Many
of you have already had some work experience in a family business,
babysitting, lawn care or other cottage industry type business,
but have not had the opportunity to go out into the workforce
and apply for a position with a company that is not associated
with your family or friends. There are some basic things to learn
in applying for that first position in industry.
When
You Don't Need a Résumé
There
are times when you may not need a formal résumé. A family member or friend may have a connection
with a company that will get you in the door without going through
a lengthy résumé review and interview process.
Cherish those situations—they make the process much easier.
More jobs are acquired through friends, family members, business
acquaintances, and people you have networked with than are advertised
in the paper. A friend may be able to get you an interview or
appointment with a department head or supervisor, thus completely
eliminating the human resource department.
First
Things First
When
applying for a position the beginning process is most always
a résumé. Organizations want to know where
you have been, what your experiences are, your education
and more.
What
They're Looking For
Years
ago I was an administrator at two different CPA firms and
had to make many hiring decisions. I would write the advertisements
and place them in newspapers or trade publications. Within
a few days résumés would start pouring in, sometimes
over 75 a week. If the résumé was poorly
prepared, i.e., it contained misspelled words, a confusing
layout,
or insufficient important information, I would only spend
a few
seconds reviewing it.
When
scanning over a résumé, I first made sure that
the applicant possessed the experience and credentials I advertised
for. If these were missing, the résumé would
get tossed. The Objective and Work History sections were also
very important. Put your main headings in the order of importance
both to you and what you feel the reviewer is looking for.
All résumés need at a minimum Contact
Information, Objective, Work
and/or Volunteer Experience, and Education.
Putting
It Together
Your
contact information goes at the very top and is centered
in a standard formatted résumé. You should have
your full name in bold, your mailing address, phone number(s)
and email address. Microsoft Word has many résumé templates
that already contain the necessary headings for you to fill
in with your personal information.Make your objective the first
heading and make sure it’s
flexible enough to customize to a specific job advertisement.
A clear objective at the top of the résumé will
help the reviewer—if your objective is not a match for
the company’s hiring needs, then the reviewer will usually
not go any further.Work Experience is always listed from the
most current to the oldest. Always include the company name,
city and state,
your position, and dates of employment. Also include a short
summary of accomplishments, especially those that can be quantified
with dollars, percentages, and productivity. Use “active” writing
rather then “passive”. Here are some examples:
• Increased
sales from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 in my first
full year as sales manager.
• Decreased turnover by 25% when I implemented a character
program.
This is
not bragging—it
just shows that you areuniquely
fitted for the job.
It
is also okay to use “I “on
a limited basis.State your education from most recent
first then work backwards. If you are only high school
educated,
do not insert your GPA.
If you have a bachelor’s degree, you can put your
GPA if it is 3.2 or higher and you graduated within the
past five
years. In the education section you can also put special
skills or certifications you have acquired even though
there may have
been little or no formal education. Do not list personal
interests or hobbies—instead of helping
you they could lower your chance of gaining
an interview.
What
Not to Put
Don’t put “References are available upon request” at
the bottom of your résumé—this fact is
always implied. Also, do not put personal information such
as age, social security number, country of origin, or disabilities.
This information is not required and oftentimes not pertinent
to the job. Furthermore, it is illegal in some cases for the
interviewer to request, or even find out, such information.
If an interviewer receives these details unsolicited, you may
disqualify yourself from the job.
What
About Online Résumés?
With the advent
of employment websites like monster.com, a reviewer will
most likely read your résumé on
the computer. Therefore, use 11 or 12 point type in a font
that is easy to read and limit italics and bolded text because
these may not show up in electronic postings.
The
Hard Copy
If you need to
send a hard copy of your résumé,
use a good quality paper with a matching envelope in white,
ivory, or light gray. Always have a cover letter that provides
one or two paragraphs about yourself that may not quite have
a specific place in the résumé.
Keep
It Short and Watch Your Spelling!
A good
rule is to try to keep the résumé to
one page. It is okay to go to a second page if one page
would eliminate important information.Proofread,
proofread, proofread! Typos can cost highly skilled people
the job
they are applying
for if there are typos in
the résumé. Have several family members
and friends read it and edit it before you send it out.
Hot
Sites for Résumé Writing
There are
several websites that offer tips for writing résumés
and cover letters as well as pointers for interviewing with
a potential employer. A search engine will provide more choices
than you have time to research. A few we looked at were: Monster.com, Hotjobs.com,
and Interviewquestionsandanswers.com.
We looked on Careerbuilders.com as well. This site allows
you to take a free career test comprising 100 work-related
questions formatted in groups of three. You pick the answer
you like the most and the one you like the least from each
group of three. The test can usually be completed in less
than thirty minutes.
