potential employers – Page 2 – TP Javeton WebNet

You, your resume and the job

Job hunting can be one of the most exhilarating, and yet agonizing experiences in an individual’s life; and while many of us, as young adults, look forward to opening a new chapter in our professional lives, finding a way to stand out from other job applicants who are at least equally qualified for a given position, is often a difficult task. If you’ve been in the job hunt recently, you can probably relate directly to this sentiment.

You understand that your resume is the first contact potential employers will have with you; and as such, a well formatted and well-written resume will often make a difference between getting an interview followed by getting the job, and being passed over. Most employers receive a stack of resumes from qualified candidates and scan them relatively quickly before they decide whether or not they want to read further.

Therefore you only have a few seconds to make a positive and/or lasting impression; but don’t panic! Instead, focus on the design of your resume as it is the first impression your potential employer will have of you, whether the resume is on paper or in electronic form.

Avoid using outdated templates

The most commonly made mistake in resume design pertains to using ready made templates that are available in Microsoft Word. While these templates are resume tools designed for quick formatting and consisting of easy to follow instructions on how to create your resume, they are often outdated and will make your resume appear generic and uninviting. Additionally, such templates, while well formatted in Microsoft Word, will not translate well when emailed or uploaded to job search engine web sites.

The second most commonly made mistake in resume design is the inclusion of graphics on the page. Your picture and/or other graphics are not appropriate for a resume, because including anything outside of plain text will make you stand out in a way that could cause the employer think that the seriousness with which you take yourself as a professional is sorely lacking, and this is certainly not the first impression you’d want to make.

That having been said, however, you might wish to obtain a few resume samples which can easily be done with a quick search on the Internet under the particular industry in which you’re pursuing employment, or under the category that makes the most sense for the job you are seeking. After that you can work on a blank page to replicate the look and feel of the resume you like. Take a look at the following basic formatting rules for your resume:

The resume features list

Limit the length of the resume to two pages.
Page margins should be one inch; top, bottom, right and left.
Use left justification only as a rule, and resume content should not be centered.
The font and font size should be consistent.
Bullet points should be basic. Use circles or squares, but never any symbols that may not translate well when sent electronically.
Headlines can be in all caps; but the remaining text should not have special formatting.
Do not underline any of the information in your resume since it could be mistaken for a hyperlink.
Headline font size should not exceed 14 points; and font size for the remainder text should not exceed 12 points.
Use the Tab key instead of your Space bar to create spaces between the text in your resume.

Check and recheck resume for errors

As a last formatting check point, ask your friends or family members for help in reviewing (critiquing) your resume. Simply email resume file via email to a few of your friends and ask them to review it resume to make sure nothing seems out of place. Print out the resume and review it to make sure that margins are accurately set, and the content doesn’t appear crowded on the page. Keep in mind that when it comes to your resume, a sleek simple appearance, and great writing will help you obtain your sought after job.

Fill in all resume gaps

Listing your professional experiences on a resume can be a difficult task, especially when considering the many elements a resume preparer must incorporate into the document, if it is to adequately serve the purpose it is meant to serve. Items like job titles, time frames, key responsibilities, transferable skills, and other such descriptions and attributes must be included and properly listed where and when appropriate. The process becomes even more difficult when these elements are in an individual’s work history.

Potential employers will not have a way of knowing why there is a three and a half year gap in an applicant’s professional experience just by reviewing his/her resume. Moreover, the employer might wonder if you – in the case where you are the applicant – skipped over one of your past jobs because it does not meet the career objective you listed.

It is also not unreasonable for a prospective employer to assume that you did not work at all during the omitted time frame; so it is not in your best interest to intentionally skip any information in your jobs history. Simply (honestly) explain any gaps. There are a few general rules about resume gaps that could help to guide you through:

Rules of the ‘resume gaps’ road

Any unaccounted-for time that is shorter than three months does not need to be explained. Having a 60-90 day period between jobs is not very unusual, and often goes unnoticed within the structure of a resume anyway. However, any gaps extending beyond three months should be addressed in your cover letter or an e-mail. Whether you had personal or professional reasons for not working, the gaps in your employment history need to be explained as you don’t want to leave the employer to make their own assumptions.
Be honest! We can’t stress this recommendation enough. If you are honest with your potential employers, you might not have to worry about them checking your references, doing a background check, or surprising you with questions in an interview.
Don’t exclude months of your employment from the job listing. You are better off explaining the gaps in your resume than trying to cover them up, and you’ll likely discover that honesty is really the best policy when it comes to your resume.
If you have held jobs that are not applicable to your career objective, list them on your resume anyway. Rather than create gaps in your resume, explain why you held jobs outside of your chosen field in your cover letter, or in an email to your potential employer. Again, whether the reasons are personal or professional, explain yourself honestly and don’t leave room for assumptions on the part of your potential employer.
Regardless of the reasons for the gaps in your professional history, it is important that the tone of your cover letter and your resume remain positive. Do not sound apologetic! Life happens and you don’t need to be sorry for taking time off from work for good and/or justifiable reason(s). Be positive! And show your potential employer that you never lost focus on your career.

Diligence, honesty and education pays off

While we all agree that life often takes unexpected turns and understand that there will be circumstances which result in resume, we can always consider the following actions in order to stay competitive in our field:

Apply our time and experience to volunteer positions, community projects, consulting and/or freelance work.
Take a class at a community college or at the community center that improves your work-related skills and allows you to interact with people of similar professional backgrounds.
Read about new developments in your field, get a subscription to a professional publication/magazine, or get the newly published books that discuss changes or improvements in your profession.

Most of all, be honest and stay positive, because you can’t change your work history, so do your best to show your employer that you are a perfect/best candidate for the job by focusing on your experience and your education, as well as highlighting your achievements and your qualifications.