This
is another requested article by our webmaster his request
was: Resumes-Cover-Letters - Resume/CV & Cover letter
writing tips, do's and don'ts and suggestions.
For many years I hired engineer and staff
members for both manufacturing and R & D operations. If
there is anything that I can say that will help you to gain
success in life it is this: Tell the absolute truth. That
applies in spades to Resumes and cover letters.
Here are some ideas from my experience:
Never take full credit for the success
of any task that you did not accomplish by yourself.
It’s better to say, “Served
on a task force to reduce the cost of material handling. The
task force succeeded in reducing cost by blah, blah, blah.
My role was to see that blah, blah, blah. In this role I blah,
blah, blah.”
In this, be as specific as possible. Write
as much as you can about the project showing that you have
knowledge, technical ability, and the ability to work with
others. Then condense it for your resume according to its
importance. It could be a paragraph, a page, but not two pages.
Leave room for discussion. Remember that discussion is the
most important part of your interview (after you put on a
good conservative suit or dress and polish your shoes). A
good resume will lead to good discussion in your favor.
If you just put in a bullet that says:
Reduced shipping cost by 10% you will get the Spanish Inquisition.
If you are going to use bullets, list them early in the resume
as a summary of what is to follow. Your bullet for this project
might be:Served as packaging coordinator on the corporate
taskforce to reduce shipping and handling cost. Packaging
cost were reduced by 7% resulting in an annual savings in
Fiscal Year 2003 of $57,000.00.
Avoid giving too much personal information.
Remember that you are pursuing your vocation,
not your avocations. This is a touchy area and you must be
cautious. I feel that being brief is best.
Let me give you an example: My oldest
son had finished medical school and was applying to schools
offering neurosurgery. On his resume, he put “Eagle
Scout.”
Now becoming an Eagle Scout is a boyhood
achievement. His department head told him to remove it from
his resume now that he had a good medical background.
This was the days before every Tom, Dick,
and Harry had a word processor. My son did not want to retype
the resume so he let the “Eagle Scout” entry stay.
On his first interview, the department head said, “Oh!
I’m an Eagle Scout too.”
Do you remember How to Get Along in Business
without Even Trying? The protagonist knew that the Corporate
President a “Ground Hog” and that he knitted.
Later he learned that the Chairman of the Board had been a
window washer. He used this kind of information to get ahead.
If you know something about the people who are going to interview
you, then maybe you can adjust your resume accordingly, but
don’t over do it.
How important your nonprofessional activities
will help or hurt you is hard to tell. Remember that people
have prejudices. My number three son decided to take a chance
on his application to several veterinarian schools. The fact
that he had been an assistant to the President of a church
mission in South America put him in good stead. The schools
felt that if he could have such responsibility at age 20,
he was a desirable candidate.
I think that if you asked 10 business
executives what they thought on this issue, the mean would
be:The younger you are, the more nonprofessional information
you can place in your resume. The reason is that a person
just out of high school or college doesn’t have a lot
of vocational experience. He or she must be judged on other
things.
Think of this: Membership in the college
golf club might peg you as a goof-off to some interviewers.
They will visualize you on the golf coarse, not in the laboratory
or classroom or studying at your desk.
Listen very carefully to your interviewer.
Jot down a few notes of the items he discusses.
Don’t interrupt him while he is talking, or is on the
telephone or, when he talks to his secretary, etc. Pay as
little attention to him as possibe when he is talking about
something to someone else that is none of your business.
Remember this: The interviewer thinks
that he (or she) is more important than you are (or possibly,
anyone else in the Universe.) He may quickly get to his own
accomplishments.
You must complement him on the good things
he has done but in a simple way. Don’t get carried away.
You must ask him specific question about any projects he brings
up.
In doing this, you will be able to show
that you are concerned, knowledgeable, and interested.
Your cover letter is not a resume.
Don’t use the same cover letter
for each company or institution you contact. Write a specific
letter to each employer.
You will refer to your resume in your
letter but usually only in a general way. However, after you
study a company, there may be something in your resume that
you know is exactly what they are looking for. Put reference
to that in your letter.
Avoid BS in your letter. Don’t say
that you’ve always wanted to work for Bean Company ever
since your mother opened a can of Bean Company beans for you
at a picnic in 1940. What you want to do in your letter is
to introduce yourself, state the position you are after, and
state your qualifications for the position you are looking
for.
Don’t forget to include your resume
when you send the letter. It makes you look dumb. If you are
lucky, someone from the company will call you and ask you
to send them a copy.
Don’t go over two pages in your
letter unless there is some very good reason for doing so.
Look at your resume. If you have a two page cover letter,
your resume is wrong for that company. Do This: Make modification
to your resume when needed or if you need a special resume
for a particular employer. What I'm saying is that you probably
need to lengthen your resume to shorten the letter. Word processing
lets you do this. Don’t get lazy.
Your Specific Resume
Include at least the following in your
resume:
Contact Information (Name, Address, Telephone
Number, Fax Number, E-mail Address)
The Position You Are After
Bullets of Past Achievements Relating
to the Position
Date and Place of Birth (exclude DOB if
you think it will prejudice your interview)
Military Service Including Technical Education
College or University or Trade School
Degrees and Certificates Including Majors
and Minors.
Work Experience (explaining the bullets)
Related Experience (Management in civic
organizations, etc.)
Personal (marriage status, hobbies that
make you look smart like astronomy, other hobbies and activities.)
Publications: I always put these at the
end when I was job hunting. I had so many I thought they might
distract from the resume. Some applicants write this statement:
List of Publication on Request. I would never list all of
my publications. List those applicable to the position.
I’m always willing to review resumes
and offer suggestions. Just drop me an email.
I wish you Much Success in your job hunting.
The End
Resume, looking for work, finding a position,
writing a resume, resume outline, find job, find employment,
employment, job
John T. Jones, Ph.D.
(tjbooks@hotmail.com,
a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective
& western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering,
humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine.
He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer."
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.dumbincome.com
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