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Thursday, April 01, 2004 ( 7:42 AM ) axmc Recruiter Resume CommentsFrom GHM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [From recruiter, Bill Griffin. This appears to be a response he uses to communicate back to his applicants.] This is not an indictment of your resume... merely a 'heads-up' to keep you appraised on resume content, font, file name conventions, and one recruiters opinion of what a resume should contain and not contain. It is my opinion that few decision makers initially read resumes anymore. I believe that the process of considering candidates has evolved to delegating to some admin. assistant the responsibility of running text parsers over massive archives of resumes. These parsers count the number of hits on keywords which are selected by those decision makers. The admin assists are told to print the top dozen resumes and then those may be reviewed by the decision maker or hr person responsible for making contact with the resume owner, usually by email first to inquire if the person is still available, open to location where the job is located, and perhaps sending a job spec with a salary range or target. The decision maker speaks with no one who does not reply to the email, which is why its absolutely essential that your email address be on your resume, and near the top! Its largely a numbers game where format of the resume becomes largely immaterial, bullets, graphics, indentation, all the logos, URL'S and other non essential info becomes moot and inconsequential. The sooner you realize the process by which you resume is artificially processed (almost untouched by human hands !) the more emphasis you can place on keywords, function, industry, discipline, role, perspective, salary, location and timing... in order to bring your resume to the top dozen on the keywords hit list. That is my opinion of what it is going to take to get a call pursuant to an interview if you happen to send your resume directly to a hiring employer.. Resumes coming from recruiters who have relationships with hiring employers will perhaps have an advantage, because we have the years of experience, use the same text parsers, have knowledge of technology transfer, and often the ear of the decision maker, and who usually gives us credit for knowing what he wants to see and what he does not want to see. If you sent a cover letter only and it has no email address, that could be one reason. If you did that, you're wasting your time in this or any market. This is the age of email ! NEVER send your resume as resume.doc or as ANYTHING EXCEPT lastname.firstname.middleinitial.doc and cover letters as lastname.firstname.cov.doc. Those are the current industry standard resume and cover letter filename conventions. Do NOT send ZIP files ! That's not necessary, and takes additional key strokes to get into for any reader. I could not care less if you send your resume to another recruiter or to some employer as pxdf3004_ayk.doc, but when you are dealing with me and I have previously returned a resume on which I have spent time reformatting and have returned it to you and you send me back that format with some obscure filename, you will be wasting your time, and insulting my efforts. If you don’t have my reformat, or lost your resume, and I have any version, and you ask me for a copy, I will send you what I have, no questions asked, and will at the same time return any cover letter I may have for you. I reformat almost all resumes I receive but will do that only ONCE for FREE. You can imagine how frustrating it might be to see the same resumes over and over which do not conform to a style which is instantly recognizable by my hiring employers and my affiliates, who use those filenames to archive and find your resume when your name comes up, or before they can send it to some employer with a job for which you may be qualified. I have not previously gone to lengths to explain the why for industry standard filenames, but in brief, they are that I get about a dozen resumes per day 7 days per week. I have over 12,500 on disc. I have developed a complex system using zip files, batch files run from dos which extract, and move a resume to my working directory any resume, based on a char string of the filename. When I have a previous version of a resume with an industry standard filename and update it I can copy it to my archive directory zip it via batch file into the appropriate zip file based on the first letter of the filename..(something that is impossible with resumes which do not conform to lastname.firstname.middleinitial.doc) and automatically overwrite any previous versions inside the zip files and only overwrite the resume of the same candidate whose resume filename conforms to the industry standard. This insures that someone else who sent his resume which may have been saved as resume 22.doc didn’t overwrite someone else whose resume arrived on my system as resume22.doc, or that I have to spend more than 5 minutes looking for someone’s resume because he/she could not get a grasp on the significance of the filename standard and why its essential for anyone who manages almost 13,000 resumes. A more important reason is that I have been doing this for 37 years, know what I'm doing (ask anyone who really knows me) and the sight of a resume which conforms to the industry standard which I conceived (much like email names using @ ) the reader will know instantly that you are up to speed, and further that its highly likely that you have been in touch with me, and that resume will get read (trust me on this) long before the one with the filename resuDBJ04_mar.doc, which has a high probability also of not even being retained. Any download to any system which resembles any file received previously gets consecutively numbered. I once had resume1.doc, resume2.doc, etc up to resume104.doc with no way whatever to know which file was the one which I may have wanted to email to a client, and with no time nor inclination to open each one to look for someone’s name. I don’t look for resu*.anything, nor cov*, nor cv*, nor Grif*, nor Alpha*, nor final*, nor new*.* ,unless its newman.edward.doc. General tips on resumes. Do NOT put fax # on resumes, no one faxes anymore.Those who do show naiveté and are not in the real world. Do not use "Professional experience" as it implies you may have some ' NON-professional ' experience somewhere. "Experience" is sufficient. We know we're reading a resume, and all that implies.Do not use 'phone' or 'telephone' if you have only one phone to include, we know what a phone number is. Do not use 'Email' we also know an email address when we see one. Do not include the web address to your resume... we're already reading it ! Before you put any info on a resume, ask yourself.. Does anyone really care about or need to know this particular info at this time? Does anyone care about the name of the parent corporation, division name, or whether or not the firm is incorporated ? If it is reasonable to presume that few will care, DO NOT PUT IT ON THE RESUME ! Compact information. Condense, consolidate, making the resume faster and easier to read, giving more retention, and not containing all sorts of cute graphics, underlines, especially asterisks as bullets. Do not include addresses, zips and phone numbers for your employers. Do not include URLS to every employer for whom you ever worked, NOR their corporate logos as objects. It increases load time about 400% for the graphics and hogs available memory which may be needed to alt-tab to a mail client so the recruiter can send the resume to an employer ! AVOID GRID type fill-in-the-box styles. They are unmanageable and inflexible. They may indicate at a glance that you are just about to graduate (that is what many college students use) Plain text shows your verbal skills, and your ability to present meaningful data in an concise and efficient manner. If your resume shows some major city with a unique name, do NOT Include the state, everyone knows in what states are Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, etc.. anything that does not enhance the motivation of the reader to pick up the phone and call you is a DISTRACTION and should not be on the resume. That includes acronyms like The Majestic Company (TMC) Just DONT DO THAT ! Do not include (for example) ABB (formerly Combustion Engineering).... waste of space, and no one cares! Do not include the name of the division.. No one cares ! If they want to know THEY WILL ASK YOU ! and... THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO.. PICK UP THE PHONE AND ASK YOU... ANYTHING !, which then gives you the opportunity to become a PERSON and not JUST ANOTHER RESUME in a stack on their desk. You do not need "Summary of Qualifications." Summary is sufficient. We can see that what follows are qualifications. Abbreviate ! Month names to 3 chars, States 2 chars. Put periods at the end of sentences! Do not include bit map graphics or make your resume ' Read only'. Dont spell out Company, Incorporated or Corporation! Use Co. Inc. or Corp. No reader is going to care at all whether your employer was Inc or not ! Just use the name and forget the Inc or Corp ! Do not use reverse video or some other (' orange' ) background for example ! Most readers of resumes use white text on blue backgrounds so Blue TEXT will be invisible. Most recruiters have a long-tenured historical style and whose resume formats are instantly recognizable as 'theirs' and those resumes carry that recruiters reputation and judgment subliminally. My personal preference is Arial, 9 point font, left justified. Recruiters store resumes on disc, and parse them with text editors, and it matters not what size type font you choose, as any reader can increase font size instantly. If the recruiter cannot edit, format, change type font, style, size, left/right justification, or delete unnecessary or implicit information, your resume might not be sent to the recruiters client with whom you most ardently want an interview. DO NOT include references until asked for them. Standard text is "References on request " that means that they are available, and you do not have to use the word 'available'. Do not use ANY words that are implicit or that do not enhance the readers motivation to pick up the phone and CALL YOU! Generally do not include long lists of patents nor publications. "Patents (or) Publications on request" is sufficient. SIMPLICITY is the key to motivating the reader to respond. We're in a time sensitive world. Do not require that the reader review dozens of words that are UNNECESSARY. In general, fill up the page, start left margin at column 10, and right at 65 or 70, if it means that you can reduce the total length by a whole page. Don’t use excessive columnar format, with just a few words on each line and which runs your resume to 5 or more pages. Big Mistake ! If God had wanted us to read long columns of vertical information, he would have put our eyes over and under not side by side! The human eye can absorb at least 80 characters on one line easily, and doing so gets the info the brain that much faster, which enhances retention. If your resume can be read and absorbed in 3 minutes max, you are doing something right, if it takes more than 5 or 6 minutes, forget it, the reader may never call you. Put contact info at the top left, NEVER at the bottom, as : Johnson, Michael Q. 123 Walnut Street Goleta, CA 93117 805 -555-1222 johnsonmike@yahoo.com Best wishes, its a very competitive and volatile market. It is essential to try do as many things right as possible, but equally important to keep from making major mistakes in presentation as well. The biggest and most costly errors I continually see are 1. Lack of any indication of salary history, objective, minimum acceptable, and 2. Locational preferences, and 3. Lack of cover letter which should contain that information. 4. Indication of whether or not you are employed, and still on the payroll. 5. What type and size firms you feel would have the greatest interest in your skillset.. and 6. Sense of urgency.. Now or in next 6 mos ? Recruiters generally expect to spend more time in behalf of someone who is unemployed and therefore more flexible and cooperative in polishing his resume and cover letter and in making interviews. I never discard ANY resume for ANY reason. I generally archive all those whose recent salaries are over $100,000 unless they have some indication of meeting closely some currently viable job spec/ on which I am working, or expect to see in the near future (see my jobs list on my website - hyperlink below) as well as those who are in senior IT management roles, network systems implementation, web applications, network marketing, e-commerce applications, call center managers, international sales and marketing managers in the software industry. Resumes over $100,000 base will be parsed with all others when I use that utility for any specific opening. Perhaps someday those markets will return to viability, but I'm not expecting that much before JULY 2004 ! Regards, William Griffin William Griffin, Pres. wgriffin@adelphia.net ALPHA SYSTEMS, Inc since Sept 1967 3325 Sweetwater Drive Cumming, GA 30041-6641 Cell 678 522 8538 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> # ( 7:29 AM ) axmc Free Resume Workshop Saturday April 10thFrom GHM The Saint Hubert's Job and Networking Ministry along with their Extended Ministry Partners, will conduct another of it's monthly Resume Review Events On Saturday, April 10th, . There will be six HR professionals, search representatives and/or communications specialists available to assist individuals with resume improvements and suggestions. The event will be held at the Immanuel Lutheran Church - Fellowship Hall, 200 N. Plum Grove, Palatine IL. 60067. No reservation is necessary. The event will start at 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Bring a copy of your resume. This is a non-denominational event, open to all occupations and experience levels. If you would like a professional opinion on how to improve your resume, use this free opportunity to get one-on-one help and advice. Morning refreshments will be available. April 17th"Conducting a Career Self-Assessment."the Saint Hubert's Job and Networking Ministry will host a free career seminar at the Parish Ministry Center on the topic, "Conducting a Career Self-Assessment." The presentation will begin at 9:00 AM. This Presentation will be made by Anne Abasolo, Harper College Career Specialist and will focus on the tools and techniques for learning how to identify and evaluate your job related skills and abilities - to better represent your capabilities to an employer, during an employment interview. There is no need for pre-registering. (Bring a copy of your resume as an aid to you, during the sample assessment exercises.) Following the meeting there will be informal networking until 12:00 Noon. Refreshments will be available.Saint Hubert's is located at 729 Grand Canyon, Hoffman Estates, IL. NOTE THE DIFFERENT LOCATION FOR THE TWO EVENTS # Wednesday, March 31, 2004 ( 7:12 AM ) axmc TAX TIPS FOR THE UNEMPLOYEDFrom GHM Recently, ResumeDoctor.com reviewed tax related issues impacting the unemployed. Based on the results, ResumeDoctor.com compiled a list of tax tips. Both unemployment benefits and severance packages represent taxable income. To help minimize your burden, the government offers tax breaks in several areas of interest for those without a job. * Job Search Expenses - Costs associated with your job search can be taken as itemized deductions. Save your receipts for purchases such as resume preparation, phone calls, and even online job seeking expenses. However, these expenses must be related to a job search within your current industry. Politicians looking for work in the pharmaceutical industry are out of luck. Also, these expenses must total at least 2% of your adjusted gross income. * Moving Expenses - For individuals relocating to accept a job, you can now write off your moving expenses against your gross income. Several caveats exist, including a requirement that your new place of employment be at least 50 miles from your old residence. * Health Insurance - This can be taken as an itemized deduction if payments for health insurance exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Better yet, if you received any income from self-employed work, your entire health insurance costs can be taken as a direct expense. In addition, unemployed individuals can take funds out of IRAs to pay for these expenses without triggering any penalties. Just note that the distribution may be taxable depending upon your tax bracket. * Education - Certain education expenses can be deducted if they either maintain or enhance skills needed in your current field of work. Be careful though, as the IRS does not allow deductions for education required for a job, or that qualifies you for a position in another trade or industry. Remember, you can only take a write-off if you actually received taxable income during 2003. Also, the tax code is complicated and everyone's tax situation differs, so check with your tax advisor before taking any deductions. CONTACT INFORMATION: Mike Worthington Phone: (802) 865-4243 Fax: (802) 860-2876 Mike@ResumeDoctor.com www.ResumeDoctor.com # Monday, March 29, 2004 ( 3:23 PM ) axmc Church World ServiceLaveta Randall continues in her search - and found this site at Church World Service that may be of interest to some PBJ members. # |
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