 | Use the summary to demonstrate that
you're highly qualified for the job at hand.
| | 02:22 | Use quantifiable information such
as percentages and dollar amounts.
| | 02:26 | Have you saved the company money?
| | 02:29 | Made the company more efficient?
| | 02:31 | Spell it out with numbers and
attention-grabbing PAR statements.
| | 02:34 | If you're not sure what a PAR
statement is, make sure you watch the movie
| | 02:38 | "Getting Results Using PAR Statements."
| | 02:41 | The key to presenting your long-term
employment history in a positive light is
| | 02:45 | by showcasing your accomplishments
and achievements, your loyalty, and your
| | 02:49 | transferable skills.
| | 02:51 | High turnover at companies is
very expensive for the employer.
| | 02:55 | Did you know that it costs an average
of over $13,000 to hire a new person?
| | 03:01 | Use your steadfastness and solid work
history as a selling point to enhance your
| | 03:06 | resume and stand out from the crowd.
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| Switching career paths| 00:00 | You've finally decided to make the big move.
| | 00:03 | You've have decided to switch career
paths to follow the vocation of your dreams.
| | 00:07 | Congratulations on your decision!
| | 00:10 | Now that you've decided to follow your
dream, you may be asking, how do I get
| | 00:14 | there? How do I create a resume
that will lead to an interview with the
| | 00:18 | experience that I have?
| | 00:20 | One of the biggest mistakes people make
when switching careers is using the same
| | 00:24 | old resume that they used
from their previous career.
| | 00:27 | What they need to do is rewrite their
resume to reflect and highlight their
| | 00:31 | qualifications and experience that
pertains to their new sought-after career, by
| | 00:36 | including their transferable skills.
| | 00:39 | It's especially important when
creating this type of resume to keep your mind
| | 00:43 | focused on the goal, and that goal is
to show the person reading your resume
| | 00:48 | that although you may not have the
on-the-job experience that some other
| | 00:51 | applicants have, you do possess the
skills, capabilities, and personal qualities
| | 00:57 | needed to make you the best fit.
| | 01:00 | Try to look through the eyes of the employer.
| | 01:02 | Look at your resume and
then ask yourself a question:
| | 01:06 | Why would you hire you?
| | 01:08 | Of course, before you can answer
this question, you must know what the
| | 01:12 | employer needs and wants.
| | 01:13 | You need to do some homework and know
what's important to the employer before
| | 01:18 | you can convince the employer that you
have what it takes to meet those needs.
| | 01:23 | First, get on the Internet and start
looking at as many job openings and job
| | 01:27 | descriptions as you can that are specific
to your goal that are listed on resume banks.
| | 01:32 | From your findings, create a
spreadsheet listing the employer's wants and needs
| | 01:37 | based on your particular target career.
| | 01:40 | Then create a second column listing your
matching qualifications and experience.
| | 01:46 | Try to match as many items as possible
by using the skills and experience that
| | 01:50 | you've developed over the years that
may be relevant to your new career.
| | 01:54 | Be sure to include classes you've
taken, seminars you've attended, even
| | 01:59 | volunteer work as long as it
pertains to your goal, and your goal is to
| | 02:03 | convince the employer that your
background and skills give you exactly what it
| | 02:08 | takes to get the job done.
| | 02:10 | Be sure to cross-reference as many job
requirements as possible with the career
| | 02:14 | you're presently in.
| | 02:16 | If you need more information on
transferable skills, see the movies on targeting
| | 02:20 | your resume and entering the workforce.
| | 02:23 | As far as the best format to choose,
when switching careers, either choose a
| | 02:28 | Combination Chrono-Functional resume
format or the Functional resume format.
| | 02:33 | Be sure to watch both of these
movies to make the best decision for your
| | 02:37 | particular circumstances.
| | 02:39 | The Reverse Chronological format
will most probably not will be a good
| | 02:43 | format for you to use.
| | 02:45 | Since you're switching careers, the
headline will be very important for you.
| | 02:50 | Your headline needs to not only
include your job target, but also the main
| | 02:54 | benefit of hiring you for that position.
| | 02:57 | Remember, your headline is not an objective.
| | 03:00 | An objective tells the employer what you want.
| | 03:04 | It's especially important for someone
switching careers to spell out clearly
| | 03:08 | and concisely what you can offer the
employer. What transferable skills do you
| | 03:14 | possess that will make you perfect for this
position and meet the objective of the employer?
| | 03:20 | Use your headline to convey this information.
| | 03:23 | For example, if you are a teacher
seeking to transition into corporate training,
| | 03:29 | your headline might read,
| | 03:30 | 'highly effective teacher with a
proven ability to motivate and mentor
| | 03:35 | students seeking to utilize 12
years of experience to transition into
| | 03:39 | corporate training.
| | 03:41 | Keep in mind when writing your resume that
your old job title is not what's important.
| | 03:46 | What is important is the
experience you can take with you,
| | 03:49 | the skills you've learned,
education, training, degrees, courses, and
| | 03:55 | certificates that pertain to
the career you are seeking.
| | 03:59 | If your degree was in this field or
if you returned to school and just
| | 04:03 | completed your education, include
the Education section before your
| | 04:07 | Professional Experience.
| | 04:09 | You may consider adding a section called
Related Experience, which would include
| | 04:13 | any volunteer work, courses, seminars,
or any type of experience you've gained
| | 04:20 | that may pertain to your
new sought-after career.
| | 04:22 | How you gain related
experience in transferable skills?
| | 04:27 | Take a proactive approach. Volunteer
to gain experience to be added to your
| | 04:31 | resume. Join networking groups and job
associations. Industry conferences and trade shows.
| | 04:38 | Keep a list or database of all of the
contacts you meet while doing this, and
| | 04:43 | also keep up to date with
industry and technological developments.
| | 04:47 | Join chat rooms, blogging web sites,
and be sure to learn the industry jargon.
| | 04:52 | Go back to school or take courses on lynda.com.
| | Collapse this transcript |
|
|
4. Choosing the Best Resume LayoutUnderstanding resume jargon| 00:00 | Understanding the world of resume
terminology and buzzwords is a bit confusing.
| | 00:06 | It seems there are many different types
of resume formats out there, especially
| | 00:10 | when you're surfing the web.
| | 00:12 | But currently, there are only three
main types of resume formats: the
| | 00:16 | Chronological, the Functional
and a combination of the two called the
| | 00:20 | Chrono-functional resume.
| | 00:22 | Easy enough so far, right?
| | 00:25 | One thing that seems to confuse a lot
of people is that the Chrono-functional
| | 00:29 | resumes are known by many different names.
| | 00:32 | Sometimes this format is
referred to as a hybrid resume.
| | 00:36 | Another resume is a combination
resume, but although they are known by
| | 00:40 | many different aliases,
| | 00:41 | the third type is simply a combination of
both the chronological and functional resume.
| | 00:47 | Another term that is confusing is
chronological resume. The word chronological
| | 00:52 | means arranged in the order of time,
but a chronological resume tells the
| | 00:57 | history of your professional experience in
reverse chronological order, not chronological.
| | 01:02 | Because of the misrepresentation of
the name, a lot of people format their
| | 01:07 | resume in the wrong order.
| | 01:09 | Now that we have a clear
understanding of all the buzzwords and jargon,
| | 01:13 | we can move on to figuring out
which format is best for you.
| | 01:17 | In this chapter, we'll examine
reverse chronological, functional, and the
| | 01:22 | chrono-functional formats.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Reverse chronological| 00:00 | Chronological resumes are
probably the most commonly used and more
| | 00:04 | traditional type of resume.
| | 00:06 | Although the word chronological
means arranged in the order of time,
| | 00:10 | chronological resumes are actually
written in reverse chronological format.
| | 00:15 | In other words, you will list
your most recent job first, not last.
| | 00:20 | Keep in mind that the terms chronological and
reverse chronological refer to the same theme.
| | 00:25 | Your experience and background are the
deciding factor of which resume format to use.
| | 00:31 | When you use a chronological resume
format, your professional work experience is
| | 00:35 | highlighted and described in detail.
| | 00:38 | It may lead with either your
education or your work history, depending
| | 00:41 | on several factors.
| | 00:43 | One such factor would be if the
position requires an MBA, you may not want to
| | 00:47 | bury such qualifications at the end of
your resume, and you might put it first.
| | 00:52 | The rule of thumb is to place the most
pertinent information in the top one
| | 00:56 | third of your resume.
| | 00:57 | So, who should use this format?
| | 01:00 | The chronological format is
recommended for conservative types of career, such
| | 01:03 | as legal, accounting, and banking,
people that have no employment gaps, job
| | 01:09 | candidates who want to highlight their
progressive growth within a single company,
| | 01:13 | those have stayed in the same field
and plan to remain in the same field, and
| | 01:18 | perhaps when creating your resume for
more traditional types of hiring managers.
| | 01:23 | Who should not use this format.
| | 01:26 | Since this format focuses on work experience,
| | 01:29 | this type of resume format is not a
good choice if you have a lot of job gaps,
| | 01:34 | you're just entering the workforce,
or you're making a career change.
| | 01:39 | Here is an example of a chronological resume.
| | 01:42 | It starts off with the name at the
top, then the contact information.
| | 01:46 | It has the headline next, the
qualifications summary, the professional
| | 01:51 | experience section.
| | 01:52 | After that, you are going to put your
education, awards, honors, and additional
| | 01:57 | information if need be.
Of course that's optional.
| | 02:01 | When choosing the best resume format
for you, your experience and background
| | 02:05 | should be your deciding factor.
| | 02:07 | When using a chronological format,
your work experience is showcased and
| | 02:12 | includes dates of employment.
| | 02:14 | It's appropriate to either lead with
your education or your work experience,
| | 02:18 | depending on which is more
important to the position you are seeking.
| | 02:21 | Remember, it's all about you.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Functional| 00:00 | The Functional resume format is
sometimes known or referred to as a skills-based
| | 00:05 | format, and there is a good reason for this.
| | 00:08 | The purpose of the Functional
resume is to strategically group your key
| | 00:12 | skills and achievements into
specific categories to steer focus to a
| | 00:17 | candidate's qualifications.
| | 00:19 | It's organized by categories of skills
and achievements rather than by jobs.
| | 00:25 | Functional resumes place very
little emphasis on employment history.
| | 00:30 | Most of the time when people are
advised to use this strategy it's because
| | 00:35 | they have gaps in their employment
records, or perhaps they're returning to the
| | 00:39 | workforce, or they could be switching careers.
But there is one little flaw in this advice.
| | 00:45 | If you're in the white collar business
world, functional resumes are a red flag to
| | 00:51 | employers and recruiters that there is
something wrong, even if there isn't.
| | 00:56 | Just simply using this
format will make them suspicious.
| | 00:59 | Instead of focusing on what's right in
your resume, they will immediately be
| | 01:03 | looking for what's wrong.
| | 01:05 | Hiring managers and recruiters look
at enough resumes to know that the
| | 01:10 | traditional resume format includes
some sort of chronological history of
| | 01:14 | your work experience.
| | 01:15 | They also know that those that aren't
using this format usually have some reason
| | 01:20 | for not using it, and they are apt to make
the assumption that there is something
| | 01:25 | wrong or the person has something to hide.
| | 01:27 | A lot of folks choose this
format when they have inconsistent
| | 01:31 | employment histories.
| | 01:33 | In today's employment market, the last
thing you want to do is immediately send
| | 01:38 | up a red flag before they can even
begin to look at what your resume contains.
| | 01:42 | That doesn't mean that you need to
stick with the traditional chronological
| | 01:46 | resume format. But you might consider
using the chrono-functional format instead
| | 01:51 | if at all possible, simply for the sake
of not standing out from the competition
| | 01:57 | based on resume format.
| | 01:58 | Yet again, there are some cases that
the Functional resume format can work out
| | 02:04 | beautifully to showcase
and highlight your skills.
| | 02:07 | Every individual has different circumstances.
| | 02:10 | So as we take a look at this example,
be thinking about your own set of
| | 02:14 | skills and your own individual situation
and how you may be able to use this format yourself.
| | 02:21 | Let's take a look at an example of how
someone had their own business for 18
| | 02:25 | years and is looking to transition to
working as a construction project manager
| | 02:30 | using the Functional resume format.
| | 02:32 | This is actually a really good example of how
utilizing this format can have a positive effect.
| | 02:39 | As you can see, the beginning of
this format starts off the same as the
| | 02:43 | chronological and combination formats.
| | 02:46 | It starts off with the name,
the contact information--
| | 02:50 | of course, this one is a little bit
different because the contact information
| | 02:54 | is on the top, but that's okay--the
headline, and then it goes into the
| | 02:58 | qualifications summary.
| | 02:59 | Now following this information,
the Functional format begins.
| | 03:04 | So it has functional headings.
| | 03:06 | The functional headings in this
resume are Surveying, Concrete, Steel,
| | 03:12 | Roofing, Exterior, and Interior.
| | 03:16 | Functional headings could also include
such things as Management, Leadership, or
| | 03:21 | things such as those.
| | 03:22 | This resume also has an optional
sidebar, and this sidebar here is showcasing
| | 03:28 | the targeted qualifications
for a particular position.
| | 03:32 | At the very bottom, this resume has a
Professional Experience section, but
| | 03:36 | notice how short it is.
| | 03:39 | You want to just make sure that this
section includes any pertinent information
| | 03:43 | focused on your targeted position.
| | 03:45 | At the bottom, it shows the Education.
And of course, you can put an optional
| | 03:50 | section in for things such as Honors and Awards.
| | 03:53 | You needn't strictly adhere
to this particular format.
| | 03:56 | Remember to keep the most pertinent
information towards the top one-third of
| | 04:00 | your resume for each targeted position.
| | 04:02 | Besides making a career transition,
another reason to consider using the
| | 04:08 | Functional resume format is if you have
huge time gaps throughout your resume,
| | 04:13 | or if you have an
extremely poor employment record.
| | 04:16 | If you live in a white collar world,
because functional resumes immediately put
| | 04:21 | up a red flag to
recruiters that something is amiss,
| | 04:24 | use this format only as a last resort.
| | 04:26 | Using Chronological or Chrono-
functional formats are always your best bet as
| | 04:31 | recruiters, and hiring managers not
only prefer them, but they expect them.
| | 04:35 | If at all possible, avoid using this format.
| | 04:37 | You don't want something as simple as a
format to keep your resume from being read at all.
| | 04:42 | If you're in the white collar world
and are considering using this format
| | 04:45 | because of gaps in your employment
history, you're switching careers, or you're
| | 04:49 | entering the workforce, check out the
movies on these topics in this course.
| | 04:53 | You may still figure out a way of
avoiding this type of format by using
| | 04:57 | transferable skills and combining
jobs to hide gaps in your professional
| | 05:01 | experience timeline.
| | 05:03 | If your situation is similar to our
construction project manager; go for it.
| | 05:07 | It can work perfectly for your situation.
| | 05:10 | But if you're trying to hide
employment gaps and you've carefully weighed the
| | 05:13 | pros and the cons of using this format,
and decided that this is the best format
| | 05:17 | for you, make sure it's the very best it can be.
| | 05:21 | Don't forget to add your headline,
your qualifications summary, education,
| | 05:25 | technical information, any awards or
honors, and any other pertinent information
| | 05:30 | for each targeted job.
| | 05:32 | Functional resume formats are
designed to highlight skillsets and
| | 05:35 | deemphasize employment history.
| | 05:38 | It groups your key skills and
achievements into specific categories to call
| | 05:43 | attention to a candidate's qualifications.
| | 05:46 | It is organized by achievements
and skills, rather than by each job.
| | 05:50 | It can work out beautifully for
some based on their specific situation.
| | 05:54 | For others, consider the industry you're in.
| | 05:57 | This format may send up the red flags
before the viewer even reads the contents.
| | 06:02 | So just be sure to carefully weigh the
pros and cons, and be sure to know what
| | 06:06 | type of information is expected
prior to selecting what's right for you.
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| Combined chrono-functional| 00:00 | The Combination or Chrono-functional
resume is quickly becoming the resume of
| | 00:05 | choice, and for good reason.
| | 00:07 | It offers the best of both worlds.
| | 00:09 | The main idea of the Chrono-functional
resume is taking the most effective and
| | 00:15 | beneficial parts from each
format and putting them together.
| | 00:19 | The Combination resume first
showcases achievements by various categories
| | 00:24 | relevant to the job target or target career.
| | 00:27 | It then switches to the Chronological
format by listing employment history.
| | 00:32 | This type of format has several aliases:
| | 00:35 | Chrono-functional, Combination, and Hybrid.
| | 00:38 | All of these aliases can be a bit
confusing, but they all refer to the same thing.
| | 00:44 | Combination resumes offer a lot of
flexibility to lay out the document so that
| | 00:49 | it works best for you and
your particular situation.
| | 00:53 | Because of the fact that you're
including your matching functional skills and
| | 00:57 | stating your key qualifications at
the beginning of your resume, you will
| | 01:02 | immediately be proving to the employer why
you are the perfect candidate for the position.
| | 01:06 | Follow all of this with your reverse
chronological employment history, keeping
| | 01:11 | with the format most employers prefer.
| | 01:13 | Because of the fact that you've
included all of this information first, your
| | 01:18 | Professional Experience
section is going to follow.
| | 01:22 | It also needs to be concise and focused.
| | 01:25 | Make certain you avoid the long boring
laundry list of responsibilities and job
| | 01:29 | duties, but highlight your
accomplishments and achievements instead.
| | 01:34 | Keep focused and targeted in this
section and throughout your resume on your
| | 01:38 | targeted career and position.
| | 01:40 | Concentrate on your transferable skills
throughout the descriptions of each of your past jobs.
| | 01:46 | The remainder of your resume remains
the same as each of the other formats.
| | 01:51 | It'll include your technical skills,
your education, your certifications, and
| | 01:58 | other additional information.
| | 02:00 | For assistance with writing each section, see
the chapter on "Putting Your Resume Together."
| | 02:05 | It's for good reason that this
format is becoming so popular.
| | 02:09 | This combination of formatting allows
you to be flexible and allows you to
| | 02:13 | highlight and showcase the most
important transferable skills that match
| | 02:17 | the employer's needs.
| | 02:19 | This format will enable you to better
pinpoint and target your accomplishments
| | 02:23 | and achievements against those
of the targeted job requirements.
| | 02:27 | And the beauty of this format is you
still give the employer what they are
| | 02:31 | expecting by including your
employment history as well.
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|
|
5. Alternate Resume FormatsUnderstanding the curriculum vitae (CV)| 00:00 | Ask three people on the
street in America what a CV is
| | 00:04 | and you'll get four different answers.
| | 00:06 | Your answer will probably depend
on the country you live in and the
| | 00:10 | profession you are in. So what is a CV?
| | 00:13 | Is there a difference between a CV and a resume?
| | 00:16 | And if so, what are those differences?
| | 00:20 | CV stands for the Latin expression
'curriculum vitae' or vitae depending on where
| | 00:25 | you live, which means course of life.
| | 00:28 | If you live in any part of Europe, you
probably never use the word resume. Or if
| | 00:33 | you do, the terms resume and CV can
pretty much be used interchangeably.
| | 00:38 | If you are in the United States like I am,
you may have a sketchy idea of what a CV is.
| | 00:43 | CVs as they are used in America are
most often used for vocations such as
| | 00:49 | research, academics, international,
education, medicine, or when you're applying
| | 00:56 | for grants or fellowships.
| | 00:57 | American CVs are usually very involved,
detailed, and much longer than the
| | 01:02 | more customary resume.
| | 01:04 | Of course, there are many more
distinctions between CVs and resumes.
| | 01:09 | The main differences include
content, purpose, and length.
| | 01:14 | The content of a resume is a brief
overview of your top qualifications,
| | 01:18 | education, achievements,
and professional experience.
| | 01:23 | American CVs further include such
things as presentations, publications,
| | 01:30 | affiliations, any award of honors,
and research and teaching experience.
| | 01:35 | A CV also includes the entire list of
the candidate's professional experience
| | 01:40 | and includes every single
position the candidate has ever held.
| | 01:44 | It also gives a complete list of
the person's academic credentials, their
| | 01:48 | publications, and of course
any significant achievements.
| | 01:52 | Resumes are usually between one and
two pages, while American CVs can flow
| | 01:57 | onto multiple pages.
| | 01:59 | In the UK and EU, CVs can either be
short or long, unlike resumes in the US.
| | 02:05 | The length depends on what type of
position the person is applying for and how
| | 02:09 | much experience that they have.
| | 02:11 | If you're applying for a corporate or a
business position, you should create a
| | 02:15 | resume, as it is what is expected,
unless that is of course you are applying for an
| | 02:20 | international position
outside of the United States.
| | 02:24 | If in America, you will also
be expected to create a CV if you're
| | 02:28 | applying for a position involving
significant amounts of research and
| | 02:31 | teaching such as academic,
educational, scientific, research, medical or
| | 02:39 | health-related positions.
| | 02:40 | CVs are similar to resumes in that
you should include your name and contact
| | 02:45 | information, professional
experience, education, and skills.
| | 02:50 | If you're applying for an international
position outside of the United States,
| | 02:54 | you will need to research
what information is expected.
| | 02:57 | For example, some international CVs
require information such as height, weight,
| | 03:02 | nationality, date of birth,
and even marital status.
| | 03:07 | What is required in a CV will
vary from one country to another,
| | 03:10 | so be sure to check first
with a reliable source.
| | 03:13 | You may also need to create a CV if
you're applying for grants or fellowships.
| | 03:18 | Whether you're writing a CV or a
resume, keep in mind that they are both
| | 03:21 | meant to do one thing:
| | 03:23 | open the door to an interview.
Each is your marketing tool designed to sell
| | 03:27 | one thing, you.
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| Working with online resumes and portfolios| 00:00 | In addition to your resume, a lot of
job seekers are creating online resumes
| | 00:04 | or even online portfolios, which can be a
fantastic tool to add to your career toolbox.
| | 00:11 | There are many advantages to creating
an online resume and/or a portfolio in
| | 00:15 | addition to your traditional resume.
| | 00:18 | One of the more obvious benefits is
it will increase your visibility and
| | 00:21 | presence and will put you in front
of more employers and recruiters.
| | 00:26 | An online portfolio allows you to showcase
and highlight more than just your resume.
| | 00:32 | You can add samples of your
work as proof of your talent.
| | 00:36 | You can add such things as brochures,
presentations, projects, papers, or even reports.
| | 00:44 | You can add testimonials from clients,
letters of recommendation, or even quotes
| | 00:50 | from exceptional evaluations
you've received from past employers.
| | 00:53 | You could showcase any
awards or honors you've received.
| | 00:57 | You could include a professional
development section that lists seminars,
| | 01:00 | conferences, and any
work-related courses that you've attended.
| | 01:04 | If you're in a creative field, you can
even include such things as photography,
| | 01:09 | digital images, and graphic artwork.
| | 01:12 | And just on the side, be sure that
it's protected as much as possible from
| | 01:16 | pirating and that it's copyrighted.
| | 01:18 | Consider listing your degrees,
licenses, and certifications.
| | 01:22 | Just think, there is so much more than
what you can fit on a traditional resume
| | 01:27 | that could increase your chances of
winning an interview and then the job.
| | 01:31 | Last but not least, don't forget to
add keywords throughout for search
| | 01:35 | optimization, so you can be found.
| | 01:38 | Don't include anything that will place
you at risk of having your identity stolen.
| | 01:41 | You don't want shady people using a copy of
your certifications, diplomas, or degrees,
| | 01:48 | so don't post anything that might be
downloaded and revised for who knows what purpose.
| | 01:53 | Instead, just use text to describe
certifications or degrees, not a scanned copy
| | 01:59 | of the degree itself.
| | 02:01 | Some web sites suggest
including your references,
| | 02:04 | but remember, anyone with web
access can see your site, not just
| | 02:08 | potential employers.
| | 02:10 | It is the world wide web.
| | 02:12 | Respect your references by not sharing
their contact information with the world.
| | 02:17 | If you're a web designer or have
experience creating professional-looking web
| | 02:21 | sites, you may want to show
your stuff by adding interaction.
| | 02:25 | If you don't have these skills,
consider using a portfolio web site that
| | 02:29 | provides simple uploading of
information as it creates a site for you.
| | 02:33 | Some portfolio and online
sites offer free web hosting.
| | 02:37 | There are also others that offer more bells
and whistles, but they usually charge a fee.
| | 02:42 | Be sure to keep all the links
active in your resume and updated.
| | 02:46 | You don't want an outdated resume
online while giving a potential employer a
| | 02:50 | completely different copy.
| | 02:52 | A well-presented professionally made
portfolio can provide hard evidence that
| | 02:56 | you are the best candidate for the position.
| | 02:59 | You can add a link to your portfolio in
your traditional resume, or even mention
| | 03:03 | it when writing your targeted cover letters.
| | 03:06 | Just remember that your
portfolio is representing you.
| | 03:09 | Make sure it's polished
and nothing but professional.
| | 03:13 | You can create an online resume or
create a portfolio that includes your resume
| | 03:17 | and other additional information.
| | 03:19 | Speaking of online resumes, for more
information about creating one from
| | 03:23 | scratch, lynda.com has a whole course
on creating online resumes, appropriately
| | 03:29 | named Creating an Online Resume.
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|
|
6. Putting Your Resume TogetherFormatting fundamentals for your resume| 00:00 | Before an employer even picks up your
resume from the top of the pile, the first
| | 00:05 | thing they will notice is the formatting.
| | 00:07 | If it looks like this, they will
probably just skip over it without even giving
| | 00:13 | the information contained a second glance.
| | 00:15 | In a sea of hundreds of resumes why
should they spend their time straining their
| | 00:19 | eyes on an unprofessional,
poorly formatted and designed resume?
| | 00:23 | A resume that is hard to read says a
number of things to a prospective employer.
| | 00:28 | It could make the reader think that
the resume creator is disorganized,
| | 00:32 | careless, unprofessional,
and unconcerned about the reader.
| | 00:35 | Your resume is speaking for you, and as
your marketing campaign designed to get
| | 00:39 | you in the door for an interview,
| | 00:41 | the last thing you want is for the
resume to give the wrong impression of you.
| | 00:44 | Let's look at some resume-formatting
guidelines and things to keep in mind
| | 00:48 | when designing a resume. Let's face it.
| | 00:51 | We are by nature visual beings.
| | 00:54 | Your resume is the employer's first
impression of you and your resume's format
| | 00:58 | is most likely the first item
that the employer will notice.
| | 01:01 | Upon first glance, your resume should
provide a positive visual first impression.
| | 01:06 | It should be professional, visually
appealing, easy to read, and inviting.
| | 01:12 | Therefore, it's very important not to use
cookie-cutter templates or resume wizards.
| | 01:17 | Most often, these templates and wizards
do not provide correct formatting and
| | 01:22 | layout, even those resume templates
that come bundled with some of the most
| | 01:26 | popular software applications. And many
certainly won't fit the bill of making
| | 01:30 | you look like a competent professional.
| | 01:33 | If you decide to use a template or a
wizard as opposed to starting from scratch,
| | 01:38 | be certain to change the formatting.
| | 01:40 | Make it look as professional as
possible and make it your own style.
| | 01:43 | You don't want a resume that looks
as if it came off an assembly line.
| | 01:47 | Make sure it represents you.
| | 01:50 | Don't try to stand out by using
a cutesy font like Comic Sans.
| | 01:53 | You will stand out all right, and not in
a good way. And it's important to use a
| | 01:59 | font that will be available on all computers.
| | 02:01 | Standard fonts across both Windows and
Mac platforms include Arial, Times New
| | 02:06 | Roman, Tahoma, and Verdana.
| | 02:10 | Why should you use standard fonts?
| | 02:12 | Well, the reason is is if you use a
nonstandard font and the recipient of your
| | 02:16 | resume doesn't have that font
installed on their computer, the computer will
| | 02:19 | make the decision of what
font to replace it with.
| | 02:22 | You may have used an elegant and
stylish-looking font that looks great on
| | 02:26 | your computer, but the font their computer
substitutes may very will be just plain ugly.
| | 02:33 | After all your hard work, you don't
want to send your resume out not knowing
| | 02:37 | what the end result will be.
| | 02:38 | The computer could pick a larger font
than your original, making a one-page
| | 02:42 | resume two pages with only one line
or even a few words on the second page.
| | 02:47 | This is because fonts differ in
height and depth, and even the amount of
| | 02:50 | spacing between characters.
| | 02:52 | No matter what font typeface you choose, make
sure it's professional looking and standard.
| | 02:58 | If you do choose a nonstandard font,
make sure you send as a PDF or snail-mail a
| | 03:03 | hard copy to be sure that font and
your formatting will remain the same.
| | 03:07 | As for typeface, consistency is important.
| | 03:10 | In other words, don't use 20
different fonts in your resume.
| | 03:14 | You might want to use two
fonts to provide contrast.
| | 03:18 | This resume uses Times New Roman to
highlight the sections and the rest of
| | 03:22 | the resume is in Arial.
| | 03:25 | Another nice contrast effect can be
created by using the same font but making the
| | 03:30 | headings larger and bold to make them stand out.
| | 03:33 | You may consider highlighting
information such as the company name by using the
| | 03:37 | same font, but in small caps, as you can see here.
| | 03:41 | As far as point size for the body of
your resume, don't use anything less than
| | 03:45 | 10 points or larger than 12 points.
| | 03:48 | Less than 10 in the resume will be
hard to read; more than 12 will make the
| | 03:52 | resume look unprofessional.
| | 03:54 | It's all about you baby.
| | 03:56 | It's your marketing campaign.
| | 03:58 | The name should be
between 16 points and 22 points.
| | 04:02 | Make sure it stands out.
| | 04:04 | Use white space
generously throughout your resume.
| | 04:07 | It will make it easier
to read and more inviting.
| | 04:10 | Ideally, try to make your margins one
inch all the way around, but no matter what
| | 04:15 | you do, left and right margins
should always be the same size.
| | 04:18 | This will make it more welcoming
and visually pleasing, and make sure you also
| | 04:23 | include plenty of white space
between your paragraphs and lines.
| | 04:28 | As far as the bullets go, they can add
a lot of flair to your resume, but like
| | 04:32 | nonstandard fonts, nonstandard
bullets may not be available on the
| | 04:37 | employer's computer.
| | 04:38 | For example, if you use an arrow, check
mark, picture or anything other than a
| | 04:43 | standard bullet, your work of art may
be redesigned by the employer's computer
| | 04:48 | with funky symbols or some
other random character replacements.
| | 04:52 | If you want to use nonstandard bullets,
make sure you are snail-mailing the
| | 04:56 | resume, handing them a hard copy,
or sending as a PDF document.
| | 05:00 | But be careful not to create a resume
that is solely based on bullet points.
| | 05:04 | Use a blended approach of both
paragraphs followed by bullets to highlight your
| | 05:08 | achievements and your accomplishments.
| | 05:10 | Whatever you decide to do in your
resume such as bolding your section headings,
| | 05:15 | putting a period at the end of your
bullet points, or using italics for job
| | 05:19 | titles, be sure to repeat
consistently throughout your resume.
| | 05:23 | Consistency plays a vital role in
creating a positive visual appearance.
| | 05:28 | It's important to use the correct
formatting options in your resume.
| | 05:31 | For example, use indents where
needed instead of the spacebar.
| | 05:34 | If a recruiter opens your resume with a
different software application than the
| | 05:39 | one that you used to create it and you
failed to use the proper formatting, your
| | 05:43 | resume may be a mess when
they try to open it on their end.
| | 05:47 | Take advantage of the Styles feature
of most word processors such as Word to
| | 05:51 | make sure your formatting remains
consistent throughout your resume.
| | 05:54 | Check out my course in Word 2007
Styles in Depth for more information
| | 05:58 | on creating styles.
| | 06:00 | Repeat your header information
if you run onto a second page.
| | 06:04 | Subdivide your resume into sections to
make it easier to read and understand.
| | 06:08 | Left-aligned text is
easier to read than justified.
| | 06:11 | Once you've completed
formatting your resume, print it out.
| | 06:14 | Send it as an attachment to an
email to yourself. How does it look?
| | 06:18 | Step away for a while, then come
back and look at the printed copy.
| | 06:21 | Does it have enough white space?
| | 06:23 | Is it visually enticing?
| | 06:25 | Does it have a simple clean-looking design?
| | 06:28 | Is it symmetrical and balanced?
| | 06:30 | Is it consistent and uniform?
| | 06:31 | Next, give it to some other
people for constructive criticism.
| | 06:35 | Your resume is your work of
art; make it a masterpiece.
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| Including (or not including) an objective| 00:01 | In the old days--as in up until a
few years ago--if you didn't include an
| | 00:05 | objective, your resume simply wasn't complete.
| | 00:08 | But now the objective statement is
becoming obsolete, and it's recommended it be
| | 00:12 | replaced with a powerful headline
followed by a targeted qualification summary.
| | 00:18 | Usually, where you see an
objective is at the top of your resume,
| | 00:22 | as we see in Mary Ellen's resume here.
What we're going to be talking about is
| | 00:27 | whether you should or you
shouldn't include this objective.
| | 00:30 | So why is the objective becoming obsolete?
| | 00:34 | Well, the answer is simple.
An objective is focused on what you want, while
| | 00:40 | the headline and qualifications summary is
focused on what you can do for the employer.
| | 00:46 | Your resume is your
advertising and marketing campaign.
| | 00:50 | Think of it as commercials or magazine ads.
| | 00:53 | If they created an ad like an
objective, it would read like this: XYZ
| | 00:57 | Vitamins, we want your money!
| | 01:00 | I'm guessing this wouldn't sell
a lot of vitamins, how about you?
| | 01:04 | It's the same thing with the resume.
| | 01:05 | Telling the employer about your needs is
not a very good advertising plan or way
| | 01:09 | of going about selling yourself as
a best candidate for the position.
| | 01:13 | The best way to capture an employer's
attention and interest is by telling them
| | 01:17 | what you have to offer, not what you want.
| | 01:21 | What if you wrote a very specific
objective that cost you the job of your dreams?
| | 01:26 | You may write an objective so
specific you are overlooked by the employer
| | 01:30 | without a second glance.
| | 01:32 | Wouldn't you like to know
what all of your options are?
| | 01:36 | Consider this objective statement:
to obtain a position as an elementary school
| | 01:40 | science teacher with upward
mobility to become principal.
| | 01:45 | Well, what if you miss a position as a
high school science teacher because you
| | 01:49 | said you wanted to work as an
elementary school teacher. Or because you
| | 01:53 | specifically stated that you
wanted to be a science teacher,
| | 01:56 | you may have missed out an opportunity
as a chemistry teacher. Or you may even
| | 02:01 | have missed out on a position as a principal.
| | 02:03 | You may be eliminated from jobs you
want that are slightly different from the
| | 02:08 | objective without even receiving a phone call.
| | 02:11 | So why take that chance when an
objective is not a required part of your resume?
| | 02:17 | Here is another example: seeking
a position in advertising with an
| | 02:20 | opportunity for advancement.
| | 02:23 | To the employer, this may sound as if
you're motivated enough to move quickly
| | 02:27 | out of the job they are hiring you for
and they will soon be back to the drawing
| | 02:32 | board finding another candidate.
| | 02:34 | The hiring process is expensive.
| | 02:36 | Did you know that it costs an average of
$13,355, and that was back in 2004? Think about this.
| | 02:45 | The objective sits on prime real-estate space.
| | 02:48 | It's located at the very top of your resume.
| | 02:51 | It's more important to use the space
to catch the employer's attention by
| | 02:54 | highlighting your key accomplishments
and achievements, which are much more
| | 02:58 | valuable to the company that's hiring you.
| | 03:00 | Here are some other reasons for
omitting the objective and replacing with a
| | 03:04 | headline and qualifications summary.
| | 03:07 | Most employers say that they have
rarely seen a well-written objective.
| | 03:12 | Job seekers tend to make the objective
very vague in order to avoid limiting
| | 03:17 | themselves, which defeats the purpose of
writing an objective in the first place.
| | 03:22 | Objectives can pigeonhole you and may
show you have a narrow career focus.
| | 03:27 | If you feel you must discuss your
specific career objectives, consider talking
| | 03:31 | about them once you get to the interview.
| | 03:33 | Your resume should be detailed enough to
tell the employer what position you are seeking.
| | 03:38 | Your headline and qualifications
summary will back this up, as will your cover
| | 03:42 | letter if this is to be included.
| | 03:45 | If you are applying for the position,
they already know what your objective is--
| | 03:49 | to get the job you're applying for.
| | 03:51 | Objective statements are
quickly becoming a thing of the past.
| | 03:55 | Consider instead using this prime real
estate on your resume to showcase your
| | 03:59 | key accomplishments
and skills for each targeted position.
| | 04:03 | Let the employer know what you can do
for them as opposed to what you want
| | 04:07 | them to do for you.
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| Creating a headline| 00:00 | What is a resume headline?
| | 00:03 | The easiest way of visualizing the
answer is by thinking of a newspaper
| | 00:07 | or a magazine article.
| | 00:08 | The headline grabs your attention
and entices you to read further.
| | 00:13 | A headline on your resume
works much the same way.
| | 00:17 | A headline, as opposed to an objective,
focuses on what you can do for an employer.
| | 00:22 | Keep in mind that your resume is
your advertising and marketing strategy.
| | 00:26 | Replacing the objective with a
headline followed by an attention-grabbing
| | 00:30 | qualification summary is a powerful one-two
punch that will captivate the employer's
| | 00:35 | attention and lure them into reading the rest.
| | 00:37 | For example, MaryEllen here has
written a headline and she has put at the
| | 00:44 | very, very top "Versatile and dynamic
Technical Trainer, Writer and Author" and
| | 00:49 | should be either in bold or italic, so
it stands out. And it's going to be the
| | 00:54 | first thing that they've read.
| | 00:56 | You what to make sure that it's written well,
| | 00:58 | it's professional looking and that
it certainly grabs their attention.
| | 01:03 | So how do you create your own headline?
| | 01:06 | Like with all sections of your resume, it all
begins with research and doing a little homework.
| | 01:11 | Begin by researching your
targeted industry and career objective.
| | 01:15 | You need to research the employer, your
targeted job, and find your keywords in
| | 01:20 | order to write a knockout headline.
| | 01:22 | If you have any questions on this,
see the chapter on gathering and
| | 01:25 | organizing the facts.
| | 01:27 | Next, conduct research on you.
| | 01:30 | What are your most
prominent personal characteristics?
| | 01:34 | Write down things such as what are
your greatest strengths, your greatest
| | 01:38 | personal attributes.
| | 01:40 | What have past employers
said about you in evaluations?
| | 01:43 | What did you score highest in during
evaluations or performance reviews.
| | 01:47 | If some of this is starting to sound
familiar, that's probably because a lot of
| | 01:52 | these questions are asked during
interviews, such as what is your greatest
| | 01:56 | strengths and what are your
strongest personal attributes?
| | 01:58 | Some other things that you might
consider is asking your family and friends what
| | 02:03 | they think are some of your
strongest personal traits.
| | 02:06 | Write these down as well.
| | 02:07 | If you hear the same things over and
over, these characteristics are more than
| | 02:12 | likely your most dominant
positive personal traits.
| | 02:16 | Ask yourself, where do you exceed
more than others in your field?
| | 02:20 | What makes you stand out from the crowd?
| | 02:23 | Look closely at the job objective
of the position you're applying for.
| | 02:26 | What are they looking for? What do they need?
| | 02:30 | What skills do you have to offer
that will most fit those needs.
| | 02:34 | Match your skills with the
requirements for that particular job.
| | 02:39 | Now, let's look at a real example of
how you would go about creating a knockout
| | 02:43 | headline targeted towards a particular position.
| | 02:46 | Here is a job description taken off of
monster.com for a senior graphic designer.
| | 02:52 | Now, if I scroll down and look at
the qualifications for this particular
| | 02:56 | position, I can see it says we must be
creative while remaining on strategy on
| | 03:01 | time and within budget.
| | 03:02 | We also have to maintain deadlines and
project goals assigned on a day-to-day basis.
| | 03:07 | The Experience/Skill section here says
that it requires five years of corporate
| | 03:13 | creative group, agency, or firm experience.
| | 03:16 | They also prefer a four-year B.F.A. with
graphic design concentration, and they also
| | 03:22 | underneath of Experience/Skills, say
they need Adobe Creative Suite, which
| | 03:27 | includes InDesign, Photoshop,
Illustrator, Acrobat, and Flash.
| | 03:31 | The things that are highlighted here
underneath of the Qualifications and
| | 03:34 | Experience/Skills section, for this
particular person reflects their most
| | 03:39 | prominent traits and what they're best at.
| | 03:43 | An example headline for this
particular position based on these personal
| | 03:47 | characteristics and experience,
while remaining focused and target on the
| | 03:51 | employer might look like this.
| | 03:54 | "Senior graphics designer with eight
years of experience and expert in Adobe
| | 03:58 | Creative Suite capable of pushing
the limits creatively in fast-paced,
| | 04:03 | deadline-oriented environments."
| | 04:06 | Need another example of a great
headline? Here is another example.
| | 04:09 | Let's say that you're an
internet marketing manager.
| | 04:12 | You could say, "Highly qualified
internet marketing manager offering ten years
| | 04:17 | experience with a proven track record of
developing Internet business plans and strategies."
| | 04:24 | Remember, you need to position your
headline at the top, underneath of your
| | 04:28 | contact information.
| | 04:29 | Your headline is just like a headline of
an advertisement, located above all the
| | 04:33 | other information, and
meant to grab your attention.
| | 04:37 | Your headline should be a single
self-defining sentence centered under your
| | 04:41 | contact information, and remember, it's
usually in bold or italic font style.
| | 04:46 | Don't expect to get the
perfect headline right off the bat.
| | 04:49 | Try all different combinations until you
find just the right combination of words.
| | 04:55 | And don't forget to follow your knockout headline
with a catch-em-and-real-em-in qualification summary.
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| Writing a qualifications summary| 00:01 | You have approximately ten seconds to
catch the attention of a hiring manager
| | 00:05 | before your resume is screened out.
| | 00:08 | Because of this, the information you
place at the top of your resume can either
| | 00:12 | make you or break you.
| | 00:14 | But a powerful and persuasive
qualifications summary can capture and
| | 00:19 | captivate the reader's attention in those
precious ten seconds and entice them to read further.
| | 00:26 | In a survey of over 600 hiring managers,
an overwhelming majority stated that the
| | 00:32 | most important part of the
resume is a qualification summary--
| | 00:35 | yes, the most important part!
| | 00:39 | That's a pretty powerful
statement. And get this:
| | 00:42 | the survey also conveyed that only 5% of
the resumes they've received included one.
| | 00:48 | Just think how that can improve your
chances over the rest of the candidates by
| | 00:53 | simply using this tool.
| | 00:55 | A qualifications summary is
your marquee, so to speak.
| | 00:59 | It's a synopsis of your topmost
professional skills and experience, your
| | 01:03 | abilities and your talents and
credentials, your achievements and your
| | 01:07 | accomplishments, any quantifiable
results such as dollar amounts that you can
| | 01:12 | include, or percentages,
| | 01:14 | your education, your personal
characteristics, or anything that makes you the
| | 01:20 | most qualified for the job.
| | 01:22 | Your qualifications summary should convey
your top qualifications that define you
| | 01:27 | as an exceptional performer in your
field by using three to five impactful
| | 01:32 | sentences or three to five bullet points.
| | 01:35 | Or you can even use a combination of
both by writing a qualification paragraph
| | 01:39 | statement directly
followed by a few bullet points.
| | 01:43 | So how do you write a qualifications summary?
| | 01:46 | First and foremost, think
like an advertising copywriter.
| | 01:50 | You must know what the consumer wants in
order to know how to best to sell the product.
| | 01:55 | The product in this case of course is you.
| | 01:59 | Do your homework and thoroughly
research the employer and the requirements
| | 02:03 | of the job at hand.
| | 02:04 | The closer you can match your skills to
the job, the better you can target your
| | 02:08 | resume and prove that you are
the best fit for this position.
| | 02:13 | I've seen many people struggle with
knowing what their true sellable skills are.
| | 02:18 | Ask ex-supervisors and co-workers what
they think your top abilities skills and
| | 02:24 | accomplishments are. Then ask family and
friends what they feel are your most
| | 02:28 | outstanding personal attributes.
| | 02:31 | They may give you a completely
different list of qualities that you would never
| | 02:35 | even thought of yourself.
| | 02:37 | Be careful of asking present
coworkers and supervisors for their input.
| | 02:42 | This may lead to you needing
a job sooner than you think.
| | 02:45 | Instead, look through your past
evaluations and see where you've made
| | 02:49 | above average scores.
| | 02:52 | Ask yourself these types of
questions by filling in the blanks under the
| | 02:55 | Qualifications Summary section of
the Career Management worksheet that
| | 02:59 | comes with this course.
| | 03:01 | What makes you specifically
qualified for this particular position?
| | 03:06 | What are you most proud of
that you've done in your career?
| | 03:08 | How have you been recognized by
winning special awards, commendations, or
| | 03:13 | honors during your career?
| | 03:15 | If you've recently graduated, did you
receive any scholarships or academic awards?
| | 03:20 | Have you assisted in increasing the
company's bottom line, saved the company
| | 03:24 | time, or increased productivity.
| | 03:27 | What do you do better than others in
your industry, and how do you do it better?
| | 03:32 | What suggestions have you made
that were implemented? What are your
| | 03:36 | strongest strengths?
| | 03:37 | How many years of experience do you
have in your career or your industry, and
| | 03:42 | what makes you stand out from the crowd?
| | 03:45 | Now it's time to pull it all together.
| | 03:47 | Begin writing a list of your top five
marketable credentials based on your research.
| | 03:52 | Remember, your qualifications summary is
the core of your resume and is what can
| | 03:56 | really make it come alive and sparkle.
| | 03:59 | Sprinkle keywords throughout your
summary and speaking of sprinkling, don't
| | 04:03 | forget to include your action verbs.
| | 04:06 | You may center creating one main
resume targeted to your career.
| | 04:10 | This will be the resume
you can post to resume banks.
| | 04:14 | You can use your main resume as a
template for creating your targeted resumes
| | 04:18 | for each particular
position that you are applying for.
| | 04:21 | You may need to change the
qualification summary slightly according to the
| | 04:25 | decision that you're targeting.
| | 04:26 | Be sure to save each under a different
file name; perhaps name each targeted
| | 04:31 | resume by the name of the
company that you're applying for.
| | 04:33 | You'll need to bring it
to the interview with you.
| | 04:36 | Take your time. Your qualifications
summary is your resume's marquee and
| | 04:41 | can really make you stand out from
the crowd by showcasing your most
| | 04:45 | impressive attributes.
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| Showcasing achievements vs. listing job duties| 00:01 | When developing your Professional
Experience section, if you create a long,
| | 00:05 | dull, mind-numbering laundry list of
duties and responsibilities, chances are
| | 00:10 | you'll send the readers straight to sleep.
| | 00:13 | Don't start off this section with
'responsibilities included' or 'duties included',
| | 00:18 | followed by an inventory of your daily tasks.
| | 00:22 | Employers are looking for someone
who will take action, someone who will
| | 00:25 | get something done.
| | 00:27 | Employers are looking for achievers;
therefore highlight your achievements and
| | 00:32 | accomplishments by saying
| | 00:34 | this is what I've achieved in the
past for employers and what I can
| | 00:38 | accomplish for you now.
| | 00:40 | Use PAR statements, or problem-action-
result statements, as much as possible to
| | 00:46 | tell your success story to potential
employers of just how you can help them and
| | 00:50 | what you can do for them.
| | 00:52 | There's a whole movie dedicated to
creating PAR statements, so check it out if
| | 00:56 | you haven't already.
| | 00:57 | For example, you might want to say
designed new Flash web site based on
| | 01:01 | competitive market evaluations and
client needs resulting in a 70% increase in
| | 01:07 | web site traffic and 55% profit margin.
Or you might want to say created a
| | 01:13 | contact management system using
access to stored data from outdated Rolodex
| | 01:18 | system, increasing efficiency of
mass mailings to our clients by 90%.
| | 01:25 | By listing your experience in terms of
accomplishments and achievements rather
| | 01:29 | than duties and responsibilities, you
can make yourself shine by showing the
| | 01:34 | employer what you bring to the table
rather than simply what you did daily.
| | 01:39 | These results can be measured in just
about any occupation, not just sales.
| | 01:45 | This particular PAR statement was
designed for a web designer, while this
| | 01:49 | example of a PAR statement
was designed for a secretary.
| | 01:52 | Add quantifiable results as much
as possible throughout your resume.
| | 01:57 | Take a look at this resume.
| | 01:59 | They have included quantifiable
results and amounts throughout.
| | 02:04 | Take a look at the
information that's highlighted in blue.
| | 02:06 | For example, this first paragraph
here that says delivering and designing
| | 02:11 | comprehensive certificate-based
training program throughout this international
| | 02:16 | law firm with 12 offices and 1400
employees. Or this second paragraph here,
| | 02:22 | managing, designing, and delivering
classes for in-house continuing technical
| | 02:26 | education program, offering over 65
courses in multiple subject matters.
| | 02:32 | Down a little bit further
here, look at this paragraph.
| | 02:35 | Providing application support and
training for 800 secretaries, paralegal staff,
| | 02:40 | and attorneys across five offices.
| | 02:43 | And last but not least, take a look at this one:
| | 02:46 | writing curriculum for more than 50
courses and conducting instructor-led and
| | 02:50 | blended training across five offices.
| | 02:53 | Also, don't forget to start each of your
sentences or bullet points with action
| | 02:57 | verbs instead of 'responsibilities included'.
| | 03:00 | Take a look at this resume and just
how MaryEllen here has accomplished this.
| | 03:04 | She started off each of her
sentences with action verbs.
| | 03:08 | She says delivering, managing,
delivering again here, designing, traveling,
| | 03:15 | providing, writing, evaluating, testing
and analyzing, managing and developing,
| | 03:21 | creating, deploying,
troubleshooting and authoring.
| | 03:24 | For more information, there's a whole
movie dedicated to action verbs called
| | 03:28 | "Incorporating Action Verbs."
| | 03:30 | Focus on the benefits of your
actions instead of the actions themselves.
| | 03:35 | So, what is an accomplishment?
| | 03:38 | An accomplishment can be anything you
have done that benefited a previous employer.
| | 03:43 | If you are thinking you have no
accomplishments, think again; each of us has
| | 03:47 | done something in our careers
that could benefit our employer.
| | 03:51 | It's just a matter of remembering back
and figuring out just what those things are.
| | 03:56 | Ask yourself questions such as these:
| | 03:58 | What have you done that you are really proud of?
| | 04:01 | What have past evaluations said about you?
| | 04:04 | What do coworkers say about you?
| | 04:07 | Have you won any awards or honors?
| | 04:10 | Have you created or designed something?
| | 04:12 | Have you implemented any new ideas?
| | 04:14 | Have you increased profits or reduced costs?
| | 04:18 | Have you managed a budget
successfully or maybe increased quality control?
| | 04:23 | Did you resolve a problem
or come up with a solution?
| | 04:26 | Did you increase efficiency?
| | 04:28 | One of the best ways of showing
off and highlighting the Professional
| | 04:32 | Experience section is by creating an
attention-grabbing sentence or a short
| | 04:37 | paragraph followed by a bulleted list of about
three to five accomplishments and achievements.
| | 04:43 | Now, see if you can come up with three
to five things that you are really proud
| | 04:46 | of in each position you have held, and
by the way, there is a place to include
| | 04:51 | them in your career management
worksheet that comes with this course.
| | 04:55 | By showcasing your achievements and
your accomplishments and avoiding a list of
| | 04:59 | dry and dull job duties and
responsibilities, you will outshine the competition.
| | 05:04 | Using achievements oriented resume
format to prove to the employer that you can
| | 05:10 | do an outstanding job by demonstrating
results and proving positive end results,
| | 05:16 | potential employers will see your
past achievements as an indicator and gauge
| | 05:20 | for future performance.
| | 05:21 | Your resume will stand out from the
crowd and be much more effective by
| | 05:26 | highlighting and
showcasing your key accomplishments.
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| Including technical information| 00:00 | Most jobs today require some form
of both technical and computer skills.
| | 00:05 | If you're applying for a job in IT,
you must use your top technical skills to
| | 00:09 | sell yourself to the employer.
| | 00:10 | For example, you may include such
things as software applications, hardware,
| | 00:16 | programming languages,
networking, or client server tools.
| | 00:21 | If you're not seeking an IT
position, think outside the box.
| | 00:26 | Maybe you're in accounting, or you're
an administrative assistant and need to
| | 00:30 | include such things as Outlook, Word,
Excel, Elite, or SAP. But technical
| | 00:37 | skills come in many different forms and are
not just limited to computers and applications.
| | 00:43 | You might need to include such things
as specialized machines you have operated
| | 00:47 | or systems you have worked with that
require specialized training to operate.
| | 00:52 | For example, you might have
experience using a lathing system, work with
| | 00:56 | specialized machinery. You might
operate heavy equipment or have
| | 01:00 | industry-specific skills such as
working with oil and gas equipment.
| | 01:05 | Be sure to include these on your
resumes to match the position you are seeking
| | 01:09 | as employers or recruiters may be
using these as keywords when they're
| | 01:13 | performing searches in
resume banks in order to find you.
| | 01:16 | So, how do you showcase this
information on your resume?
| | 01:20 | The best way to showcase this
information is to focus on the position you're
| | 01:25 | targeting and the work that you want to do.
| | 01:28 | Make sure to place the most pertinent
information at the beginning of this section.
| | 01:32 | Target and customize your resume for
every job you apply for and then match your
| | 01:37 | skills with the requirements of each.
| | 01:39 | Let's take a look at some common
questions people have when adding their
| | 01:44 | Technical Experience section on the resume.
| | 01:47 | They might ask, should I include the
number of years of experience that I
| | 01:51 | have? Or should I rate my technical
experience as a beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
| | 01:57 | And the answer to both of these questions is no.
| | 02:01 | You can leave the years and
ratings off of your resume.
| | 02:04 | Of course, if you have only used an
application once, leave it off all together.
| | 02:09 | Instead of ratings, use the
Professional Experience section to add additional
| | 02:14 | detail and to back up how you
have used these skills on the job.
| | 02:17 | Let's say that you included Flash or
Dreamweaver in your Technical Skills section.
| | 02:22 | You should describe how you
used these apps in the workplace.
| | 02:26 | Showing how you use a software will
provide the employer with genuine insight
| | 02:30 | into the depth of your knowledge and how
much experience that you have utilizing them.
| | 02:36 | Where should you place this information?
| | 02:38 | Well, if you're in a highly
technical position, place it above your
| | 02:42 | Professional Experience section.
| | 02:45 | A technical recruiter shared with me
that this will make it easier for the
| | 02:48 | recruiters and employers alike to see if
you have the necessary skills that they
| | 02:52 | are looking for without having to
search to the bottom of your resume.
| | 02:57 | As far as formatting goes, let's
take a look at three different ways to
| | 03:00 | display the same set of technical skills:
the paragraph style, the table style,
| | 03:06 | or using a bulleted list.
| | 03:08 | The first way is to showcase this
information using a paragraph style.
| | 03:13 | Look at the Technical
Skills section on this resume.
| | 03:16 | It highlight skills such as Microsoft,
Adobe, and then shows other technical
| | 03:22 | skills, and it shows all
this using a paragraph style.
| | 03:26 | Here is the same information displayed
using a table style, and again, the same
| | 03:32 | information using a bulleted list.
| | 03:35 | Which do you find easiest to read?
| | 03:37 | Which do you think would be easiest
on the eyes if you were the employer?
| | 03:42 | Based on the amount of information you
have, pick the format that works best for
| | 03:46 | your situation and resume format.
| | 03:48 | For example, if you already have too
many bulleted points, pick one of the other
| | 03:53 | ways of displaying this information.
| | 03:55 | Whatever you do, don't lie
about your technical skills.
| | 03:59 | I heard of a situation where someone
included a software application on the
| | 04:03 | resume because it was in the job description.
| | 04:05 | In reality, the person didn't even know what
the program did and had never even heard of it.
| | 04:10 | He got the job and it was soon
discovered by the company that he didn't have a
| | 04:14 | clue how to use the software.
| | 04:17 | I'm sure you're not surprised that
it was soon after that he was fired.
| | 04:21 | It's just not worth it. Just
leave it off. Or better yet, learn it.
| | 04:26 | Depending on the experience you
have, you may be able to learn the
| | 04:29 | application pretty quickly.
| | 04:31 | I know of another situation where the
candidate researched the software found on
| | 04:35 | the job description, downloaded a
14-day free trial from the Internet, and
| | 04:40 | created a presentation for the
employer using the software for the interview.
| | 04:44 | The candidate proved one, that they
could use their past experience to learn
| | 04:48 | applications quickly, two, that they were
interested in the position enough to go
| | 04:52 | to all that trouble, and three,
that they had great initiative.
| | 04:56 | At least that's what the employer said.
| | 04:59 | I should know. In this situation, I
was that candidate and I got the job.
| | 05:04 | It's important to showcase and
highlight your technical skills on your resume,
| | 05:08 | not only for informational purposes,
but also for keyword searches as well.
| | 05:13 | Need to brush up? No better time than
to take lynda.com courses, print out that
| | 05:18 | certification, and add it to
your list of technical skills.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Putting your education to work| 00:00 | Put your education to work by
including your educational details in your
| | 00:04 | resume. From college majors and
degrees to professional licenses and
| | 00:09 | continuing education,
| | 00:11 | each can help sell your
qualifications for employment.
| | 00:15 | Since your resume is your
advertisement and you only have about ten seconds to
| | 00:19 | convince the employer to read on,
| | 00:20 | it's crucial that your resume gets to
work immediately by selling your top
| | 00:24 | credentials. But where exactly should you
insert the Education section on your resume?
| | 00:29 | What if you have too much
information or not enough?
| | 00:33 | What should you include and
what should you leave off?
| | 00:36 | As with most things dealing with humans,
everyone is different, and answers to
| | 00:41 | these questions depend on
your individual circumstances.
| | 00:44 | So, the answer is, it depends,
but what does it depend on?
| | 00:50 | Let's start by looking at some of
the most common scenarios and answers.
| | 00:54 | First of all, where should I
place the Education section?
| | 00:57 | Education is most often a new
grads' strongest marketing strategy.
| | 01:02 | If you are in the early stages of
your career, education will play a more
| | 01:06 | prominent role in your getting a job.
| | 01:09 | New graduates that have less than
five years of experience are most often
| | 01:13 | advised to place the Education section
near the top of their resume just beneath
| | 01:17 | the headline and qualifications summary.
| | 01:20 | For more information on this, see the
movie called "Entering the Workforce."
| | 01:24 | If you have five years or more of
experience in the industry, experience is
| | 01:29 | your primary asset.
| | 01:30 | It will be a greater selling point
and hold more weight for the employer.
| | 01:34 | If this is the case, feature your
experience by placing it directly under the
| | 01:38 | headline and qualifications summary.
| | 01:41 | Showcase your achievements and
accomplishments, not your responsibilities and job duties.
| | 01:46 | If you have a doctorial degree for your
career in medicine, science, research,
| | 01:51 | or academics, these fields usually
require composing a curriculum vitae,
| | 01:55 | commonly known as a CV.
| | 01:57 | CVs usually begin with the
Education section, regardless of experience.
| | 02:02 | Your education should come first if you
have veered off your original career path
| | 02:07 | and that path is now taking you back
to the career in which you originally
| | 02:10 | received your degree.
| | 02:11 | If you have gone back to college and
have completed coursework towards your
| | 02:14 | targeting career goal, again, place
your education information first.
| | 02:18 | Be sure to include this information
and highlight your transferable skills in
| | 02:22 | your Professional Experience section.
| | 02:25 | For more information on this, see the
movie called "Switching Career Paths."
| | 02:29 | What if your degree is incomplete?
| | 02:31 | If you have never completed your degree,
list the number of credits completed or
| | 02:36 | the type of study undertaken.
Take a look at this example.
| | 02:39 | 1998 - 2002, Sam Houston State
University, completed 90 credit hours towards a
| | 02:46 | BS in computer science.
| | 02:49 | Some people might ask, should I
include my high school information?
| | 02:53 | Well, if you have just graduated
from high school and have no college
| | 02:56 | information, go ahead and
include your high school info.
| | 03:00 | If you have any college credits
completed or if you have a college degree, leave
| | 03:04 | off the high school information
and include the new college info.
| | 03:08 | Should you include your GPA?
| | 03:10 | You can include your GPA
if it's very impressive.
| | 03:13 | Some say 3.0 while others say 3.4 or above.
| | 03:17 | If your major GPA is higher than the
cumulative GPA, include it instead.
| | 03:23 | The further away you move from
graduation and your bank of experience begins to
| | 03:27 | outweigh your educational experience,
your GPA becomes less and less important
| | 03:33 | and can eventually just be removed.
| | 03:35 | Recent graduates should go heavy on the details.
| | 03:38 | You need to include the college name
and graduation year, degree major and
| | 03:43 | minor, GPA--but only if it's exceptional--
coursework, and honors, thesis, research
| | 03:50 | projects, internships, studies abroad,
graduating Summa Cum Laude, hold a high
| | 03:55 | lass rank such as 4th of 652.
| | 03:59 | Graduates a few years distance from
school should begin paring down on the details.
| | 04:04 | Start concentrating on your
professional experience and your accomplishments.
| | 04:09 | Those with experience should include
their college degree of course, but only add
| | 04:13 | additional information that is relevant
to your target career, such as licenses,
| | 04:18 | credentials, certificates, vocational
training, continuing education, seminars,
| | 04:24 | and things such as these.
| | 04:26 | Rule of thumb: when writing your resume,
the most essential information comes first.
| | 04:30 | For example, if having your MBA is
important in your career field, don't bury it
| | 04:36 | at the end of your resume.
| | 04:37 | Now, it's the time to put
your education to work for you.
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| Including awards, honors, and other information| 00:00 | Adding additional information to your
resume, such as publications, honors and
| | 00:05 | awards, and professional affiliations,
as you see listed here on this resume,
| | 00:10 | can actually make you or break you.
| | 00:13 | Of course, anything in
your resume applies to this.
| | 00:15 | With the huge amount of competition
out there, you want any additional
| | 00:19 | information placed in your resume to assist
in making you the best candidate for the job.
| | 00:24 | So, what information will make
you shine in a positive light?
| | 00:28 | And what information would make you
end up in the dark bottom of a trashcan?
| | 00:33 | First of all, make sure that all of the
information you include on your resume
| | 00:37 | reinforces and supports your
qualifications for the position you're targeting.
| | 00:42 | You may use this area to show that
you have something special to offer to
| | 00:46 | the company and that you have
something that you bring to the table that
| | 00:49 | other applicants don't.
| | 00:51 | At the same time, you don't want to
offer any one opportunity to discriminate
| | 00:55 | against you even before scoring in interview.
| | 00:58 | Including honors and awards in your
resume is a great way of showing off
| | 01:01 | your outstanding accomplishments and
achievements, and make you stand out from the crowd.
| | 01:06 | Being recognized as exceptional by
receiving certain honors and awards is solid
| | 01:11 | proof of your success and
adds credibility to your resume.
| | 01:15 | Of course, any remarkable or
impressive accomplishment should be listed
| | 01:20 | throughout your resume.
| | 01:22 | Although if you have received more
than three honors and awards--and if you
| | 01:26 | have, congratulations, by the way--
| | 01:29 | you may want to consider, including a
section appropriately named Honors and Awards.
| | 01:34 | In this way, you can showcase and
highlight them in a way that it won't be
| | 01:38 | overlooked by the reader.
| | 01:39 | If you don't have more than three, you
can include your awards and honors in
| | 01:43 | your Education section or your
Professional Experience, depending on the type of
| | 01:47 | recognition you received.
| | 01:49 | If the honor or award is not
self-explanatory, make sure you specify and
| | 01:53 | describe in enough
detail to avoid any confusion.
| | 01:56 | For example, if you are a member of Phi
Beta Kappa, the reader may not know that
| | 02:01 | this is an academic honor
society as opposed to a social club.
| | 02:05 | If you have publications, inventions,
patents, or other types of discovery,
| | 02:11 | consider adding a section
entitled Publications and Patents.
| | 02:15 | About hobbies, you may be asking if
you should include this information.
| | 02:20 | And the answer is, in most cases absolutely not.
| | 02:26 | I know of a situation where a lady had been
laid off and was out of work for over a year.
| | 02:29 | She had paid a pretty penny from
here already depleted savings to have a
| | 02:34 | professional write a resume for her.
| | 02:36 | I was aghast when I saw the company she
paid listed Professional Clown on her resume.
| | 02:42 | The problem is that being a
professional clown on the side would in no way
| | 02:46 | assist her in marketing
herself as a professional.
| | 02:49 | A professional clown? Yes.
But not a professional executive.
| | 02:53 | Leave things off your resume that
don't pertain to your target and goal.
| | 02:57 | So once you do include a hobby,
hobbies that would make you a stronger
| | 03:02 | candidate should be added.
| | 03:04 | Let's say you've decided to make a
career change to photography, but you have no
| | 03:08 | professional experience behind you.
| | 03:10 | This is where adding your hobby of
photography would be beneficial to assisting
| | 03:15 | you with breaking into your new career.
| | 03:17 | In other words, if it adds more towards
backing up your qualifications for the
| | 03:22 | position you're targeting, add it.
| | 03:24 | If not, it has no place in your resume.
| | 03:27 | Adding languages is a judgment call.
| | 03:29 | In some cases, knowing a second language
could be a very positive thing and could
| | 03:34 | win the interview you're
seeking in, even the job.
| | 03:37 | That is, if the language will add to
your qualifications for the position, be
| | 03:42 | sure to only add languages that add
your qualifications to avoid discrimination
| | 03:46 | and possible biases.
| | 03:48 | If you live in the United States,
information such as your age, sex, weight,
| | 03:53 | height, marital status, sexual
preference, and nationality should not be
| | 03:58 | included on your resume as
they could lead to discrimination.
| | 04:02 | And there are laws in place to
protect us from this discrimination.
| | 04:05 | There are a few exceptions, but very few.
| | 04:09 | You may be a model, for example, or
you may live in another country where such
| | 04:13 | practices are standard.
| | 04:15 | Otherwise, don't include this information.
| | 04:18 | Listing career-related publications on
your resume will add to your credit and
| | 04:22 | help the employer see that
you are an expert in your field.
| | 04:26 | It's an excellent way to stand out in the crowd.
| | 04:29 | Be sure to add any books, articles,
white papers, courses you've written, and
| | 04:34 | any other career-related
publications you have to your credit.
| | 04:38 | Use the citation format that
is standard for your industry.
| | 04:42 | Make sure that any additional
information you add to your resume will reinforce
| | 04:46 | and support your
qualifications for the targeted job.
| | 04:50 | You can make yourself outshine the
competition and show you have something to
| | 04:53 | offer that others don't. Just be
certain that anything you add cannot be held
| | 04:59 | against you, such as
including political affiliations.
| | 05:03 | Only add information that will make you
stand out from the crowd and exceed in
| | 05:07 | impressing upon the hiring manager
that you are the one to get it done.
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|
|
7. Saving to Different File FormatsKnowing which file format is best| 00:00 | You've done all of this work on your resume.
| | 00:03 | You've dotted the I's
and you've crossed the T's.
| | 00:06 | And you've definitely
double-checked the spelling.
| | 00:10 | Everything looks perfect.
| | 00:13 | Now you've uploaded your masterpiece
to a resume bank and the formatting
| | 00:18 | totally falls apart.
| | 00:21 | It's happened to the best of us.
| | 00:23 | So, what should you do so your
formatting doesn't fall to pieces?
| | 00:28 | Before I answer that question, let's look at
some of the potential problems that could arise.
| | 00:34 | For instance, you may not be aware
what a recruiter may have to go through
| | 00:39 | on the receiving end.
| | 00:41 | Did you know that recruiters many times
have to copy and paste your resume into
| | 00:45 | their own format in their database?
| | 00:48 | It depends on the recruiter and
applicant tracking system that they use.
| | 00:53 | This is also known as ATS for short.
| | 00:57 | Newer ATS apps will read just about
any format, but unfortunately, many
| | 01:02 | recruiters and
corporations don't have the new apps.
| | 01:06 | They also have to copy and paste your
resume into a standard format prior to
| | 01:11 | sending on to their clients.
| | 01:14 | The sad truth is all of the formatting
you've done and all of your hard work may
| | 01:19 | end up looking nothing like
the masterpiece that you created.
| | 01:24 | But take heart, this isn't always the
case, and once you get the interview you
| | 01:28 | will need to bring several
copies of your masterpiece with you.
| | 01:32 | The best thing to do is to save your
resume to many different file formats as
| | 01:38 | part of your job-search toolbox.
| | 01:40 | We will be going into detail about how
and why to save to different file formats
| | 01:46 | throughout this chapter.
| | 01:47 | We'll be learning how to save your
resume into several different file formats,
| | 01:52 | whether you need to send in Word format
to a recruiter, send in PDF to a direct
| | 01:57 | employer, or upload an
RTF format to resume banks.
| | 02:03 | Adding these formats to your
job-search toolbox will prepare you for just
| | 02:07 | about any situation.
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| Saving to earlier versions of Word| 00:00 | You may find you need to save to an
earlier version of Word in order for someone
| | 00:04 | to be able to open on their end.
| | 00:07 | Let's say that you have Word
2010 and they only have Word 2003.
| | 00:12 | They can download a viewer, but you
would really be better off sending it to
| | 00:15 | them in a format that they can open.
| | 00:17 | It's fast and it's easy.
| | 00:19 | Just keep in mind that you may lose some
of the formatting when you're saving down,
| | 00:22 | so you may have to do some tweaking.
| | 00:25 | To save to Word 2003 format, you
simply go up to File, do a save-as, and then
| | 00:34 | browse to the folder
that you want to save it in.
| | 00:37 | A great way of keeping organized is to
create a folder that contains all of the
| | 00:40 | different versions of your
resume in different file formats.
| | 00:44 | You may want to create one folder to
store your different versions and another
| | 00:48 | folder, by company name, to
store your targeted resumes.
| | 00:52 | You may have one for references
and then another for cover letters.
| | 00:56 | It's very important to stay as
organized as possible during your job search.
| | 01:01 | So I am just going to
quickly create a new folder.
| | 01:03 | I am going to go my desktop, and I am
going to create a new folder here called
| | 01:12 | Resumes. And I am going to
double-click on it to open that folder.
| | 01:18 | Now I am going to give it a File name.
| | 01:20 | I am going to call this
Mariann Siegert - Resume.
| | 01:26 | If you use your name in the file name,
it's an easy way for the employer, or
| | 01:31 | potential employer, to be able to find
your resume amongst a bunch of others.
| | 01:36 | If you simply name it Resume, they
might not be able to find it as easily.
| | 01:40 | Underneath of Save as
type, I've got Word Document.
| | 01:43 | You can select Save as type and click
on the down arrow next to Word Document,
| | 01:49 | and we want to save it as
a Word 97-2003 document.
| | 01:54 | And then the last step is just to click Save.
| | 01:57 | You'll always want to check the
formatting and make any changes to the
| | 02:00 | document that's needed.
| | 02:02 | So go ahead and scroll down through
your document, make sure that there's no
| | 02:06 | major or minor changes that you need to make.
| | 02:11 | Sometimes there are and sometimes there are not;
| | 02:14 | it just depends on what
formatting that you used.
| | 02:17 | You might want to check things such as
your numbering, your field codes, if you
| | 02:21 | have tables in the document.
| | 02:23 | And as you could see, this resume
doesn't need much tweaking at all.
| | 02:27 | It's always a good idea to have your
resume saved to a lower version of Word
| | 02:31 | just in case it's needed.
| | 02:32 | It's easy to do, and as you can see, it
really takes little effort on your part.
| | 02:37 | This way you'll be as prepared as
possible if the situation arises and you find
| | 02:42 | it's needed just right away.
| | 02:44 | And it's a great tool to add
to your job search toolbox.
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| Saving as a PDF| 00:00 | The Portable Document Format, or PDF
for short, is a great way to save your
| | 00:05 | documents when you don't want the
formatting to change and you want someone to
| | 00:09 | be able to easily view the document
across different types of computers.
| | 00:13 | Most everyone has something installed on
their computer to be able to view these
| | 00:17 | types of documents, and if they don't,
there are many free viewers such as Adobe
| | 00:21 | Reader that are available for free to download.
| | 00:24 | It's a great idea to save a copy of
your resume in this format to include in
| | 00:28 | your job-search toolbox.
| | 00:30 | The downside to sending your resume in
PDF format is a lot of recruiters need to
| | 00:34 | copy and paste your resume into their
own systems, such as an Applicant Tracking
| | 00:39 | System, or ATS for short.
| | 00:41 | Some of the newer ATS systems allow the
recruiter to upload with no problems, but
| | 00:46 | a majority of these systems
don't have this capability.
| | 00:50 | Some ATS applications come with the
option to purchase an additional piece to
| | 00:54 | the program that allows uploading PDFs,
but unfortunately, it's expensive and
| | 01:00 | most recruiting firms have
opted out, at least for now.
| | 01:03 | Since PDF files are for viewing
purposes only, sending as a PDF protects your
| | 01:08 | resume from changes, but it also keeps
the recruiter from being able to copy and
| | 01:13 | paste the information into their system.
| | 01:15 | In addition, many of the top resume banks
don't have the ability to upload as a PDF either.
| | 01:21 | The upside is is when you send your
resume via an email attachment to your
| | 01:25 | prospective employer, the formatting
will stay intact and look near perfect when
| | 01:30 | they open and print it out for their files.
| | 01:32 | Therefore, it's a great idea to save a
copy in this format for quick retrieval,
| | 01:37 | especially when time is of the essence.
| | 01:40 | Another idea is that you can send your
resume to them in both formats--one for
| | 01:45 | copying and pasting and a prettier
PDF format for printing and sending to
| | 01:50 | potential employers.
| | 01:52 | There are several ways to
convert a document to PDF format.
| | 01:56 | If you have Word 2010, you can just go
to File > Save As, go down to the Save as
| | 02:05 | type dropdown box, and then select PDF.
| | 02:09 | Of course, you want to give it a name,
continue with the same naming convention
| | 02:13 | that we've been using. So my name--
| | 02:15 | you want use yours of course--slash Resume.
| | 02:19 | I also want to make sure that I put it
in my Resume folder that I've already
| | 02:23 | created, which is located out on
the Desktop, underneath Resumes.
| | 02:30 | Just make sure that you stay
organized during your search.
| | 02:33 | And I am going to save it in my Resumes folder.
| | 02:36 | So again, it's under my Resumes folder,
Mariann Siegert -Resume, and it's going
| | 02:39 | to be a PDF document.
| | 02:41 | I just click on Save and there it is.
| | 02:43 | Now if I look at my PDF
document, it looks beautiful.
| | 02:49 | Nothing's changed. Everything's
in place. No tweaking is needed.
| | 02:54 | And I am going to go ahead and close out
of the Adobe document and I am back in Word.
| | 02:59 | If you've purchased Acrobat, not just
the Acrobat Reader but the actual full
| | 03:03 | version, you may also use the
printer driver that comes with the program.
| | 03:07 | In order to do that, you just go up to
File, but instead of going to our Save
| | 03:13 | As, as we've been doing,
| | 03:14 | we're going to print
since it's a printer driver.
| | 03:18 | So click on File, click on Print.
| | 03:21 | Make sure your printer
driver here says Adobe PDF.
| | 03:25 | Now remember, you're only going to see
this if you've purchased that full-blown
| | 03:28 | version of Acrobat, not just Acrobat Reader.
| | 03:31 | Then click on Print.
| | 03:34 | After you click on File > Print, if it
doesn't pop up automatically, you may see
| | 03:38 | the little spinning wheel going on forever here.
| | 03:41 | Look down in the bottom.
| | 03:42 | It may be minimized down here.
| | 03:45 | And if you click on it, you'll see that
you've got your Save PDF file as dialog
| | 03:50 | box kind of hidden down there
and minimized on the bottom.
| | 03:53 | And then just bring it up.
| | 03:54 | We're going to save this file on our
desktop underneath of our Resumes folder.
| | 04:00 | Make sure that you browse to
wherever you've created your Resumes folder.
| | 04:03 | We're going to give it a name.
| | 04:06 | I am going to stay with the same naming
convention, Mariann Siegert - Resume, and
| | 04:12 | I am just going to put 2 since this
is the second PDF that we've saved.
| | 04:17 | Make sure the Save file
as type says PDF file;
| | 04:20 | it should automatically say
that. And then click on Save.
| | 04:24 | These are just a few of the
ways to save a file to PDF.
| | 04:27 | Of course, there are a million
different situations out there:
| | 04:30 | folks using Macs, PCs, that you created
your resume in a different version of
| | 04:35 | Word, or use WordPerfect instead.
You might have Adobe installed, or you don't
| | 04:40 | have Adobe installed and on and on and on.
| | 04:42 | So the possibilities are almost infinite.
| | 04:45 | Therefore, depending on your own setup
and needs, if the two above situations
| | 04:50 | didn't match your situation,
simply perform a search on the Internet.
| | 04:54 | There's lots of information out there
on creating PDFs from your documents.
| | 04:58 | It's a good idea to save a copy of
your resume to PDF format so that you're
| | 05:02 | ready in a moment's notice.
| | 05:04 | You never know when a situation will
arise that your future employer needs your
| | 05:08 | resume sent to them ASAP in PDF format.
| | 05:12 | Show them that you're not only
computer savvy and technically advanced,
| | 05:16 | you're also well prepared.
| | 05:18 | The beauty of sending your resume in
PDF format is your masterpiece will still
| | 05:23 | look the same on the
employer's screen as it does on yours.
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| Creating a RTF version| 00:00 | You may find times when you need to
save your resume from word to RTF format in
| | 00:05 | order to upload to some resume banks,
or for recruiters that need to copy and
| | 00:09 | paste into their own
formatting on an ATS system.
| | 00:13 | It's always a good idea to have this
type of format saved and ready to go.
| | 00:17 | Once you save to this format, you may
need to do some additional tweaking to the
| | 00:20 | formatting to make it look
professional in this type of format as well,
| | 00:24 | mostly especially if you have any table
formatting involved, although sometimes
| | 00:29 | you may not need to do much tweaking at all.
| | 00:31 | It's easy to save into this type of format.
| | 00:33 | Let me show you the steps.
| | 00:35 | Just click on File > Save As and then
browse to the folder that you want to
| | 00:42 | save this document in.
| | 00:44 | Since we've already saved on the
Desktop a folder called Resumes, make sure you
| | 00:50 | browse to the place that you've
saved your folder. As when saving to other
| | 00:54 | formats, such as the lower version of
Word, a great way of keeping organized is to
| | 00:59 | create a folder that contains all of
the different versions of your resume in
| | 01:02 | different file formats.
| | 01:04 | Just make sure that you create one
folder to store your different versions and
| | 01:08 | other folders by company name
to store your targeted resumes.
| | 01:13 | Since we are going to be saving into
Rich Text Format, or RTF for short, I am
| | 01:17 | going to click on the down arrow
next to Save as type and I am going to
| | 01:21 | choose Rich Text Format.
| | 01:24 | I'll stick with the same naming
convention I've been using, and I'll type in
| | 01:27 | 'Mariann Siegert', and as you could see,
the other files that we've been saving
| | 01:31 | are there as well. And I am just going to call
it Mariann Siegert - Resume, and this is RTF.
| | 01:37 | It's automatically going to put that
extension on there for me, so I am just
| | 01:40 | going to click on Save.
| | 01:41 | Again, the last step is to always
check the formatting and to make changes to
| | 01:45 | the document that's needed.
| | 01:47 | So, since we saved down to PDF, this
is in a table. It still looks good.
| | 01:52 | I don't see anything that we
need to make a change to here.
| | 01:55 | Go down to the second page and check
it as well, and everything stayed intact.
| | 02:01 | You may also need to take your name and
contact information out of the header.
| | 02:05 | Some older ATS systems will not
be able to read this information.
| | 02:10 | I've also found that some resume banks
have had problems with the information
| | 02:14 | contained in the headings as well.
| | 02:15 | It will just come out as a black
bar and you can't read your name or
| | 02:19 | contact information.
| | 02:21 | Now since your name and contact
information is probably something that you want
| | 02:25 | to make sure that you include, you can
just cut and paste the information from
| | 02:29 | the header into the main body of the resume.
| | 02:31 | Let me show you how to do that.
| | 02:33 | I am just going to go into the header,
I am going to do a Ctrl+A to select
| | 02:38 | everything, Ctrl+X to cut it, and then
I am going to go back into my document
| | 02:44 | here and get out of the header.
| | 02:46 | I want to make sure that I am at the
very, very top of my document, so I am
| | 02:50 | going to hit Ctrl and then Home, Home.
| | 02:52 | Now I am at the very top of my document.
| | 02:55 | I want to make sure that
I set my Style back to Normal.
| | 02:59 | So I am going to do a Ctrl+Shift and
the letter N for Normal, and I could see
| | 03:04 | that just a little bit of a slight
twitch in the computer there means that I
| | 03:07 | have been set back to the
Normal style, and I'm ready to paste.
| | 03:11 | And you could do Ctrl+V to paste.
| | 03:15 | Now make sure that you recheck your
formatting one more time. Everything looks fine.
| | 03:20 | It's all spaced well, and that's it.
| | 03:23 | Saving from Word format to RTF is easy.
| | 03:26 | You may need to do some cleaning up
after saving to RTF and consider moving some
| | 03:30 | information from your header into
the main body of your document prior to
| | 03:33 | uploading to resume banks.
| | 03:35 | But with a little time and patience,
you can once again have a professional-
| | 03:39 | looking resume ready and available
when needed, and remember to take several
| | 03:43 | copies of your main, or your
masterpiece, resume with you do the interview to
| | 03:48 | hand out as part of your
package instead of this RTF version.
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| Saving to HTML format| 00:00 | You can save your resume from Word to
HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, to use
| | 00:06 | when uploading your
resume to a web page or blog.
| | 00:08 | Also, search engines such as Google and
Yahoo! will be able to index it more easily.
| | 00:14 | If this is a case, remember to make
your resume keyword-rich by sprinkling
| | 00:19 | keywords throughout to be sure that
you'll be found by the employer's or the
| | 00:23 | recruiter's search engines.
| | 00:25 | To make your resume web-ready, save
your Word document as an HTML file.
| | 00:30 | As with saving to other formats,
saving as an HTML file is very easy to do.
| | 00:35 | All that you have to do is go up to
File > Save As, browse to your folder--mine
| | 00:44 | happens to be on the Desktop.
| | 00:45 | My Resume folder is right here,
and I'm going to give it a name.
| | 00:52 | The name of my document, following my
naming convention so far, is going to be
| | 00:56 | Mariann Siegert - Resume.
| | 01:00 | You can also see, as we've been going
along in our lessons here, the other
| | 01:03 | documents that we've
saved into different formats.
| | 01:08 | And the Save file as type, I want to save
this as an HTML file, and it says here, Web Page.
| | 01:19 | Depending on the version of Word that
you have, you may just see Web Page, or it
| | 01:24 | might say Web Page HTM or HTML next to it.
| | 01:29 | Make sure that you only choose when it
says Web Page or HTM, HTML next to it.
| | 01:34 | There is another option
here that's Web Page, Filtered.
| | 01:38 | You might see one and that says Single
File Web Page. Just make sure you choose
| | 01:42 | the one that says web page.
| | 01:44 | Then just click on Save.
| | 01:46 | You'll see this Microsoft Word
Compatibility Checker that comes up when
| | 01:51 | saving to an HTML format.
| | 01:53 | This is telling me that this particular
document has small caps that will become
| | 01:58 | all caps, and there are
three occurrences of that.
| | 02:01 | It also has tables with text
wrapping and framed objects that will become
| | 02:05 | aligned with the beginning of the
paragraph, and there's one occurrence of that.
| | 02:09 | I am just going to click on
Continue, and here's my document.
| | 02:14 | You may freak out when you see that your
tables have been moved around. But it's okay.
| | 02:19 | What you want to make sure that you do
is go over to the HTML version of your
| | 02:23 | document and look at it before you
make any changes to your Word document.
| | 02:28 | When using Word to save into HTML
format, keep in mind that you may lose some or
| | 02:33 | even a lot of your
formatting. So let's do this.
| | 02:35 | We are going to exit word and we
are going to locate our new HTML file.
| | 02:43 | Mine is underneath Resumes on the
Desktop, and here is my HTML version of my resume.
| | 02:51 | You may notice that it has a Firefox
document type over here because it's no
| | 02:56 | longer, again, a Word document.
| | 02:58 | It is in HTML, and my default
browser here is set to Firefox.
| | 03:02 | When I double-click on it, it's
going to open it up in my browser.
| | 03:07 | You'll notice that your document may
have looked different after saving to HTML
| | 03:12 | format when still on Word.
| | 03:13 | But viewing from your
browser may be a different story.
| | 03:17 | You may have random characters
thrown in here and there, or some other
| | 03:21 | formatting hiccups.
| | 03:22 | Take a look at our bullets here for instance.
| | 03:25 | As you can see, you may need to adjust
your bullet points by typing an asterisk
| | 03:29 | instead, or some other character such as a dash.
| | 03:33 | You may have noticed that the problem of
the side-by-side tables has corrected itself.
| | 03:39 | If you know HTML, you can of course use
your preferred HTML editor to make any
| | 03:44 | necessary changes or fix
any hiccups or glitches.
| | 03:47 | If you don't know HTML, just go
back to your Word document, fix your
| | 03:51 | problems and resave to HTML format. Then you
can reopen in your browser to view the changes.
| | 03:57 | Just keep in mind you may
need to do this more than once.
| | 04:00 | And, by the way, if you are
interested in learning HTML, there are numerous
| | 04:05 | courses available online lynda.com.
| | 04:07 | Make sure that you test your HTML
resume formatting in several browsers.
| | 04:11 | This step is important because of the
fact that when using Word to save to
| | 04:15 | HTML format, it sometimes includes
incompatible or unrecognizable characters,
| | 04:21 | and it looks just plain ugly when viewing
from different browsers or different platforms.
| | 04:26 | As a matter of fact, in some cases the
document not only turns out to be ugly, it
| | 04:32 | may even be unreadable.
| | 04:34 | So just be careful and test
as thoroughly as possible.
| | 04:37 | Test once, twice, third's
time a charm, and then publish.
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|
|
8. Utilizing the Internet to Become VisibleEvaluating online resume banks| 00:00 | Resume banks provide a way for job
seekers to find employment through the Internet.
| | 00:05 | It's a quickly growing industry
that blows away the old way of seeking
| | 00:09 | employment through newspaper
ads and employment agencies.
| | 00:13 | It's like an employment dating service, but
it matches job candidates with employers.
| | 00:18 | In the long run, both the candidate and
the employers save time and money, so it's
| | 00:23 | a win-win situation.
| | 00:25 | There are different kinds of resume banks.
| | 00:27 | Some are limited to only allowing
searching their database of posted jobs listed
| | 00:32 | by employers or recruiters, but
do not support posting resumes.
| | 00:36 | Others specialize in, or are
targeted for, different career fields.
| | 00:41 | For example, some are targeted towards
IT, while others may include employers
| | 00:46 | across multiple countries or regions.
| | 00:49 | Conduct a search on the Internet to
locate resume banks that meet your specific
| | 00:53 | needs and particular circumstances.
| | 00:56 | Simply type in 'resume banks' and as you can
see, there are literally millions to choose from.
| | 01:06 | In this case, you can see that we
have 17,000,400 to choose from.
| | 01:12 | I've picked out a few to give you some examples.
| | 01:15 | For example here, Dice is
specifically centered around people that
| | 01:20 | have technical jobs.
| | 01:22 | Monster here is probably one of the
most popular, along with Careerbuilder and
| | 01:28 | indeed.com, but what you'll find is
indeed.com doesn't allow you to upload your resume.
| | 01:35 | It only allows you to search for
jobs that are here already. And then
| | 01:40 | international job opportunities,
you'll see that you'll find all kinds of
| | 01:45 | international job opportunities listed under
those 17 million plus searches that came up.
| | 01:50 | So you have Canada here, the Caribbean,
Central and South America, Western
| | 01:53 | Europe, and on and on.
| | 01:57 | The most common scenario you will
find when dealing with resume banks is
| | 02:01 | setting up your login information and then
filling out a questionnaire when you first sign up.
| | 02:06 | This information will be placed into their
database so it will become searchable by employers.
| | 02:11 | Remember to use your keywords
throughout the questionnaire, just as you do when
| | 02:15 | you're building your resume.
| | 02:17 | Depending on the site, you may be able
to copy and paste information from your
| | 02:21 | resume into the questionnaire form.
| | 02:23 | Some of these resume banks offer a
service that will send a matching candidate's
| | 02:27 | information automatically to employers via email.
| | 02:31 | When filling in the questionnaire,
keep in mind not only employers use this
| | 02:35 | database; unfortunately, there are many
unethical people we must share this planet
| | 02:40 | with that use resume banks to mind
email addresses, phone numbers, and any other
| | 02:46 | information they can get their
hands on, and sell these lists.
| | 02:50 | To protect yourself, remember to
create a separate email address for job
| | 02:54 | hunting based on your name, and don't include any
other contact information such as your address.
| | 03:00 | Just make sure to check your email often.
| | 03:03 | You don't want to be slow to
respond when you get a bite.
| | 03:07 | In addition to filling out a
questionnaire and setting up your login and
| | 03:10 | password information, most of the
larger and well-known sites allow you to
| | 03:15 | upload a copy of your resume.
| | 03:17 | Some sites allow you to upload your
resume in Word format, while others only
| | 03:21 | allow TXT or RTF versions.
| | 03:24 | Hopefully sooner than later most banks
will start allowing PDF versions to also
| | 03:29 | be uploaded, but for now, most don't.
| | 03:32 | The reason for this is recruiters
copy and paste information into their own
| | 03:36 | formats, and unless they have special
apps that will allow them to OCR, or copy
| | 03:41 | and paste from PDF, they won't
be able to perform this function.
| | 03:44 | Yet again, some recruiters with newer
applicant tracking systems can now upload
| | 03:50 | PDFs into these systems.
| | 03:52 | There is a whole chapter in his course
dedicated to saving to different formats
| | 03:56 | if you need more information.
| | 03:58 | Another strategy when using resume
banks to help you find employment is
| | 04:02 | keeping your resume fresh.
| | 04:04 | Make one or two little changes to
your resume and resave about once a week.
| | 04:08 | That way it will keep your resume at
the top of the stack when employers are
| | 04:12 | searching by date for resumes
that have been recently submitted.
| | 04:16 | Another tactic to use when utilizing
resume banks in your job search is to
| | 04:20 | take it for a spin.
| | 04:22 | Some sites allow you to see how many
potential employers or recruiters have
| | 04:26 | looked at your resume.
| | 04:27 | Try out different resume titles to see
which attracts more employers and entices
| | 04:33 | them to view your resume.
| | 04:35 | If you are not getting calls but see
that they have viewed your resume, make
| | 04:38 | some changes to the resume itself.
| | 04:41 | It's a great way to evaluate and
analyze the substance of your resume by the
| | 04:46 | results you're getting, and will
allow you to test different wording,
| | 04:49 | phrasing, and content.
| | 04:50 | In this way you can fine-tune and make
minor or major modifications if needed.
| | 04:57 | Utilizing resume banks in your job
search is almost a must in today's
| | 05:02 | economy and job market.
| | 05:04 | Online job searching can be a crucial tool for
your job search that shouldn't be overlooked.
| | 05:10 | You should of course do a search on
resume banks yourself and apply for jobs
| | 05:15 | that appeal to you, but the advantage of
uploading to resume banks is you will be
| | 05:19 | able to open doors to let
employers and recruiters find you.
| | 05:23 | Some jobs aren't listed online.
| | 05:26 | Be sure to upload to one or
multiple banks to heighten your stakes of
| | 05:31 | finding the right job.
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| Writing effective names for resume banks| 00:00 | When you upload your resume to online
resume banks, many ask you to name your
| | 00:05 | resume by giving it a title.
| | 00:07 | To give you an example, I've logged on
to monster.com to show you where you
| | 00:11 | will be asked to provide this information.
| | 00:13 | Keep in mind that you will have to set up an
account to do this, but don't worry, it's free.
| | 00:17 | Once you set up your profile, you can
click on the Create Resume box, which
| | 00:22 | is located right here.
| | 00:24 | Once you do, you'll have the options to
either build, upload, or copy and paste your resume.
| | 00:31 | So you can just select one.
| | 00:33 | I'll choose Upload.
| | 00:35 | The next box you'll see is select the
resume you want to use, and you can browse
| | 00:38 | for it. But right underneath of that is
the resume name, which says, "Employers will
| | 00:44 | see this title," and also the desired job title.
| | 00:48 | In other words on monster.com here,
for example, the information that's
| | 00:53 | included here will be seen by
recruiters and employers when performing their
| | 00:57 | searches looking for job candidates.
| | 01:00 | Therefore it's very important what you
choose here as opposed to just typing
| | 01:04 | anything, thinking it's
irrelevant to your job search.
| | 01:07 | Actually, it's quite the opposite.
| | 01:10 | Also, you can use the same
information in the resume name underneath of
| | 01:15 | the desired job title.
| | 01:17 | There are many considerations when
choosing a job title for online searches.
| | 01:21 | You want to be sure you choose a title that
employers and recruiters will be searching for.
| | 01:26 | For instance, say you have a job title
currently that is not an industry-standard title.
| | 01:32 | Let's say you're a bartender, but the
current title the restaurant has given you
| | 01:36 | is Alcohol Custodian.
| | 01:37 | If you're looking to switch jobs and
you put Alcohol Custodian as your title,
| | 01:43 | anyone looking for a bartender is
never going to find you in their searches.
| | 01:46 | In order to write an effective job
title, you must do some research.
| | 01:51 | Jump online and search resume banks for
positions you'll be interested in applying for.
| | 01:56 | Note the most common descriptions
for the position you are seeking.
| | 02:00 | When you are creating your title,
add as much information as you can.
| | 02:03 | Most resume banks have a limit on the
number of characters that you're allowed to use.
| | 02:07 | For example, monster.com
has a character limit of 35.
| | 02:11 | You need to try to communicate in those few
characters who you are and what you offer.
| | 02:18 | For example, instead of simply using
the word 'bartender' as your title, use
| | 02:23 | Bartender Professional Server Certification.
| | 02:26 | You can use common industry
abbreviations, such as IT architect, Microsoft
| | 02:32 | Certified Technology Specialist,
Graphics Designer, Creative Suite Java, SAP
| | 02:38 | ABAP Developer with five years,
Pharmacokinetics Scientist Ph D. with 12 years.
| | 02:45 | And, by the way, if could say
this one, you deserve your Ph D.
| | 02:49 | There is a handy little tool in Word
to help with the number of characters.
| | 02:53 | If you have Word 2010, highlight the
title and only the title--I just grabbed the
| | 02:59 | space there--and then go to
Review > Proofing > Word Count.
| | 03:07 | This tool will tell you exactly
how many characters you're using.
| | 03:11 | It tells you how many characters with
spaces and with no spaces, and although I
| | 03:16 | am using Word 2010, most other
versions of Word contain this feature as well.
| | 03:22 | It actually can be a lot of fun
being creative with your title.
| | 03:25 | Try different combinations, use
abbreviations, and create the best title for
| | 03:30 | your position that will tell the
employer who you are, what position you are
| | 03:34 | looking for, and how your
experience can help them.
| | 03:38 | The point is to create a title that
will entice the employer to read on.
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| Double-checking formatting after uploading| 00:00 | Each resume bank has its own protocol
and types of file formats that you can
| | 00:05 | upload, such as Word, RTF, or TXT.
| | 00:09 | You may find when you upload your
resume to a resume bank the formatting falls
| | 00:13 | apart, and your masterpiece ends up
looking unprofessional and just plain ugly.
| | 00:19 | Some banks allow you to upload in Word format,
| | 00:22 | yet they still fall to pieces after
uploading, most especially if you've built
| | 00:26 | your resume using tables or if you put
your contact information in the header.
| | 00:32 | You may find the margins collapsed,
your bullets disappear or changed, or your
| | 00:37 | indenture thrown off.
| | 00:38 | If the bank allows you to upload in
PDF format, that will be your best bet, as
| | 00:42 | far as keeping your resume intact.
| | 00:44 | The only negative thing about doing it
that way is most to the recruiter's and
| | 00:49 | many inside employer's applicant
tracking systems will not convert, or are unable
| | 00:54 | to download PDFs into their systems.
| | 00:57 | Most banks provide a way to look at
the resume directly after uploading.
| | 01:01 | Hopefully, you will find you just
need to tweak something or fix a
| | 01:04 | small formatting issue.
| | 01:06 | Many banks provide a small
editing feature, and it's easy to fix.
| | 01:11 | Other times, you may find the editing
tools the resume bank provides just aren't
| | 01:15 | powerful enough and there's nothing
you can do to put it back together.
| | 01:18 | In that case, you need another strategy.
| | 01:21 | You can go back to Word and try
fixing, uploading, and checking again.
| | 01:25 | If that doesn't work, you may need to
upload your resume in Rich Text Format, or
| | 01:30 | RTF, if the bank allows.
| | 01:33 | When you save a Word document to RTF
format, especially one that is heavy on
| | 01:37 | formatting or uses tables, you will need
to do a lot of work to make it visually
| | 01:41 | appealing once again. But having both
of these types of formats is not only a
| | 01:46 | great idea, but they will be handy
tools to have in your job-search toolbox.
| | 01:50 | For more information on this, see the
chapter on saving to different file formats.
| | 01:56 | Next, see if the resume bank gives you
the option to view your resume as the
| | 02:00 | employer or recruiter.
| | 02:02 | It's a great layered
double-checking what they will see.
| | 02:05 | Finally, if the bank allows you to
download your resume, download, open, and print.
| | 02:11 | Make sure you see how it
looks on those ends as well.
| | 02:14 | You may need to do a little or a
whole lot of tweaking to your resume.
| | 02:18 | Just be sure you don't simply upload and
expect it to look great on the other end.
| | 02:23 | Online technology when dealing with
resume banks just isn't there yet.
| | 02:27 | Upload, tweak, check, and do it all
over again if needed, or save to another
| | 02:33 | format that holds its formatting.
| | 02:35 | You don't want to look like you don't
know anything about technology or are
| | 02:39 | unprofessional, just because the
technology available made your beautiful
| | 02:43 | masterpiece fall to pieces.
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| Becoming too visible| 00:01 | It's very important to have an
Internet presence when job searching nowadays.
| | 00:06 | Equally important is to have a
professional online presence.
| | 00:10 | Many employers, hiring managers, and
recruiters use the Internet to research you.
| | 00:16 | At last count, 77% said they use the
Internet to research job applicants prior to
| | 00:23 | offering them a position.
| | 00:25 | Remember, recruiters are putting
themselves on the line when they submit your
| | 00:29 | resume to employers.
| | 00:32 | Google yourself and see what comes up,
because what comes up is what they will see.
| | 00:38 | If you find anything negative or
unflattering, delete or hide if possible.
| | 00:44 | You may find that there are several
people out there or even hundreds of people
| | 00:49 | with your same name.
| | 00:51 | Some with your same name could have a
lot of negative information out there, but
| | 00:56 | don't worry. The recruiters I spoke
with said they do keep this in mind,
| | 01:00 | especially when you have a more common name.
| | 01:04 | You don't have any control over
with someone may write on your wall or
| | 01:08 | social network pages.
| | 01:11 | You may have the option to delete
the information after the fact, but a
| | 01:15 | recruiter may see it even before you do.
| | 01:18 | There are options and settings
available in Facebook and other social networks
| | 01:24 | to hide your page from those
outside your social network.
| | 01:27 | At least when seeking employment,
this is usually a good option to set.
| | 01:33 | Most employers and recruiters nowadays
are computer savvy enough to know how
| | 01:38 | to find you on Facebook, Myspace, and other
social networking pages during their research.
| | 01:45 | One recruiter shared with me that a
position was actually offered to a candidate
| | 01:50 | and then rescinded because the recruiter
had found very negative and detrimental
| | 01:55 | information on their
Facebook page after the fact.
| | 01:59 | The candidate lost the
opportunity of being hired.
| | 02:03 | Be careful and cautious of what you
write, post, blog, broadcast, and upload.
| | 02:09 | Also be cautious of what you
place on sites such as YouTube.
| | 02:14 | LinkedIn, on the other hand, is a
better choice as a professional
| | 02:18 | networking resource.
| | 02:20 | Use LinkedIn for your professional page
only. Don't make it your social, or your
| | 02:25 | dating, network. And of course,
keep it very professional.
| | 02:29 | Some may think this is all hype;
| | 02:32 | others may not care to work for
someone that will not hire them because of
| | 02:36 | something found on the
Internet or a social network page.
| | 02:39 | Of course that's up to you, but at
least be aware that it may happen.
| | 02:45 | Ask yourself if you really
want to take that chance.
| | 02:48 | This attitude may change in the future.
It may even become illegal, but for now
| | 02:54 | at least, it's a reality.
| | 02:56 | Create a professional online
personification and image to be sure your dream
| | 03:02 | job isn't rescinded simply because the
hiring manager saw something negative
| | 03:07 | on the Internet.
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|
|
9. Enhancing Your Chances with the Finishing TouchesCreating a cover letter| 00:00 | To whom it may concern:
| | 00:02 | I am applying for your position as
a Technical Trainer at XYZ Company.
| | 00:06 | Attached is my resume.
| | 00:08 | Sincerely, MaryEllen Lockwood.
| | 00:10 | If you think that this letter has the
makings of a great cover letter, think again.
| | 00:15 | MaryEllen here is missing a perfect
chance to introduce herself as the perfect
| | 00:19 | candidate for this particular
position at this particular company.
| | 00:23 | Just as your resume is your advertisement,
| | 00:25 | your cover letter is part
of your marketing campaign.
| | 00:28 | If the hiring manager doesn't like what
they read in your cover letter, they may
| | 00:32 | never even read your resume.
| | 00:34 | Your cover letter can even be the
deciding factor between you and another
| | 00:39 | otherwise equally qualified candidate.
| | 00:41 | As you have learned in this course,
each resume should be targeted towards a
| | 00:46 | particular employer.
| | 00:47 | In the same way, each cover letter
should also be targeted and focused on the
| | 00:52 | employer's unique needs and goals.
| | 00:55 | The cover letter is a great opportunity
to tell the employer why are the perfect
| | 00:59 | fit for the job, by highlighting your
top qualifications, achievements, and
| | 01:04 | accomplishments that are
transferable to this particular position.
| | 01:08 | At this point in the game, you should
have researched the employer and found
| | 01:12 | your transferable skills
that match this position.
| | 01:15 | If not, go back and complete these
steps and then pull the most pertinent
| | 01:18 | information over into your cover letter.
| | 01:20 | Think like the employer.
| | 01:22 | What is it that you have to offer that will
benefit the company or really make a difference?
| | 01:28 | What makes you stand out from the crowd?
| | 01:30 | Spell these things out in your cover letter.
| | 01:33 | Never include information
regarding what you want.
| | 01:36 | Instead, you need to tell the employer
what you can do for them, and don't simply
| | 01:41 | repeat information that's
contained in your resume verbatim.
| | 01:44 | Instead, use this for highlight your most
outstanding achievements in your career
| | 01:49 | that match the skills they need.
| | 01:52 | As far as the formatting of your
header does, put together a professional-
| | 01:56 | looking package by making your resume,
cover letter, references, thank-you
| | 02:01 | notes, and everything else that goes
along in your package, all match for the
| | 02:05 | same heading style.
| | 02:07 | Keep in mind that your cover
letter is an essential part of your
| | 02:10 | marketing campaign.
| | 02:11 | You saw the first example
of MaryEllen's cover letter.
| | 02:15 | Next, let's see how MaryEllen could
drastically improve her chances of having
| | 02:20 | the hiring manager review her
resume and win in interview.
| | 02:24 | The header information should
include her name, the address, her contact
| | 02:30 | information, her cell number of course, and
email, and you could even include a headline.
| | 02:36 | In the main body of your resume, you
want to add a date of course, and of course
| | 02:41 | you want to add the full address as snail mail.
| | 02:44 | Be sure to add the reference, or
as some people call it, the Re: line.
| | 02:48 | Next, you want to make sure that you
address the person by name if at all
| | 02:52 | possible, not To Whom It May Concern.
| | 02:56 | Following the salutation comes the body,
and you want it to be an introduction.
| | 03:01 | Following the introduction, you can put
information, such as your matching skills.
| | 03:07 | Of course this is optional, but I just
showed you how you could create a table
| | 03:12 | here that points out your five best
skills that match the employer skills.
| | 03:18 | Next, reiterate your qualifications,
and then you can repeat also your contact
| | 03:23 | information, and finally, thank them
for their time and consideration.
| | 03:28 | Add the closing, and the last thing that
you want to put on your page is add the
| | 03:33 | word enclosure, if you're
adding your resume in snail mailing.
| | 03:37 | A lot of people treat their cover
letter as an afterthought and a rather
| | 03:41 | unnecessary afterthought at that.
I should know; I used to be one of them. But are
| | 03:46 | they really need it?
| | 03:48 | Are they important to your job search?
| | 03:50 | If you think your resume is what's
most important, you're correct, but before
| | 03:54 | they can even see your
brilliantly written resume,
| | 03:58 | you must sell them first with your cover letter.
| | 04:00 | Recently Robert Half Technology, a
highly respected recruiting company, shared
| | 04:05 | with me that the cover letter is
usually the first thing a hiring manager sees;
| | 04:10 | therefore, it may serve as a primary
reason they move on to read your resume or not.
| | 04:16 | A cover letter may be instrumental in
your resume leaping to the top of the pile.
| | 04:21 | According to their survey, 86% of
executives polled said cover letters are very
| | 04:27 | valuable when evaluating job candidates,
and although the job application process
| | 04:32 | is mostly conducted online nowadays, in
the case a cover letter is still needed.
| | 04:37 | Here are some important cover
letter tips straight from the recruiters.
| | 04:42 | It's wise to spend as much time
perfecting your cover letter as you do your resume.
| | 04:46 | Don't copy and paste from cover
letter examples you find on the Internet.
| | 04:50 | Cookie-cutter cover letters are boring,
| | 04:53 | they aren't targeted to the
job, and they don't reflect you.
| | 04:57 | Begin by telling the screener
which position you are applying for.
| | 05:00 | Make it specific to each job.
| | 05:02 | Don't send the same cover
letter to every employer.
| | 05:05 | If it sounds like a one-size-fits-all
letter, you are more unlikely to get them
| | 05:10 | to read your resume,
let alone get an interview.
| | 05:13 | Generic cover letters say
a lot about a candidate.
| | 05:16 | It shows lack of interest and a
little laziness and then certainly not
| | 05:20 | what you're going for. So keep it brief.
| | 05:23 | A good rule of thumb is two to three
paragraphs for an email and one page of printed.
| | 05:28 | Tell the employer why and how you
would be an asset to the company, by
| | 05:33 | sharing how your qualifications,
strengths, and accomplishments match the
| | 05:38 | job specifications.
| | 05:40 | Research the employer by reading
industry publications, searching online, and
| | 05:45 | talking to members of your professional network.
| | 05:48 | You may then demonstrate your
knowledge of the firm as you explain how your
| | 05:51 | skills and background are
fit in the cover letter.
| | 05:55 | Avoid rehashing your resume in the cover letter.
| | 05:57 | Look at your letter and resume
as separate-but-related documents.
| | 06:01 | They should complement one
another without being overly repetitive.
| | 06:05 | Use slightly different wording in a
more conversational style then you would
| | 06:09 | typically use in your resume.
| | 06:11 | Use the hiring manager's name
and the address if at all possible.
| | 06:15 | If you don't know who to address it
to, look on the company web site for
| | 06:19 | an online directory.
| | 06:20 | If you can't find it there,
call the company and ask.
| | 06:23 | Don't forget to be polite. You may be
speaking to someone that will be an asset
| | 06:27 | later, or even the hiring manager.
| | 06:29 | Close the cover letter with
a request for an interview.
| | 06:33 | Add a catchy P.S. The P.S. always gets
read and sometimes is the first thing
| | 06:37 | they read instead of the last.
| | 06:39 | Double-check and proofread.
| | 06:42 | Carefully review your cover letter for
flow and proper spelling and grammar.
| | 06:46 | Then ask several others to
proofread and critique as well.
| | 06:49 | If someone the screener knows
recommended you to apply for the position, you may
| | 06:54 | want to include that person's name.
| | 06:56 | Just be sure there is a good
connection between the two if you can.
| | 06:59 | If there is not a good connection
between the two, you may blow your chances for
| | 07:03 | the job right then and there.
| | 07:04 | On the other hand, if the connection is
the screener's best friend, it certainly
| | 07:09 | couldn't hurt your chances.
| | 07:11 | If you're responding to an advertisement
in the paper, mention the publisher source.
| | 07:16 | May certain the person's name you're
addressing is spelled correctly and you're
| | 07:19 | using the proper title.
| | 07:21 | Use a colon after the name, not a comma.
Colons are used for business letters,
| | 07:25 | commas for personnel.
| | 07:27 | Your cover letter may very will be the
first thing a potential employer will see.
| | 07:31 | Make sure it's not the last by writing
a cover letter that will entice them to
| | 07:34 | find out more about you by reading your resume.
| | 07:37 | First things first.
| | 07:39 | You must have a compelling cover letter
to arouse interest in your resume, and
| | 07:43 | then you must have a job-winning
resume to obtain the interview.
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| Compiling your references| 00:00 | They loved your cover letter, adored
your resume, and you aced the interview.
| | 00:05 | Now you must carefully, and with much
consideration, select your references.
| | 00:11 | One bad or even half-hearted review
of your character or your work habits
| | 00:15 | may be the deciding factor
between you and another candidate.
| | 00:19 | You should pick both personal
and professional references.
| | 00:23 | A good number is between five and six
people who you know, without a doubt, will
| | 00:28 | give you raving reviews.
| | 00:30 | Choose two to three personal
references and three professional.
| | 00:34 | You may want to select a few more
just in case, for backup purposes.
| | 00:38 | Choose folks that have known
you preferably three years or more.
| | 00:42 | It's best to use
professional references, such as former
| | 00:45 | co-workers, supervisors, professors,
customers, or clients and colleagues.
| | 00:51 | Ask them how they wish to be contacted.
| | 00:53 | Some people don't like to be bothered at work.
| | 00:56 | Ask if they prefer to be contacted on
their work, their cell, or their home number.
| | 01:01 | Same thing goes for their work email.
| | 01:03 | Ask which email address they prefer to use.
| | 01:06 | As far as your personal references go,
select those that have known you for a long time.
| | 01:11 | Personal references are mainly
used as character references.
| | 01:15 | Make sure that those you choose will
sound professional during the call.
| | 01:19 | You might choose company owners, folks
you have done volunteer work with, or old
| | 01:24 | college roommates you've known for years.
| | 01:26 | If they have an impressive title,
also include this information after
| | 01:30 | checking with them.
| | 01:32 | Also, ask if they would like for you
to use their home or business address.
| | 01:36 | Whether professional or personal
preferences, make sure you pick those that will
| | 01:40 | be able to confirm the details of your
resume and will offer positive feedback.
| | 01:46 | Your references should be
on a sheet or by themselves.
| | 01:49 | Use the same heading that you use on
both your cover letter and your resume
| | 01:53 | for a personal touch.
| | 01:55 | Do not place your references in your
resume or even refer to them in your resume.
| | 02:01 | In other words, do not put the words
'References Available Upon Request' at the
| | 02:06 | bottom of your resume.
| | 02:08 | This is assumed by the employer.
| | 02:10 | Just be certain that you have
them ready and available when needed.
| | 02:14 | Your references sheet should
only be one page in length.
| | 02:18 | Prior to using someone as a
reference, be sure to ask permission first.
| | 02:22 | If it's been several years since you've asked,
call them again and verify it's still okay;
| | 02:27 | be sure you don't assume.
| | 02:28 | Also, you want to be sure that they
know that they may be getting a call.
| | 02:33 | This way they will be prepared and will
be thinking what to say prior to the call.
| | 02:37 | And it's important to discuss
with them what they will say.
| | 02:41 | If you find that they are the least
bit hesitant about being your reference,
| | 02:45 | they probably won't be a good reference at all.
| | 02:48 | Thank them and move on to someone else
that is enthusiastic about providing
| | 02:52 | a reference for you.
| | 02:54 | When you call your references to ask
permission prior to using them, discuss a game plan.
| | 02:59 | Give them a copy of your resume.
| | 03:01 | Let them know about the position you
are targeting and about the company.
| | 03:05 | Give them the name of the person that
will be calling if you know before hand.
| | 03:10 | You may consider discussing
the need for confidentiality.
| | 03:13 | Again, if you find that they are the least bit
hesitant about being one of your references,
| | 03:19 | consider using someone else.
| | 03:21 | They may be asked such
questions as where did you meet?
| | 03:24 | How long have you known this person?
| | 03:26 | Are they a person of honesty and integrity?
| | 03:29 | How would you rate the overall job performance?
| | 03:32 | What are the key strengths and their weaknesses?
| | 03:35 | Are they a team player?
| | 03:36 | They may say, describe the quality of their work.
| | 03:39 | They may ask, were you prompt and on time?
| | 03:42 | They may ask a previous employer,
would you rehire this person?
| | 03:47 | What about the beginning and
ending salary and their hire dates?
| | 03:50 | These are just a few of the
types of questions they may be asked.
| | 03:54 | Be sure to coach your references about
sensitive information and how you would
| | 03:58 | like them to respond,
| | 04:00 | such as your salary information.
| | 04:02 | So, what type of information should you include?
| | 04:06 | Well, you want to include their name,
their title, the company, the address,
| | 04:11 | the email, phone, and then down underneath the
professional references, the relationship type.
| | 04:19 | Whatever you do, pick your references carefully.
| | 04:23 | You don't want something someone says
about you this late in the game to change
| | 04:26 | the employer's mind.
| | 04:28 | Make your formatting professional and
add a polished look by mirroring the
| | 04:32 | formatting of your resume and your cover letter.
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| Writing thank-you notes| 00:00 | Did you know that the majority of
people that interview fail to sent a
| | 00:04 | thank-you note afterward?
| | 00:05 | The good thing about this is when you
send yours, you'll stand out from the
| | 00:09 | crowd as being thoughtful and courteous,
| | 00:11 | someone that respects the time that they took
out of their busy schedules to meet with you.
| | 00:15 | It also gives you a chance to
reinforce your qualifications for the position.
| | 00:19 | Send a thank-you note or email no
more than 24 hours after your interview.
| | 00:24 | You should send your thank-you note
to each person you interviewed with.
| | 00:28 | Try to get a business card from each person
you meet with and sent each a separate note.
| | 00:34 | This way you'll have the correct
spelling of their name, their correct title,
| | 00:38 | their address, the phone number, and email,
| | 00:41 | when you're writing your thank-you notes.
| | 00:43 | Each note should be a separate thank-you
written towards each person, not a carbon copy.
| | 00:48 | For example, perhaps you had a panel
interview and you met with the HR Director,
| | 00:53 | three would-be coworkers and one would-be boss.
| | 00:56 | Send each a different thank-you note.
| | 00:59 | Don't forget to also sent
thank-you notes to each of your references.
| | 01:03 | They took the time out of their
busy schedules to help you out.
| | 01:06 | Take the time out of your busy
schedule to thank them properly.
| | 01:10 | Also, consider sending thank-you notes to anyone
that gave you a lead or has assisted you
| | 01:15 | in any way along your job-search journey.
| | 01:17 | A lot of folks struggle as to
what to say in their thank-you notes.
| | 01:22 | Whatever you do, don't copy line for line from
a book or something you found on the Internet.
| | 01:27 | Be professional, polite, and let
your own personality shine through,
| | 01:32 | not straight from Joe Schmoe's
www.bestthankyoulettersever.com.
| | 01:38 | Let's look at a few
suggestions on what to include.
| | 01:41 | First of all, thank them for
taking the time to meet with you.
| | 01:45 | Convey excitement and interest in
the position and thank them for the
| | 01:49 | information you received during the interview.
| | 01:51 | Reiterate your top qualifications for the job.
| | 01:54 | Try to include unique things that make
you the perfect candidate for the position.
| | 02:00 | Align yourself with the expectations
of the employer for this particular
| | 02:04 | position by highlighting a couple of the
things the interviewers singled out as
| | 02:08 | the most important to perform this
specific job and how you can outperform
| | 02:13 | those expectations.
| | 02:15 | Add any additional information you may have
forgotten to mention during the interview.
| | 02:20 | Give them your contact information once again.
| | 02:22 | Be sure to include your email and cell phone.
| | 02:26 | Conclude with the sentence such as,
"Thank you for your time and consideration."
| | 02:30 | Use "Respectfully" or
"Sincerely" as you are closing.
| | 02:34 | A lot of times I've heard people say that you
should tell them when you will be back in touch.
| | 02:39 | I personally think that this is a bit pushy.
| | 02:41 | They have your contact information.
| | 02:44 | The time and date you specify may
not be a good time of the day for them.
| | 02:49 | Instead, let them contact you at a
time convenient for them by saying,
| | 02:53 | "I'll look forward to hearing from you soon"
after giving them your contact information.
| | 02:58 | This is much more respectful and
considerate of their time and schedule,
| | 03:02 | unless of course you're in sales in
this type of action is expected and
| | 03:06 | respected by the interviewer.
| | 03:08 | Or the interviewer stated a time
and date during the interview for you to
| | 03:12 | get in touch with them, such as,
"Give me a call on Friday at 2.
| | 03:17 | We should know of our decision by that time."
| | 03:19 | The course this isn't very common.
| | 03:22 | What about countries other than America?
| | 03:25 | Should you send a thank-you note?
| | 03:27 | Once again, it depends--
| | 03:29 | in this case, in which country you live.
| | 03:31 | In some countries, such as Japan,
sending a thank-you note is not expected.
| | 03:35 | There you may instead need to send a
small gift as an expression of gratitude to
| | 03:40 | someone that gave you the job lead.
| | 03:42 | In most of Europe and the UK,
thank-notes are not traditionally sent, and the
| | 03:48 | employer is the one that is
expected to the following up.
| | 03:51 | And if you're in Latin America it's your choice.
| | 03:54 | If given the choice, I would say go for it.
| | 03:57 | It certainly wouldn't hurt your chances to
take it a step further than other candidates.
| | 04:02 | As for Rome, I would say,
when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
| | 04:06 | You get my point, even if it is a bit silly.
| | 04:09 | Just be sure to follow the etiquette of
the country for which you are applying.
| | 04:13 | Should you use the formal and
traditional means of sending a thank-you note
| | 04:18 | through snail mail, or is it appropriate
to send your thank-you note via email?
| | 04:22 | Its another of those 'it depends' answers.
| | 04:25 | If the company or interviewer is more
traditional, you should send via snail mail.
| | 04:30 | On the other hand, if all of your
correspondence thus far has been using
| | 04:34 | electronic means, then you
may continue in this vein.
| | 04:37 | Also, sometimes there is a sense of
urgency, as far as time is concerned.
| | 04:43 | Do you know if you are one of the last
candidates that they were interviewing?
| | 04:46 | Do you know when they will be making a decision?
| | 04:49 | If time is of concern, you may opt out
for a quicker email thank you, just so
| | 04:55 | you are certainly received
prior to making their decision.
| | 04:58 | Sending a thank-you note may just
well be your center in getting the job.
| | 05:03 | It shows you have proper etiquette and manners.
| | 05:06 | It can be yet another way of restating
your qualifications, and it puts you in
| | 05:11 | front of the interviewer once again.
| | 05:13 | Since there are so many others that
are no longer showing his respect for the
| | 05:17 | employer's time and consideration,
| | 05:19 | it is yet another way of making you and
your qualifications stand out from the crowd.
| | 05:24 | Don't miss this important step in
cinching the deal by showing your esteem and
| | 05:29 | respect for the employer, your
excitement about the job, and how your top
| | 05:34 | qualifications make you the
best candidate for the position.
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| Printing, copying, and the importance of paper| 00:00 | So you have completely your
masterpiece and you're ready to print it out and
| | 00:04 | send to the employer, or are making
copies to bring with you to the interview. Whew.
| | 00:09 | It's been a lot of hard work but worth it.
| | 00:12 | Now it's time to get out the
fluorescent green paper and spray it down with
| | 00:15 | your favorite scent. Wait, don't do it.
| | 00:19 | If you do, all of your hard
work will go down the drain.
| | 00:23 | You may have seen fluorescent pink
paper sprayed with a favor perfume make a
| | 00:27 | real impression on the
professors at Harvard Law in the movies.
| | 00:30 | I'll let you in on a secret.
| | 00:33 | In the real world, most especially the
professional world, that wouldn't have
| | 00:37 | gone over as well as it did in Hollywood.
| | 00:40 | Stay professional throughout your job search.
| | 00:42 | You have done all of his hard work so
far to make the contents of your resume
| | 00:47 | and cover letter perfect.
| | 00:48 | The home stretch is not the place to slow down.
| | 00:51 | Believe it or not, even the paper you
use is part of your marketing campaign.
| | 00:57 | Before a potential
employer can read your resume,
| | 01:00 | they must visually see your resume and
then physically touch and feel the paper.
| | 01:05 | Even if you're not snail mailing,
you will be giving them a physical copy
| | 01:09 | during the interview.
| | 01:11 | Both of these senses can make a good
or a bad impression on your audience.
| | 01:16 | If the employer sees a resume that is visually
appealing, it will entice them to pick it up.
| | 01:23 | Fluorescent green will only entice an
employer to pick it up and throw it in the trashcan.
| | 01:28 | After picking it up, they can either
feel cheap copy paper or a sophisticated
| | 01:34 | and classier cotton fiber bond or linen blend.
| | 01:38 | Make a quick run to any office supply
store and invest in buying resume paper.
| | 01:44 | You can also order off the Internet as well.
| | 01:46 | As far as colors go, stay
away from anything florescent.
| | 01:51 | Stick with a light professional-looking
color such as cream, white, beige, or a light gray.
| | 01:57 | My personal favorite is cream-colored paper.
| | 02:00 | Whatever you pick, just make
sure it looks professional.
| | 02:03 | Most resume papers are a bit
heavier than the standard paper.
| | 02:07 | For example, standard is
20 bond, or 80 GSM outside the US,
| | 02:13 | while resume paper is a little thicker,
about 24-28 bond, or 120 GSM outside the US.
| | 02:21 | It is much more durable, feels better to
the touch, and has a much more polished look.
| | 02:27 | Next, make sure you use a
laser printer as opposed to inkjet.
| | 02:31 | Most copy stores nowadays have
nice laser printers you can utilize.
| | 02:35 | Create a file on the thumb drive for your
resume and cover letter and for your references.
| | 02:40 | This is something else most of
the upper-end copy stores allow for.
| | 02:44 | You just put the thumb drive in the
laser printer or copier, slide in your
| | 02:48 | credit card, and you're off to the races.
| | 02:50 | You would be very surprised at the
difference between a resume printed on an
| | 02:54 | inkjet printer and a resume printed
from a laser--most especially when printed
| | 02:59 | on the cotton fiber and linen blends.
| | 03:02 | Don't stop before you get to the finish
line by putting your masterpiece in the
| | 03:06 | wrong canvas and buying a cheap frame.
| | 03:09 | Consider the type of paper you
purchase as part of your marketing campaign.
| | 03:13 | By purchasing quality, professional
paper and using the best printer available,
| | 03:18 | you will appeal to both the
employer's sense of sight and touch,
| | 03:22 | even if they don't realize it's
happening. There are more nerve endings in a
| | 03:27 | person's fingertips than just
about any other part of the body;
| | 03:31 | therefore, utilizing quality paper will
make them feel, quite literally, that you
| | 03:37 | are a person of quality.
| | 03:39 | Using a high-quality printer
will let them see clearly you are the
| | 03:43 | professional that you are.
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ConclusionGoodbye| 00:01 | Thanks so much for joining me.
| | 00:03 | I know that searching for a job, especially
| | 00:06 | in today's market, can be confusing,
frustrating and even a bit intimidating.
| | 00:12 | Whatever you do, don't give up.
| | 00:15 | Keep focused and remember to target
each resume that you write towards each
| | 00:20 | individual employer, starting with the
employer you would like to work for most
| | 00:25 | and working your way on down,
if that even becomes necessary.
| | 00:30 | It's important to know what you want,
| | 00:31 | what the employer wants, and
match your skills to their needs.
| | 00:38 | I hope that this course helped to clear
up some of the confusion of how to best
| | 00:42 | build your resume and marketing campaign,
| | 00:44 | and that this course on creating an
effective of resume will help you find
| | 00:49 | the job of your dreams.
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