TIPS ON HOW TO PREPARE AN EFFECTIVE RESUME AND
ESTIMATE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING THE JOB YOU REALLY WANT

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!! ARE THERE ANY??? 

The situation in today's job market shows that the well known career formula: secondary/post-secondary education = guaranteed 9 to 5 well-paid job for life has become obsolete. The good old days of certainty and stability are long gone.

Those who found themselves unemployed due to economic changes tend to blame the  government and new technology for their misfortunes. In the 1990 ies we have  witnessed a transition into the age of computer  technology. But  unfortunately many people are not prepared to deal with the new changes.
 In the 1960 ies or 1970 ies many employers were looking  for employees with a  "programmable robotic" attitude, people who followed their orders  promptly.  Those, who  knew how to do it "properly" were usually able to secure their jobs until retirement.  If we were to compare any giant company with a powerful corporate  mechanism to a big machine with many interchangeable parts that possess no intelligence,  the employees of a corporation would be equivalent to the  interchangeable parts. In those days things looked simpler and employment criterias were  different.  Now that computer took over the jobs of these so-called "robotic" employees, human resource managers  have changed their hiring criteria.  Today, many employers look for the individuals with a "ME Inc." attitude, willing  to take initiatives and accept responsibilities of a challenging  working environment as  well as to respond immediately to any new changes in the economy and  implement them in  their workplace. In other words employers tell their potential  employees: "Do not just tell me  what you have to offer. Tell me how you  and your credentials will assist you in meeting my expectations and the challenges that our business faces in our ever-changing  economy."
This may be illustrated in a very simple argument. Each argument  contains at least two premises and  conclusion. The smaller gap (or bigger the degree of  relevancy) between the premises, the stronger  your argument you will create.

 PREMISE 1:
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 PREMISE 2:
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 CONCLUSION:

 
We will now reverse the order since your employer has already established your  conclusion by defining what he/she wants. In other words your employer  has established  the job requirements and you are now trying to tell him how you can satisfy his/her requirements or meet his expectations. Your potential employer has established  THE  CONCLUSION: "We are looking for a candidate who possesses A, B, C, D, K,  X, Y, Z  qualifications, has extensive marketing experience and excellent communication skills,  etc.

You now have to come up with the premises:

 PREMISE 1: "I have  A, B, C, D, K, X, Y, Z qualifications."

 PREMISE 2: "I have extensive marketing experience and excellent communication skills communication skills etc."

Therefore I believe I suit your needs.

This is an example of "perfect argument" where there is no gaps between  its premises.
This is very rarely to occur. You might know some individuals who do not have all of the necessary experience and qualifications but are getting hired.  You may say to yourself  "I do have the right work attitude, I  believe I am qualified to perform well at the jobs that I am applying for. I have  sent over 1000  resumes and I still cannot get the interview for the job that I would enjoy.  What is wrong?".

Well, there are several factors  that may work against you. Here are some of them.

1. You may be overqualified for the position and your potential employers may think that they will have to pay you more than they can afford.

2. The position has been already taken by someone else from the company or the department, but Human Resources manager, having to follow the company policy, has advertised  this particular position outside the company.

3. You may be little under qualified, but the worst.... your resume does not display to your  potential employer that you nevertheless do have most of the knowledge, professional qualifications,  skills or abilities required by the job. You  may not have a doubt that you qualify, but your potential employers  have no way of knowing that.
Quite often, your future employer does not have a lot of time to spend on  looking at your case, and since he/she cannot read your mind, the first, and perhaps the only thing that he/she will pay most attention to is your resume.  Having taken a close look at your credentials, a qualified Human Resources Officer will not only study and analyze the contents of your resume, but will also try to get a sense of  what kind of person you are and with what confidence and in what style you evaluate your achievements.  The following explains how to put together a resume that will increase your chances of getting the job you want.

We should start with the basics by asking ourselves what a  resume or a C V. is?  One of the dictionaries defines this word as  follows:

"A  summary of employment experience and personal  information submitted with a job  application."

You may think that this is nothing new to you.  You may be right. Resume is nothing else than just a small book about yourself.  Its purpose is to indirectly introduce you to a stranger and to tell him/her what you want him/her to know about you.

Now, imagine yourself going to a bookstore and wanting to find a book that suits a particular interest that you may have. There are often hundreds of books to choose from, but you only want one that will best respond to your needs.  So how do you find the one without having to read them all in order to make the best judgment?  You automatically look at the table of  contents or at the summary on the cover.  At some point you learn whether this is a science fiction or true story or whether this book is  intended for adults or children. You are also considering factors such as appearance, usefulness of the information, the approach taken, its benefits and advantages over other books you have just looked at as well as the price.  Getting the best value for your money seems like the natural thing to do.

Now try to compare your potential employer to yourself in the bookstore. Imagine him/her going through about two hundred resumes as you are going  through many of books. Initially he or she pays attention to the appearance of each resume. Keep in mind that a lot of people stick with the theory that your resume represents you and its appearance shows how much you care for the job. Your future employer knows that if hired, you are going to be representing his/her company in the competitive world and will be contributing  to creating the company's image before its potential clients.  Before preparing your resume, you may want to stop and think about the kind of first impression you want to create.  After all, you do not have a second chance to create your first impression.

 Secondly, the hiring party will be examining the usefulness of the information in your resume.   He or she will try to single out the points that match the required criteria in order to find out whether your credentials, satisfy his/her needs.  At this point, the resumes of qualified candidates will be separated from the "inadequate ones". He/she cannot establish whether or not you are qualified without your résumé's indications.  From our own experience we found out that often people  with very well written resumes yet not fully qualified stand better  chances of getting the interview than those that are qualified or even overqualified who submitted poorly written resumes.

Ask yourself a question "Is my resume telling my potential employer that I definitely do meet his requirements or does it just show what I  have to offer which sometimes may not indicate that I am qualified for the job?"

Now let us use the points mentioned earlier to better explain the purpose of your  resume. You already know that your resume should:
 

1. Be distinct and create a lasting impression (so that its appearance draws the attention of your prospective employer).

2. In a few brief statements, display which of your characteristics will reinforce your credentials (or the lack of) and give you an "edge".

3.  Make it seem logical to your potential employer(s) that you can satisfy his/her requirements and that you are  qualified for the advertised job.

4.  Be simple as far as it being the guide to getting to know you.

YOU MAY NOW PROCEED WITH THE PREPARATION OF YOUR RESUME

Part 1. 0.  Your Knowledge Skills and Abilities.

If judging from your "Knowledge, Skills and Abilities" /("Professional Qualifications, Skills and Abilities") or "table of contents"   and "cover page"  your potential employer considers you a qualified candidate, he/she will proceed on to determining how your qualifications and work experience relates to his/her requirements.  He/she will want to know whether you have the necessary work experience, appropriate education, whether you are a leader or a follower, how likely you are to take initiative and how far you are willing to go in order to assure that the corporate goals are achieved.  This issue brings us to another 5 topics, which should assist your employer in finding in detail what he or she needs to know about you.

PART 2. 0.  Work experience  or (employment history)

This topic should help your employer to determine that you have the work  experience he/she  is looking for. In this paragraph you should outline your duties and  responsibilities  in each place of your previous employment. If you have had a chance to take on additional responsibilities during your present or past employment,  you may outline these in an additional sub-paragraph "Professional  achievements".

In general, most employers are interested in staff that likes to take initiative, who possess leadership qualities, who is a "go-getter" and capable of working well even under pressure, as well as in those who can think critically and who is reliable in emergency situations.  Such criteria  is extremely important when applying for management or supervisory, customer service or marketing positions.
It is important to mention such qualities if you are applying for a position within the company where you are presently  working.  It may grant you a preference over the "outside" candidates.
 If you are a medical professional or research scientist you may list your professional achievements briefly describing the nature of your work and the objectives of your project.  It all depends on each individual case and the level of relevancy to the requirements of your future employer.  You may list your achievements under an additional  sub-heading  "Professional Achievements".   If you have many important professional achievements you  may list them on a separate page.

PART  3.0. Education

This topic should outline your education.
 If you have taken additional courses offered by your current or past  employers,  outline them under a sub-paragraph "Additional courses taken". This may serve as an indicator that you are developing your credentials and are likely to learn and implement new ideas in your future place of  employment. In this sub-paragraph you may list your certifications, professional designations etc.

PART  4.0. Membership in professional organizations

If you are a professional such as a medical doctor, lawyer, or a  professional engineer, you should mention your membership in a professional organization,  especially if you were certified by that particular organization.

PART 5.0. Community involvement, interest and activities
 
In this paragraph, you may outline your membership in your community organizations.
You may think that this is not important at all. In some cases it may  not be as important as it  is in others.  It all depends on the position you are applying for.  It is more important if  you are applying for a marketing or sales position in large corporation or a dealership.
Sales and marketing positions require a lot of public relations work in order to attract  potential customers.  Your lack of activity in your community may lead  your employer to a conclusion  that you do not have public relations skills that are considered to be a  part of your future job. If you are a dynamic individual and an active community member, people will tend to like your  personality; your  potential employer may suppose that eventually your community members will become your clients as they will be buying "you" and your public relations along with the service or the product of the company.

PART 6. References

There are two types of references:

6.1. Professional references

Professional references are used to identify individual's knowledge  skills and abilities and are obtained from your current or past employer(s), individuals or companies who worked  with you or have used your services or purchased your  products.

6.2. Character references.

Character references are used to identify individual's character, attitude, community involvement, honesty, etc.  If you are applying for the positions in the area of social work,  teaching, customer service, sales or marketing, your future employer may be examining more closely these references.

In most cases we suggest that our clients obtain two professional  and one character references.  Please note that some employers will not want to contact your references  simply because they know that you will not use as  your reference someone who does not like you.  Instead they may simply contact your present or former  employers.   You may choose to use your present or past employers for our professional and character references.

There are basically two types of resumes:

1. General resumes
2. Resumes that are directed to specific jobs

1. General resumes are intended to outline all of your qualification and  they are prepared for the individuals who are sending their resumes to various companies and organizations or placing them on several web sites of the employment agencies. General  resumes provide comprehensive information about the individual as well as outline all of his/her qualifications.

When preparing a general resume you may want to include an additional point that outlines your objective before the section  "Professional qualifications, knowledge, skills and abilities".  This point is known as a "CAREER OBJECTIVE".  This topic should also co-relate to the next topic of your resume in order to bring to your future employer's attention your knowledge skills and abilities.

2. Custom made resumes or resumes that are directed to a specific jobs
By preparing a resume of this type, the candidate must have a job posting that he/she may use to  emphasize on meeting the requirements of the advertised position. These resumes are ideal when you know the company and your future job description,  duties and responsibilities as well as qualifications needed to get the position.

YOUR COVER LETTER

When preparing this type of resume you may also want to submit a cover  letter with your resume at the time of submission.  Your cover letter should always help you to create that first lasting impression of you in the mind of your future employer. Cover letters are mend to show  that you are interested in the advertised position, introduce you in a very brief and short  form to your future employer, explain your qualifications and encourage him/her to call  you for a personal interview.  This letter should include the following information:

1. Your name and address

2. Date

3. Company's name and person representing Human Resources department (if available).

4. The position you are applying for, including competition  number (if any).

5. A brief explanation telling your employer how you can satisfy his/her requirements and convince him/her to invite you for a personal interview. It should be fairly straightforward, short and simple.

You may find it more effective to compose this information into three main paragraphs:

1. A brief introduction and information about yourself.
2. An attempt to show your future employer why you believe that you should be considered for this position and how your qualifications meet the requirements of your future job.
3. A conclusion where in a pleasant yet persistent way you are requesting a personal interview to discuss your qualifications.  At this point you probably know what is needed to put together a successful resume and  the purpose it should serve. Of course, during a personal interview, you should be ready to elaborate on whatever you have stated in your resume.   Many employers may ask you to undertake skill tests, or verify your knowledge of certain computer programs.  Even if you will not get the job, we always suggest asking the department of Human Resources to review with your interviewing officer  the reasons for the rejection.  This will help you to identify possible failures and correct your mistakes in the future.  You may ask for your resume to be referred to another department of the same company, and although you may not get the job that you are expecting, you may be giving yourself a chance to look for another job within this particular company.  By doing so, you may temporarily accept a "second-best" position and in the meanwhile gain the reputation that will later help you get the desired position. At this point, we hope you have a better idea on how to prepare your resume.
Also, when looking for a job, you may want to explore the option of conducting your job search on the Internet. Today, because of a wider exposure and better communication many employers prefer to advertise job openings via Internet.  By placing  their ads onto their web sites they eliminate computer illiterate candidates.

Conducting your  job search on the  Internet is one of the best ways of exploring job opportunities in your area of expertise. However, we suggest that you should always verify "bona fides" of the company where you submit your resume. We recommend to use our ON-LINE JOB SEARCH PAGE (CLICK HERE).

We trust that you will find the above information useful and we hope that it will assist you in the  process of preparation of your resume and in the achievement of successful results. 
We realize that some individuals may require our assistance in preparing their resumes or may have some questions. If this is the case, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you would like us to prepare your resume or require our assistance with the review of your existing resume and customizing it according to your future job requirements, please go  to our on-line QUESTIONNAIRE/ASSESSMENT FORM
Based on your specific needs we will provide you with a free price estimate with no further obligations on your part.

If you have additional questions and would like to setup an appointment with us please visit our on-line appointment form.