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Too many job seekers don’t realize that most recruiters spend about one minute to browse, assess and file a résumé. In tight job markets and high volumes of résumé submissions, you need a résumé that stands out and gets right to the point. In our research of successful employees, special employment resources, employment services, corporate human resources departments and recruiters, BOOKSandWORDS.com discovered that there is a universal or “magic” résumé that every employer looks for among the daily piles of paper. The format of this résumé instantly shows how qualified you are for a particular job and what you have to back it up. We call this format the S.E.E.R. résumé—Skills, Experience, Education and References (see half-page sample below). S.E.E.R. résumés enable employers to clearly see your specific occupational assets when measuring their immediate and future recruitment needs. The S.E.E.R. format is very effective in all professional job application categories. This format is especially useful when applied to administrative, technical, specialist, service, temporary, freelance and entry level job résumés. Also consider, this allows the employment specialist to easily assess your overall hiring potential, your specific skills, and quickly check all references. When your résumé provides these three elements, you’ll have a built-in advantage as a primary job candidate.
Always type and edit your résumé in a computer word processing program such as Word, WordPerfect, PageMaker,and others. You can also download a completely free and very powerful program called AbiWord at AbiWord.com It’s very user-friendly, and recognizes over 110 language versions. Most important, please use the spell-check and grammar-check in any of the software programs. Use modern 10 to 14 point size fonts, such as Arial, Futura or Franklin Gothic (including their bold font versions for titles). This basic typeface style empowers your résumé for easier reading, e-mailing, text scanning, and clearer fax transmissions.
Clear-to-the-point descriptions are what employers look for, not your life story. When necessary or desired, include a separate cover letter of no more than three paragraphs (4 sentences or less per paragraph) to briefly highlight your interest, or objective, and qualifications for the job, as well as your compatibility with the company. On this point, we advise that you check-up on the company’s corporate history and current events by going to Hoovers.com or Google.com (type company’s name in the Search News box). If available, be sure to visit the company’s website too. No doubt, a company website provides valuable information for job seekers.
Based on our research and feedback, you will get more positive responses when you are knowledgeable about the potential employer and present a résumé that backs-up your interest. Some may even compliment you on your résumé’s informative, organized and reader-friendly qualities. Clearly, this compliment will be a positive and memorable reflection on you as a good candidate for the job of your choice. Below is a shortened half-page version of our S.E.E.R. résumé. Please remember, due to hundreds of weekly résumés an employer or agency receives, a 1-page, 11/2 page or 2-page résumé gets read first. A résumé that covers the current and last three jobs (if you had that many) is appropriate. You can elaborate on your current and previous work history during telephone or in-person interviews. Any other significant employment, background information, skill sets, training and job related commendations or awards you have should be briefly included in your three-paragraph cover letter. When it comes to your best job asset or assets, make it clear and keep it real. It’s a fact, you will rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Always keep a time, date, description and contact information record of all the employers (or persons) you send a résumé to, or speak with. Usually, direct contact and résumés to an employer’s human resources department or specific hiring person speeds-up the job search process. Creating a friendly professional relationship directly with a job source can be a time saver. Unfortunately, at too many employment agencies, you can end up being just a telephone number among the hundreds that an agent may call. Direct contact, without or before contacting an agency, can lead to a faster application process. In many cases, this saves the hiring company money and time from using agencies, and gets you hired much quicker. Be flexible during the process, but when appropriate don’t be afraid to ask about salary and/or benefits based on your skills and length of experience. You can also check-out the current occupational salary rate for your city and other locations at Salary.com.
After 2 or 3 business days, follow-up with a polite after-lunch time call to confirm that your résumé was received, as well as get a realistic sense of where you are in the company’s hiring process and their interest in your application. Remember, keep a record. This professional and proactive approach will let the employer know how interested you are in the job, and gives you a chance to assess your progress in case job search tactics need to be adjusted. It also saves you from a lot of wasted time, travel money and needless stress. It’s no secret that job hunts have a cost. Lower the personal and financial costs by being organized, proactive and informed. Despite the stresses, never forget to be cordial, but natural. Your personality and attitude are equally important as experience and aptitude in the hiring process.
Lastly, and most important, be sure to include a current telephone number (two personal numbers are best) and a reliable personal e-mail address. It is completely ethical and justified for you to be private and protective about your future job plans. While job searching, if your current employer directly offers you better advancement, benefits and salary, then assess and decide based on what is in YOUR best long term interest.
PLEASE! Never use your current employer’s e-mail system, telephones or monitored Internet access when searching for a job. Nowadays, in the Digital Age, a record can be made and put into a database of everything you do on a company’s telecommunications system. Yes! At many jobs, even the telephone number (or fax data) you dial and the conversation is digitized and stored. Unknown to you, in many cities and companies, non-company use of facilities and services could be grounds for termination based on the employer’s “at-will” employment rules and their self-protecting interpretation of employment laws. Don’t fire yourself by carelessness. Unless you want an unexpected vacation and frequent ATM trips, keep all job search activities to yourself. Believe it ! In the end, there is no genuine professional or personal advantage in broadcasting to anyone at work that you are job searching, or leaving before there’s a definite and signed job offer letter in your hands. Equal focus on your current job and the desired one will provide the professional success you seek. - BOOKSandWORDS.com
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