We have just come across a really interesting website, which is the embryo of a Social Networking site for job seekers, recruiters, employers and resume/CV writers.
Well worth a look. And membership, as you would expect is both easy and free.
http://www.secretsofthejobhunt.com/
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
So you want to write a killer resume?
Getting your resume to stand out in a pile of applications used to be easy. Coloured paper was always a winner. A bright new red binder the hot accessory. Adding a splash of graphics and fancy typography won you some points. But in these days of email responses to job ads and recruiter databases, do the old tricks stack up? Or are there new bells and whistles that will make your resume stand out from the crowd? John Little, founder of Successful Resumes Australia, says that before you even start on your resume, you should be thinking about it as a strategic document."
A resume isn't just a list of your work history," he says. "It's a marketing exercise. After all, at the beginning of the process we're all just like soap powder, we all look the same on the surface. But put a well designed box around us and you have a brand.
Getting the really relevant information across in a dynamic way is the key. Little remembers some research done some years ago by then recruiting force Morgan & Banks. It found that recruiters and employers take from 15 to 45 seconds to decide whether a resume goes into the interview pile or not. "The important information must come first," he says. Don't stick to the old resume formulas that have been around for decades, with your name, age, marital status and religion listed at the top. "This is enough to bury 99 per cent of all applicants," he adds. Be dynamic." Little says you should mix up the order: "If a piece of information is important, make sure people see it. Make sure they see the information that's really going to turn them on quickly."
Start with your most recent job or the last one that is most likely to be of interest to the employer. "There's almost nothing of interest that's more than 10 years old. There's no point saying you were employed by Price Waterhouse in 1968. It doesn't do you any favours. Back then the computer systems were clunking mainframes. "Replicate the skills and attitudes listed in the job advertisement in your resume. "Today employers tend to select as much on a person's values and their capacity to fit into the organisation [as on their experience]."Work your positive personality traits into the first part of your resume if you can. But, more importantly, "make it easy to read with headlines and bullet points, like in the job ads themselves," Little says. "This is how the recruiters attract talent. So use these devices on the first page of your resume. You are then employing the same strategy and attracting the attention of the recruiter or advertiser by using their own advertising strategies."
Putting a photograph of yourself on your resume is one of the bells and whistles that Little thinks can be worthwhile. With a photo, a candidate becomes human, not just words on paper.
It also adds a type of graphic icon, he says. "I've sat on government recruitment panels and the number of times people refer to 'That one, or those two with the photo' is amazing. People remember a photo."
Recruiters scan your resume (if its good enough) into their computer database, then when they are seeking candidates, they so by using a keyword search. Little says you should scan job ads in your sector and see what sort of terminology recruiters are using. Then find ways to incorporate those words into your resume. But what if you don't have relevant industry experience to draw this jargon from? "If you're an accounting graduate, you achieve some important keywords by making sure your [degree/diploma] subjects are listed."
When it comes to a cover letter for your resume, the trick is to tailor the letter to the employer and the job. "Generic cover letters are no more use than writing your resume on a scrap piece of paper. Large organisations spend millions on their reputation. They want to attract the best quality customers, suppliers and staff. So tell them why you want to work for them," Little says. "Talk about [your] similar values and their mission statement and how much you admire their culture. All this is easy to find out these days - just do your research. Then, if you like the sound of them, tell them. This almost invariably results in an interview."
How to get started "The first 10 seconds of someone picking up your resume is critical," Little says. "Think about what your resume says, how easy it is to read and the order in which you put the information. Be dynamic in how you present your work history and skills. Use positive language about yourself. Make sure there's a well-designed front page (for use only when handing out a printed copy). If you put a photograph in be careful of its quality. A 'mug' shot could be disastrous. If you use colour use it judiciously. Don't make a spelling mistake. Be careful in your declaration of Personal Interests; but do tell people about any volunteering or community work you have done.
Remember, you get only one chance to make a good impression. Originally written by Margaret Sheady
First Published in the Sydney Morning Herald : 09 August 2006
A resume isn't just a list of your work history," he says. "It's a marketing exercise. After all, at the beginning of the process we're all just like soap powder, we all look the same on the surface. But put a well designed box around us and you have a brand.
Getting the really relevant information across in a dynamic way is the key. Little remembers some research done some years ago by then recruiting force Morgan & Banks. It found that recruiters and employers take from 15 to 45 seconds to decide whether a resume goes into the interview pile or not. "The important information must come first," he says. Don't stick to the old resume formulas that have been around for decades, with your name, age, marital status and religion listed at the top. "This is enough to bury 99 per cent of all applicants," he adds. Be dynamic." Little says you should mix up the order: "If a piece of information is important, make sure people see it. Make sure they see the information that's really going to turn them on quickly."
Start with your most recent job or the last one that is most likely to be of interest to the employer. "There's almost nothing of interest that's more than 10 years old. There's no point saying you were employed by Price Waterhouse in 1968. It doesn't do you any favours. Back then the computer systems were clunking mainframes. "Replicate the skills and attitudes listed in the job advertisement in your resume. "Today employers tend to select as much on a person's values and their capacity to fit into the organisation [as on their experience]."Work your positive personality traits into the first part of your resume if you can. But, more importantly, "make it easy to read with headlines and bullet points, like in the job ads themselves," Little says. "This is how the recruiters attract talent. So use these devices on the first page of your resume. You are then employing the same strategy and attracting the attention of the recruiter or advertiser by using their own advertising strategies."
Putting a photograph of yourself on your resume is one of the bells and whistles that Little thinks can be worthwhile. With a photo, a candidate becomes human, not just words on paper.
It also adds a type of graphic icon, he says. "I've sat on government recruitment panels and the number of times people refer to 'That one, or those two with the photo' is amazing. People remember a photo."
Recruiters scan your resume (if its good enough) into their computer database, then when they are seeking candidates, they so by using a keyword search. Little says you should scan job ads in your sector and see what sort of terminology recruiters are using. Then find ways to incorporate those words into your resume. But what if you don't have relevant industry experience to draw this jargon from? "If you're an accounting graduate, you achieve some important keywords by making sure your [degree/diploma] subjects are listed."
When it comes to a cover letter for your resume, the trick is to tailor the letter to the employer and the job. "Generic cover letters are no more use than writing your resume on a scrap piece of paper. Large organisations spend millions on their reputation. They want to attract the best quality customers, suppliers and staff. So tell them why you want to work for them," Little says. "Talk about [your] similar values and their mission statement and how much you admire their culture. All this is easy to find out these days - just do your research. Then, if you like the sound of them, tell them. This almost invariably results in an interview."
How to get started "The first 10 seconds of someone picking up your resume is critical," Little says. "Think about what your resume says, how easy it is to read and the order in which you put the information. Be dynamic in how you present your work history and skills. Use positive language about yourself. Make sure there's a well-designed front page (for use only when handing out a printed copy). If you put a photograph in be careful of its quality. A 'mug' shot could be disastrous. If you use colour use it judiciously. Don't make a spelling mistake. Be careful in your declaration of Personal Interests; but do tell people about any volunteering or community work you have done.
Remember, you get only one chance to make a good impression. Originally written by Margaret Sheady
First Published in the Sydney Morning Herald : 09 August 2006
Saturday, May 17, 2008
What makes a really successful resume?
I remember reading an opinion piece by Julia Ross, one of Australia's (in fact with the international expansion of her organisation - the world's) top recruiters, on what she thinks makes a successful resume.
She clearly believes that it should be written and designed to strategically sell the jobseeker's key skills and experience, as opposed to just presenting a bland list of information in the old fashioned chronological format. She referred to this as being formula driven.
These days recruiters and employment professionals make their first level decision about you very quickly through your resume. Research* shows that it is likely they will decide whether or not to grant you an interview within 60 seconds. So it stands to reason, if this is the case, that your resume needs to make an impact very quickly. This means it needs the most important information in the most prominent position. At Successful Resumes we believe that it also needs to be dynamic, though honest in its use of language, The Truth Well Told we call it. It should also be easy to read, attractive in appearance and provide some information as to the human qualities of the jobseeker, we include a personal profile in most of our documents. Finally the resume, ideally, should be no longer than 2 pages.
In marketing language your resume is your branding, your advertisement. And just as all washing detergent is merely white and crumbly powder until you put it in a fabulously designed box with a great sales message on it, so you are just another jobseeker until your resume turns you into a desirable brand by selling YOU!.
Julia Ross confirmed what we have been saying, and living, at Successful Resumes for more than 10 years now (we have always been ahead of our time!), and that is forget the old fashioned ideas of what a resume should look like. Throw out your pre-conceived notions on layout and order. If the job you held 4 years ago is currently 3 jobs back in your current resume list, but it is the most important to your next application, then don't leave it there, bring it to the top.
There is no rule that says it needs to be down the list. Brought to the top and emphasised with a clever layout, it will probably have the desired effect on the employer for whom you want to work.
The sad truth is only the youngest, the most inexperienced and most cynical recruiters and employment professionals insist on the old fashioned formula. We believe, as apparently does Julia Ross, that as long as the dates you have worked are evident it doesn't matter what order you present them in.
At Successful Resumes we are continually seeking new ways of making a positive impact for our clients, we stay in touch with the way employment and recruitment leaders are thinking. Our clients are the beneficiaries.
Good job hunting.
She clearly believes that it should be written and designed to strategically sell the jobseeker's key skills and experience, as opposed to just presenting a bland list of information in the old fashioned chronological format. She referred to this as being formula driven.
These days recruiters and employment professionals make their first level decision about you very quickly through your resume. Research* shows that it is likely they will decide whether or not to grant you an interview within 60 seconds. So it stands to reason, if this is the case, that your resume needs to make an impact very quickly. This means it needs the most important information in the most prominent position. At Successful Resumes we believe that it also needs to be dynamic, though honest in its use of language, The Truth Well Told we call it. It should also be easy to read, attractive in appearance and provide some information as to the human qualities of the jobseeker, we include a personal profile in most of our documents. Finally the resume, ideally, should be no longer than 2 pages.
In marketing language your resume is your branding, your advertisement. And just as all washing detergent is merely white and crumbly powder until you put it in a fabulously designed box with a great sales message on it, so you are just another jobseeker until your resume turns you into a desirable brand by selling YOU!.
Julia Ross confirmed what we have been saying, and living, at Successful Resumes for more than 10 years now (we have always been ahead of our time!), and that is forget the old fashioned ideas of what a resume should look like. Throw out your pre-conceived notions on layout and order. If the job you held 4 years ago is currently 3 jobs back in your current resume list, but it is the most important to your next application, then don't leave it there, bring it to the top.
There is no rule that says it needs to be down the list. Brought to the top and emphasised with a clever layout, it will probably have the desired effect on the employer for whom you want to work.
The sad truth is only the youngest, the most inexperienced and most cynical recruiters and employment professionals insist on the old fashioned formula. We believe, as apparently does Julia Ross, that as long as the dates you have worked are evident it doesn't matter what order you present them in.
At Successful Resumes we are continually seeking new ways of making a positive impact for our clients, we stay in touch with the way employment and recruitment leaders are thinking. Our clients are the beneficiaries.
Good job hunting.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Successful Resumes Introduction
As Australia's largest and longest established resume writing organisation we take pride in being the setters of industry standards and quality, not the followers. So in the rapidly changing world where On-Line presence is essential to business success, we are launching a news and resource focused BLOG and also, soon, our corporate FACEBOOK.
Internally at Successful Resumes Australia we use a range of On-Line tools to ensure that all our group writers, who are spread far and wide across Australia, have equal access to up-to-the-minute resources and information. These are vital technology components in the resume and employment services business, and enable us to better support our thousands of clients in their quest to get started or to make a successful career change.
The resume sector is full of plagiarists.
Not just in Australia, but worldwide. Some are people who think they can just fill in a few weeks or months between jobs and make a quick and easy dollar. Others are people who have looked at our business model from afar and tried to emulate us. Some even manage to get hold of samples of our work and use them as guides for the own efforts. We have even seen absolute copies, language style and design as well, on a website in the USA! Maybe we should just be flattered. One local organisation not only plagiarised our name and but also our code of ethics and claimed them as original ideas.
Resume writing and helping people put together the best possible application package and market their skills and personal attributes to employers, is neither quick nor easy. It requires writing talent, people skills, communication and employment sector knowledge, oh and not to forget the ability to run a modern small business.
Some organisations have criticised us because some of our group (not all) work out of home based offices. This is used as some sort of putdown, as if it is less than professional. In fact home based businesses and working from home, in Australia and around the globe, are dramatically increasing in number. Even many large companies, such as IBM, have key staff who work mainly from home and only go in to their office once a week, or even less.
One of our competitors even claims that they keep their prices down because of their volume of work! What does that mean? Are they doing more of them and also faster? If so that equals a typing service as far as I am concerned. I am certain that it is not what thinking resume clients would want to believe is the service style of their chosen resume writing organisation.
The truth is, a great resume takes many hours to think about, design, write, edit and re-edit. When combined with interviewing the client, writing cover letters and several follow up discussions regarding desired change. Most good writers would finish one in a working day, and maybe get started on a second, but more than this could be challenging. Speed and volume is what defines a typing service, that is not what professional resume writing services are about.
Proudly I can say that working out of home is the way of the future and highly desirable for the workers too, certainly in our case it helps us put more time and energy into working with our clients, not travelling great distances to get to the office to meet them. It certainly helps to keep overheads down.
Government released statistics:
The latest stats available show that in June 2004, there were 282,400 home-based businesses in NSW, representing 63.8% of NSW small businesses.
Since we commenced our organisation in October of 1992, we have seen many of these 'knockers' and 'copycats' come, and just as quickly disappear. Fortunately the working public isn't silly and they do their research before coming to a decision on who will handle their vitally important resume writing project. Mostly they go with professionals who have been around for a long time and don’t make outrageous claims or promise the earth and the stars as the result.
Nobody can guarantee a job!
What we guarantee is to work with our clients until they are satisfied.
We will listen to professional feedback from recruiters and interviewers and will make changes accordingly. We are also happy to spend short periods on the phone or answering emails from our clients well after their resume is completed.
We are here for the very long haul and our clients come back to us over a period of many years, even some who have moved overseas. We are a client focused organisation and will do what it takes to help them be successful. It’s all there in our name.
Please visit our sites to find out more about our services and to make an appointment with the resume writer of your choice:
www.successfulresumes.com.au
www.successfulcv.co.uk
John Little, Group Founder and Sydney CBD Branch Principal
Internally at Successful Resumes Australia we use a range of On-Line tools to ensure that all our group writers, who are spread far and wide across Australia, have equal access to up-to-the-minute resources and information. These are vital technology components in the resume and employment services business, and enable us to better support our thousands of clients in their quest to get started or to make a successful career change.
The resume sector is full of plagiarists.
Not just in Australia, but worldwide. Some are people who think they can just fill in a few weeks or months between jobs and make a quick and easy dollar. Others are people who have looked at our business model from afar and tried to emulate us. Some even manage to get hold of samples of our work and use them as guides for the own efforts. We have even seen absolute copies, language style and design as well, on a website in the USA! Maybe we should just be flattered. One local organisation not only plagiarised our name and but also our code of ethics and claimed them as original ideas.
Resume writing and helping people put together the best possible application package and market their skills and personal attributes to employers, is neither quick nor easy. It requires writing talent, people skills, communication and employment sector knowledge, oh and not to forget the ability to run a modern small business.
Some organisations have criticised us because some of our group (not all) work out of home based offices. This is used as some sort of putdown, as if it is less than professional. In fact home based businesses and working from home, in Australia and around the globe, are dramatically increasing in number. Even many large companies, such as IBM, have key staff who work mainly from home and only go in to their office once a week, or even less.
One of our competitors even claims that they keep their prices down because of their volume of work! What does that mean? Are they doing more of them and also faster? If so that equals a typing service as far as I am concerned. I am certain that it is not what thinking resume clients would want to believe is the service style of their chosen resume writing organisation.
The truth is, a great resume takes many hours to think about, design, write, edit and re-edit. When combined with interviewing the client, writing cover letters and several follow up discussions regarding desired change. Most good writers would finish one in a working day, and maybe get started on a second, but more than this could be challenging. Speed and volume is what defines a typing service, that is not what professional resume writing services are about.
Proudly I can say that working out of home is the way of the future and highly desirable for the workers too, certainly in our case it helps us put more time and energy into working with our clients, not travelling great distances to get to the office to meet them. It certainly helps to keep overheads down.
Government released statistics:
The latest stats available show that in June 2004, there were 282,400 home-based businesses in NSW, representing 63.8% of NSW small businesses.
Since we commenced our organisation in October of 1992, we have seen many of these 'knockers' and 'copycats' come, and just as quickly disappear. Fortunately the working public isn't silly and they do their research before coming to a decision on who will handle their vitally important resume writing project. Mostly they go with professionals who have been around for a long time and don’t make outrageous claims or promise the earth and the stars as the result.
Nobody can guarantee a job!
What we guarantee is to work with our clients until they are satisfied.
We will listen to professional feedback from recruiters and interviewers and will make changes accordingly. We are also happy to spend short periods on the phone or answering emails from our clients well after their resume is completed.
We are here for the very long haul and our clients come back to us over a period of many years, even some who have moved overseas. We are a client focused organisation and will do what it takes to help them be successful. It’s all there in our name.
Please visit our sites to find out more about our services and to make an appointment with the resume writer of your choice:
www.successfulresumes.com.au
www.successfulcv.co.uk
John Little, Group Founder and Sydney CBD Branch Principal
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