How To Get a Job

Without revealing what exactly I do for a living, I'm in a position where I look at resumes every single day. It's gotten to the point where fatigue has set in from the endless variety of bad resumes that I've read. In light of this, I want to pass along some tips for getting a job because A. not all of you have one and B. it won't get better until you stop making the same mistakes.

1. This should be a no-brainer but please use the spellcheck. I mean damn people, what would it hurt? You only kill your chances when trying to explain your motivation(s) for finding gainful employment with an o-b-j-e-t-i-v-e. Really? It's standard for all forms of word processing software out there, just click the button.

2. I understand that some people feel that their e-mail addresses should indicate how they feel about themselves. When you use getmoney2012@gmail.com or gangstawayne@yahoo.com, it's a one way ticket to the recycling bin for your resume. Trust me.

3. If you haven't worked for more than six months, do some volunteering or anything that shows you in a productive light. A work history that stops in 2010 is no different from saying that you do not want to work. Is it unfair? Absolutely. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, volunteer and put the experience on your resume or win the lottery.

4. Unless you have "fuck you" skills, do not ask about paid vacation days over the phone. Asking about wages are fair but also keep in mind that the cost of labor goes down when there is an excess of unemployed people in the job market. If you didn't go to college and don't have some extraordinary talent, you are not going to be making much more than $10 an hour anywhere. $14 an hour is manna from heaven for most high school graduates (or dropouts) in California. Don't expect the moon when you haven't put in the work.

There's more but I'll leave it here for now.

 

Shit getting free work is hard these days. I'm curious from an employers point of you does it look good to you if someone tried to start their own business or went back to school after a job loss?

 

you forgot about the ability to sell yourself.

i've had the opportunities that i've had due to hard work (remember, i'm a high school drop out), but mainly it's because i sold myself and made the employer feel that they had to have me

 

:shock:

 

clearly, you are marvelous...Satyr - great thread & fantastic tips!

 

Please add the more when you think of it. You would think the obvious wouldn't be needed but sometimes it is. Thank you for posting these. :heart:

:heart:

 

I don't look at resumes every day for a living, but I figured this one was a no brainer. I have my personal emails for day-to-day emailing and the one that has my name for my resume.

Since email addresses are free from like a million different sites, there's no reason someone should be turning in resumes with emails such as those referenced above and I agree with your "one way ticket to the recycling bin" assessment.

That's just idiotic to have an email address like that on a resume.

 

Effective :smt031

 

Very good thread. I agree with your point of view, especially on the grammar/syntax.

Btw, telling us what's your job wouldn't get all of us to stalk you, lol.

(Maybe)

 

As a former team lead at one of the largest software development companies in South Florida, I often looked at resumes / interviewed when we hired for my team. In addition, I was often asked to review resumes and participate in the interview process for other teams. Spelling, grammar and formatting are all things I'd notice at a first glance.

It may seem trivial to disqualify a potential hire because they don't know the difference between they're and their, or because they end some line items with a period and others without. Ask yourself, would you hire someone for a $90k /yr job who cannot be bothered to take the time or put in the effort to put together a solid resume? Remember, your resume is your first introduction to a potential employer. Realize that, in this economy an interviewer can be potentially reviewing hundreds of resumes daily for any given position. Nobody wants to sit at their desk for hours on end reading resume after resume and some end up failing a quick preliminary quality check.

A few annoyances:

- Objectives: Does your objective sounds something like this?:
"Highly motivated individual looking to obtain a position that will allow me to .... blah blah blah"

I'd not be offended if you completely remove this antiquated unnecessity from your resume completely.

- Skills and Abilities: Know the position that you're applying for. Again, if I'm interviewing you for a highly technical $90k+ programming job and you list "Microsoft Word" as a skill.... uhm.,. no thanks. Also, consider this a brief summary of items that I expect to find further information on as I read your employment history. For example, if you state that you have experience in java or c#, I expect more detail on that when I get to that section that says you worked from 2003 - 2008 at Bobs Programming Company.

- Education: A lot of IT resumes come across my desk where the potential hire has listed MCSE, Security +, A+, SSCP, etc.,. etc.,. and NO employment history. Be careful the certification mills... all the certs in the world mean nothing with no proven job history.

For all the complaining about lack of jobs, being on the other side of the coin, my frustration has been more of a lack of hire-worthy candidates.

 

I stopped putting an Objectives section on my resume years ago. They were always so generic (what can you put when your only skill set is to be an admin, right??) and then I read that they aren't necessary anymore, so I deleted it immediately. LOL.

 

I despise writing a cover letter, yet I understand it's still proper protocol to write it, even if attaching to an email. Everyone I know in HR related positions say they never read them,iibut a potential new hire is discarded if he/she doesn't include it. WHY? Since most resumes are submitted by email now, why can't the email serve as a brief cover letter?

One thing I was advised to do is include my name in the title of my email. Ex: Admin Asst Resume for Ches.

Also, I really agree with Saty's third point in the opening post. I temped for a year and was placed in the full-time position I'm in now through that agency. Alot of employers are using temp agencies to screen candidates in this economy. So not only is it a good way to keep working & keep your self-esteem from spiraling, it might secure you full-time employment quicker. One downside - if you turn down a temp position, you cannot collect UC. Sometimes you have to take less-than-desirable positions to keep income flowing, but it's better than no income at all.

 

I see no experience on here. Some folks won't hire. My boss's boss has said he wouldn't do it.