Ever wondered what happens to your Resume? Having a general idea of what it goes through may help you to create a Resume that can jump through all the hoops!
Yes, that time is coming up - when outside contracts will contact me for help in wading through the responses to advertised employment.
Knowing what happens will help you to create a Resume that will make it to the end of the line - and an interview!
When your Resume is first received, a quick note is placed on it to say "on time", "envelop neat" or nowadays "email received, no errors, no threats". I get a hard copy if possible, and a link to the email/dropbox where the I can retrieve the resume etc. on my own. The first thing I check for is to ensure the job the person is responding to IS the job I am looking after. And yes, if there is no cover letter the Resume is immediately dumped into the "thanks but no thanks" pile.
The next item I check is Format and spelling/choice of words - if it is hard to read I'll put it to the bottom of the pile or have a pile of "maybe's - hard to read or lousy format". If the format is not good I'll take a quick look at the email to see how the file was created - oft times the Resume won't look good on print out due to the different printers used (yours and mine, or the employer's). And if there are spelling errors - I'll do a quick scan of information before tossing out the Resume (in case the Resume is outstanding and the job is not dependent on spelling). I'll also check to ensure the tone/type of words match in both the Cover Letter and Resume - if not, then chances are someone else did the Resume or Cover Letter - which means I am NOT getting the person I think I have in front of me.
Then I start with Content - more on that next week!
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Copyright October 10, 2006. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.
