Thursday, July 29, 2004
Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc.
Newsletter Article Submittal
Hello
:
If your local or
national members of, Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc., would benefit from the following
career-related article, please feel free to publish in your association’s news
letter, e-zine or website.
Permission to print
intact including ending attribution box.
Category: career and
job-search tips
Title: Is Your Resume
Lost in the Great Internet Void?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is Your Resume Lost in the Great Internet Void?
With the advent of
email and online job services, job hunting suddenly became much easier. Or did it?
Sometimes it’s hard to know if your resume is actually reaching
someone’s desk—or is lost somewhere in the great void of cyberspace.
If you want to be
sure that your resume is being seen by a real person who can offer you a real
job, here are three rules to get stronger response.
·
Use the Right Key Words
More
than ever, resumes are stored in a database and queried for key words to
indicate candidate match. If you aren’t
using the right words to describe your employment experiences, then your resume
might be rejected before it’s ever seen.
Review key words your resume uses to:
·
Describe your
dream job. Do your
qualifications match the job description?
Look closely at areas listing your technical skills, job
responsibilities and core competencies.
·
Attract your
desired industry. Are you using
industry buzzwords? In other words, does
your resume talk their talk?
·
Attract your
occupational field. Do the phrases
you use prove your level of experience in your field?
·
Use the Correct Electronic Version
If
your resume can’t be opened as an attachment, then it can’t be seen. Because of the threat of computer viruses
many companies only accept resumes through their own online forms which ask you
to cut and paste (rather than attach) your resume. Make sure you are sending
your resume in a format that will work for the employer.
·
If a resume
attachment is requested: Save your
resume as a Word document (.doc or .rtf).
This is the standard most companies use, and it should retain the
formatting that you used for your resume.
But just in case they use a different word processing program than
yours, you should still avoid using too many fancy formatting options, such as
columns, boxes and tables.
·
If an email or
online form is used: Use ASCII, plain
text, or text only. This removes
formatting, but the information is preserved.
Be sure to review your resume before sending it so that it is still easy
to read and user friendly.
3. Differentiate Your Resume from the Crowd
There
are dozens of fast food restaurants that sell hamburgers and fries. How do you choose which one you want? Chances are, one of those restaurants has a
differentiating edge, something that you like better than all the others. The job market is the same way; it’s flooded
with choices, so you have to make your resume stand out from all the
competition.
The
best way to differentiate your resume from others is with accomplishments. And those accomplishments really stand out
when:
·
They are
measurable. Can you define
how much you accomplished in dollars saved, contracts won, or percent changed?
·
They support
your transferable skills. Can your
skills be used by this company, even if your job experience is in a different
industry? What skills will transfer from
one job to another?
·
They connect
to corporate bottom-line objectives. How can you
help them save time, save money, increase their profit margin, improve sales, or increase revenue?
While the Internet is
still a great tool for job seekers to connect quickly with employers, take
steps to insure your resume won’t get lost in the void. Before you send your resume off to the Great
Cyber Beyond, use these three tips to make sure your resume gets the attention
it deserves!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah Walker, CCMC
Resume Writer ~
Career Coach
To see resume format
samples and read more job-search tips visit www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email: Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you
Deborah Walker, CCMC
888-828-0814
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com