If you are an entry level candidate it can be very frustrating to find a job. I was recently talking to a new grad that said she was having a horrible time finding a job. It seemed to her that every position she found posted in the paper or on the internet was requiring 1-2 years of experience. However, after talking to her a bit more, I found that she was really selling her self short. She had a ton of hands on experience from her training at school and great volunteer experience. My suggestion to her was to highlight all of these transferable experiences and skills on her cover letter and resume. She was employed within a few weeks.
Don’t sell yourself short in this job market, take some time to dig deep and really think about the experience you have. Please note, I am not suggesting that you apply to every job you see and waste your time and the employers time. Don’t apply to a position for a rocket scientist if you just got your Associate Degree in Medical Assisting . . . However, if there is a job out there that you know you would be perfect for and the only thing standing in your way is a few months of experience, go for it!
Have a questions about finding or keeping a job? Email askevie@workplacestaff.com to have all of your employment related questions answered by a professional!
You may not be aware, but there is a recession going on out there. This makes me wonder why I am still hearing stories every day about people showing up to job interviews in a sweatshirt or a baseball cap, or as I wrote about earlier in the week, texting at work. To survive in this job market whether you have a job, or you are out looking for one, you have to be at the top of your game. In an employer’s market stepping even one toe out of line can cost you your job or getting hired because there is a line of people just waiting to take your place. Today I am going to start a series on being at the top of your game in a recession. Let’s start by taking a look at your Cover Letter and Resumes. For better or worse, your Cover Letter and Resume are your first impression. It is imperative that these items be impeccable.
Your Cover Letter should be personalized to each position you apply for and comprised of four basic sections:
- The first section should state why you are sending in your resume and/or what position you are applying for.
- Section two should cover why you would be a good fit for the company. You should cover all of the skills and abilities that you bring to the table that would make you a good hire.
- The third section should contain your call to action when and how you will follow up on you submission. Expert tip: If you say you are going to call on Thursday, do it! It is too early in the game to look unreliable.
- The last section is your closing. Make sure you keep it professional.
Once you have perfected your cover letter, it is time to take another look at your resume. Unfortunately, there is no black or white way to do a resume, but here are a few tips that may be of help:
- Ditch that old Objective: I am not a big fan or resume Objectives; instead I love to see a Skill Summary or Professional Summary. It is a great way to focus on what you have to offer.
- Keep your resume accomplishment driven. Employers love to see what you have accomplished in your previous positions because this is a good indicator of what you will be able to achieve for them.
- Watch out for grammatical and spelling errors. Nothing can get your resume thrown out quicker than having a ton on mistakes on your resume. Have two or three people check your resume read it over before sending it out.
Follow these steps and you will on your way to having a great Cover Letter and Resume!
The new year is upon us . . . what better time to pull that resume out and make some changes? Here are some suggestions to make your resume stand out in the new year:
- Retire that worn out resume objective . . . It is my firm belief that your resume objective will not get you hired, but it can definitely land your resume in the reject bin. Resume objectives are often redundant and poorly written . . . Do yourself a favor and replace it with a snazzy Professional Summary or Summary of Qualifications to really showcase what you bring to the table for an employer.
- Leave off the year you graduated from high school, it ages you. In addition, if you continued on to college or a trade school, you can often leave your high school information off completely.
- Don’t put “References available upon request” it is already implied and putting on your resume in superfluous.
- If you have been in the workforce for less than 10 years, keep your resume to one page. On average, an employer will give your resume a 15 second glance to decide if they want to look at your resume more in depth. If you are sending out a 3 page resume the employer may feel that they don’t have the time to look at it or you have over exaggerated.
- Don’t lie . . .the truth always comes out and I am sure you are pretty awesome without having to lie on your resume.
Have a questions about finding or keeping a job? Email askevie@workplacestaff.com to have all of your employment related questions answered by a professional!
Is the email address on your resume keeping you from getting an interview? If your email address is something similar to biggpapa69@emailco.com, it may be keeping you on the job market longer than necessary. A professional email address shouldn’t give a company any clue to your religious beliefs, political party, or extracurricular activities. The email address on your resume should be just as professional as everything else you put in front of a potential employer. Ideally, your email address should be similar to firstname.lastname@emailco.com. In addition, using an email address like hireme@emailco.com or iamtherightcandidate@emailco.com may seem clever to you, but they often look desperate to hiring managers. I often suggest that job seekers create a separate email address just for job seeking. That way, all of the correspondence regarding your job search is in one place and it won’t get lost in the myriad of forwards from friends and family.
Take my advice; create a professional email address for your resume. There are several sites that allow you to create a free email address (e.g. gmail, yahoo, hotmail.) You will thank yourself when you get that job offer 
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