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Resume Tune Up
Employers have fears, uncertainty and DOUBT (the FUD factor) over your ability to actually do what you claim you can do in your resume and cover letter. Combine this with the fact that EVERY candidate looks good on paper, no-one leaves their previous job because they were paid too much, the work was too interesting and all the people were fantastic, and you can see the challenge you're facing. (I'm yet to see a resume or cover letter that says the candidate is just average...)Specifically, here's what they fear about YOU: They fear: * Your resume is too good to be true and you won't be able to do the job. So with all that in mind, over the next week or so we thought we'd share some thoughts, ideas and tips that help remove some of the FUD factor surrounding YOU (and our business too). -------------------------------- How to make an employer WANT to read your application -------------------------------- Employers don't really care about YOU, they only care about what you can do for THEM. I've lost count of the cases I've seen where applicants with the best education, training or experience lose the job to someone with less education, skills and experience. The reason for this is that the applicant with the better skills or experience simply didn't sell themselves to the employer as well as the less skilled applicant. This leads us to a really important question: how do you know if your application is selling you as well as it could be? Well for starters, cover letters are valuable in helping sell you to an employer because they're like mini-ads for your resume. Interest them with a brief summary, and you'll get your resume read and not thrown into the trash. Secondly, you need to make sure that your cover letter doesn't say the same things as everyone else's! The problem is that we all learned to write our job applications the same way. Following the rules you were taught is the best way to ensure that not only will you not get noticed, but you'll stay unemployed for a long time. Almost every application uses phrases like: "here is my resume for your position", "I have been seeking an opportunity such as this", "I can contribute to your company." It's the same as a business saying they have good quality and after-sales service. Every business says it, and these days it's just not a good enough reason to want to do business with them. Apply this logic to your application letter. If it only talks about YOU, how good YOU are and how many years experience YOU'VE had, then you're missing the point! The real purpose of your application should be to show the employer how your skills and experiences will benefit THEM. If your application doesn't do this, you're making it too hard for them to give you the job. Here's an actual before and after example from my files: "Senior NT and UNIX Systems Administrator position utilizing web development, network support and multimedia experience." Notice how it says nothing of the company being applied to or what the applicant is intending to do for THEM. Off the top of my head, I suggested to the applicant that they could turn it around quite easily like this: "To break all records for network stability in your company, thereby creating a productive and skilled workforce that can generate even MORE customers, support them better and make more money for you." It's just a very quick example of turning your skills into results that an employer would be interested in. This may look relatively simple, but it can be tricky to get right. But I assure you, once you master the trick of powerfully restating your skills and experience in a way that will mean something to an employer, then you'll never be out of work again!The one simple mistake you may be making which immediately kills your chances Here's the one thing that immediately stops most people from getting the jobs they're applying for: they keep sending the SAME application letter (that doesn't produce results) to every job they apply for. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that if you keep doing something that doesn't work while expecting a different result you really must be a masochist! The problem with sending the same "loser" application to employers is that it raises doubts about your employability. This example below will show you what I mean. Let me introduce David the Masochist... David has been applying for positions with us for over a year. He was also applying to other companies using the same cover letter. How do we know this? 1. He never used our name in his application letter, and Also - because he keeps applying to us we can assume he hasn't been offered a job from anyone else. This also raises serious doubts in our mind as to David's employability. If he was any good he should have a job by now. Can you relate to David's situation? If so, then let me show you the simple strategy that turned David's life around. I rang him and asked him why he kept sending the same unsuccessful application to us and everyone else when it obviously wasn't doing the job. He was dumbfounded. It never occurred to him that his APPLICATION was a failure. He was taking it personally - he thought HE was a failure. He had been on unemployment for a whole year simply because his application letter and resume wasn't performing. I suggested he try a new application to see whether I was right. He invested in a new resume and cover letter from us, and the result: he had three interviews within the first week of trying the new approach. In summary: If you are sending the same sort of application letter to each job and you're not getting interviewed then CHANGE YOUR APPLICATION!!! It's not YOU that an employer rejects, it's simply your application that's being rejected. You know you can do the job, you wouldn't be applying if you couldn't do it. So don't take this rejection personally. We see hundreds of applications and resumes each week and I can tell you now, more than 90% of them are letting the applicant down. Most of those that make it to interview will make the same simple yet easily avoidable mistakes and miss out on a job that should be theirs. Hi - I'm a marketing junkie who gets off on helping job seekers find their talent at my site http://www.job-secrets-revealed.com. I'm also a paraglider pilot to which people suggest I have a death wish but to me it's more of a life wish.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers at VA VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers BASF Careers Fred Hutch News Service Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Jobs at BCA Minnesota Department of Public Safety Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers Washington State University Employment Services American Mathematical Society Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom DWR careers: Come work with us! Utah Division of Wildlife Resources October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers S&P Global Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA Job Opportunities Bellevue School District How to Apply FEMA Careers Micron Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Join our team FHI 360 Careers KPMG Careers The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider IT and Tech - Education Forbes Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase How to Become a Raleigh Firefighter RaleighNC.gov Career Paths FEMA Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota Mental health at work World Health Organization Benefits for the whole you Accenture Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily JobFeed NSW Department of Education Who Says Teen Jobs Don’t Come with Benefits? ADDitude magazine Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Current opportunities Turner & Townsend Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond HBR.org Daily The Top 40 Jobs for Women Looking to Change Careers at 40+ Parade Magazine 8 global issues shaping and driving job creation World Economic Forum Jobs Energy.gov Careers at King County King County Which Jobs Have a Future? Statista More and more jobs can be done from anywhere. What does that mean for workers? World Economic Forum Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto Careers City of Somerville Jobs Dublin City University |
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