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Exceptional Resumes = Interviews!

by Louise Garver, MA, CPRW, CMP, CEIP, JCTC, MCDP, CLBF

Is your resume generating the interviews you deserve?

Research results indicate that:

Only one interview is granted for every 50 to 100 resumes received by the average employer
Initially your resume will be perused quickly (about 15 seconds worth) rather than read thoroughly
The decision to interview a prospective candidate is usually based on an overall first impression of the document
The top 50% of the first page of your resume will either win you an interview or lead to the circular file
A superior resume can position you for a 10% to 30% or more gain in your starting salary.

That's the reason it's so important to capture the reader's interest immediately. Picture yourself as a hiring decision-maker who is searching for a candidate with specific qualifications. To present yourself as the truly exceptional candidate, your resume has to appeal directly to the employer's needs.

So, think of your resume as an advertisement - a well-written ad designed to get the reader to call you for an interview. To write an effective resume, you have to be able to write powerful yet subtle ad copy. Then, you must know how to sell a product in which you are personally invested. That product is you.

If you are like most people, you have underestimated your value in the employment market and do not enjoy the thought of selling anything, let alone yourself. And, like most people, you may not fully realize the depth of skills, accomplishments and expertise you have to offer. Choosing the best format for your particular background and situation is yet another important factor to be considered. What seems appropriate for one person may not necessarily present you in the best light, depending upon your particular employment history.

Does Your Resume Reveal Any Potential Liabilities?
Review your resume to determine the overall impact it may have on the reader. Does it present any of the following potential obstacles toward serious consideration? If so, make sure to minimize those factors to present your best advantage on paper.

Your experience is unrelated to your stated goal
Your education is unrelated to your stated goal
Your job titles are not progressive or similar to the type of position you are seeking
You have been unemployed for several years
Your experience history dates back 20 or more years
You have held a series of positions in only a few years
Your work history shows gaps
You appear to be short on achievements or appear to have none at all
Your experience is too narrow, too generalized or too specialized
Your experience is in other industries or in only one industry
Your career appears to be moving laterally
You have not been promoted
You lack sufficient education or training
You lack a needed requirement
You have held one position/title throughout your employment history

To increase your career opportunities at the best possible compensation package, present a peerless resume. Remember, you only have one chance to make the right first impression. Isn't your career worth it?

Different Types of Resumes For Today's Job Market

To be competitive in today's job market, it's important to be familiar with current technology and have the right tools. That includes resume formats. Along with a traditional hard copy that's visually attractive, you will be best served with scannable/electronic formats as well.

Scannable Resumes
Today more and more corporations and recruiting firms are taking advantage of electronic equipment to store and quickly retrieve applicant resumes to eliminate countless hours of manual processing. In order to be read by an organization's equipment, scannable formats are stripped of all bold print, underlined text, italics, bullets, and other graphics. In addition, the scanning software will only read specific font styles and point sizes. Unless your resume is in a scannable format, it cannot be entered into the organization's system. By using both traditional and scannable formats, you can make certain that your resume is appropriately processed.

Electronic Resumes
In an electronic resume, the attractive fonts, graphic lines and unique bullets are also eliminated. This plain text (ASCII) version is necessary in communicating with the wide variety of computers tied in to the Internet. Another critical element for an electronic resume is a key-word summary that includes industry-specific jargon and words that best describe your skills, which enables employers to search resume databases by listing words that outline the criteria for their ideal candidate. The search engine scans both for first occurrence and frequency of those words and lists candidates based on those results.

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