Simply Hired Blog

Try Using the “Reverse Graffiti” Approach to Resumes

Have you heard of reverse graffiti? It’s an approach to street art in which the artist removes the grime on city buildings or sidewalks to create images instead of using spray paint.

So what does this have to do with your resume? Take a look at your resume and see how hard you have to look for the hidden masterpieces of achievement. Do they stand out are are they buried? 

Most people approach the onerous task of resume revision by adding more recent information such as job experience or training to the same old document. Is that your approach too? Unfortunately, the additive approach to revising your resume is very similar to the accumulation of years of grime on those cityscapes that street artists take as their canvas. Borrowing the technique of removing layers of grime to showcase your talents is a much more successful approach to revising your resume.

In order to “find” your strengths, start cutting the content of your resume. But getting rid of the grime can feel impossible because it becomes an emotional task. See if these statements sound familiar:

“But I was the youngest project manager across 3 states.”

“I won Rookie of the Year at my first job.”

Of course these are important accomplishments to you because they are part of your personal job history. These early accomplishments probably gave you the confidence to succeed at the next level. However, as you advance in your career, your resume no longer needs to include your professional “baby pictures.”

To avoid the temptation to include all of your work history in your resume, archive one version that is comprehensive. Maintain this comprehensive resume with all of the details that are important to you personally – and then set that version aside. Next, start fresh. To create an effective resume, cut, cut, cut the content until it includes only the last ten to fifteen years of your career. 

This advice may seem surprising, but consider this: including too many successes from early in your career may make the hiring manager wonder if your best years are behind you. You can’t risk that impression because you are feeling nostalgic about your early career! Get rid of the grime by deleting early career highlights.

Just as an artist approaches a painting with an outline sketch, you need to take a deliberate approach to your resume. What is the impression or picture that you want the hiring manager to have of you after reading your resume? A good outline for your resume will help you create a compelling story by painting a picture of your experiences. 

Use descriptions of each company to provide the background for your accomplishments. Then include an interesting narrative of your job duties. Daily tasks of your job are the midpoint of the “painting” that is your resume. Finally describe the important details of your achievements in the foreground where they will receive the greatest attention from the reader. The background, midpoint, and foreground approach to your outline paints a cohesive picture of your skills and qualifications by removing unnecessary grime.

Remember to follow your outline in describing all three levels to maintain the focus on the qualifications that matter to the potential employer. Including too many details will obscure your achievements. Create a pleasant picture with your resume and the hiring manager is likely to spend more time reviewing your documents. 

When making your outline, you may also need to consult references for the details, just as an artist might look for additional information about architecture or nature to complete their masterpiece. Review job descriptions to gain a sense of key qualifications for the opening and to make certain your resume demonstrates those skills. You may also be able to highlight industry key words by reviewing job descriptions. Strategic placement of those terms in your documents will get the right attention from hiring managers and search engines. 

A reverse graffiti approach can give you a new perspective and help you discover what strengths are hidden behind years of old work experience and accomplishments listed in your resume. Chances are that your resume includes information that no longer reflects your current level of skill. Clear away the grime from your resume and show the hiring manager the masterpiece of unique accomplishments you have to offer!

GetInterviews.com is the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. The staff’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 50+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 175,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are Certified Professional Resume Writers. 

4 Ways To Inadvertently Sabotage Your Job Search

Looking for a new job is a daunting enough task, but will be even tougher if you unwittingly sabotage your job search. Yes, you may be turning off potential employers without even realizing it.

Here are some of the ways that you may be inadvertently hurting your chances at finding a new position:

Your resume and/or cover letter is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors

You may indeed be a great manager, but if you call yourself a “manger” on your resume, you will not exactly make a great impression on a prospective employer. And believe it or not, some people have even misspelled the names of companies they have worked for, which may be cause for immediate rejection by a hiring manager.  It is crucially important that you make sure that your resume, cover letter, and even your LinkedIn page have flawless spelling and grammar. You should run spelling and grammar checks on all items, as well as have a trusted friend with a critical eye read everything to make sure that your words are up to snuff.

You have a bad attitude  

Looking for a job can be a bit like looking for somebody to date. If you come across as a defeated, depressed person, or somebody who has low self-esteem, you will get about as much play as a potential dating partner would with the same sort of attitude, no matter how much you may have to offer.  We understand that you may have good reason to feel down, especially if you haven’t worked in a while, but it is important to come across as a good-natured person with a good attitude. This may entail acting “as if” for a while – if  you act more positive about life than you really feel, you might just find yourself feeling good again. You can also work with a career coach or trusted friend to work at presenting yourself  in a more dynamic way.  Before you know it, you may genuinely have something to smile about.

Your public social media presence is a turn-off

More employers than ever are using social media sites to check out prospective employees. So while you may think it’s cool to have photos of you downing tequila shots at Cabo, your would-be future boss may not think so. In addition to making sure that your public social media profile is G-rated, also do an Internet  search on yourself and see what shows up. If there are negative items about you on other sites, try to either get them taken down, or create more positive posts. Establishing and maintaining an active presence on Google Plus is a good place to start – so that the good things will eventually outnumber the bad, and show up first in internet searches.

You don’t have a clearly stated goal, and apply to jobs unrelated to your experience

Sometimes frustrated job-seekers complain how they have sent out over 50 resumes each week, but haven’t heard anything back. It’s no wonder they haven’t. Quantity isn’t quality, and such a scattershot, throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach will not work. Nor will sending resumes to jobs where you do not make it clear that you are qualified for them. Sure, you may have a lot of skills, and be a jack of all trades, but if you don’t clearly state what it is you are looking for, you will be looking for a long time. You may want to work with a career coach or a career counselor to figure out what it is you would like to do, or talk to a mentor on what you should do next.

Lisa Swan writes for Institute for Coaching, a life, executive and career coaching site.  

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Resume Mistakes that will Destroy your Job Application

I know exactly what you are thinking. “Destroy” is a very strong word to use when talking about something like resume mistakes. Well, you are right. But that doesn’t make it any less accurate. In today’s job market, making just one error on your resume could very easily ruin your chances at a job that you may actually be a great candidate for.

With the amount of time you could spend looking for the right jobs to apply for, avoiding the following common mistakes is vital.

1. A Confusing or Ugly Format.

So you’re thinking to yourself, “It’s not the presentation that matters. It’s the content, right?” While the logical answer to that questions might be “yes,” the real world answer is “no.” It may strike you as strange, but a visually appealing resume format can often be the thing that gets your resume read in the first place. Think about it like this: if you had a huge stack of resumes on your desk, would you be more likely to pick up the easy-to-read, well-formatted one, or the confusing one? Exactly! A good rule to work by is to create your resume in sections, keeping the information clean and organized. No confusing formats, no fancy borders, no fonts below 10 point. Just keep it simple! 

2. Grammatical Errors and Typos. 

Nothing will destroy your chances at an interview faster than a typo or grammatical error on your resume or cover letter. Most hiring managers will stop reading as soon as they reach one of these ugly little mistakes. Not only does it show your lack of written communication skills, it also tells them that you don’t really care about the job. So before sending in that job application, make sure to have a couple people proofread your resume for mistakes.

 3. An Unprofessional Email Address.

Paintballer23@gmail.com. HottieAnne143@aol.com. HeatFan3@yahoo.com. These may be fine when you’re shooting emails back and forth with friends and family, but using them as your contact information on a resume is an easily avoidable mistake that many people make when applying for a job. Email addresses like these will make you look immature, which is the last thing you want to be associated with when you are applying for a job. So before sending out your resume, create a new, professional looking email address that contains just your first and last name.

4. Too Many Duties. Not Enough Accomplishments.

Don’t fall into the common resume trap of spending too much space listing job duties and not enough space describing accomplishments. Of course it’s nice to tell possible employers that you can manage the office. But it’s even better to show them how your office management skills led to increased departmental efficiency that saved the company money. Or maybe you’re a salesman with experience managing territories. Great! But if you can show statistics that prove how much you increased revenue in your territory since taking it over, that might just blow a hiring manager away.

5. Droning On and On.

There are many different opinions when it comes to resume length. Some say it should never be longer than a single page. Some say more pages are fine, as long as they are necessary to accurately show all of your skills. From my experience, resumes should be one clean page. The major exception to this rule is if you are an extremely experienced applicant applying for an executive job. But don’t worry. In almost all circumstances, you can get all of your necessary information across in one page. Just remember, your resume exists to get you interviews, not tell your whole life story.

Ian Matthew is a professional resume writer at Money Resumes, a cutting-edge resume writing service that specializes in creating custom documents that lead to more job interviews for their clients. Their affordable services include: resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, LinkedIn profiles, resume distribution, and more.

Your Resume as a Matchmaker

Not getting the results you want from your job search? You absolutely need to make sure your resume sets you apart, but you also need to approach your job search from all angles.

Here is an idea for a fresh way to think about how to go about composing your reusme:

Imagine you are “dating” the company.

No, you won’t woo them with flowers, but think about how you can make yourself more attractive to the company. Even if you haven’t been in the dating world for some time, you remember some of your sure-fire tactics to get noticed. Put those together with the tips below and you’ll land a “date” with the interviewer in no time!

What do they need that you have?

It’s a twist on how you can add value to the company. Review the company website to learn about new initiatives, expansions, or links to philanthropic causes to help you brainstorm and identify your unique value to the company. Don’t be afraid thoroughly research the company‘s online presence in your quest. Check in on the company’s Facebook site. Follow up on profiles of key company stakeholders to pick up additional details regarding initiatives that may be under the radar of their official company site.

Expand your search to non-traditional sites that executives are including as part of their online presence. If you think Pinterest is just for DIY, recipes, and fashion, you are behind the curve. Check out companies of interest to you on Pinterest and perhaps you can DIY yourself into a connection with the hiring manager.

LinkedIn is one of the more obvious choices when you are looking for online matchmaking services with your resume. Strengthen your profile by including critical professional details and highlight how you can meet the needs of the company with your skills. Attend a couple of “mixers” by joining a few groups on LinkedIn. Just like dating, if you are not circulating, you won’t get any matches.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there to make a match with your ideal employer. This unique approach is likely to energize your job search and make you an irresistible match!

GetInterviews.com is the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. The staff’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 50+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 175,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are Certified Professional Resume Writers. 

4 Ways to Set Yourself Apart from the Competition

In a world where thousands are competing for the same job you are, marketing yourself well could make all the difference. Although your education and background play an important part of the hiring process, having interpersonal talents could guarantee the desired position. In a sense, you are trying to sell yourself and your skills to a prospective employer. Hiring managers need to know how you will become an asset to their organization.

1. The Resume -

Your resume should be a single page outlining your skills and abilities for the position in question. Many of us have worked so many different jobs that the resume could look more like a short novella. The hiring staff only wants the information pertinent to the position. If you worked part-time and a fast food restaurant and are applying for a technology position, it can be left out without damaging your chances. Of course, many hiring managers will ask about the time in between jobs. This is when you inform them of the part-time work.

It is best to think of the resume as a data sheet of your abilities. At a glance, the hiring manager wants to be able to see if you are a worthy candidate or not without having to sift through all of the information. Keep the wording to a minimum and outline your skills in plain English. 

2. Confidence -

As it can alter many aspects of your life, confidence can be a great boon to have. However, too much confidence can lead to conceit. Having pride in yourself is one thing, but too much of it can make you come off as annoying and undesirable. If you have the skills and knowledge in the position in question, take pride in that aspect. Keep your answers to the point in an interview and mind your wording. There is a fine line between confidence and conceit and your sentence structure could make you seem more like one over the other.

3. Honesty or Opinions -

During an interview, honesty is always the best policy. Truthful answers are always more preferred to than simply blowing smoke. Many hiring managers can tell the difference simply by how the interviewee presents themselves during questioning. 

Try to keep you opinions to a minimum unless the interviewer has asked you for one. To some organizations, a person that is too opinionated could present a problem with authority later on. Keep your answers to the point and truthful and you will do fine.

4. Describing Yourself -

During the interview, you may be asked to describe some of your personal traits and work ethics. Even if there are areas in your life that you don't excel in, admitting to them can keep an interviewer's interest peaked. Explaining why those areas are not ideal to your own personal views and how you are taking steps to overcome them can score well during the interview. This shows the hiring manager that you're willing to accept responsibility for your actions and are taking measures to improve on them.

Give yourself praise when it's warranted, but don't be over-dramatic when explaining them. Remember, there is a fine line between confidence and conceit. Be confident in your abilities and explain how you would be an asset to the organization.

You don't have to lie to your prospective employers in order to score well with them. Most of the time they can see right through it and others would rather accept an "I don't know" answer rather than have someone outright lie to them. Your skills and knowledge are your greatest assets and having people skills can be greatly beneficial. When all is said and done, take a look at your accomplishments and see for yourself what sets you apart from the competition.

Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to www.babysittingjobs.com. He personally think his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.