Guide to Career Education

"Career Resources and Help Guides. Are you looking for a new job? Having the proper tools can give you a head start in finding the perfect job. Here are resources listed to help in your job search."

Internet Resume & Cyber-Safe Resumes

Job-Hunt's Susan Joyce offers tips for creating an electronic resume while protecting your privacy. Good stuff!

Rebecca Smith's eResume and Resources

Online since 1995, this site offers eResumes 101, a collection of tutorials for developing your electronic resume. Highly recommended.

Resumes & Cover Letters from the Riley Guide

Excellent advice from the premier career website The Riley Guide. Here you can find information and links on preparing a resume and cover letter along with guides to providing references, resume databases, electronic resumes and more.

Resumes from JobStar Central

A detailed guide for writing Resumes and Cover Letters which also contains sample resumes and information on Electronic Resume Banks.

Resumes in an Electronic Age: Tips & Tricks

As the job market evolves to meet the demands of an electronic age, so must the savvy job seeker. Larger employers are now scanning electronically the hundreds of traditional resumes that they receive. More and more prospective employees are mailing their resumes to companies that openly solicit submissions via the Internet. Thus, a resume sent electronically will most likely end up in a database with hundreds of others. It is widely advised that you maintain your resume in a style and format conducive to automated retrieval systems. You do not necessarily have to rewrite your existing resume, but consider creating scannable and plain-text versions for more flexibility.

Scannable Resumes

Objective: Two elements are important to keep in mind--scanners can misread complex formatting and employers will attempt to retrieve resumes that contain desired key words or phrases. Maximize the computer’s ability to read and subsequently to find your resume once stored in a database. Use:

Use white, standard size paper standard address format at top one phone number per line flush left with no tabs plenty of white space keywords, rather than verbs industry jargon, acronyms, and software known*

Avoid columnar layouts (like this!) condensed text (letters touching) italics, underlining, and boldface vertical and horizontal lines folding and stapling (mail flat)

*e.g. A traditional resume might say: "Worked closely with writers and account coordinators in the development of client promotional materials." A resume intended for scanning should read: "Art Director creating four color brochures, multimedia presentations, and newspaper ad books."

Plain Text Resumes

Objective: There exist dozens of resume banks on the Internet. More and more employers accept resumes directly via e-mail or electronic forms on their Web pages. Create a plain text version that can be sent in its entirety via e-mail or cut and pasted as needed into e-forms.

Use: ASCII (plain) text format line length limited to 65 characters ** and – instead of bullets keywords, rather than verbs formal cover letter as introduction

Avoid: sending resume as an attachment to e-mail surprises—mail your resume to yourself first in order to check the formatting sending multiple versions of your resume to one employer

Note: An HTML (Web-based) resume or reference to a personal Web page on your resume can also complement your employment application. However, be wary of including information or links that might cast a negative light on how you are perceived by a prospective employer. For more information about resumes and how to do them, check out the the other resources on the ChicagoJobs.org website at Resumes & Cover Letters page -->© Brian DeHart, DePaul University Libraries

ResumesStartHere.com

A professional resume writing service, writers and advisors guide your resume towards quality and high standards. This site
has available a free basic service and an optional professional resume re-write for $68.95.

The Mighty Alternative To The Resume

Dan told us about a job posting for a position he really wanted. “It’s a perfect fit!” he exclaimed. We advised him not to send a resume, but to apply with a different tool. The employer responded quickly and set up an interview. To Dan’s amazement, the boss said he didn’t need to see a resume at all. He already had all he needed.

Dan learned that, while the resume is certainly still an important weapon in the job-hunters arsenal, today's savvy job hunters are finding other ways to impress the boss.

What did Dan send? It was a T-Letter. This is a great presentation tool, but it doesn’t work for everybody in every situation. It's best used when going after a position for which your background fits like a hand in a glove—or nearly so. You have most everything they want. Possibly, you may lack one or two of the qualifications for the position, but it's got to be a really strong fit, or the presentation loses its power.

What is a T-Letter?
The T-Letter gets its name from the shape. It begins with a regular paragraph, like any other letter. In this paragraph, you begin by expressing your excitement about the position, then state that the position looks like such a great fit that you have prepared a comparison of their requirements and your experience.

After that, the letter contains a two-column presentation in which you compare the employer's requirements, with your experience. It is both a powerful presentation for the boss, and a strong and clear presentation to help you get through the initial screening in the Human Resources office.

The left column lists their requirements, while the right one lists your experience,. The key to making this work is not to simply to parrot back their language, but rather to show that you are not only experienced, but also accomplished.

WRONG WAY

Your Requirements	My Experience
Three or more years experience in conducting educational training or teaching and/or making sales presentations on educational products.	I have five years of conducting educational training and make sales presentations on educational products and two years teaching.

RIGHT WAY

Your Requirements	My Experience
Five or more years experience in conducting educational training or teaching and/or making sales presentations on educational products.	Four years experience selling and training on educational products, including standardized tests and the Blue Horizons product. Chosen to travel to Europe to present to faculty at American schools overseas. Three years experience teaching 5th grade students; received peer recognition as Outstanding Teacher in my third year.

Picture an entry-level Human Resources employee going through a big stack of resumes, with a list of qualifications at his side, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. This presentation knocks him over the head and proclaims, “I’ve got everything you're looking for! No guess work. It's right here in black-and-white. You don't even have to think about it!”

Oftentimes, the job description will specifically state what the employer is looking for, but other times you may have to read between the lines if the job description isn’t specific. If there is no written job description, you to surmise as best you can what they really want, and focus the letter on those things.

Then, conclude the letter with an action statement, saying that you will follow up (assuming this is possible and the employer has not instructed applicants to not call).

The T-Letter powerfully conveys that you are a fit and a contributor.

Steve Frederick
Frederick Career Services
Steve can be reached at 847.673.0339 or CareersInc@aol.com

Top Secrets of Expert Resumes

By Steven Provenzano, CPRW / CEIP
Author, Top Secret Executive Resumes

It seems no matter how good we have it, we all want a better job.

That means keeping track of job listings, networking, tracking down leads, analyzing potential employers and scheduling interviews. But these depend on other people, word of mouth, and the quality and quantity of job postings available at any given time.

Only your resume gives you total control over how you are perceived by potential employers. It doesn't have to be a passive job listing with subjective information on why you think you're a great and wonderful person (which of course you are). You need a high-impact career marketing piece that takes full advantage of the paltry 10-60 seconds of attention most resumes receive: the breaking point for the email vs. web version.

Perhaps you don't think of yourself as a very good writer, and just don't like "writing about yourself." You're not alone: even published authors and top-flight executives who visit my office tell me they have trouble writing a decent resume. They also tell me, "My resume isn't perfect, but I'll explain myself in the interview."

However, you may be the perfect candidate for a position and still not get the interview, for no other reason than your resume. Resumes are typically used to exclude people from positions more often then include them; whomever is left in the 'potential' stack gets called for an interview.

The Big Picture
First and Foremost: Tell Employers What They Really Want to Know. Pre-digest your information. Employers may have a stack of resumes on their desk and a job to fill, right now. They'll have some key requirements that candidates must meet before they'll consider an interview. What they want to know from each person "sitting" on their desk is: What can you do for me? How can you fill this job effectively? Why should I talk to you?

Consistently Market Your Skills and Abilities
You must extract your most applicable skills and talents from your past work experience and sell them at the very top of your resume in that Profile.

Some key points for creating a better resume:

• Think of a basic Title or Objective for the top of your resume.

This section should be very brief and to the point, just one or two words: SALES / MARKETING or ACCOUNTING / FINANCE, or something like EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP. Give the reader some idea of where you're coming from, and generally where you want to go, without blocking yourself from consideration for other positions.
• Create a Profile section that develops your talents in these areas.

Here's where you create the link between your needs and the employer's. In a short, bulleted summary section at the top of your resume, you need to spell out and develop your most relevant and essential skills and talents, in accordance with what you think the employer needs to see.
• Steer clear of fluff words in your Profile such as "Self-motivated, hands-on professional with an excellent track record of..."

Let's face it. The first two items in this sentence could be said about almost anyone. As for your track record, let the employer decide if it's excellent by reading about your abilities (on top) and your duties and accomplishments (under the Employment section).

This can be the most difficult task on any resume, and it has to be written just right. If it's subjective or contains ideas that can't be verified through education or experience, then don't include it, or you'll lose your credibility. Consider getting advice from a Certified Professional Resume Writer who typically won't charge for a review.

Employment and Education sections.
Now your writing must consistently verify, support and quantify what you've stated in your Profile section! Help the reader actually see you at your last position by spelling out daily duties most relevant to your career goals. Explain how many people you supervised or trained, types of clients you work(ed) with, computers utilized, and most important, results.

What are/were your achievements? Give facts and figures like budget amounts, how much you've saved the company over how long, awards, recognitions, etc.

Avoid the ubiquitous "References Available upon Request" at the bottom of your resume. If employers really want references, they'll ask you. Consider "CONFIDENTIAL RESUME" at the top of your resume, and/or stating this in your cover letter. Always respect the reader's intelligence!

Research the company's brochure, annual report and job advertisement, if any, and tailor your resume as much as possible to the position.

Final Thoughts
Although personal networking is the best way to get a job, an excellent resume can open doors all by itself, and is still required in most networking situations. Of course, a brief cover letter should be targeted to the hiring authority whenever possible.

Tell the reader what you know about their operation, and why you want to work specifically for his/her company. Make them feel like they're the only person getting your resume. Consider this: a resume that's only slightly more effective than the one you have now could help you get a job weeks, or even months faster than your old resume.

Resume writing is an art form in itself, and there are few hard and fast rules. You need a complete, professional job search strategy, and your resume must be a key part of that strategy. When you implement these ideas in the next update of your resume, you'll almost certainly get more interviews.

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Steven Provenzano is a former corporate recruiter and author of six career books, most recently: Top Secret Executive Resumes, and has appeared on CNBC, CNN/fn, ABC/NBC in Chicago, on numerous radio programs and in various newspapers.

Steven is a Certified Professional Resume Writer / CPRW, Certified Employment Interview Professional/CEIP, and president of ECS (Executive Career Services & DTP, Inc.), and has written more than 4000 resumes.

Email any questions or materials to Careers@Execareers.net or call toll free: 877-610-6810. Site: Execareers