Resume Help?

ArrestMeRedZ28 · 08-28-2007, 04:32 PM

Any tips on writing a resume? Should I be using MS Word or another program? Are "online resumes" okay now?

Also what's it called where you put your goal in the job search.... IE "Seeking a entry level position in the IT field." Does that belong on the resume or cover letter? Do I need a cover letter?

I'm 19 so I don't have a big resume but I'm looking at a job with a company that buys wholesale lots and puts them on ebay. So I'd be doing photo editing and using a pre-made template and listing things on ebay.

Here's what I have typed up so far.

Eric Michael Riley
[ADDRESS]
Overland Park, KS 66212
913.XXX.4165
eriley7@stumail.jccc.net

Education
Shawnee Mission West High School...............Graduated 05/2007
Overland Park, KS

Johnson County Community College................Currently Enrolled
Overland Park, KS

Work Experience
Queen’s Price Chopper.................................06/2004-01/2007
Overland Park, KS.......................................Cashier

Red Lobster........................................... ....12/2006-Present
Overland Park, KS.......................................Server

Computer Experience
Fluent with Microsoft Operating Systems, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe ImageReady, Macromedia Flash, HTML, CSS, and a variety of other programs.

Qualifications

WickedLou9 · 08-28-2007, 04:44 PM

I think you are talking about the "objective" that you put at the top

Objective: To obtain a challenging position in a growth field where I can utilize my skills in <insert skills here> and which can provide me room to grow.

Something fluffed up with bullshit like that.

You also might want to put brief descriptions about what you did under each previous job. Make it sound good.

Cashier: Assisted customers with final point of purchase transactions with the goal of ensuring and increasing customer satisfaction.

Server: Acted as liason between the customer and the food preparation group. Resolved any conflicts that arose due to improper preparation of food. Charged with ensuring customer satisfaction in the dining experience.

Put your boots on! It's getting really deep.

OK maybe I took it a little far but you get the idea.

Publius · 08-28-2007, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ28

Any tips on writing a resume? Should I be using MS Word or another program? Are "online resumes" okay now?

Word will be the most universally accepted via email, so yea use word. By "online resume" do you mean emailing it to them or just having a weblink? I think that would vary from company to company.

Also what's it called where you put your goal in the job search.... IE "Seeking a entry level position in the IT field." Does that belong on the resume or cover letter? Do I need a cover letter?

It's called the "Objective" section and yes, include it in the resume not the cover letter. In your objective you should briefly run down what skills you bring to the company and how those skills will make the company better. Bullshit it a bit, but make sure you focus on why you would be a good hire for them, not why you want a job. My old objective:

OBJECTIVE

Seeking any position which will allow the use of my administrative skills and creative ability to develop and maintain a quality product/service for the company in an effort to maximize productivity and profitability.

A cover letter is a good idea, use it to hit key points about your abilities and what you feel you can bring to the company...

I'd suggest you include detail about your experience and what skills you used at other jobs, and be specific. For example, my previous employment section reads like this for a job where I was basically a cashier/customer service and stocker:

B. Dalton Booksellers, xxxxxx – xxxxxx, TX – xxxxxxxxx (Jan. 2005 – July 2006)
* Bookseller position responsible for customer service on the floor and at registers, as well as receiving, sorting, and shelving shipments, collecting and boxing returns, inputting customer and store orders into main database, straightening store, etc.

Also, don't forget to include references (teacher that likes you, former boss if you're on good terms, etc.).

Publius · 08-28-2007, 04:52 PM

geez, i haven't updated my resume since before i got my current job.

JaJae · 08-28-2007, 04:59 PM

Cater your resume to different job fields. This is very important for your objective. Make sure your objective is focused at the job you're applying for.

Also cater your previous work responsibilities to sound enticing to whatever position you're applying for. The same resume for a management position should look different than a resume for a say a human resource position where one you need to focus your skillset on leadership and the other on being able to work well in a team.

Also, always, always, always attach a cover letter and the cover letter should be written for the exact job ad. No cover letter should look the same.

Make sure to proof-read everything, especially your cover letter which is easier to slip up on since it won't be mostly listed items and is specially written for each application.

I have been managing retail establishments. One tip I've been given by professional recruiters is to change the name of my current employer. It's a retail establishment and I'm looking to get into a more professional field. Abbreviating names from say National Amusements Concessions to "NAC, LLC" will likely be an asset to someone reading my resume. While the first name looks retail and trivial, the second name sounds professional and they won't find out the real name unless they get me on the phone. At which point I'm already one step ahead.

ArrestMeRedZ28 · 08-28-2007, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by Publius

Word will be the most universally accepted via email, so yea use word. By "online resume" do you mean emailing it to them or just having a weblink? I think that would vary from company to company.

It's called the "Objective" section and yes, include it in the resume not the cover letter. In your objective you should briefly run down what skills you bring to the company and how those skills will make the company better. Bullshit it a bit, but make sure you focus on why you would be a good hire for them, not why you want a job. My old objective:

OBJECTIVE

Seeking any position which will allow the use of my administrative skills and creative ability to develop and maintain a quality product/service for the company in an effort to maximize productivity and profitability.
A cover letter is a good idea, use it to hit key points about your abilities and what you feel you can bring to the company...

I'd suggest you include detail about your experience and what skills you used at other jobs, and be specific. For example, my previous employment section reads like this for a job where I was basically a cashier/customer service and stocker:

B. Dalton Booksellers, xxxxxx – xxxxxx, TX – xxxxxxxxx (Jan. 2005 – July 2006)
* Bookseller position responsible for customer service on the floor and at registers, as well as receiving, sorting, and shelving shipments, collecting and boxing returns, inputting customer and store orders into main database, straightening store, etc.
Also, don't forget to include references (teacher that likes you, former boss if you're on good terms, etc.).

right, i believe references should be on a seperate piece of paper?

How do you suggust I format the employment history then? I have it 2 column in MS word. w

JaJae · 08-28-2007, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ28

right, i believe references should be on a seperate piece of paper?

How do you suggust I format the employment history then? I have it 2 column in MS word. w

how many jobs have you had?

If you've had a lot you might want to pick and choose the jobs you've had that you held for a long duration.

What job are you applying for?

ArrestMeRedZ28 · 08-28-2007, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by JaJae

how many jobs have you had?

If you've had a lot you might want to pick and choose the jobs you've had that you held for a long duration.

What job are you applying for?

I'm 19. I've had 2 jobs as listed above. I'm applying with a company whom buys wholesale lots (aka ipods) and listing them on ebay. So I'd be taking photographs and then making ebay listings using their templates pretty much.

JaJae · 08-28-2007, 05:10 PM

Remove the columns from your previous jobs then. And list your job responsibilities under each job.

Your previous jobs seem to have very little correlation to the job you're applying for now. Your previous jobs were customer service oriented which likely isn't gonna mean much for this job. Focus your resume on how hard you work and how well you perform. If you've ever been employee of the month. How often you get raises, promotions. How well you work under mangement. Ability to work well and multi-talks. Have you ever done presentation displays, etc.

curlyque221 · 08-29-2007, 10:12 PM

I was told on a recent job interview that sometimes the best "hidden talents" can be found outside of your previous employments. I had included volunteer experience on my resume, but apparently not everything that was relevant or important to the woman interviewing me. (She did hire me in the end.) Include any volunteer or unpaid experiences that are relevant to the job. If you've taken any classes that may make you more qualified than someone else, include them as well.

Ardentfrost · 08-30-2007, 07:36 AM

Yeah, definitely think outside the box when it comes to expressing your experience on your resume. On the interview for the job I have now, I wanted to better express my programming experience even though I hadn't had very much real work experience in that field... so I included open source projects that I had taken part in. The interview committee ate it up too.

I'll say though, it is very tough when you're starting out. My first resume had a grocery store and a sheet metal shop on it (as experience) and I was trying to get a computer job. It's hard to say "I've been working with computers for the past 5 years" when there's no official place to put it on the resume.

But your resume needs only be good enough to get you an interview. At that point it's up to you to seal the deal. Good interviewing practices can beat out a great resume (as long as you get the interview in the first place).

WickedLou9 · 08-30-2007, 10:24 AM

About referances... Ususally most places will only verify that you worked for them from Date A to date B, and your salary was such and such, and your title was such and such.
You might get a good review but even that can open the company to liability, but you will almost certainly never get a bad referance.

People actually sue if you give them a bad review and call it slander. They tend to win these cases too. If you give someone a good review and that person turns out to be a criminal or something, the hiring company can sue you as well.

So really referances are not as important as they used to be, because the interviewer knows that they aren't going to get anything useful. Most people don't even list referances on thier resume, they just include a line that says "referances available upon request".

Ardentfrost · 08-30-2007, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

About referances... Ususally most places will only verify that you worked for them from Date A to date B, and your salary was such and such, and your title was such and such.
You might get a good review but even that can open the company to liability, but you will almost certainly never get a bad referance.

People actually sue if you give them a bad review and call it slander. They tend to win these cases too. If you give someone a good review and that person turns out to be a criminal or something, the hiring company can sue you as well.

So really referances are not as important as they used to be, because the interviewer knows that they aren't going to get anything useful. Most people don't even list referances on thier resume, they just include a line that says "referances available upon request".

I had a number of people work for me over the past 3 years, and quite a few of them not only listed me as a reference, but I got calls about them. I didn't get a call from everyone that put me down as a reference, but about half of them I did.

There are questions they are legally not allowed to ask, though. They would ask very vague questions after the initial "Did this person work for you." They'd ask "Are they a hard worker?" "Are they able to accomplish tasks on their own?" stuff like that.

WickedLou9 · 08-30-2007, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

I had a number of people work for me over the past 3 years, and quite a few of them not only listed me as a reference, but I got calls about them. I didn't get a call from everyone that put me down as a reference, but about half of them I did.

There are questions they are legally not allowed to ask, though. They would ask very vague questions after the initial "Did this person work for you." They'd ask "Are they a hard worker?" "Are they able to accomplish tasks on their own?" stuff like that.

That's true, but alot of businesses will give strictly factual answers which can be easily proven and nothing more.

There were cases going both ways. A school district got sued becuase it gave some teacher a good reccomendation, even though the guy had gotten in trouble for innapropriate behavior with teenage girls. He commited another offense at his next school, and the girl who was violated sued the previous school for giving a positive review. She won. That's a strange case and a positive review probably will not give you any trouble but the chance is always there...

But you can also easily sue for slander if someone gives you a negative review. If the review is subjective, and you don't get the job because of a negative subjective review, you can sue for slander and recover damages.
So you might get a positive review but you will almost never get anything negative. In either case, you can be sure that the person giving the recomendation isn't giving you a complete and accurate picture. There is just too much liability with the chance of litigation. It's not worth it.

Ardentfrost · 09-05-2007, 10:23 AM

Found this, thought it might help (for everyone):

10 Ways Your Resume Irks Hiring Managers - AOL Find a Job

10 Ways Your Resume Irks Hiring Managers
By MARY LORENZ, CAREERBUILDER.COM WRITER
Posted: 2007-08-31 14:39:46

Fashion designer Coco Chanel had a personal rule: Before she left the house, the style icon always removed one piece of her ensemble to avoid the faux-pas of wearing too many accessories. Were Chanel alive today and working as a hiring manager, she would likely offer similar advice to job seekers: You don't have to include everything.

Job seekers do themselves a disservice when they send out resumes with more information than they need. Most employers don't have the time or patience to sift through the irrelevant details. Here are 10 things your resume could do without:

1. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. "If you are careless enough to send out this most important document with a mistake ... I immediately assume you'll never care enough about the work you send out representing my company," says Jose Bandujo, president of New York-based Bandujo Advertising. He recalls one candidate who misspelled Manhattan, despite having worked in the city for a decade and another whose great educational background didn't compensate for the fact that he couldn't spell "education."

2. Opening objectives. "These are generic ... They do nothing to differentiate one candidate from another," says Donna Flagg, president of The Krysalis Group, a human resource and management consulting firm in New York.

3. Personal attributes. Listing personal information such as height, weight and age and providing photographs is a pet peeve for Heather Mayfield, vice president of training and operations for Snelling Staffing Services. "It is amazing that we still see this on the resumes of today, but they are out there."

4. Interests and hobbies. If these points of information don't pertain to the job in question, there's no need to include them. "Create a mystery and save these kinds of data points when you start the job," advises Roy Blitzer, author of 'Hire Me, Inc.: Resumes and Cover Letters that Get Results.'

5. Details of every task you've ever performed in every job you've ever had. "It's too much information. Managers and recruiters need to know at-a-glance what makes a candidate special," Flagg says. Focus on those details that pertain to the job for which you're applying.

6. Excessive bragging. Stating one's accomplishments can be helpful, but when it's overdone, the candidate can come across as narcissistic, a huge turnoff for employers, Flagg says.

7. Outdated information. Leave off the activities that you did in high school if graduation was a few years ago and omit jobs you held 10 or more years ago, as the information is probably irrelevant to the position you're trying for now.

8. False information. "Putting that you have a B.S. on a resume when you do not have one is BS,'" jokes Stephen Viscusi, author of 'On the Job: How to Make it in the Real World of Work." Not only is lying on a resume unfair and dishonest, it's also not very intelligent. "Companies verify dates of employment -- often after you start. If you have lied, they fire you...Nobody wants to hire a liar. Nobody."

9. Unexplained gaps in work history. While job seekers should account for these gaps, they should be careful with their wording. "One of the weirdest things that I ever saw on a resume ... was a candidate who explained a 10-year lapse in work experience as being in jail during those years for killing her husband," recalls Linda Goodspeed, marketing recruiting manager at VistaPrint. In such a situation, she says, the best thing to write would be "left work for personal reasons," and the candidate would be able to explain the criminal record later.

10. A lack of professionalism. Colored paper, cutesy fonts, links to personal web sites and childish e-mail addresses all scream unprofessional and are a turn off to hiring managers. One otherwise qualified applicant didn't get an interview at Bandujo's firm solely because of the name in her email address: "weird2themax." "I recognize the advertising industry is full of talented, interesting 'characters'," Bandujo says, "but did I really want one who thought she was weird to the max?" No, he decided, he did not.

nbiggershaft · 09-06-2007, 11:07 PM

Bold and center your name, use tabs and bulleting, include an objective but don't fluff it (one sentence), I'd change computer experience to "skills", put a couple lines for important duties at your work, include your major, put in an awards/activities section, add the term "References available upon request" at the bottom, keep it to one page.

I just went to a resume review session, these are all legit ^.