October 2014

Biggest Mistakes in Resume

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Biggest Mistakes in Resume, </h1>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="name" data-li-uetrk-click="tl" href="https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=24454816&authType=name&authToken=S_Eb&trk=pulse-det-athr_prof-art_hdr" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Laszlo Bock">Laszlo Bock</a>, </span><span style="color: #8b8b8b; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">SVP, People Operations at Google</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This post originally appeared at LinkedIn. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have seen a lot of resumes. Some are brilliant, most are just ok, many are disasters. The toughest part is that for 15 years, I've continued to see the same mistakes made again and again by candidates, any one of which can eliminate them from consideration for a job. What’s most depressing is that I can tell from the resumes that many of these are good, even great, people. But in a fiercely competitive labor market, hiring managers don't need to compromise on quality. All it takes is one small mistake and a manager will reject an otherwise interesting candidate.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mistake 1: Typos</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This one seems obvious, but it happens again and again. A 2013 CareerBuilder survey found that 58% of resumes have typos. In fact, people who tweak their resumes the most carefully can be especially vulnerable to this kind of error, because they often result from going back again and again to fine tune your resume just one last time. And in doing so, a subject and verb suddenly don't match up, or a period is left in the wrong place, or a set of dates gets knocked out of alignment. I see this in MBA resumes all the time. Typos are deadly because employers interpret them as a lack of detail-orientation, as a failure to care about quality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>The fix? </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Read your resume from bottom to top: reversing the normal order helps you focus on each line in isolation. Or have someone else proofread closely for you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mistake 2: Length</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A good rule of thumb is one page of resume for every 10 years of work experience. Hard to fit it all in, right? But a three or four or 10-page resume simply won't get read closely. As Blaise Pascal wrote, “I would have written you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” A crisp, focused resume demonstrates an ability to synthesize, prioritize, and convey the most important information about you. Think about it this way: the sole purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. That’s it. It’s not to convince a hiring manager to say “yes” to you (that’s what the interview is for) or to tell your life’s story (that’s what a patient spouse is for). Your resume is a tool that gets you to that first interview. Once you're in the room, the resume doesn't matter much. So cut back your resume. It’s too long.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mistake 3: Formatting</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unless you're applying for a job such as a designer or artist, your focus should be on making your resume clean and legible. At least 10-point font. At least half-inch margins. White paper, black ink. Consistent spacing between lines, columns aligned, your name and contact information on every page. If you can, look at it in both Google Docs and Word, and then attach it to an email and open it as a preview. Formatting can get garbled when moving across platforms. Saving it as a PDF is a good way to go.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mistake 4: Confidential information</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I once received a resume from an applicant working at a top-three consulting firm. This firm had a strict confidentiality policy: client names were never to be shared. On the resume, the candidate wrote: “Consulted to a major software company in Redmond, Washington.” Rejected! There’s an inherent conflict between your employer’s needs (keep business secrets confidential) and your needs (show how awesome I am so I can get a better job). So candidates often find ways to honor the letter of their confidentiality agreements but not the spirit. It’s a mistake. While this candidate didn’t mention Microsoft specifically, any reviewer knew that’s what he meant. In a very rough audit, we found that at least 5-10% of resumes reveal confidential information. Which tells me, as an employer, that I should never hire those candidates…unless I want my own trade secrets emailed to my competitors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The New York Times test is helpful here: if you wouldn't want to see it on the homepage of the NYT with your name attached (or if your boss wouldn't!), don’t put it on your resume.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mistake 5: Lies</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This breaks my heart. Putting a lie on your resume is never, ever, ever, worth it. Everyone, up to and including CEOs, get fired for this. (Google “CEO fired for lying on resumes” and see.) People lie about their degrees (three credits shy of a college degree is not a degree), GPAs (I’ve seen hundreds of people “accidentally” round their GPAs up, but never have I seen one accidentally rounded down—never), and where they went to school (sorry, but employers don’t view a degree granted online for “life experience” as the same as UCLA or Seton Hall). People lie about how long they were at companies, how big their teams were, and their sales results, always goofing in their favor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are three big problems with lying:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can easily get busted. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The internet, reference checks, and people who worked at your company in the past can all reveal your fraud.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lies follow you forever. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Inspired and Extracted from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140917045901-24454816-the-5-biggest-mistakes-i-see-on-resumes-and-how-to-correct-them?trk=prof-post&_ga=1.47551137.789954610.1412496871</span></span><br />
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Biggest Mistakes in Resume

Biggest Mistakes in Resume, Laszlo Bock , SVP, People Operations at Google This post originally appeared at LinkedIn. I have seen ...

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LinkedIn Vs Profile - Comparison

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYejrmXkOb37abIw_NtLJazBE3yMuXx8yCZHwDO5PLXE2-zAnntJvOUWX1jRS1ZVvOLee_-gbrbwwq9DYuJpXPce0aJscw9gXhTMh_2RbGVNeYU9u5kH9UlyhmGFz1RyUAz5k6OmAtYE/s1600/resume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYejrmXkOb37abIw_NtLJazBE3yMuXx8yCZHwDO5PLXE2-zAnntJvOUWX1jRS1ZVvOLee_-gbrbwwq9DYuJpXPce0aJscw9gXhTMh_2RbGVNeYU9u5kH9UlyhmGFz1RyUAz5k6OmAtYE/s1600/resume.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjim4B0J9KmUipbQVKUjSRrRBhlhl4K3vtsO3MPKLowQUW5V29VmbYoxCDh7mIdRE9UNyEQG4tf-0vFyz7qKR9ogW2ebBZf9HEBR1-2jTyiFzdcIQjm7-wqPehv0R0x8bd6Vk4DJGunYlk/s1600/likedin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjim4B0J9KmUipbQVKUjSRrRBhlhl4K3vtsO3MPKLowQUW5V29VmbYoxCDh7mIdRE9UNyEQG4tf-0vFyz7qKR9ogW2ebBZf9HEBR1-2jTyiFzdcIQjm7-wqPehv0R0x8bd6Vk4DJGunYlk/s1600/likedin.jpg" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Things Employers Look For In LinkedIn And Resume Comparison</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Expertise.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyone can write on their resume that they have over 10 years of experience in the field of XYZ, but does that really mean you have expertise and knowledge of the practice? Employers will be looking at recommendations received, endorsements to specific skills, groups you’ve joined and even links to any published content you have. In particular, someone with a lot of recommendations and skills endorsements will be contacted first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. People in common.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When someone finds you on LinkedIn, they will also see if you know anyone in common. This lets them check references and see the kinds of relationships you have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Employment.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did you work for the companies you indicated on your resume? Are the dates of employment the same? Did you hold the title of the position stated on your resume? Anything verging from what you have are your resume is a red flag to the prospective employer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Education.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Employers will look at the educational institution attended, areas of study, and if you have indicated receiving a degree on your resume that that information would also appear on your LinkedIn profile. If such information is missing, it would hint at some sketchiness on your resume.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In today’s job market, just about anyone who’s serious about job searching will have a LinkedIn profile. To not have one is telling prospective employers you are not up with the modern age. So, before you apply to any other job openings, make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated to reflect information you have on your resume. It doesn't need to be the same word-for-word, but the basic gist of the information must come off the same. Employers will be looking!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Resume Blaster will help you to create and maintain LinkedIn profile, email us at resumeblasters@gmail.com for more information.</span><br />
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LinkedIn Vs Profile - Comparison

Things Employers Look For In LinkedIn And Resume Comparison 1. Expertise. Anyone can write on their resume that they have o...

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How are you going to stand out in an Interview?

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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Interviews can be stressful. Often you have less than an hour to
convince an interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job. That
interviewer is going to talk to others on the same day and have other things
that they are occupied with. <b>How are you going to stand out?</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Prepare. Know which stories you want to share.</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everyone knows that preparation is key, how you prepare is
extremely important. Many people come up with a list of questions that they may
get asked and prepare for these. This leads to some amount of panic when
they're thrown a curveball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Start with the end in mind and work backwards.</span><span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Research the company and role by reading up
about them and reaching out to people you know who work there. Understand what
they are looking for in terms of skills and cultural fit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Assess yourself. What are you good at? And how does it match
what the company might be looking for? This process can give you a clear
picture of whether this company and role are actually a good fit for you.
Assuming they are, you now know exactly how you are a match. You also know
where you fall short.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pick the situations from your past work experience that
highlight the attributes you've identified at the intersection of your skills
and the role's requirements. Also, find stories which showcase that you can
learn the things you might be lacking. Usually, the handful of stories that you
come up with can be re-purposed for any behavioral question.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Know your audience. Structure your answers.</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Use STAR method: <b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">S</span></b>ituation (set the
scene), <b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">T</span></b>ask (what was required), <b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">A</span></b>ction (what exactly you did), <b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">R</span></b>esult (what happened).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Setting up the scene is critical. While you are intimately
familiar with what happened, the interviewer is not. Take the time to make sure
they can place themselves at the scene. If you don't do this, the rest of the
story will be lost on them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take the time to develop a shared understanding of the situation
with the interviewer so that you are working together to determine what needs
to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Keep Calm. Remember this interview goes both
ways.</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4f51; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take a deep breath and remember that this is a conversation. It
is important for the interviewer to evaluate you, but it's equally important
for you’re to evaluate the interviewer and make sure that this is a place you
want to be at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Inspired and Extracted from, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141002164029-1473578-how-to-win-an-interview-before-it-starts</span></div>

How are you going to stand out in an Interview?

Interviews can be stressful. Often you have less than an hour to convince an interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job. That ...

+ Read more »

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