Roman had a great idea about posting something on career boards and all, general do’s and donts.
so lets start.
here is my advise
dont just send resumes to companies, send a customized letter for the job, and dont just inster position name and company name in a template, really read about teh company and create a persnalized letter.
keep several accts with several versions of your resume focusing on diff areas of strength.
Fraudia,
I meant this to be actually more like a small tid bitd or tips sorta things. Small things people are not usually aware of but can help. Just a list of things, placed as reference.
Anyway, what I have learned that if you post your resume on boards like monster.com, you should edit it a bit or update it. Updating doesn't mean you have change anything, just delete and word and then re-write it and then submit. It's keep the resume "refreshed" in the system and employer who are looking for candidates who have posted/updated their resumes in past couple of weeks get that in their search result.
BTW, I have personally found monster.com to be the best so far.
If you can, address all correspondance directly to the department head or supervisor for that position. You can get this information by calling the receptionist and asking the name and spelling for whoever the department head or area supervisor is. HR will usually give u the runaround on this.
Always include a very brief cover letter.
Limit resumes to one page. Employers don't have time or patience to read novels. Also, no need to detail each and every job you have ever done. Usually the last 3-5 years of experience are the most relevant.
Use key words throughout your resume. Computers scan resumes for key-words to come up with eligible candidate shortlists. Do a google for key-words for your industry.
Roman, good point. threads like these could have info on resources as well as tidbits of info that ppl can use as reference and then could be set up as somelinks on the main career section maybe like a sticky thread.
hmcq and u can figure out what the best way to do this. but thanks for the idea.
Re: how to best utilize career boards (monster etc)
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*Originally posted by Fraudz: *
really read about teh company and create a persnalized letter.
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Fraud, writing a brief cover letter is do-able. But writing a personalized letter after reading company information everytime you submit a resume, might just become too much time consuming. Dont you think?
Highlight the sentences in your resume which correspond to the job description. Use Bold letters or underlines. Trust me employer wont read your full resume. If you highlight the most important achievements in your resume they will notice it immidietly.
What's a career board?
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*Originally posted by Chaltahai: *
What's a career board?
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He is talkin about Job Search websites like www.monster.com
Re: Re: how to best utilize career boards (monster etc)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Scratch: *
Fraud, writing a brief cover letter is do-able. But writing a personalized letter after reading company information everytime you submit a resume, might just become too much time consuming. Dont you think?
[/QUOTE]
Scratch, it depends if you are to be taken as a serious applicant you need to take the guesswork out, note that you are aware of the strategy of teh company or whats new in the specific functional area where u are applying for a job and how you can add value. the stronger of a case that you make to the recruiter the more chances you have of your resume being given to the hring manager.
Is it too much, i suppose if there is some job that u want to apply for and can alter a template letter to fit, sure. But if its a company and a job that you are really interested in, spending a little bit of time to write a good cover letter expressing how and why you will be a good fit for the job and the company is very helpful.
i regularly post job openings for my company on various job boards including monster.com, which is my fave. my advice, as a human resources professional who regularly and sharp-wittedly screens the received resumes before contacting candidates on the phone, is:
generate 2-4 skeleton cover letters geared towards your specific area(s) of interest, whether it be sales, manufacturing, biology, or whatever.
when a position posted on any given job board interests you, take the chosen cover letter, add to/subtract from it basing it upon the company, and submit along with an equally-tailored resume!
don’t waste time writing elongated and redundant cover letters…the important thing is to get important points across to the h.r. person on the other side.
hope this helps!
this is a wonderful thread. i’m constantly looking for new job opportunities and checking the scene.
roman, that’s awesome advice. i’m refreshing now.
i just got a response for a company downtown…they are askin me to resend my resume if i am interested along with a cover letter. is there anything i really should/shouldn’t put into the cover letter?
also…i kinda kept a general resume to hit wider audiences…should i resend an altered resume that specifically adheres to what they are looking for or just keep it the way it is?