Resume Tip Tuesday: 3 Awesome Free Resume Builders

Remember, your best bet is to keep it simple. Avoid fancy shenanigans in case your resume hits a snag in an automated applicant tracking systems (that darn ATS). Each of these have free and paid versions.

Resume Tip Tuesday: 3 Awesome Free Resume Builders (Careerbliss)

(En Español)

Sometimes, it’s impossible to get to the library and work on your resume. We use Resume Writing and Cover Letter writing software to help people work on their resumes, without any need for resume expertise. We can also look over your resume and let you know what parts work and what doesn’t. If you need to work on your resume but you don’t have time to come to the library, here are three Resume Building websites that can help you make the best resume possible. While the Career Center does not sponsor or make judgement on which one is the best, the sites are provided to let the community know that they exist. Check them out, and tell us what you think!

A veces, es imposible llegar a la biblioteca y trabajar en su hoja de vida. Utilizamos programas de hoja de vida e cartas de presentación para ayudar a la gente en sus hojas de vida, sin necesidad de conocer como hacerlo. También podemos revisar su hoja de vida y decirle qué partes funcionan y lo que no. Si usted necesita hacer su hoja de vida, pero no tiene tiempo para venir a la biblioteca, aquí hay tres sitios web para ayudarle construir la mejor hoja de vida posible. Aunque el centro de la carrera no patrocina ni hacer juicio sobre cuál es el mejor, se proporcionan los sitios para que la comunidad sepa que existen. Échales un vistazo y dinos lo que piensas!

10 Guidelines for Awesome Job Search References

Most employers will ask you to provide personal and/or professional references. Your resume and your answers during the interview showed you have the necessary skills to get the job done. Now they want to know what your former co-workers think about you… a picture of you, from outside perspectives:

10 Guidelines for Awesome Job Search References (The Savvy Intern)

En Español

Every employer asks for references, so a smart strategy can cover any question marks and reinforce your position for working. Because of the state of the economy, gone are the days where you get three references and send them off. Now, employers want to cover all their bases before they can offer you the position. For the employer, it makes sense: with a glut of qualified candidates, they want to be absolutely positive that they are not overlooking another (better) candidate. For the employee to-be, this means trying to cover as much of your references and experiences as possible, without having to let an employer guess about your work ethic and history. The article will give you a thought-out strategy to providing references, and what you should communicate to your references.

Cada empleador pide referencias, por lo que una estrategia inteligente puede cubrir los signos de interrogación y reforzar su posición de trabajo. Debido a la situación de la economía, se han ido los días en que usted consigue tres referencias y lo envia. Ahora, los empresarios quieren cubrir todas sus bases antes de que te puede ofrecer la posición. Para el empleador, tiene sentido: con un exceso de candidatos calificados, quieren estar absolutamente seguro de que no están pasando por otro candidato (mejor). Para el empleado a-ser, esto significa tratar de cubrir la mayor parte de sus referencias y experiencias de lo posible, sin tener que dejar que un empleador adivinar acerca de su ética de trabajo y la historia. El artículo le dará una estrategia pensada para proporcionar referencias, y lo que se debe comunicar a sus referencias.

Mini Answer Monday – 6 Short Answers to 6 Short Questions – Ask a Manager

6. Should I apply only for positions I’m fully qualified for?

Mini Answer Monday – 6 Short Answers to 6 Short Questions – Ask a Manager

Take a look at these 6 questions asked by Job Seekers on Ask a Manager. Interested in the answer to the question above, questions about performance reviews, volunteering, or writing a cover letter to a previous employer? Click on the link above to get answers from a former chief of staff in charge of hiring, firings, and managing a medium sized business.

How Recruiters Really Read Your Resume: 7 Steps in 7 Seconds

The reality is that your resume will most likely never be read in its entirety. And the real thought process when reading is…

“Is there anything in here that will allow me to eliminate this person from further consideration?”

In today’s competitive job market, employers are overwhelmed with the number of applicants, most of whom aren’t even remotely qualified. An employers’ only hope of getting to the viable candidates is to reject as many as possible, as quickly as they can.

How Recruiters Really Read Your Resume: 7 Steps in 7 Seconds (The Savvy Intern)

As reported lately in the news, job openings are at their highest levels since 2005 (Bloomberg). If you’ve been encouraged by the latest news and have decided to take the plunge back into searching, here are a few tips from technology recruiter Harry Urschel on how recruiters look at your resume.

Due to the number of applicants, a recruiter’s goal is to eliminate as many non-qualifying candidates from the interview stage as quickly as possible. In order to keep yourself in the running for your next job, Mr. Usrchel provides us a few tips to keep in mind when sending out your resume. The tips will put you in the mindset of a recruiter (or help you understand how an Applicant Tracking System Works) so when the resume is sent, it is clear, concise and helps recruiters find the most important information about you, as quickly as possible.

Don’t forget the golden rule: No spelling errors!  If you need help with your resume or would like another pair of eyes to help, the Career Center in the Brentwood Public Library is happy and willing to help. Stop by during normal library hours!

Advanced Resume Writing: “What Font Should I Use?”: Five Principles for Choosing and Using Typefaces

When it comes to writing a resume, any advantage counts. With so many people applying, making your resume look different yet not abandoning the standards of a resume’s style is a tightrope walk. Candidates looking to get ahead read this article, “What Font Should I Use?”: Five Principles for Choosing and Using Typefaces (Smashing Magazine) because understanding what fonts work best for readability help recruiters get to the actual points your resume is trying to get across. While written for Graphic Designers, looking out of the box and applying principles not normally found in Resume writing shows recruiters you’ve gone the extra mile to catch their attention. They will notice, and you will succeed.

7 tips for the perfect boomer résumé – Andrea Coombes’ Working Retirement – MarketWatch

For job seekers these days, crafting the perfect résumé may matter less than making key connections with the right people and ensuring a stellar online presence. But you still need your résumé to shine.

 7 tips for the perfect boomer résumé – Andrea Coombes’ Working Retirement – MarketWatch.

50 Hottest Twitter Hashtags for Job Seekers

Twitter is like a window into the soul of America. It shows us faster and more accurately what is on our collective minds than any other medium currently in use. So it was only a matter of time, in a bad economy and a worse job market, that Twitter would be flooded with both job seekers and job offerers. The way they find each other is through certain key hashtags, the best of which we have laid out for you to help you in your quest for employment.

-Samantha Gray, Bachelorsdegreeonline.com

If you use Twitter in your Job Search, the best way to get advice or to find out who’s hiring is by using hashtags. A hashtag is the # followed by the key word you’re looking to find. For example, do you want see every tweet that has job searching tips? Just type in #jobtips in the search box. Need to find tweets from other twitter users who went on an interview? #interview can help with that. There are thousands of other ways to get inventive with searching for tweets for good advice or jobs, but Samantha Gray has compiled a list of 50 of the best tips to help a Job Seeker. If you have twitter, why don’t you try it?

 

Fun Fact: Did you know that the French Academy, a group solely devoted to protecting the integrity of the French Language, had a meeting to translate the word Hashtag? Because of the common usage of the English word Hashtag in France, the Academy came up with a French word to replace it. A hashtag in French is now known as a mot-diese. Teachers and government officials are now required to disseminate the word to discourage the use of the English term. 

Resume Help: Gaps in Employment

The best way to handle this is to show the years only on her résumé.  You can see in the example below that instead of “2/2010 to 11/2010,” we simply state “2010.” It is acceptable to show years only on a résumé.

-Debra Wheatman, Resume Help: Gaps in Employment (Careersdonewrite.com)

This short article helps job-seekers explain the gaps in employment they may have. It also helps with explaining job responsibilities in a way that makes you stand out against other job seekers. This article helps you look at your resume from a different angle; one of an employer. How would you adjust your resume or explain the gaps in your work history? Visit this website to get some good ideas!

Make Your Resume Stand Out (With NUMBERS)

Numbers are a great way to get ahead in a job search by putting them in your resume. If you think of the way a resume is written, the responsibilities of a job are key to showing a potential employer what you did at your prior jobs. While this was once enough to get you hired, it’s more difficult to find a job now than it has been in a few generations. With stiff competition, listing what you did at your job will not be enough. Did you simply go through the motions, or were you one of the best employees? It’s hard to say, if you only list what you did.

This is where quantifying your resume can help you get ahead. Careerealism has an article titled “Make Your Resume Stand Out”. It explains how to effectively write job responsibilities with quantifiable information to help you get an edge in the job hunt. There are helpful rules in the article to follow when writing your resume as well as examples of descriptions. Changing the way you describe your past jobs will help in showing the employer the environment, pace, management skills and efficiency you would have as an employee. So, even though resume writing is an art form and not a science, make sure you quantify your job descriptions to stand a better chance of getting the interview.

New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems

A recent study indicated that over 70% of Fortune 1000 companies are now using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which is the software that interprets your resume, feeds it into a central repository, and ranks it according to keywords.

For example, Microsoft gets about 50,000 resumes per week, so they need a system that will automatically review these and only show those that are a good fit. HR also wants to ensure compliance with EEOC rules so they will insist that your resume goes through the ATS.

-Don Goodman, New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems

Feeling discouraged by sending out applications and resumes, yet never getting a callback? If you’ve followed all the rules for the making your resume stand out but still haven’t gotten a call, it may be how your resume is read by an Applicant Tracking System.

What is an Applicant Tracking System? Used by large employers, an Applicant Tracking System sorts a large amount of applications and ranks keywords in your resume to determine whether you should continue to the next stage of the hiring process. Don Goodman has written an excellent article titled, “New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems” that help job-seekers avoid this frustrating problem. Because every Applicant Tracking System is a little different, it’s not a be-all, end-all primer on being the highest rated in an Applicant Tracking System. But it will help you think differently when you format your resume. Remember that when you apply to a large employer, the first person evaluating your resume is a computer. So make sure you follow these tips to avoid the Black Hole.