Your Resume—The Tool that Opens the Door for an Interview!

The resume is the tool that opens the door for you when you are seeking a new employment opportunity!  Insuring that your resume presents you in the best light is important in today’s hyper competitive environment.

 

Most resumes today are scanned into a central company database when they are submitted on-line.  Very few companies today are willing to receive resumes in paper format.  Most want them submitted on line.  The resumes go into a central database.  When the company decides to “pulse the database”, all of the resumes which have the key words included in the database which are included in the job announcement are pulled out for human review.

 

The first step then is to insure that your resume has the key words included that are in the job announcement.  This is best done in the OBJECTIVE part of your resume.  Each resume should have an OBJECTIVE section, identifying to any hiring official what it is that you wish to do or are qualified to do.  Don’t be shy—be very clear in the objective section of what you wish to do and how your skills fulfill the requirements of the job announcement.

 

Make sure that each point in the resume uses the WHAT-HOW-RESULT format.  WHAT did you do?  HOW did you do it?  What was the RESULT?  This is a simple paradigm; however, it is a very powerful style that allows a hiring official to see very clearly and easily what contributions you made to your previous employers.

 

Highlight communications and leadership skills.  Many companies today are seeking individuals who have good leadership and communication skills.  The technical skill proficiency is a given—what is not a given is how one can lead, can follow instructions and can communicate with others in a team environment.

 

Cite any leadership experiences outside of the job environment.  It could be a Cub Scout Leader, Rifle Club Chairman, Car Club Secretary, Service Club Projects Officer—it makes no difference, anything that displays leadership skills should be identified in the resume.

 

Read and proof read the resume about 6 times.  After that, give it to someone who has never seen it and may not know much about you.  Let him/her read it and see if they can identify who you are and what you represent.  If the answer is they are able to do so, success.  If the answer is that they cannot understand what you are or what you wish to do, then it is time to rewrite the resume.

 

All of these tips will insure that the resume that you write will intrigue a hiring official to the point of giving you a call for an interview.  After all, the resume opens the door for an interview.

Diversity is the Key to A Stimulating Work Environment

We all work someplace.  Most of us work in an environment where we have work colleagues around us all day.  The collegial environment in which we work means a lot for satisfaction, peace of mind and the ability to work with colleagues which we enjoy.

 

            Diversity is the key to a stimulating work environment.  The more differences that a work environment possesses, the better the environment is.  Why is that the case?  Easy.  Everyone brings something different to the table.  Everyone sees the question differently, depending upon his or her own background.  Economic circumstances, racial, gender, sexual orientation, geographic origins, educational skill attainment—everyone has a different set of biases and skills that when added together, provides a rich, synergistic environment in which to work.

 

            An environment where employees are Native American, Asian American, Hispanic, Greek, African American, and Caucasian provides a wide plethora of differences to be able to see a problem from many viewpoints.  The ability to see a problem from many different and divergent viewpoints allows many different perspectives to be considered when making a decision which affects everyone. 

 

In today’s flat world, we argue that it is of utmost importance to be able to have a wide degree of diversity in the workplace.  Multi-cultural employees enrich and enhance the environment to a higher degree than ever before.

 

When you are hiring new staff members, look very carefully at your diversity quotient.  If everyone looks like you, now is the time to make a change and make things look differently.  Yes, it may appear challenging and difficult; however, the new “different” team members want a chance to show you that they too can contribute to the team.  What is often discovered is that their contributions are normally greater than ever expected.  The team is richer, wiser and more effective when as diverse a team as possible is playing.

What Google Found about Grade Point Averages, Certifications and other so called Credentials-- Part 1

A recent article in Forbes magazine identified a key trait that successful new employees possess that has no correlation to grade point averages (GPAs), professional credentials and certifications.  This trait is so significant that Google no longer ever asks where an employee went to school, what they studied or what their GPA was.  Why?  What they found is it makes no difference in being a productive, hardworking, contributing team member.

However, Google did identify a key trait that trumps absolutely everything else.  This key trait is possessed by all individuals, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, religion.  This trait is easy to identify and shows very clearly in any job interview.

Do you know what this trait is?  Watch for our next blog post to identify it!

Attributes For Recruting College Graduates in Management Training Programs

      A recent blog post by John Murtha in HOTELS magazine identified 4 critical characteristics that managers should seek in recruiting new college graduates for management training positions.  The corollary to the article are the 4 traits that new college graduates should manifest when seeking gainful employment in the working world.


      The first trait is PREPARATION-- Is the candidate prepared?  Has he/she reviewed/researched the company web site, do they know about the company, its culture, how they might fit in and add value to the corporation?  This is easily determined in the first few minutes of an interview.  You can easily tell if the candidate has done his/her due diligence prior to meeting with a company hiring official.  If they have, wonderful!  If not, this might cause you to question how sincere they are in seeking a gainful employment opportunity with your firm.


      The second trait is PRESENTATION-- Does the candidate  dress the part?  Short hair, shiny shoes?  Heels and hose?  High degree of poise and confidence?  A sharp presentation normally means a sharp candidate-- not always, but normally!


      The third trait is PURPOSE--  What does the candidate wish to accomplish?  In your firm?  In their lives?  The answer, "I don't know" is probably not one that is acceptable!


       The fourth trait is PASSION-- Does the candidate have a high degree of passion, desire and interest in the position that he/she is seeking?  If yes, you may have a good candidate.  If not, may be cause for concern.


       These ideas are easy and simple, however, giving you, the hiring authority a good idea on the caliber and quality of the candidate.  Each job seeking candidate should possess and manifest these traits.  If they do, you probably have a viable candidate for your position.  If they don't-- might be a reason to continue to search further.  After all, it is easier to run one person short, than have to continually manage a set of challenges and problems.