Help Make A Great Resume

 
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:08 pm    Post subject: Help Make A Great Resume

Hey All, I am trying to find a good job and I have already made a resume(Which I have sent to 21 different places) but yet to hear a response and I don't know what the problem is. Perhaps its the resume, that is all I can think of because I do have the skills. Perhaps someone here would know a place where I can find out what I have to do to fix up my resume or if someone here can check it out and see what might be wrong with it and what can be done to fix it that would be great
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:21 pm    Post subject:

Have you ever gone to a job website like Careerbuilder or Monster.com? They usually have a tab on there that tells you how to fix up your resume.

I'm in the same boat as you BTW and haven't heard anything either.
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:24 pm    Post subject:

I had this lady help me make mine. She used this resume builder program..I think its called winway Resume Pro, something like that. I'll check out Careerbuilder..but does that mean that I would have to stick in the entire resume and they would fix it or how does it work? I am very surprised, to send so many resumes and not a single person calls. Well, one did, I went yesterday but I didn't get the job. I think they wanted to hire some bimbo instead of someone with the skills. I got the skills just can't get the job so I know how u feel
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:30 pm    Post subject:

I hire and fire fairly regularly. PM your resume and I'll give you my take.
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:38 pm    Post subject:

I sent ya a PM..should I just copy and paste it to you since there is no option to attach..or do u have an email address I can send it to
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:14 pm    Post subject:

LakerFanAlways wrote:
I had this lady help me make mine. She used this resume builder program..I think its called winway Resume Pro, something like that. I'll check out Careerbuilder..but does that mean that I would have to stick in the entire resume and they would fix it or how does it work? I am very surprised, to send so many resumes and not a single person calls. Well, one did, I went yesterday but I didn't get the job. I think they wanted to hire some bimbo instead of someone with the skills. I got the skills just can't get the job so I know how u feel



With Careerbuilder you can upload it online for others to see. However there should be a tab under Resumes that give you tips on how to enhance it.
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:29 pm    Post subject:

I just created an account on careerbuilder and stuck in my resume. Hopefully I will be getting some responses. But I am not sure where to go to enhance it. I saw the enhance button at first when I first logged in but then it disappeared as I stuck in the resume and other info..
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:41 pm    Post subject:

you need a good cover letter. I posted a job on craigslist and instructed to have a cover letter....only 1/4 of the ones i received have one....so i'm not even going to read ones WITHOUT a cover letter.
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:46 pm    Post subject:

I do have one, one of those generic cover letters, I will send it to you in a PM and you can tell me what you think..what I do is just change the name from Dear Prospective Employer to the name that is listed on the ad. When you say include the cover letter, does it have to be attached as a document or can I just copy and paste it into the part where you type stuff and the resume can be attached?
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:50 pm    Post subject:

generic = not good.

for each job, you need to sell yourself. say why you are good for the position and be honest!

also don't use your dame email addy as you have an account for myspace....i'm checking the girls who are applying for their myspace account to see how they look.
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:52 pm    Post subject:

i read the cover letter...it doesn't say anything..its better than nothing though.....

basically what you should do is take the job description for each job and then in the cover letter address why you are qualified to fill the job description.

don't make it too wordy...just to the point. if i were you, i would limit sending out one or two resumes with good coverletters per day. that way you won't just be bulk sending stuff out...its a waste of time for both sides
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:57 pm    Post subject:

as an example:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/med/333232887.html

Dear Sirs, (yeah, it could be a woman but who cares)

Enclosed, please find my resume for your review. I came across your posting on craigslist.org for a Graphic Designer. I have had extensive experience in publication layout as a senior editor for my school newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

I am very familiar with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop as well as having production experience in the entertainment industry for People Magazine.

Enclosed, please find several samples of my current portfolio. I look forward to speaking to you soon.

Sincerely,

CHEF-D



do something like that...that whole thing took me 5 minutes and i just basically rehashed the job description back to them
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:59 pm    Post subject:

LakerFanAlways wrote:
I just created an account on careerbuilder and stuck in my resume. Hopefully I will be getting some responses. But I am not sure where to go to enhance it. I saw the enhance button at first when I first logged in but then it disappeared as I stuck in the resume and other info..


waste of time to put your resume in the pool. there are several different resume types....depending on your experience, industry, etc.

do you have a lot of experience?
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:09 pm    Post subject:

chef wrote:
LakerFanAlways wrote:
I just created an account on careerbuilder and stuck in my resume. Hopefully I will be getting some responses. But I am not sure where to go to enhance it. I saw the enhance button at first when I first logged in but then it disappeared as I stuck in the resume and other info..


waste of time to put your resume in the pool. there are several different resume types....depending on your experience, industry, etc.

do you have a lot of experience?


Yep Alot of experience working in an office, customer service, administrative work, working with computers..just hard to find good employment these days
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:16 pm    Post subject:

try focusing on the cover letter. i was unemployed for several months a few years ago and i understand how crappy it can be.

Maybe try a "functional resume"...that worked well for me earlier on.
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chef
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:17 pm    Post subject:

http://content.monster.com/articles/3476/17228/1/home.aspx

sample of
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:30 pm    Post subject:

Agreed with Chef on the cover letter - you gotta do one and it's your best way to stand out - so make it company or position specific.

Check out these two blog entries:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/08/ten_okay_13_que.html
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/08/dear_libby.html

Guy Kawasaki interviews the lead HR person from Yahoo in the first one and she basically goes over some of what makes resumes stand out to them. While it is Yahoo and somewhat industry specific I feel like it's good general info on getting noticed in a pile of resumes.

The second link goes to Guy walking through how he would apply to a job there. While most people out there don't have the resume Guy does, it's interesting nonethless and his coverletter might be a good general template for you to tweak.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:42 pm    Post subject:

Cover letters aren't necessary and do little but hide your resume and give the employer extra work and trash. If you are going to do one, make it brief like you would a fax cover for example. example below.

"I'm Phil Allen and I want to work for you. Please consider my resume."
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LakerFanAlways
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PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2007 11:23 pm    Post subject:

Should a cover letter be attached to the email or can it just be copy and pasted into the part where you type instead of having two attachments..which is better to go with?
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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 5:28 am    Post subject:

One, are you just sending out en masse your resume? Is this to companies who are hiring, or are you just sending it out to anyone?

Two, as others have said, generic letters suck. Go point-by-point stating why you would be good at that particular job.

Three, I have spoken with HR people who work for the government. They are told to weigh applications, but since they need to be equal opportunity employers, they developed a system to do it. What they do is ask whoever is hiring to list whatever qualities or experiences they require for the job. Those qualities are then listed in the job posting. When they receive applications, HR will then scour the document and actually circle where the applicant meets the specific requirement.

For example, if I list that you definitely need experience with SQL, HR will circle the sentence in your cover letter where you speak about your experience with SQL. If you are not specific (never beat about the bush as it makes it seem you have something to hide or are covering your inadequacies), they will circle nothing.

At the end of the reading, the HR person will then grade your application. If you meet all criteria for the job (as well as for hiring), you get a 100%. If you don't meet some of the criteria, your grade drops.

Once complete, the applications are sent to the people who are hiring, and I think they only get some of the applications, ones that meet a certain grade. If you don't get a minimum score, no one else will ever look at your resume. Sending a generic cover letter will almost assure you of getting a poor score.

Hope this helps.
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 6:43 am    Post subject:

It really depends upon the position. If you're young, you may be looking at several avenues. If you're older, the avenues narrow, as they are defined by your previous experience.

What to do?

1) Have more than one resume ready. Think of it as a bag of golf clubs. Take out the appropriate one, defined by "function/position". This is a one page sales document... don't make it a dry history, but rather excite or inspire the reader. Include an "Objective" top-line, that makes it sound like not only this is the ideal position, but that everything you've done before has been a step in building towards it.

2) Have a two page (detailed) resume ready. You do not send out the two pager until you're past the screener. This document details your abilities and experience, ordered chronologically. This too is a sales document, though the detail can help the more helpless interviewers by its structure (not all managers or executives are good interviewers).
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