How can I create a targeted resume and interview script to land my dream job?

[Pengwuino]

I googled some examples for resumes a few days ago and I noticed something quite silly. A lot of them had in their descriptions or summarys or whatever, phrases such as "hard-working" "highly competent", "very diligent", "goal oriented", "driven" and all these sort of catch phrases. Now we all know a resume is where you "sell" yourself to your employer but my god, do these stupid little phases actually have any effect on employers?

DISCUSS!

 

[rootX]

I learned that it's usually:

"hard-working" demonstrated with ... (maybe past work experience)And under,

Work experience:
- a point for proving why you are hard worker.It doesn't look silly to me because you are just trying to highlight the skills you ve learned from work, volunteer etc.

 

[Cyrus]

I'm working on a project. We are hiring some undergrads, and I must say the few that actually gave a resume were full of padding. They included such things as: Camp Counselor (I don't care), Current memeber of xyz techincal institudes (again, I don't care), Edit for school paper (I don't care).

Since such little information of actual importance was given, the only thing I looked at was their GPAs. I understand its hard for the younger students to fill a resume since the are so 'green' when it comes to doing actual things, but sheesh. I'm not looking for a camp counselor or someone that writes for the school post.

Don't pad your resume folks, its easy to spot a mile away. Keep it short, keep it simple. Tell me the skills you have that are relevant.

 

[Pengwuino]

I'm working on a project. We are hiring some undergrads, and I must say the few that actually gave a resume were full of padding. They included such things as: Camp Counselor (I don't care), Current memeber of xyz techincal institudes (again, I don't care), Edit for school paper (I don't care).

:rofl: :rofl: That's so awesome. I love this guy.

ps. just kidding

pps. not about the awesomeness though

 

[Cyrus]

I'm dead serious. Joining the society of xyz engineers requires filling up an application, paying a yearly subscription and getting magazines in the mail each month.

Why do I need to know that information?

 

[Pengwuino]

I wonder hwy it's all emphasized in college admissions? I think that's most people's first serious attempt to impress an "employer".

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I googled some examples for resumes a few days ago and I noticed something quite silly. A lot of them had in their descriptions or summarys or whatever, phrases such as "hard-working" "highly competent", "very diligent", "goal oriented", "driven" and all these sort of catch phrases. Now we all know a resume is where you "sell" yourself to your employer but my god, do these stupid little phases actually have any effect on employers?

DISCUSS!

Resume writing is an art. I took a resume writing class when I finished college and found it to be remarkably helpful, but there is no one best approach. IIRC, the rule of thumb is that you have about 10-15 seconds to make an impression. So it is important to be specific about what you have to offer and get it out there fast in a highly compact [efficient] format. Using generalized language may detract from more important details to be included. For example, rather than saying "hard-working", try to demonstrate that by listing one's accomplishments. Rather than saying "goal oriented", I would state the goals one actually has and how it applies to the indicated career path. Driven? To do what?

I don't remember the exact details anymore, but I recall that before taking the class, my resume took one page. After taking the class, it took four pages or so that had to be condensed into one [the 10 second rule]. It was the difference between saying what I think someone wants to hear, and really thinking about what I had to offer.

 

[Pengwuino]

Resume writing is an art. I took a resume writing class when I finished college and found it to be remarkably helpful, but there is no one best approach. IIRC, the rule of thumb is that you have about 10-15 seconds to make an impression. So it is important to be specific about what you have to offer and get it out there fast in a highly compact [efficient] format. Using generalized language may detract from more important details to be included. For example, rather than saying "hard-working", try to demonstrate that by listing one's accomplishments. Rather than saying "goal oriented", I would state the goals one actually has and how it applies to the indicated career path.

I like that thinking. Reading some of these really padded resume examples was kind of pathetic. With all the fluff in the introduction (which took a good 20 seconds to read!), once you're at the meat of the resume, you're already convinced this person's all show. I suppose the logic follows from how people say interviews work, that is you're basically hired within the first minute or so of the interview most of the time (in a job where a LOT of people are interviewed).

 

[swat4life]

You want some insider's advice? This is coming from a former classmate in HR who recruited for McKinsey and Company + my own experience going through dozens of resumes looking to fill positions with my company.

First - MAKE YOUR ELECTRONIC RESUMES VERY, VERY KEYWORD-FRIENDLY. Most days, recruiters type in specific keywords when they are looking for resumes; you could be the brightest bunny in the basket, but if those words aren't on your CV/Resume, no one will see it.

Find out what the buzz words are for your industry and USE THOSE WORDS. To not do so, is professional suicide.

SECOND -I usually give a resume an immediate 30 second once over. If I don't immediately see something that strikes me, well I move on.

The biggest mistake people make is using a resume to describe "actions" vs. "results".
What do I mean?

Let's say I am looking for a business analyst. He/she will run macros in excel, research business trends, do powerpoint presentations (or whatever). Most people submit a resume that looks something like:
-ran macros excel models for xyz company
-research business trends
-completed powerpoint presentation to display results

OK. What's the problem here? There will be probably 50 other resumes that said the same thing. How does one distinguish? Also, I didn't get you to do all those things just because clients pay me every time I log a completed excel spreadsheet or powerpoint presentation. I did it to achieve...RESULTS!

The difference between the "just fine" resume above and one that jumps out at me, might look something like:
-ran macros excel models for xyz company. Created models which reduced project completion time by 10% and saved company $10,000.
-research business trends. Created business trend templates for this kind of research which increased project efficiency by 5% over the course of 6 months (or whatever).
-completed powerpoint presentation to display results
As a result of work, project manager exceeded clients' expectation and secured 5 more clients which resulted in additional sales revenues of $500,000 for the company (or whatever).

Can you see the difference?! The second person/resume has shown me how he/she has had a direct impact on THE BOTTOM LINE, on the M-O-N-E-Y, COMPANY EFFICIENCY, His/her employers major in goals.
The problem is that most employees aren't aware enough (or bosses for that matter)...they don't spend as much time as they should getting to understand how their actions have directly impacted the company. Almost every employee has made some impact -however big or small - on the bottom line of the company and they should do their best to demonstrate that.

Once you do that, you become less of a financial risk, you make it easier for the person making the hiring decision to go with you and in general you really stand out...

Edit:
If you have a physics/science degree and are hunting for non science jobs, you should definitely sell your quant. skills. It's easy for an employer to envision a physics student being good at quantitative stuff. However, one must SPELL IT OUT FOR PEOPLE. Also, it pays (and perhaps literally) to say something about how you wanted to study physics to learn the practical application to addressing REAL WORLD problems.

For instance, in a cover letter you might say that, you learned that 1/3rd of the usa's economy consists of products directly derived from the practical application of quantum physics - MRIs, Transistors, etc. You wanted to learn how to apply scientific theory to the successful solving of real world problems (or something like that)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A note to our graduating physics students:

I learned something rather remarkable after college: In order to "sell" my physics degree, I had to explain what physics students learn. That made ALL the difference in the world. As it turns out, even many engineers don't know what a physics grad brings to the table. So I tried to sprinkle specifics into the language that helped to connect my education to the jobs being sought.

One day I had lunch with a former physics professor and was talking about what I had learned. It happened that she was in charge of the graduating students and was so surprised by the story that I was asked to come back to college and give a talk to the graduating class.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

When I took my resume into a temp agency the woman I spoke with thought I had it professionally done. I hadn't even thought it was that good. My work isn't easily quantifiable so I had to come up with creative ways of describing it in the context of a resume. I figured if I can describe my work in an elegant and succinct manner than they may at least think I am intelligent enough to do it.

 

[Pengwuino]

In order to "sell" my physics degree, I had to explain what physics students learn. That made ALL the difference in the world. As it turns out, even many engineers don't know what a physics grad brings to the table.

Easy! I've been having to explain what the hell I've been doing the last 5 years for... the last 5 years!

 

[Cyrus]

You want some insider's advice? This is coming from a former classmate in HR who recruited for McKinsey and Company + my own experience going through dozens of resumes looking to fill positions w...

This is a very good post, and brought things to mind that I didn't think about until you mentioned it. Thank you.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

The biggest mistake people make is using a resume to describe "actions" vs. "results".

So what do you do if you have no way of quantifying the results of your work?

 

[swat4life]

I like that thinking. Reading some of these really padded resume examples was kind of pathetic. With all the fluff in the introduction (which took a good 20 seconds to read!), once you're at the meat of the resume, you're already convinced this person's all show. I suppose the logic follows from how people say interviews work, that is you're basically hired within the first minute or so of the interview most of the time (in a job where a LOT of people are interviewed).

Again, speaking as an employer, NEVER underestimate the power of good personal brand management. Look at television - fluff works old friend...

To elucidate, I am not saying substance doesn't matter. What I am saying is that a pretty package is more likely to get someone to open it to see the *real* value inside. Confidence, ambition and passion jumps out on the page (even when I look at it for 30 seconds). And let's face it, employers want workers who really, really, really want the job and are willing to do what is necessary to convince you why they are the right person.

Focus on results - as stated previously, results sell. Esp. numbers (percentages, dollar signs, etc).

 

[swat4life]

So what do you do if you have no way of quantifying the results of your work?

There's always a way. It doesn't have to be down to the 3rd decimal place bar (i.e. in terms of quantifying it). For instance, let's say you were tasked with created excel spreadsheets. This job normally took about 1 hour. Well, you decided to save time and created a template that reduced the time to say 30 minutes. Result? You created a 100% efficiency increase for that task...

These kind of examples abound. This is why **smart companies codify and formalize any task that is repeated more than 3 times. Because once you have a standard process for doing something on paper, it goes from being employee-specific knowledge (which leaves when they leave) to intellectual capital for the company - that can be valued by the say as an asset and even put on the balance sheet. Once you came up with that simple way of doing that job more efficiently, and the company wrote it down. If there are 100 other people across 10 offices doing the same thing, I can send that puppy to each employee via an email attachment and after a little bit of training...voila...I've multiplied efficiency by 100x...

hope this helps

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

There's always a way.
*snip*
hope this helps

Actually I seriously mean no way to quantify it. I work as a security guard. The only number I could come up with (I had already been told numbers are important) for my resume was the number of pages I write in my report. I could try the number of employees I have trained but I doubt I could remember. Also many of them were fired (most of our guards get fired) so I can't really show any great success in my training abilities. No records are kept of crime statistics so I can't really show results in regard to prevention. I very rarely come into contact with the sort of people we take as clients so have never actually gotten us any. I've proposed a few ideas in regards to things that we can do to improve our operations but my bosses are stuborn and much prefer to have things done their way. Essentially all I have is that I know my job well and do it.

 

[Cyrus]

You saved x dollars for your client because you prevented a theft from happening.

 

[Pengwuino]

and X lives since they would have all been packing...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

When I was starting out, I could do anything. Now I can do something. That's what goes on my resume.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

You saved x dollars for your client because you prevented a theft from happening.

You're being sarcastic I hope.

 

[swat4life]

Actually I seriously mean no way to quantify it. I work as a security guard. The only number I could come up with (I had already been told numbers are important) for my resume was the number of pages I write in my report. I could try the number of employees I have trained but I doubt I could remember. Also many of them were fired (most of our guards get fired) so I can't really show any great success in my training abilities. No records are kept of crime statistics so I can't really show results in regard to prevention. I very rarely come into contact with the sort of people we take as clients so have never actually gotten us any. I've proposed a few ideas in regards to things that we can do to improve our operations but my bosses are stuborn and much prefer to have things done their way. Essentially all I have is that I know my job well and do it.

In a way what the fellow Cyrus said. You have to be imaginative and think out of the box (THE OPPOSITE OF LINEAR THINKING -- see why I made the long post about whole brain
thinking, lol).

I am not advocating being dishonest. What I am saying is that I would dare assume almost as fact that if you work as a security guard yet you participate in this forum, there's some TANGIBLE value added you've brought to that organization.

Are you still there?

Here's something I go over with staff. It is tedious but works wonders. Take 1 week and literally write down EVERYTHING YOU DO + THE WAY YOU DO IT. I said it was tedious, but if you can manage enough discipline to master this best practice once, it will pay off years to come.

The problem is most people don't really know what they are doing in their jobs. And by that I mean, you know how one drives to work and day dreams for about 5 mins, and when you "wake up" you are at your destination?

Well your subconscious took over so you were hardly aware. The same thing with mundane tasks, or everyday jobs. Ok let's take the training thing. You said you trained employees, right?

Here's the difference between how you may think about things from now and for years to come vs. before. Let's say you were tasked with training employees. Basically what you had to do is copy some papers, show them a video on how to lock up (making this stuff up as an example) and give them a personal tour of the facilities. When whomever first gave you the task, it was a mess - there were no binders, the video was long and boring and there was no systematic way of giving the trainee a guided tour of the facilities.

When you trained them (and this is the stuff I am talking about that people don't "record"...), you made a few binders for them, you had them only watched the first 15 minutes of the video and you created a "pre-tour" written outline. In other words, you wrote down a little guide to the facility so as you all walk through the compound (or whatever), you could point to stuff as opposed to everyone asking "what's that" or "what's this".

The point is that you had you done it the way it has always been done, it would have taken you 5 hours. With the new changes you made - proactive changes you made of your own accord - the process now takes 2.5 hours. Not only that, you wrote up your little "how-to" guide and gave it to your boss.

You can now LEGITIMATELY claim the benefit that results from cutting the training time from 5 hrs to 2.5. Perhaps you find out the total cost of training @ 5 hours vs. that at 2.5 and that is what you claim on your resume.

Yes it would be nice if you knew more about the employees. Also though, recognize that while some of the employees may have been fired, that has nothing to do with the benefit you created with your new way of doing things because for all you know they could have been fired after 5 hours of training vs. 2.5.

This is the sort of stuff I have been mentoring younger employees about for years. Even if your boss never, ever, ever looks at what you wrote, the point is that in the business world especially, for the most part "if it's not written, it's not real".

If you did something major, you can proactively do some sort of presentation. If not, just cc your boss and let him or her know what you did and now you have documentation. Let's say somewhere down the road, you apply for a job and in the unlikely event you put this on your cv and they call an old employer, you absolutely have grounds to claim what you have written.

That is what I mean by packaging. Employees ad this kind of value all the time but the point is very few show it to their bosses and quite frankly we don't have time. It'd be nice to say "how have you added value show me what you did to improve things" but there just aren't enough hours in the day.

That's why I said *always*. One reason I can say this is proven by the fact that you were/are employed there! If you weren't adding some kind of value, you wouldn't be there.

So my advice would be to do the exercise where you record what you do. Then, you'll have info that you can reflect on and say "hmm what did I do to improve this". Even things simply like fixing messy file cabinets. The point is that time is money and if you saved just 5 mins over the course of 52 weeks...you get my drift. There's a dollar value associated with every thing in a business.

And going forward, if for no other reason than to be proactive about your own career development, make sure you record these little "contributions" and to also document them!

A home run is when you figure out a way to do something better, you present it to your bosses, then you help them implement it across the entire company, organization or whatever. Those are the sort of changes that has a gal/fellow starting off in the lunch room and becoming Senior Vice President (or <insert name of senior position here>) in no time.

Hope this makes better sense...

Edit:
One quick point, if you are going for jobs where you might be doing something slightly different, the whole bit ^^ is esp. helpful. I helped a kid increase his salary by almost 100% by the slight changes he did on his resume. The thing was the substance was there, but it just wasn't packaged right. As I said, I am speaking from experience. And quite frankly I have hired people over more obviously qualified people because they knew how to make the case to me that they were the right person for the job despite their lack of experience (hell, look at the President, lol...j/k).

Another point I wanted to make. The best interviews happen before THE INTERVIEW! In other words, if you/when you get your interview, you don't want any surprise questions. There are only about 20 or so questions in a few variations that employers ask and you should have WELL SCRIPTED answers for these.

As an example, the kid I helped with the job, about 3 hours before he went in I said to him "so did you go over your interview questions" and he said "uh, what's that" - WTF?

So, I quickly helped him write out about 10 questions I'd knew he get, I didn't even need the name of the company. Luckily he got the job and in fact when I asked him "what did they ask you", his response was "basically everything you said".

Questions like:

"So Mr./Ms. tell me about your work at XYZ?"
Unexperienced interviewee..."uh, uh" starts describing what they did for about 10 mins.
You: you briefly discuss what you did and spend MOST of your time describing THE RESULTS of your work. The interview immediately says, wow this is someone who has evidence that they can tangibly contribute to an organization...

"Why did you choose to study xyz"

"why did you choose xyz school"

"why are you interested in this job"

"what are your strengths" (should be something you'd be called upon to do a lot at your new job. For instance, let's say you are interviewing to be an investment banking analyst and your are a security guard now. IB is notorious for being unpredictable. You might get a call at 3am in the night to come into work. Well, you give a story about how you constantly manage the unpredictable in your job as a security guard. Or, let's say you want to be an exotic interest rate options trader. This is a very risk intense line of work...your heart is racing all the time. This is similar to being a security guard, when sometimes you hear bumps in the night and you have no idea what it could be. You have to think fast, your heart is racing...etc. Of course I am making this up. The point is that people really need to understand what kind of game it is. Alot of people may think this is over the top and that is why they have all the qualifications and no job and someone with half the qualifications and 100x the sell got the job...)

"what are your weaknesses" (note: NEVER, EVER mention something related to a critical part of the potential job...yet not something cheezy...for instance, back in the day a good 10 years ago when I first left undergrad, I'd say something like "well in an increasingly global economy, I feel that my contribution to a firm could be improved by learning another language. Though I know x and y, I would like to learn z. I am doing a, b, c to work on that... end of story)

"where do you see yourself in 5, 10...whatever years"

"why do you want to work for this company"

"why should I hire you when you don't have experience"

"what do you do for fun"

"tell me about the classes you took"

the list goes on. The point that I am making is this: you want to paint a picture. Every single one of your answers should clearly demonstrate in some way why you are the right person for the job and why it will be a good fit. Very, very premeditated without looking TOO obvious. This also requires knowing something about the company.

 

[swat4life]

This is a very good post, and brought things to mind that I didn't think about until you mentioned it. Thank you.

Glad someone found it useful!

 

[Dadface]

The perfect letter of application:

Oy whatsyourname giv us lots of money ollydase and stuffand Ill ave the job.ill popin next tuesdy after me court aperance The ... fitted me ditnt dey but me mates ad a little word with the jury if yu know wat I mean geez.me mates are coming with us so we kan ave a few snifters there wisky and stuff like dat. Oy geezer you got any tasty birds dere

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Glad someone found it useful!

You have been helpful. It is just this quantification of results thing I have trouble with due to my circumstances. For instance your example on training is not possible. There are a certain number of hours of training required by law. I can not reduce training time. The one thing I can do though, and have been considering, is to create a check list of the important site specific details that I train them on. I can't claim any particular results from it really only that I did it and at least that's something.

I've been thinking but other than that there's not much. Between legal restrictions, the policies of my employers, and the preferences of our clients there are not many avenues open for going "above and beyond the call of duty".

The sadest bit is that for the most part I do nothing. Really anything I put in a resume for another line of work will just be ways of distracting from the fact that I otherwise do nothing. Even my reports to our clients (as dictated by our boss) are full of various creative ways of saying "Nothing happened" so that the client might hopefully feel that their money is well spent. lol
There's nothing there to make more efficient. I can't even find ways of more effectively spending my time since my primary purpose is to wander around aimlessly and pay attention incase something does happen and hopefully my presence will deter it from happening anyway.

Anyway, yeah my job sucks and I'll just have to think of something.

Don't worry. I have appreciated your advice and it will hopefully help someday. I can still try to make suggestions and maybe some of them will actually get used.



On a side note, more related to Pengwuino's original topic, I have been told that apparently bit actors throw odd things into their resumes to make them more memorable like "Hired Assassin" or "International Taste Sensation". I've always wanted to try something like that.

 

[swat4life]

The perfect letter of application:

Oy whatsyourname giv us lots of money ollydase and stuffand Ill ave the job.ill popin next tuesdy after me court aperance The ... fitted me ditnt dey but me mates ad a little word with the jury if yu know wat I mean geez.me mates are coming with us so we kan ave a few snifters there wisky and stuff like dat. Oy geezer you got any tasty birds dere

What is this balderdash?

 

[swat4life]

You have been helpful. It is just this quantification of results thing I have trouble with due to my circumstances. For instance your example on training is not possible. There are a certain number of hours of training required by law. I can not reduce training time. The one thing I can do though, and have been considering, is to create a check list of the important site specific details that I train them on. I can't claim any particular results from it really only that I did it and at least that's something.

I've been thinking but other than that there's not much. Between legal restrictions, the policies of my employers, and the preferences of our clients there are not many avenues open for going "above and beyond the call of duty".

The sadest bit is that for the most part I do nothing. Really anything I put in a resume for another line of work will just be ways of distracting from the fact that I otherwise do nothing. Even my reports to our clients (as dictated by our boss) are full of various creative ways of saying "Nothing happened" so that the client might hopefully feel that their money is well spent. lol
There's nothing there to make more efficient. I can't even find ways of more effectively spending my time since my primary purpose is to wander around aimlessly and pay attention incase something does happen and hopefully my presence will deter it from happening anyway.

Anyway, yeah my job sucks and I'll just have to think of something.

Don't worry. I have appreciated your advice and it will hopefully help someday. I can still try to make suggestions and maybe some of them will actually get used.



On a side note, more related to Pengwuino's original topic, I have been told that apparently bit actors throw odd things into their resumes to make them more memorable like "Hired Assassin" or "International Taste Sensation". I've always wanted to try something like that.

Hey TSA,
Not to beat a dead horse, but perhaps some others can benefit from this exchange...
As an employer, I hate to tell you bud but I'd be quite hesitant to hire you just based on your attitude. Now, don't get me wrong, my initial impression is that you are very good at following the rules, but the people that get ahead tend to be iconoclasts when it comes to tradition. There's no way in c^2 years (lol geek alert) I'd believe that there's "nothing" you can do.That is simply not possible. If that were the case you would be working for an organization that is 100% perfect and until I head to the big corporate office in the sky ole mate, I don't think I'll run into one of those!

In other words I am challenging some of your assumptions - presuppositions really - to try to be more helpful. You sound way way to restrictive in your thinking - focusing on problems not solutions. You can't tell me there's not ****some way** you can ameliorate the processes you are involved in, because sorry I just don't believe that.

It's totally cool if you don't care too because you aren't motivated, but I scarcely believe it isn't possible. All I hear is excuses and that can get really frustrating on the other end.

Let me give you an example of someone who is proactive...

I have an off shore staff member. She uses the internet from home but has been having networking problems. To meet at a time that's convenient for me, she gets off her full time job, then takes a nap - SO SHE CAN GET UP AND MEET ME AT 2:30 AM!

However, currently since her internet is down, even though I volunteered to reschedule, she VOLUNTARILY agreed to find a 24/7 all night internet cafe just so she wouldn't miss the meeting.

Can you see how hungry a person is like this?! She didn't give 10 excuses why she couldn't do it - SHE MADE IT HAPPEN!

Important to note is that I gave her a bonus after only 1 month of work and I told her that since she hit her 3 month mark, I will be increasing her salary by 5% every 3 months, with no cap in sight...

Now, I just really, really, really want to give you and perhaps anyone else who reads this this info so one might get into the minds of the decision maker. Yes there is a so called recession (I think it's mental, not to sound very Republican but that's another story) but a motivated employee will always find work - especially now.

This person was technically (in terms of skills) unqualified 3 months ago. But her willingness to think outside the box, solve problems and her innate intellectual acuity caused me to hire her over 50 other people.

So, to cut it short, I wish you luck, you obviously want to get a head. But please understand the nature of capitalism esp. when labor is at a surplus these days and when your competitors are people willing to go above and beyond what's written on paper to get the job done.

Good luck and best wishes...
(don't have time to spell check and need to head out!)

 

[Moonbear]

I'm working on a project. We are hiring some undergrads, and I must say the few that actually gave a resume were full of padding. They included such things as: Camp Counselor (I don't care), Current memeber of xyz techincal institudes (again, I don't care), Edit for school paper (I don't care).

Since such little information of actual importance was given, the only thing I looked at was their GPAs. I understand its hard for the younger students to fill a resume since the are so 'green' when it comes to doing actual things, but sheesh. I'm not looking for a camp counselor or someone that writes for the school post.

Prior work experience is valid on a resume, even if not directly related to the position they're applying for, but the person writing it needs to make it quickly apparent to the reader WHY it's relevant.

For example, if your only real work experience is as a camp counselor (which is better than no work experience at all), and you're applying for an engineering job, someone might want to highlight in that description things like "developed teamwork skills" or "honed effective communication skills."

Of course, to me, the interview is the key. Don't put something on your resume if you can't demonstrate it in your interview. If you put on your resume that you have good communication skills, you better be able to communicate well on the interview.

I recently was one of the interviewers for an office position, and what struck me most was how many applicants with strong resumes couldn't convince me in the interview that they really knew what the job they were applying for was about. A lot just sounded like they were applying simply because it would be a promotion and increase in pay, and not because they really had the skills needed for the job.

And, folks, if an interviewer isn't allowed to ask a question, don't volunteer that information. In this particular case, volunteering the information they volunteered (i.e., age) wasn't such an issue to me in terms of knowing their age...I couldn't care less, especially since it was a senior position and I expected older applicants just for them to have enough years of experience to meet the qualifications for the position...but it was an issue because this was for aposition that would potentially involve hiring other people to work under them, and it made me suspect they weren't sufficiently savvy about the laws of what one can or cannot consider when hiring someone.

The oddest thing I've seen recently is one person's CV who included his wife's name and profession and the number of children he had on it. I did a double take when I saw that. Is it a professional accomplishment to marry well?

 

[OmCheeto]

One of our applicants put down that she worked as an usher for the Cirque du Soleil. Of course we hired her, because it's a circus where I work. She's turned out to be my best employee.

 

[Moonbear]

So what do you do if you have no way of quantifying the results of your work?

I would tend to disagree with swat4life on the absolute need to quantify the results. Sure, if you can, and its appropriate, do so, but it's not always important and the relevant outcomes are not always measurable in quantitative terms...that's a business major's view of resumes to think everything can be quantified in dollars, cents and production efficiency. There DO need to be results, but they can be qualitative as well as quantitative.

The key, however you approach it, is to show that you did more than just show up and follow your boss' instructions...even if you're in a position where you had no leverage to do things differently. You need to show you had your brain engaged and understood your job well enough to know what impact it had.

If you think a particular job is more of a detractor, but have to include it, such as because it's your most recent employment and leaving it out would look like a gap in the resume, demote it. You DON'T have to list work experience in chronological order as many people do. List it by relevance...it shows you actually know what's relevant to the job for which you're applying.

Oh, and while I like to give Cyrus a hard time, his comments about reading resumes are actually good to keep in mind. Not that you should leave out work experience, but the "why should I care?" question is important to answer in a cover letter and resume. That is the bottom line. For everything you put on your resume, think about that question from the perspective of the reader thinking, "Why should I care?" Don't assume anything is self-evident.

By the way, I would take that example swat4life used as a "bad" resume example and actually start from that. S/he's right, that would be horrible to include in the actual resume, but go ahead and include that stuff in your ROUGH draft of the resume. Then, imagine Cyrus in your head asking "Why should I care?" Once the chill is done running down your back, look over all the positions you've listed and the basic skills you've acquired from them. Which of those are directly relevant to the job for which you're applying? If any are actually listed as job requirements, then put in that line of "Relevant proficiencies:..." Okay, bang, you can chop those out of the individual positions, you've covered all that in one line. Look at what else is left, and Cyrus is again asking you, "Why should I care?" Which of those jobs is most relevant? Put that first. Why is it relevant? Explain that in one or two bullet points. The only time you should consider including more bullet points than that is if you've worked for one company and in one position for a very long time, so really can focus on the vast experience obtained from that position and highlight the major accomplishments, of which you should have at least a few if you've been in a position for a long time. On the other hand, if all you've done is hold entry-level positions, there's not a lot to say about them.

 

[Dadface]

What is this balderdash?

Sorry swat4life, I was just having a silly moment.I think you need to be a cockney with a strange sense of humour to understand it but even I didn't find it funny on second reading.What I do find funny is your comment,it sums up my literary masterpiece wonderfully.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

As an employer, I hate to tell you bud but I'd be quite hesitant to hire you just based on your attitude.

This is part of my problem you see. Anyone not in the field of security will not understand. The first time I interviewed for a security position after gaining experience I had no problems. When I tried to break out of this industry and interviewed with other jobs they just didn't understand. The whole time I was painfully aware that my attempts at relating my previous experience to the new context and trying to explain the vast difference involved when the interviewer found my answers lacking were hurting me. I had hoped my attempts at making such different things relate would show my understanding of my previous job and of the job I was seeking but they haven't so far.
You know even at my last job as inhouse security for a college the Human Resources Director thought I had a poor attitude and simply would not follow direction when I tried to explain to him that my department head had asked me to do something that went directly against training I received as dictated by the state. When I realized he didn't understand my job and cited for him the appropriate material from the state he ignored me. Ha! What a great Human Resources Director eh?

I can certainly make my job better and more effective. I can not simply institute new policies and procedures however. I must do what I am told and how I am told to do it to the best of my ability which leaves little wiggle room to do things differently on my own initiative. If you don't believe me ask anyone who works in an entry level law enforcement type position. I have to run ideas by my boss and have them approved. I have already mentioned that I have run ideas by them and they are stuborn and that I intend to continue running ideas by them.

Your common interview questions are good. There is a common one I always have trouble with though. "Could you give me a particular example from your previous job where you showed great customer service skills?" Customer service in this job is quite different since I do not come in contact with the client very often. I primarily deal with the clients clients and even that I only do on an as-necessary basis. And there's the quantification of results issue again. How do I objectively quantify the benefits to my client (or their cleints) when I deal with rowdy drunken marines who are threatening to kick my ***? Or when I calm down a man who is threatening to go get his gun because he is convinced there is a prowler on his roof and that 'prowler' turns out to be the 16 year old son of his neighbour who was just goofing off? This is what I do. This is where my significant successes are. How do you quantify that?
I have actually been thinking about it for a while since my last interview and so far the best example I can come up with is when I helped a woman who had lost her five year old son. I took her back to her apartment immediately (I work primarily at apartment complexs) because it is generally true that when a child wanders away and they return to find their parents are not at home, because they have gone off looking for them, the child wanders off again and becomes anxious at not being able to find their parents. On the way I asked her what her son looked like, how old he was, how long he had been missing, where she had last seen him, where she believed he may have gone, and if she was aware of anyone he may have gone away with. When we reached her home I had her double check her apartment (I am not allowed inside) and had her call the police when she didn't find him. While she was on the phone I searched the nearby area and spoke with her neighbours then returned to stay with her and keep her calm. Eventually her daughter found him asleep under his bed. lol
So I have shown that I know my job and can think clearly in an emergency type situation with an anxious person. I have also shown my assessment, based on job appropriate knowledge, that the child was likely in or near the residence was ultimately correct.
I have to hope that an interviewer won't see my answer as just an endearing story meant to impress them without delivering any quantifiable benefit. I really need to come up with something better. Preferably actually get my employer to institute one of my ideas.

Note that my focus on the hurdles I face may seem to be evidence of a poor attitude and unwillingness to put in effort but if I had no problematic hurdles to overcome I would not have any reason to seek advice. I need to identify my problems before I can formulate solutions and in so far I have indentified the problems but have been unable to come up with what I would consider optimal solutions.

Do you have any advice on how to construct a good resume without any quantifiable results to trumpet? I'm quite honest when I say that this is a real problem and not just a lack of thoughfulness or thinking outside the box on my part.

Moonie's comment is what I already try to do...

The key, however you approach it, is to show that you did more than just show up and follow your boss' instructions...even if you're in a position where you had no leverage to do things differently. You need to show you had your brain engaged and understood your job well enough to know what impact it had.

My first bullet under my current employer is

-Privided a sense of safety for our clients and their customers with sensitivity to the particular needs of individual clients.

It really does nothing more than explain my job but by my description I am attempting to convey that I not only understand what is required of me but what my duty is to our clients and that this makes me more capable of providing for them in a meaningful way.

What do you think?

 

[ViewsofMars]

A "Letter of Recommendation" from each previous employer attached to a resume cuts through the red tape. At least that is what I've found to be true.

 

[Moonbear]

My first bullet under my current employer is

-Privided a sense of safety for our clients and their customers with sensitivity to the particular needs of individual clients.

It really does nothing more than explain my job but by my description I am attempting to convey that I not only understand what is required of me but what my duty is to our clients and that this makes me more capable of providing for them in a meaningful way.

What do you think?

Instead of provided a "sense of safety," I'd suggest saying something more direct like, "provided increased safety for..." Make it sound like it was more than just smoke and mirrors and you actually were providing safety (even if we know that 90% of a security guard's job is to create more of a feeling of safety than actual safety, that's not what someone wants to read on a resume). Sensitivity is a good word. I'd modify it to, "with sensitivity to the diverse needs of clients." It means the same thing, but dealing with diversity is something that can translate into a lot of other workplaces and hits on some of those keywords for client-oriented positions.

As for the other issues, when you're applying for positions in other fields/industries, think about what you really have to offer in those fields. Do you have any experience that translates into skills for those fields? THAT is what needs to be highlighted. If need be, downplay your experience in security. You can explain in interviews that one of the reasons why you're looking for a new job is you are the sort of person who comes up with new ideas for improving things (give an example of something you would have liked to change in your current job, but couldn't) but that field is too restricted by regulations for you to effect those changes. Let them know you're looking for something that is a better fit for you, where your supervisors would be more willing to consider a well-thought-out suggestion for improvement, and perhaps even allow you to gain added responsibility in implementing new ideas.

It may very well be the case that for your own aspirations, your current job is a dead end. If that's true, you'll have to be more creative about finding ways to improve your skill set and put more relevant work on your resume. I often suggest volunteer work for finding these skills when the lack of them is an obstacle to finding a paid job to acquire them (that old catch-22). Sometimes you can take a course to get some of the skills or knowledge base you need for a job too.

On your answer about customer-service related responsibilities, that's actually something you probably have a ton more experience with than you realize. I'm going to guess that you deal with a lot of people at their worst moments, when they are agitated, stressed, upset, or flat-out mad, whether it's because they are the victim of a crime, have lost something invaluable to them, or have just been caught red-handed as the perpetrator of a crime. Your job is to maintain control of the situation and keep everyone calm, including yourself, while they are in an emotional turmoil. This is basically what anyone in customer service needs to be able to do as well. Afterall, it's easy to deal with the happy client, but having the experience in keeping an irate client calm and being able to keep yourself calm to diffuse the situation is invaluable for customer service, and something most applicants will not be able to do.

Nobody should have just one resume. There is no generic one-size-fits-all format for a resume. Unfortunately, a lot of books and websites will try to tell you there is. Write one of those, and that's a good way to not get a job. Instead, tailor your resume for each specific job you apply for. That means knowing what the requirements are and the workplace environment...as much as you can find out before sending the application in. Trying to write a catch-all resume is what tends to result in overly vague, generic, hand-waving type statements. Even as I try to write examples, it's tough without a specific job in mind.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Thank you Moonie.

I took some basic training for Microsoft Word and Access in an online course for my last job. I play it up in my resume but never used all of the knowledge I gained so it has mostly been forgotten. I'd like to find another online course for a refresher.

My major concern with my customer service experience is that I don't think it crosses over well. The strategies and desired results differ between fields. Its good enough but I would like to find something better.


Swat: I just noticed that while I expressed appreciation for your advice I never actually said "Thank you".
Thank you. :-)