Keeping Your Resume Out Of The Shredder | MyBindingBlog.com

In this struggling economy, you need all the help you can get landing a job. As we?ve sought to expand our employee base to better serve our customers, I?ve seen more than my fair share of resumes pile up on my desk. That?s why I thought I?d take a few moments to share some of the things, as an employer, I?m looking for when I read a resume.

Relevant information. The most important things you can show me are specific skills and past experiences relevant to the position to which you are applying. I could care less about what you did in high school. I don?t care that you spent a summer painting houses. And I especially don?t care about your academic or athletic accomplishments. I want to know how you will better our company. Specifically, I want to know what skills you have and how long you?ve been using them.

That also means I don?t want to receive your generic resume. Newsflash: It?s easy to spot. Instead,??your resume (and cover letter!) should be tailored to fit the company and job description. Show me that you?ve done your research, and I won?t immediately pass your resume off to the shredder next to my desk.

And remember, if I?ve got 100 resumes to sift through, I?m not going to read every single word. Better your chances by putting the most important and relevant information at the top of your resume. Chronological order isn?t a hard-and-fast rule anymore.

Results, not responsibilities. I want to read about your accomplishments not your previous job descriptions. In other words, don?t list your past duties and responsibilities; instead, tell me how you tangibly succeeded in doing those things. Include numbers, please.

Attention to detail. As a marketing manager, I hire people who have some sort of written or visual correspondence with customers on a daily basis. You can be certain if I can?t trust you to hand me a piece of paper (your resume) without a mistake on it that there?s no way I?m trusting you with part of my business. Spelling, grammar, punctuation. Proofread, people. Do whatever it takes to get your resume error-free.

Highlight teamwork and creativity. These next two characteristics are somewhat subjective, but they are two traits that I specifically look for in potential candidates. I rarely find a candidate with any history in the binding industry, so most of the time I?m hiring people with the right skills but little to no knowledge of our products. Consequently, I need them to work well with others to optimize learning as well as transfer their skills to meet our industry and company needs. And when I say creativity, I?m not talking about artists and musicians. I?m talking about about finding creative and effective solutions for the various problems we may face day-to-day.

The shred pile. Finally, here?s a list of things that give me pause when hiring. More often than not, resumes that convey the following earn a one-way ticket to the shredder:

• a clear lack of experience
• the repeated switching of jobs
• long gaps in work history
• blatantly over-selling yourself
• evidence you didn?t fully read the job description
• egregious grammatical errors

There?s no need for me to reiterate that the job market is competitive these days.?Hopefully, this insight into a manager?s mind will help you build a better resume and ultimately land you that next job.

Good luck!

Source: http://www.mybindingblog.com/keeping-your-resume-out-of-the-shredder.html

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