10 Common Resume Mistakes

Posted by admin on

Writing the perfect resume is nearly impossible, but if you spend the time and put in the effort, you can craft a great resume. The real trick is avoiding common resume mistakes that will cause someone to just dismiss you as a serious candidate. When a recruiter or hiring manager sees a resume with mistakes all over it, they will more than likely throw it away and move on to the next candidate. Simply applying for a job and sending in a resume isn’t enough to get you the job.

Even the best laid out resume with all the bells and whistles can be pushed aside if there are simple mistakes on it. Before you start sending your resume out, you should look it over and make sure you aren’t a victim of these 10 common resume mistakes:

1. Typos and Poor Grammar

One of the biggest mistakes your resume can have is typos or poor grammar. When the person reviewing a resume sees these mistakes, your resume is dismissed right away. In order to avoid these mistakes, you need to use a spellcheck tool, read, reread, and reread your resume. You also need to consider having someone review your resume for these simple mistakes that are often over looked.

2. Duties Rather Than Accomplishments

It’s easy to simply list the duties of your current job and any past jobs you’ve had. However, not only is this lazy, it doesn’t really tell a future employer anything. Instead, you need to list accomplishments, projects, and tasks that you undertook in those positions. By doing this, you show what you have done, what you are capable of, and the results of those actions.

3. Lack of Dates

You may think that dates just aren’t that important, but if someone reviewing your resume sees a lack of dates or an inaccurate account of dates, then a red flag will go off. Don’t try to hide career gaps. If there are gaps in your resume, then you need explain them in your cover letter. Remember, career gaps can be a positive thing on your resume and in your career.

4. Missing Contact Information

As you are reviewing your resume, double check your phone number, address, and email address. It might seem like a stupid mistake, but if you do happen to put in the wrong number or street name, then how is someone supposed to contact you? Be sure this information is accurate at all times.

5. Bad Formatting

You might think formatting isn’t an important part of your resume, but if you submit a resume that lacks flow in the format, then the person reading it might just end up tossing it aside. While adding boxes and using certain types of fonts can make your resume look great on screen, you need to keep in mind that you will be sending your resume in an email (more than likely) and someone will probably be printing it out. Keep it as simple as possible because in most cases, an employer just wants the information and nothing else.

6. Non-Functional

In attempts to hide resume gaps and make your resume stylish, you may end up turning out a non-functional resume. Instead, you should be creating a resume that is chronological and focuses on your accomplishments rather than anything else.

7. Long Form Resumes

For some, when creating a resume, they want to cram everything they have ever done or accomplished onto the sheet. However, when your resume spreads beyond one or two pages, you lose the interest of those reading it. If you are already working with a long resume, consider trimming it down. You have limited time to get to the point, so get there early.

8. Paragraphs

Your resume should tell a story, but it should tell it in short sentences, highlights, and bullet points. Paragraphs should be used on cover letters and career objectives, but your job summaries and skills sections should utilize short sentences and bullet points. By setting your resume up this way, you can get your main points across and answer initial questions. You will also have a better chance at intriguing someone and get that much anticipated call for an interview.

9. No Real Qualifications

It’s tempting to go after our dream jobs and we should always be working towards them, but you can’t apply for them unless you are ready. Your resume needs to reflect the proper qualifications when applying for a job, so make sure you have real qualifications that match the job you are applying for.

10. Unrelated Personal Information

You may want to include personal information to your resume to help someone learn more about you, but no matter how fascinating it is, unless it pertains to the job, you should leave it off. Some are tempted to include hobbies, interests, and age on their resume, but it’s just not needed and often not welcomed.

As you review your resume, make sure the information is accurate, readable, and relevant to the job to which you are applying. Avoid common resume mistakes by double and triple checking what you’ve included and having someone else review it.

What resume questions do you have? Leave your questions and suggestions in the comments section below!
Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net

7 Things That Lead to Career Development

Posted by admin on

Whether you have a job or are currently looking for a job, you as the employee are in charge of your career development. If you already have a job, you might think you don’t need to develop anymore, but that attitude is a sure fire way to find yourself without a job. As an employee, you constantly have to be learning and seeking to be a better employee.

Continue reading “7 Things That Lead to Career Development” →

4 Ways to Make Your Employee Onboarding Successful

Posted by admin on

Whether you want to admit it or accept it, your company has an employee onboarding process. While this process looks completely different from company to company, it is important for every company (no matter how large or small) to nurture and define their employee onboarding process. So how do you make sure your new hire onboarding process is going to be successful?

It really isn’t as complicated as it may sound. In fact, following four rules when it comes to onboarding can help increase your employee retention, improve your employee engagement, and boost office moral.

Here are four ways you can make your employee onboarding successful:

1. Prepare for the new hire.

When the new hire starts, you need to be there and ready with all the necessary forms and paperwork they need to fill out. Instead of waiting until you meet with the new hire to print off any forms they need to fill out, have that ready to go so they aren’t waiting on you. Anything you can do ahead of time is going to make the entire onboarding process go smoother and it’s going to let the new hire feel like you are excited and ready for them to start.

2. Be open and honest with the new hire.

When it comes to letting a new hire know what is expected of them, it’s crucial that you are open and honest. This part of the onboarding process actually needs to start long before you hire. You might consider writing a description of job duties and expectations for them. When you advertise a job opening, make sure you detail the job and inform potential candidates of what will be expected. But more than that, you need to make sure the expectations you have for the new hire align with the information you gave candidates at the beginning of the process.

3. Establish a calendar.

You may think the onboarding process starts with morning coffee and ends at the end of the first day, but the onboarding process can (and should) take months to fully complete. Your calendar should change depending on the role and how much direct contact you will have with the employee, but as a rule of thumb, you should establish a calendar that allows you to check in with the new hire. You need to at least check in at 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year, but you may want to check in even more often. No matter how you choose to establish your calendar, just be sure you share it with the new hire.

4. Explain the company culture in as much detail as possible.

When a new employee starts, you have to keep in mind that they are going to be nervous and have lots of questions. As the person walking them through the process, it’s your job to give them insights and details into the company culture. Introduce them to the people they will be working with, show them around the office, and help them establish their role and fit into the culture.

Your employee onboarding process is crucial to the success of your company and your employee retention. When you have a well-established process, you can more successfully engage and retain the people you are hiring.

What questions about onboarding do you have? How can we help you become at engaging with your employees? Leave your questions and stories in the comments section below!

 

Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net

Do You Fit with the Company Culture?

Posted by admin on

Finding that perfect job is, well, overwhelming. From interviews to job offers, there is a lot of work that goes into finding a job. If you’re seriously looking for a job, then you’ll probably find that the job search is basically a full-time job in its own right. But even finding a job that you think sounds great, offers you the right compensation, and comes with incredible benefits may not end up being the dream job you’ve been looking for.

Continue reading “Do You Fit with the Company Culture?” →

3 Ways Staffing Agencies and Small Businesses Team Up

Posted by admin on

Imagine opening up a new business that starts booming quickly. You suddenly find yourself in need of an employee or maybe even a couple of employees. The problem is you’ve never hired anyone. You don’t know how to onboard someone into your company let alone go about finding them. Some research will show you that you need to post the job online, read resumes, interview, screen candidates, and even get tax information prepared.

Maybe that situation isn’t hard for you to imagine. Finding and hiring new employees is a common problem for small and growing businesses. Whether you are in need of one employee or several, you need a staffing solution that will work for your plans and processes. One option you have: partner with a staffing firm that can bring you custom solutions. Here are three great ways how staffing agencies and small businesses can work together to find great solutions:

  1. Testing Out Employees. As a small business, you’re probably still going through some growing pains, which means money could fluctuate on a month-to-month basis. You may not be quite ready to make that full-time hire. When you choose to hire a temporary worker or even a temp-to-hire worker, you allow yourself the time to adjust to the growth and test out the waters. See if the employee will work well within your company and if you can handle another full-time employee before you actually make that commitment.
  2. Ease the Stress: Finding employees is a full-time job and can be overly stressful. In order to find the right employee, you have to post your open position on job boards, read resumes/cover letters, and interview candidates in order to find the right hire. As a business owner or even a manager, you don’t have the time it takes to really find that right fit. No matter your needs, specifications, or requirements, a staffing firm can help find you the right candidate for the job. Instead of looking through dozens (or more) resumes, a staffing firm will simply send you a few candidates after pre-screening and screening them. These candidates will be the best choices for your staffing needs.
  3. Make Onboarding Easier: One of the biggest issues with hiring new employees is the onboarding process. It can take months for an employee to become fully acclimated to a new work environment. Partnerships between staffing agencies and small businesses can make this process more effective and easier through presentations, testimonials, mentor programs, multimedia tools, and tours. When your new employee starts, you want them to be as prepared as possible and a staffing firm can help make that happen.

Your life doesn’t need to be stressful because you need to hire an employee. Instead, rely on a team of experts to target, engage, and qualify top candidates who can help you successfully carry out your plans and effectively manage your processes.

Leave your staffing questions in the comments section below!

 

Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net

10 Ways to Make Career Gaps Positive

Posted by admin on

When you apply for a new job, potential employers are going to look at your resume and they may notice a few career gaps. These gaps occur when you go through a period of unemployment. While this happens to almost everyone, it’s what you do with those gaps that matters.

Employers are going to ask you about career gaps and how you spent your time. You want to project that you working towards improving yourself during those times you were out of work. Did you spend your time learning? Traveling? Volunteering? Moping around? Turning these career gaps into a positive experience will not only help you personally, but will increase your chances of landing your next job. Below, you’ll find 10 ways to turn your career gaps into something positive:

Take a Class
More than likely, your field of work is constantly changing; using this gap period to enhance your knowledge or learn new things can give you a competitive advantage when it comes to finding your next job.

Volunteer
Whether you decide to help out at a local animal shelter or tutor kids, being able to place volunteer experiences on your resume is a real differentiator. Potential employers will see this and recognize you as having empathy and a strong work ethic.

Join a Professional Organization
Go beyond being a “member” of a professional organization. Be engaged in activities and take initiative to be a leader. Not only with this help you branch out and expand your network, it will give you valuable skills for your future job.

Network
Mentioned above, your career gap can be a great time to meet new people and expand your professional network. By doing this, you can make great connections that could end up helping you both personally and professionally.

Become an Intern
No matter where you are at in your career, an internship can be a great experience. This could be your chance to learn a new skill, humble yourself, or just ensure that you are building your resume experiences.

Teach
Do you have a lot of experience in your field? Take this opportunity to teach others about what you do. Maybe you just want to share one of your hobbies with others- no matter what, a teaching experience can help you become a better communicator, establish yourself as a leader, and allow you to meet new people.

Start a Business
Have you always dreamed of owning your own business? Do you have an original idea or innovation? This gap period could be exactly what you need to start your business. Take a chance and see what happens. Just make sure you think everything through first.

Freelance
If you don’t want to start a business, but need to keep working, then you should consider freelancing or consulting. As an expert in your field, businesses may be looking for your expertise. Start small and build your way up. Be sure to use your professional network to get a few accounts.

Travel
If you have money saved up, you can use this time to travel to a new place. Doing this may not seem like it has much impact on your career, but when you travel somewhere new you are stepping outside of your comfort zone, being independent, and being detail-oriented.

Relax and Refresh
Sometimes, these resume gaps are the perfect opportunities to relax and refresh. Maybe you feel a little burnt out and you need to recover. Take this time to do that. Rediscover why you love your field of work and get your passion back.

Remember, career gaps don’t have to be a negative thing on your resume. In fact, you can make career gaps into a positive and rewarding situation. Instead of moping around because you don’t have a job, you can do something to better yourself, your community, and your career.

What have you done to fill in your career gaps? Leave your stories and advice in the comments section below!

 

Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net 

Using Facebook to Recruit

Posted by admin on

Over the last few weeks, we’ve discussed how to best use social media to find your next hire. While there are a lot of methods and several networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, one of the best ways to recruit your next hire is to use Facebook. Using Facebook to recruit is actually a lot simpler than using some of the other social networks. However, there is still some work involved.

Build Up Your Following

Before you can expect to see any results on Facebook, or any social network for that matter, you have to build up your following. In order to effectively use Facebook as a recruiting tool, you need to have an audience to share content with. Without followers on Facebook, you’ll be sharing content and job postings to no one.

Create a Careers Tab

With a Company Page on Facebook, you have the opportunity to create different tabs. Through these tabs, you can hold contests, share content, and even post your job openings. By creating a Careers Tab on your company page, you are providing followers and those who visit your page with the opportunity to see what positions you have open.

Share Content

With Facebook, it’s all about being real, which means sharing content that your page followers actually want to see and read. Don’t just share your own blog posts, but share content from other sources, post pictures, share quotes, and encourage your followers to reach out to you.

Engage Your Followers

Being on any social media site is about engagement. It’s about making connections with people, which means you need to be monitoring your social sites. It also means you need to be asking questions, answering questions, and talking to the people who follow you and the people you follow.

How do you use Facebook to recruit? We’d love to hear your stories and see how we can help! Leave your questions and stories int he comments section below.

Using Facebook to Find a Job

Posted by admin on

Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked about using social media to find a job. We’ve talked about building a personal brand, sharing content on Twitter, and keeping it professional on LinkedIn, but there’s one more network you need to know about. Using Facebook to find a job may seem like a strange concept, but it works. You just need to know how to go about using the site to your advantage.

Continue reading “Using Facebook to Find a Job” →

Using Twitter to Recruit

Posted by admin on

Last week, we discussed how you can start using LinkedIn for your recruiting efforts . This week, it’s all about using Twitter to recruit. With all of the social networks, it can become a little tedious to monitor them and keep up with everything. Using Twitter for recruiting doesn’t have to be quite as time consuming as some of the other networks, but that’s not to say you should be passive. Here are a few ways you can start using Twitter to find your next hire:

Continue reading “Using Twitter to Recruit” →