WRITE A Winning RESUME

Stand out, get noticed 

Your resume is your most important tool when applying for a job. It doesn’t matter how qualified you are, or how much experience you have, if your resume is poorly presented or badly written, you’re going to have trouble getting the job you want, or even an interview. Let’s explore the following aspects for the making of a great resume

1. The Purpose
2. Length and number of pages
3. Order of Information on Your Resume
4. Adapting content for Each Application
5. What Your Resume Should Include
6. Non-inclusions
7. Reviewing Your Resume
8. Resume Templates

Firstly, let’s explore the Purpose of your resume,

 1. The Purpose of a Resume

Your resume is a marketing tool. It is a SALES flier,  your sales brochure, its supposed to market you in the best light. It  needs to demonstrate:

• That you are employable
• How you meet the job and the organisation’s requirements
• That you have the right qualifications and education
• That you have the right experience and skills
• That you have the right level of professionalism for the job

 2. Pages and length 

Ideally, one or two pages are best, but three pages are OK, if you’ve got a lot of study and work behind you. However,REMEMBER  the research, employers spend an average of 6 seconds reading a resume!

Make sure you don’t pad out your resume. If your resume is only one page, as long as it’s well-presented it might get better results than a two-page resume full of unnecessary information.

3. How Should I Order My Resume?

Generally it’s always good to present the information on your resume in this order, it’s sometimes known as Chronological order

1. Contact details
2. About me… statement
3. List of key skills  and List of technical/software skills
4. Personal attributes/career overview
5. Educational qualifications
6. Employment history/volunteering/work placements (from today… back to the past 15 years)
7. 2 or three hobbies or interests (optional)
8. Minimum of 2 Referees

Not everything in this list must appear on your resume every time, and the order can change from application to application. The most important thing is to get the most useful information across first. For example, if your education history is not specifically related to the job, put it toward the end of your resume, behind the information that is related to the job.

4. Do I Need to Change or Adapt My Resume for Each Application?

In one word, YES! You need to tailor your resume to every job application so that it responds to the specific requirements of the job you’re applying for. Only minor edits may be required, but you do need to make sure your opening statement, your key skills and your personal attributes all respond to the needs of the role, based on the job ad (if there was one) and the research you’ve done into the job.

You should also tailor your resume to show how your work experience specifically meets the needs of the job you’re applying for.

5.  Tailoring Your Resume

Tailoring your resume could include:

• Using your opening “about me” statement to link your experience and education to the organisation and the requirements of the job
• Listing your most relevant key skills first
• Including examples of achievements that meet advertised requirements of the job
• Including specifically relevant key words and phrases throughout your resume

 6. Inclusions

Every resume needs the bare bones essentials. Check out resume templates ,Google this to get an idea of what resumes should look like.

 7. Contact Details

Make sure you include your name, email address and a contact phone number on your resume. You don’t have to include your home address, although there might be some situations when doing so would be a good idea. You can place your contact details in the footer of your resume, but if you do, you must make sure they’re also in the main body of the document.

8. Opening Statement,  Elevator  or “About Me”

It’s an opening statement, that is a brief summary of who you are, where you’ve studied and/or worked, and what you bring to the job. It provides the reader with a snapshot of you and individualizes your resume.

9. Key Skills & Strengths

A resume could include a list of between 10 and 15 skills that link your experience to the job you’re applying for. If the job you’re applying for was advertised, then either the ad or the position description may provide a list of skills and experiences that are essential for doing the job. It may also provide a list of “desirable” skills and experience. When putting together this list, think of things you’ve done or learned to do as part of:

• Jobs you’ve had
• Your studies
• Any work placements you’ve done
• Any volunteering you’ve done

 10. Technical/Software Skills

This is a short list of the names of software or technology you know how to use. Examples might include:

• Microsoft Suite or spreadsheet software
• Programming languages
• Tools (e.g., cash registers, EFTPOS)

 11. Personal Attributes

When you haven’t got much work experience, a list of personal attributes can be another way to demonstrate that you’re the right person for the job.

12. Educational History

Educational History only needs to show your highest level of education. You don’t need to include your results, unless showing them proves how well you’re suited to the job.

If you can, you should also include a few bullet points listing your academic achievements (e.g., school or class captaincies, awards you’ve won, or groups you’ve been part of).

13. Employment History

When providing your employment history, start with the your most recent job and go backwards from there. Give the position title and the dates you worked there.

If you haven’t had a job before, you can use other things to demonstrate your experience, including:

• Work experience you’ve done through school
• Work placements or internships that you’ve done through university or TAFE
• Volunteer work you’ve done

For each job provide a list of the things that you achieved while in that job, and the significant contributions you made to the organisation. Make sure that these achievements and contributions match the key skills and strengths listed earlier on your resume.

14. Referees

Your resume should list two people who can positively recommend you as an employee. Ideally your references will be people that you have worked with before. Provide their name, their position title, and a way that they can be contacted.

15.Testimonials

A testimonial is another good way to prove that your skill and experience is what the employer is looking for.

You can include any testimonials you get as part of your educational history or your employment/volunteering/work placement history.Usually it’s enough to include one or two testimonials in your resume. Any more than two is probably too many.

16.Keywords

Many recruitment agencies use software that scans applications for matching key words and phrases. Applications that don’t use the right keywords tend to be automatically rejected. Key words and phrases that this software looks for can include the names of:

• Skills
• Jobs
• Activities
• Qualifications
• Software
• Tools

To make sure your resume has the right key words and phrases, check out the job ad and make a list of the words and phrases it uses. If you don’t have a written job ad to refer to, you can use a job search engine to find other ads for similar jobs and see what kind of keywords those ads use. Once you have a list to work from, start adding those words and phrases to your resume. Good places to add keywords include:

• Your opening statement
• Your list of key skills
• Your educational history
• Your employment history

 17. What NOT to Put On Your Resume

There are a few things not to include on your resume. Note that there may be circumstances when including some of the following information shows that you’re a good fit for the job. If that’s the case, including that information would be a good idea.

 18. Personal Information

You don’t have to provide any personal information on your resume. There’s no benefit to be gained from providing information that could be used to generalize about you as a potential employee. Your resume doesn’t have to include:

• Your birth date
• Your gender
• Your address
• Any ailments or disabilities
• Your health status

A possible exception to this might be when providing this information would give your application an advantage (e.g., if the employer is looking for someone young, or a female applicant). In these situations, consider including such information if you think it would strengthen your application.

19.Typos or Factual Errors

Submitting a resume or cover letter with spelling mistakes  and typos will guarantee you don’t get an interview. You should spellcheck your resume before you send it, but you should also get someone else to read it as well and check for mistakes you might have missed. Double-check everything that you include in your resume. If you mention the company’s name, make sure you get it right. If you mention the name of places you’ve worked before, make sure you get that right. Mistakes on resumes are worse than typos.

Lastly,you should also consider having your resume looked at by someone professional.

 20.Images and Graphics

The Jury is out, many feel that you should not include images or photos on your resume. Not only are images disliked by recruiters and HR professionals, they can also create problems with recruitment software.

21. Fancy Formatting

Stick to easy-to-read fonts and formats. This makes it easier for recruiters to review your resume. It also means any recruitment software that reviews your resume can easily read the information.  DON’T HAVE IT ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS EITHER! The reader/s may think you are shouting at them!  Good fonts to use include:

• Verdana /Arial/ Century gothic/ Calibri

Don’t use large headers to break up the sections of your resume. Rather, use a 10- or 11-point font for your main content and a 12- or 14-point maximum for headers.

22. Information in Tables

Some resume templates present information in tables to help with layout, but some recruitment software is unable to read tables. Your resume should only be formatted using line breaks and simple formatting.

PDF Versions of Your Resume

Some recruitment software can’t read pdfs. Unless a job ad specifically says to provide your resume as a .pdf, you should always only submit your resume in word format (.doc or .docx).

LAST VITAL STEP -Reviewing Your Resume

Having someone else review your resume is extremely important. Make sure you use someone who will actually tell you if they think something isn’t right. People you could ask include:

• Co-workers
• Former employers
• Teachers
• Career guidance counselors
• Your parents or guardians

Ensure you print out to check for layout and consistency…

Still confused? contact Resume writing service!

Ivana Agapiou resume writer and career advisor

The post How to write a winning resume, from someone who knows! appeared first on Eather Recruitment.

Resumes need to be read, not rejected.

How can you attract the reader’s attention? Here’s a little secret gem that just might help keep your readers interested. I suggest you add an enticing  “About me” statement. 

Resumes, like applicants are individual.

The About Me Statement needs to shine a light on your personality, values and passion. Here are a few top tips on improving your statement.

Your statement should contain most of the following:

• Level of experience in industry
• Skills on offer to the employer
• be written specifically to the advertisement, what job role is it,  and what skills are needed in that job.
• Qualifications and or certifications relevant to position
• Explain why you for this job
• What is the special “Something” that differentiates you from other employees?

To successfully write a resume for reading, the responses could read a bit like these following examples,

A Barista

“Being a Barista is not just a job! I love serving customers and can operate various commercial coffee machines. I have speed and physical agility, and I possess initiative and can think quickly on my feet. I’m creative and enjoy making each cup a work of art. I can distinguish qualities of a coffee such as body, astringency, bitterness, fruitiness, acidity, chew, under extracted, over extracted, and the texture of the milk, and last but not least, I love working under pressure!”

The Pitch

“I like being the public face for a hotel. As the first person a customer sees or the first voice they hear, I know how important it is that I consistently act in a professional manner providing the customers with a great first, and lasting impression. I am also a great typist, and pride myself on my accuracy and administration skills. As well as this, I’m told that my smile is contagious!”

General Hospitality and Retail customer service roles

The Pitch could be, “I deliver a high level of customer service and I understand the importance of presentation and great communication skills. I like to be efficient and to provide  timely service. I adopt a very flexible approach to working various shifts, and can work a variety of hours. I enjoy engaging with Guests and customers and building repeat business”.

Examples offered are just examples but could be used to form your unique elevator pitch

If you need professional advice and assistance to upgrade your resume and application or are still concerned and having difficulty writing for reading, not rejection, then CALL NOW  Ivana on 0404056278  or visit figjamresumes.com.au for a phone appointment

Resume consultant,  Ivana Agapiou Resume writer and career advisor

The post Resumes written for reading, not rejection. appeared first on Eather Recruitment.

Selection Criteria. If you are seeking work especially within large corporations, the job application process has become even more onerous and tricky.

The process often requires you to possess a huge amount of critical thinking, analysis and the qualities of a best selling author.

In the past, the expectation was that you responded to selection criteria. That was tough enough. Now there is a whole new world of potential suffering that manifests into paralysis and sheer fright! The expectation is that you can read between lines,and interpret any job description, and be able to respond with creative intelligence to “capability statements” or articulate answers to seemingly innocuous key questions within a cover letter (no more than 2 pages allowed)

As you wade through the pages of corporate guff, (some of which is not useful) which often includes the now trending competency percentages for the role, you are expected to interpret how you can match these required job attributes to your experiences. Sometimes you are required to be almost a literary genius!  All the responses require you to demonstrate how you encompass your competencies and your experience into great, meaty examples that relate to their job.

In the past, most applications were initially screened and handled by HR administration or  HR professionals, these were the people who first eye-balled your application and would shortlist by simply skimming  your application, searching for certain phrases or buzzwords. Here’s the tricky thing … not all applications are read by human eyes anymore. Many employers and HR departments that employ large numbers of staff, utilize scanning software to search for keywords in job applications and ONLY  when the computer pings with matches,  will they read the applications!

Regardless, it’s vitally important to make sure your application has the right keywords contained within, so that a match or a “hit” happens in the search. Please note that this is not an excuse to implant your application with a loads of random buzzwords or make it obvious that you have copied phrases and sentences into your application.

The computer searches rely on verbs and also nouns. If you were applying for a accountancy role, then you’d want to make sure you included keywords your job application, like profit and loss statements, along with using niche terms that are relevant and are integral to the role advertised.

The easier you make it for the recruiter or the scanning software to find and match your skills and qualities to the job, the quicker and easier it will be that you are shortlisted,  and the more likely it’ll be that they’ll ask you for an interview.

YES! The application process now requires a huge amount of critical thinking, analysis and the qualities of a best seller author.

Ivana Agapiou  resume writer and career adviser

The post Your job application needs to be smarter, shorter, smoother and simply match the criteria appeared first on Eather Recruitment.

 Job search is filled with opportunities to worry, stress, and disappoint.

When you start your job search journey, understand it could be an emotional  roller coaster.  It’s normal to feel some angst, but not too good if the trip is full of it.

Like any journey, it needs a plan. You  have to find the right advertisement; for the right kind of job;  at the right company;  and all for the right reasons. Then there’s the application itself as as well as the wait to hear back from the employer. Let’s explore some of these stages of job search

Right Advertisement

It usually means setting up “alerts” for many of the major companies as well as on-line companies like SEEK. Some job adverts look amazing, too good to be true even! “like no experience necessary, we train you” stuff. Read between the lines and be skeptical.  Always follow your instincts and first impressions. Remember that the advert reflects the image of the employer. Reading the advert, you may gain a sense of their culture or personality. If there are “cringe” factors or unbelievable statements like “we want a super human who can delight customers 24/7  you might want to think twice before you send your resume, or hopefully it piques your interest and you apply anyway.

The right kind of job

The general rule is that you should only apply for jobs where you can hand on heart say ” I can do 80% of all of that”. That’s the minimum.  if they ask for mandatory qualifications, then you will NEED those. Naturally, you will have to like the tasks and responsibilities also. Check that you actually WANT to perform the work/job. You may be well suited, but ask yourself if you do you want to work in that field and in that role? The grass is not always greener, so make sure its a leap ahead of where you are at now

The right reasons

Money of often the main motivator. Lets face it – it is!  The trouble with this reason as the major motive for applying for a job is that it may land you into a role that is soul destroying; erodes your family life and freedom and keeps you going because you like what the money can buy. If that’s the only reason, than expect to give something up or a lot up, in return. The best reason to apply for a particular job is for the experience, the enhanced learning, the workplace and the sense of accomplishment. Yes, you want to be paid and as long as the salary marries with the job responsibilities, and meets IR wage /legislation that’s really the bottom line.

Your best foot forward in the application

The majority of time spent in your job search should be on securing the best resume and enticing cover letter. DON’T send the same resume to every job advert unless all the adverts are the same! Adapt your application to fit/suit the requirements and nuances of the advert. DO NOT LIE. The way to the employer’s attention and the way to gain an interview is to match your skills. experience and knowledge to the requirements of the job.

The right company

We always hear of Employer of choice workplaces and companies.  Voices whispering ” Did you hear how much they pay their staff?” or stories about the amount of time off  the staff receive etc. Yep. There are great companies to work for. Yep. They do exist. Yep. apply when they advertise for sure.  But make sure YOU like them too and for all the right reasons.  So, we are back to the right reasons again.

In summary, do your research, not just on the advert; the company background – but on yourself. Is this really, really what you really, really want? Don’t act so desperate that you accept a job that you eventually resent. Speaking of desperation, during the job search phase many of us dread the waiting for a response. We may act desperate here too.

The Waiting

Many companies have a structured recruitment phase. Often the bigger the company, the longer they take to recruit. However, small business owners who are time poor, may also take a long time to contact you. Sadly, all too often, many don’t call; write or email you back at all. This wait period is, and can be, highly stressful. To ease your anxiety, make a list of all the jobs you applied for. On this list, include the Company name; the job outline;  the date you applied (or their closing date for applications)  and the reasons why you applied. That way, if /when you get THE CALL, you will be prepared. This is important to do especially if you have applied for several jobs at once. There is nothing more unprofessional than responding to that all important call with “who are ya?” or even worse, “what job did I apply for?”

Lastly, you got the call! and now all you have to do is prepare, prepare and prepare for the interview, break a leg!

for more information go to www.figjamresumes.com.au

Ivana Agapiou

Ivana Agapiou resume writer and career advisor

The post Chance is a fickle thing, job research is not appeared first on Eather Recruitment.

Does your resume have your correct and current address, phone number and email?

Where you are living is irrelevant, unless the job advert stimulates that it’s important to be close to the job, however, you will need to have an address.

It’s unbelievable that many don’t run the basic check on their contact details , but it’s true. . You would think that it would be a given and an essential requirement that  candidates details, especially  about themselves, would be 100% correct and very current. You would think; and you’d be wrong! Over and over again, we receive out of date resumes that don’t reflect the candidate’s current contact details, let only current employment status.

This demonstrates stability as well as close availability. Your email address MUST be one that you access regularly and one that is correctly spelt on the resume. Your phone contacts are also vital. Check that phone number on your resume is the right one! Check your phone for messages and missed calls often and ensure that your phone is running well, for example, battery is fully charged! One last hint on mobile phones- check the message your leave for unanswered calls. Make sure yours is not in the grey area of concern. Leave a professional and clear message so that the caller can feel confident enough to leave a message!

The other of concern with current contact details are the referees. Often candidates DO NOT check on the whereabouts of their referee/s or even that their referees are prepared for a potential call from a future employer.

This is basic RESUME Writing 101 and if you cant get this right, why are you sending out resumes and no one can actually call you back, let alone find your current address.

Please check your resume, before you press “send” …  you may be missing out only because you forgot to update your basic contact details… GOOD NEWS… it’s an easy fix.

Ivana Agapiou – resume writer and career advisor

The post Return to send, address unknown, no such number… appeared first on Eather Recruitment.