New Year’s Resolutions For Job-Seekers - Resume Writing





A brand-new year means one thing – New Year’s Resolutions!  If finding a new job is on your list this year, then it’s time to make some resolutions about your resume too.  Your resume is like a shop window that prospective employers look at and you really only have 30 seconds to make an impression.  Chances are, they have hundreds of resumes to review and they won’t hesitate to toss yours aside if it doesn’t catch their eye.  So, this year, resolve to make your resume the best it can be.  Here are out job application writing new year’s resolutions:

1. Keep Your Resume Brief
Reading your resume should be like watching the highlights of a football match.  You get a summary of the whole game in less than a minute.  If it doesn’t fit on one or (at most) two pages, then forget it.  Therefore, focus on the most interesting and relevant bits.  Also, give more space to your current or recent jobs, and less to the past.  Include the things that are most relevant to the job you are applying for.  With this in mind… 

2. Ditch the Unnecessary Information From Your Resume
That includes your age, marital status, religion or nationality. Job application writers may have done this in the past, but it is now illegal for your employer to ask you this information so there's no need to include it.  Also, resume writers know to focus on the skills and qualifications that make them a good fit for this position. Make sure you do the same. 

3. Make Your Resume Look Professional
If you are still using your original Hotmail account from the 1990s, it might be time to consider getting a new email address for the purpose of your job applications.  Sure,  fairytwinkletoes@hotmail.com was a hilarious email address back in the day, but now it makes you look like you’re stuck in a time warp.  In fact, anything that looks dated and unprofessional erodes your chances of landing the job.  This include poor spelling, grammar and punctuation, so check your work twice and then get a friend to check it, and then check it again! 

4. Highlight in Your Resume Your Awards and Recognition
Resume writers know how important it is to highlight personal work achievements. So you should do the same. Ever been employee of the month?  Mention it.  Got any other formal awards? Top salesperson?  Most new clients?  Have you ever been selected, elected or recognized in some way?  Make sure you highlight it!  

5. Quantify your Past Successes in Your Resume
Numbers talk!  So, if you can provide some statistics to support your past achievements that will really make you stand out.  Whether it is an increase in sales volume, profit margin, donations generated, savings on expenses, expanding memberships, grants secured, or something else, highlight the numeric value you can add to a company.  A statement like, “Developed a marketing plan that resulted in a 10% increase in donations received annually,” really speaks powerfully to your prospective employer.  

6. Show You Are A Team Player in Your Resume
Most organisations value leadership and teamwork very highly. When writing descriptions of your previous jobs, try to include examples of how each job required you to demonstrate these skills. Incorporate words that show formal and informal leadership and teamwork, such as "led," "mentored," "drew consensus," "collaborated," and "sought input."

7. Get Some Help
If you need really want to nail your resume, then consider getting some professional help.  Red Tape Busters are specialists in resume writing and can help you produce a resume, cover letter and/or selection criteria that gets noticed. Visit http://www.redtapebusters.com/  for more information. Red Tape Busters are also specialists in providing the following services:

· Lobbying;
· Tender Writing;
· Grant Writing;
· Resumes/Job Applications;
· Organisational/Business Development.

Popular posts from this blog

Tender Writing – The Top Three Qualities of an Effective Tender Writer

Tender writing can be a very challenging process but the effective tender writer will have a personality, a skill set and an approach that sets them apart from the run of the mill tender writer. I believe the really important qualities that a tender writer needs to possess are an ability to stay calm under pressure; an ability to org anise other people within the organisation and to organize resources, information and supporting documents or material and an ability to develop the strategy and approach that pitches the organisation in the right light to win the attention of those assessing the tender response. I will now discuss these qualities in further detail. Calm Under Pressure Tender writing can be a very pressurized situation. There are deadlines to meet. Responses need to be submitted by a specified time, in a specified format and in a specified way. Sometimes tenders need to be hand delivered, sometimes they need to be electr...
Read more

Avoid Tender Rejection With This Expert Advice

Image
The experienced tender writer finds it hard enough to get their tender considered after applying and following the guidelines, ensuring that the lodgement time is met and that they have crafted a decent tender response. Tender writing requires some skill to prepare a great application yet a lot of writers ensure their tender response is rejected at the first review by making some simple errors. Here are some of the pitfalls you need to avoid to ensure your application is not rejected without first being serious considered. Remember the assessment panel on first review of all the responses will be seeking to reject as many as possible initially to get down to a manageable number and to make the task easier. Following are the mistakes that will almost certainly see your response put into the NO pile. Failure to answer every question or tick every box on the application form This might seem just plain ridiculous. How can anyone fail to fill out the application form completely? W...
Read more

Tender Writing – Should you pursue every tender opportunity?

Applying for or responding to tender opportunities is a vexing question in the tender writing world. Should we apply for all, some, which ones, which ones should we steer clear of these are all important questions for the tender writer. The skilled tender writer will ensure they carefully analyse each tender, analyse the direction of the organisation, analyse the goals of the organisation both long and short term goals and ensure that if successful in winning the tender that :- 1. They can deliver fully on the requirements of the tender  2. That winning the tender will support the overall organisational objectives 3. The tender will be financially viable. In arriving at answers to these issues the grant writer should consider the following in some detail :- Capacity and Resources One of the key issues to be considered is does the organisation have the capacity and resources required to deliver the requirements of the tender in full. That means – do we have...
Read more