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Articles and Information
Read Keppie Careers' Blog
What is a resume?
Assess Your Resume
"Right" Resume Writing
Connect the Dots Resume Writing
What are "Soft" Skills?
What is the difference between a CV and a resume?
How long should my resume be?
What NOT to include on a resume.
Transferable Skills
Job Search Networking
Skills List
"Soft" Skills List
What is a Resume?
The purpose of your resume is to market yourself to the prospective employer. You need to provide enough information to win an interview. Your resume should highlight your skills, accomplishments and experiences. Potential employers should be able to visualize you working for them. The key is for your resume to demonstrate not only WHAT you can do for an employer, but HOW you can do it. It should offer targeted, results oriented content. ** Accomplishments ** ** Skills ** After: A curriculum vitae (CV) is, literally, an accounting of your life. (It is Latin “for course of life.”) It is a resume on steroids! In the old days, terminology for CV and resume was inter-changeable, and you may still find ads requesting a CV. CVs are still used in academe, medicine and research fields, where the employer expects long lists of your presentations, publications, organizational affiliations, fellowships and internships. CVs for experienced academics, for example, may go on for 10 pages or more! Obviously, most jobs outside of these traditional fields do not welcome a 10-page document describing your life’s work! So, if an ad asks for a CV and you are not applying for a research, medical or academic job, send a resume. Many hiring managers still prefer a one-page resume. However, if your industry tolerates longer versions, one rule of thumb is that your resume should not exceed one page if you have less than 10 years of experience. If you have more experience, a two-page resume may work. Keppie Careers will help you narrow and focus your resume to ensure that you are not wasting space by repeating yourself unnecessarily. Typically, our bias is that your resume should be one page unless there is a specific reason for it to be longer. Keppie Careers is available to help you identify and optimize your transferable skills! Finding a job may seem overwhelming. You need to: That is where networking comes in. Networking recognizes that relationships are the crux of the job search. Employers prefer to hire people whom they like, or people their friends or colleagues admire. Job searchers need to put themselves in the position of being that person! Don’t forget - approximately 80% of jobs are NOT filled through job postings. They are filled via networking. First of all, start networking before you are looking for a job! Don’t wait another minute! Many think of networking as something that happens on-line. Connections available on LinkedIn and other social networking sites like facebook or myspace, used correctly, may open doors. Take advantage of all of your virtual resources. Keep in mind that networking happens in person, too! Don’t forget: Where/When should I network? Obstacles to Networking I don’t like to ask for help… Many ask me, “Isn’t this about “using” people?” I’m just not an outgoing person… Some Suggestions: Shy Networkers In summary, shy people ask for personal referrals, tend to be polite, are good listeners, bring a friend to networking events and leverage their on-line contacts - all great indicators of a successful networker! Cultural Factors Stay tuned for specific, practical networking strategies...
At Keppie Careers, we ensure that your resume effectively highlights your marketable skills.
Assess Your Resume
When you read your resume, are you proud to say that it represents you? Does your resume need a makeover? Review it with these tips in mind...
** Does your resume target your audience? **
Every job and each employer seeks a slightly different applicant. Unless you are applying for the same exact job over and over again, you should not be sending the identical resume for every position. Be sure that you research your target organizations. Use their buzzwords and lingo in your application materials. (You can easily tweak a well written resume to appeal to different audiences; don't think that you need to completely rewrite your resume for each new job.)
** Is your resume attractive, consistent, error-free and easy to read? **
Don't underestimate how important it is to have a clear, error-free, visually impressive resume. Does your resume look crowded with thick text blocks that may be difficult to scan? Are you making strong use of bold to enhance your document, or are you overdoing it? Did you use a resume template from your word processing software? (Don't!) Since readers likely give your resume a 20-second glance, visual appeal is important. If the reader notices careless spelling errors, it is not likely that you will land an interview.
** Do you DEMONSTRATE what you have to offer? **
Is your resume a laundry list of jobs you held and things you did, or does it engage the reader and demonstrate your skills and achievements? You should quantify your value using percentages, numbers and specifics. Your resume should highlight the positive impact that you had in previous jobs. You want to convince the reader that you could do the same for them!
If your resume is TARGETED, ATTRACTIVE and DEMONSTRATES what you have to offer, it will be more than a TAD above the rest! Keppie Careers offers you a resume that is a "head above the rest!"
"Right" Resume Writing
Don’t let anyone convince you that there is one “right” way to write your resume. Different employers may prefer or tolerate different styles, lengths and formats. This is one reason that Keppie Careers does not use a template to create your resume. Obviously, one format cannot achieve results for all job seekers.
There are certain elements that every strong resume demonstrates:
** Research **
Employers receive hundreds or thousands of resumes for each position. Researching the organization can make you stand out. Once you know what skills and accomplishments the company values, you can make the connection between their needs and what you have to offer. (See "Connect the Dots Resume Writing" for more on this topic.)
** Keywords **
Often called "buzz" words or "lingo," keywords show the reader that you speak their language. Filling your resume with these hot buttons helps ensure that you will appeal to electronic scanning software. Keywords are typically nouns. They include job titles, degrees, certifications, company names and jargon specific to your industry. "Soft," transferable skills such as "team player," "strong communicator" and "results driven leader" may be keywords.
An important source of keywords is the job description itself! Be sure to echo the lingo in the job posting when you apply. Will the hiring manager think that you are just copying their ad? No, they will think: "This is exactly the type of person we want."
It isn't enough to describe WHAT you did. Specifically describe how you impacted your organizations. Ideally, some of your accomplishments will be measurable with numbers, percentages and dollar amounts.
For example:
"Demonstrated technical buying knowledge, attention to detail and analytical abilities by overhauling store's purchasing mechanism, resulting in 50% savings over one year."
Occasionally, accomplishments may not include numbers:
"Displayed initiative, communication skills and organizational knowledge by redesigning department's volunteer program. Received company's highest award for most improved employee initiative.
Your resume must be results focused and achievement driven. Employers assume that applicants who have achieved results in the past will do the same in the future. Be sure that you show the employer HOW you can contribute.
A mainstay of resumes for years, skills, often listed as action verbs, round out your resume and help serve as the glue that holds everything together. You should include "soft" skills that can easily translate from job to job, such as: communication abilities, multicultural sensitivity, flexibility and strong work ethic. (Click here to read more about "soft" skills.) Skills may include specific abilities, such as the technical elements listed on the job description. Include active, creative descriptions of what you have to offer. Compare these bullet points:
Before: Responsibilities included reviewing financial statements, making year-end adjustments and giving tax advice to clients.
After: Analyzed, evaluated, and corrected year-end financial statements, incorporated adjustments, and counseled clients regarding tax shelters and deductions.
Avoid the "Responsibilities included" construction. It doesn't do anything to make you seem interesting or attractive. Notice how the "After" bullet point seems to encourage the reader to keep on reading? It highlights several key skills as well as potential key words (tax shelters, deductions, year-end financial statements).
When you research and prepare yourself to target the employer's keywords, describe measurable accomplishments and incorporate strong "soft" and technical skills, your resume will not only tell the reader what you did, it will show the reader HOW you did it. It will make them want you to do the same for them!
Another advantage of writing a resume that has all of these elements is that you will strongly articulate all that you have to offer your next employer. You will know yourself! As a result, your interviewing abilities will improve tremendously. When you work with Keppie Careers, we will show you how to uncover the skills that you didn't know you had!
Connect the Dots Resume Writing
Initially, readers may give your resume a 10- to 20-second glance. You could be perfect for the job, but unless you quickly capture their attention and connect your skills with their needs, you won’t land an interview. Consider how to make yourself the perfect candidate. Specify your skills and experiences in your resume; don't assume the reader will stop to think about what you have to offer. It's your job to connect the dots, fill in the blanks and help the reviewer envision you working for them.
Two key "dots" for you to connect involve
(1) knowing your skills and what you have to offer and
(2) having a clear understanding of your prospective employer's needs.
At Keppie Careers, we are skilled at helping with these important steps. Some strategies to consider...
** Knowing Your Skills **
Assess your skills and accomplishments. How? Talk to your friends and co-workers. Review written evaluations of your work. Think about the skills you use/d in your positions. Study a skills and accomplishments list. What aspects of your job do you enjoy? What type of work do you hope to do in the future? What skills do you have that will be the stepping stones to getting to the next rung of your career ladder? Once you identify what you have to offer, it will be easier to connect the dots between the employer and you.
** Knowing the Employer **
What does the organization value? Use the job description as a guide and research the company using the internet and any available published material. For example, if the organization uses the words “team player” four times on their company home page, you will want to emphasize your ability to work well in teams. If possible, conduct informational meetings with people in the organization or those who know about it.
Once you can articulate your skills and you know what the employer wants, target and tailor your resume. Communicate exactly how your skills are a good fit for their position. Include accomplishments and buzz words that support your candidacy. The more specific connections you draw between you and the job, the more likely you are to land the interview.
Consider these sample resume bullet points:
Before:
Conducted patient interviews and managed data collection for large survey.
After:
Demonstrated analytical skills and cultural sensitivity as leader of team conducting, coding and verifying 1000 patient interviews using SAS.
The original bullet point expects the reader to jump to the conclusion that the applicant analyzed data. "Managing data collection" may imply analysis, but it is best to be specific. The terms "coding" and "verifying" clarify additional explicit skills.
The "After" bullet quantifies the size of the study and notes the applicant's abilities regarding cultural sensitivity, which the writer knew from her research was something this company valued. It also mentions the software used.
Detailed descriptions are the keys to effective resume writing. Clarify skills and include quantifiable information whenever possible: numbers, percentages and dollar amounts all resonate with employers. Bring your resume to life!
Do you need to re-write your resume for every job? That would be impractical for most job seekers However, if you want to get your foot in the door, your resume must clearly outline how your skills and accomplishments are the answer to their needs and offer clear reasons to hire you. Let us help you create a resume that can be tweaked to appeal to a variety of jobs and organizations!
What are "Soft" Skills?
"Soft" skills, otherwise known as emotional intelligence, may make a difference between an employee who can do the job and one who does it well. Examples of soft skills include: leadership, written and verbal communication, problem solving, motivation, interpersonal skills and creativity. Soft skills are transferable to any position; they do not rely on technical abilities. They are not typically taught in classrooms. (Although some business school programs are incorporating training in emotional intelligence to give their students a competitive edge.)
Some recruiters believe that soft skills make the difference between the candidate who is hired and the second choice applicant. Employers today seek flexibility, teamwork and integrity. They realize that someone who communicates well and has a strong work ethic makes a good employee. As a result, incorporating these skills on your resume may make the difference between getting an interview and getting passed over.
The key is to incorporate soft skills with specifics that SHOW your abilities. For example:
Before:
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Wrote and presented successful training sessions to 200 telephone operators, resulting in measurable gains in company's ordering efficiency.
The first bullet begs the question: Prove it! The "after" bullet leaves no room for doubt: This applicant can communicate verbally (in front of a group) and in writing.
Keppie Careers suggests incorporating specific soft skills in your resume. Think about the attributes that make you a strong employee, person and friend. Plan to be able to elaborate and describe these skills in an interview.
Difference Between a CV and a Resume
Electronic resumes do not have page limits, but you still want to hone your materials to effectively target your key skills relative to the job.
What NOT to Include on Your Resume
You don't want to give the impression that you are old fashioned or out-of-date! If you haven't looked for a job in awhile, expectations for resumes have changed!
Do NOT include:
Age, marital or health status, ethnicity, weight, number of children or other personal information.
Do not list "References Upon Request." It is assumed that you will provide references, so why waste your valuable space saying so?
Many consider listing an objective on your resume to be wasteful and obsolete. Typically, your objective is to get the job! If you are using your resume for networking, a targeted skills or accomplishments section helps the reader narrow your interests and skills.
Do not list your salary history!
A resume is not a place to try to tell your life story.
Omit articles (a, an, the) from your job descriptions. These are "stop" words that cause the reader to pause. Excluding them helps you get the most from the 10-20 second glance your resume is likely to earn on a first review.
Unless you are applying for a job in a creative field (art, entertainment, graphic design), keep your resume's appearance conservative. Avoid using courier and all script or decorative fonts that may be difficult to read or scan.
Spelling, grammatical and other careless errors (such as omitting your zip code in your address or leaving off a year in your descriptions) are your resume's kiss of death. Most hiring managers will assume a careless error indicates a careless worker and send your resume straight to the circular file.
Make responsible use of bold and italics to help guide the reader's eye. Don't use bold in the second line of a description, as it confuses the eye and makes it more difficult to quickly glance at your resume.
Avoid large blocks of text. They are difficult to review quickly and may frustrate the reader. Use bullet points and white space to your advantage for an eye-pleasing document.
Don't start your bullet points with tired phrases such as: Assisted, Contributed, Supported or Responsibilities included. Don't simply list what you did - describe how you did it!
Large, unexplained gaps of time call negative attention to your resume.
It should go without saying, but don't lie on your resume. Present the most positive image consistent with the truth.
Your resume may be your only opportunity to put your best foot forward with an employer. Keppie Careers can help you get a "head above the rest" with a fast-forward, concise, articulate resume.
Transferable Skills
Transferable skills are skills that you can transport from one context to another. They are not job-specific, and you can gain and use them in a variety of contexts, for example: work, volunteer activities, hobbies, sports, school and life experiences (just to name a few).
Transferable skills are particularly important to job seekers who are planning a career change, those who are re-entering the paid workforce after time off, military personnel transitioning to civilian positions, students and first-time job seekers without a lot of specific job experience.
These portable skills that you may use or develop in a wide variety of settings are the intersection of general job skills and "soft" skills. The University of Minnesota, Duluth offers a Transferable Skills Survey. It is aimed at students, but is a great tool for anyone trying to assess what skills they bring to the job search. Generally accepted categories used on the tool include: Communication, Research/Planning, Human Relations, Organizational/Leadership/Management and Work Survival skills.
Once you identify your transferable skills, there are several steps to using them in your job search:
Job Search Networking
How do you get started?
Networking is not about using people; it’s about plugging into the job market. When you network, you are looking for information and advice from those who know it best. Most people can and will provide helpful answers to your questions and guidance, and are only too glad to do so if asked the right way.
That’s okay! You don’t have to change your personality type to be successful at networking. The goal is to project a confident, articulate and professional demeanor. If you prepare yourself to be confident about your goals and skills, you should be able to better project confidence and professionalism in your own way.
· Role play - Practice “working a room” and chit-chatting
· Prepare things to talk about in advance in social situations
· Have a list of questions or topics to discuss
· RESEARCH - What you need to know and who knows it?
What’s the worst thing that can happen?
Maybe you’ll encounter someone who won’t want to help you. That’s okay. Ideally, you’ll ask them if they can suggest someone else who may be able to answer some questions for you. Most of the time, you will at least be able to get a referral from someone who isn’t interested in helping! Don’t let fear or shyness get in the way of your job search.
Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting from College to Career, suggests some terrific points for shy or introverted networkers on her blog. Her ideas apply to all potential networkers. The advice (above) about networking encourages shy people to act outgoing. Lindsey’s article, Why Shy People Make Great Networkers reminds these networkers of their great innate traits.
In the U.S, contacting people you may not know for information is acceptable and expected. However, in other cultures, even the most polite networking may be considered rude and disrespectful. If your cultural assumptions prohibit networking, and you are looking for a job in the U.S., you may want to work with a trusted friend or adviser to strategize about how you can take advantage of networking. For those networking with people of various cultures, remember how cultural differences influence communication.
Skills List
A
accelerated, accomplished, achieved, acquired, acted, adapted, added, adjusted, administered, advanced, advised, advocated, allocated, altered, amended, amplified, analyzed, anticipated, appointed, appraised, approved, appointed, arbitrated, arranged, assembled, assessed, assigned, assessed, assured, attracted, audited, augmented, authored, authorized, automated, awarded
B
balanced, bargained, bought, briefed, broadened, brought, budgeted, built
C
calculated, capitalized, captured, cataloged, centralized, challenged, chaired, changed, charted, chose, circulated, clarified, classified, cleared, closed, co-authored, collaborated, collected, combined, commissioned, committed, communicated, compared, compiled, complied, completed, composed, computed, conceived, conceptualized, concluded, condensed, conducted, conferred, considered, consolidated, constructed, consulted, contracted, contrasted, contributed, contrived, controlled, converted, convinced, coordinated, corrected, corresponded, counseled, counted, created, critiqued, cultivated
D
dealt, decentralized, decided, decreased, defined, delegated, demonstrated, described, designated, designed, determined, developed, devised, devoted, diagrammed, diagnosed, directed, discovered, discussed, dispatched, displayed, dissembled, distinguished, distributed, diversified, divested, documented, doubled, drafted
E
earned, edited, elected, eliminated, employed, enabled, encouraged, endorsed, enforced, engaged, engineered, enhanced, enlarged, enlisted, enriched, ensured, established, estimated, evaluated, examined, exceeded, exchanged, executed, exercised, expanded, expedited, explained, explored, exposed, extended, extracted, extrapolated
F
facilitated, fashioned, fielded, figured, financed, forecasted, formalized, formed, formulated, fortified, founded, framed, fulfilled, functioned, furnished
G
gained, gathered, gauged, gave, generated, governed, graded, granted, greeted, grouped, guided
H
halved, handled, headed, hired
I
identified, illustrated, illuminated, implemented, improved, improvised, inaugurated, incorporated, increased, incurred, indexed, influenced, informed, initiated, innovated, inquired, inspected, inspired, installed, instigated, instilled, instituted, instructed, interfaced, interpreted, interviewed, introduced, invented, inventoried, invested, investigated, invited, isolated, issued
J, K, L
joined, judged, kept, launched, learned, leased, lectured, led, licensed, logged
M
made, maintained, managed, mapped, marketed, matched, maximized, measured, mediated, merged, minimized, modeled, modified, modernized, monitored, motivated, moved, multiplied
N, O
named, navigated, negotiated, noticed, nurtured, offset, opened, operated, orchestrated, ordered, organized, oriented, originated, overhauled, oversaw
P
paid, participated, passed, patterned, penalized, perceived, performed, permitted, persuaded, pinpointed, pioneered, placed, planned, polled, prepared, presented, preserved, presided, prevented, priced, printed, prioritized, probed, processed, procured, produced, profiled, programmed, projected, promoted, prompted, proposed, proved, provided, publicized, published, purchased, pursued
Q
quantified, questioned, quoted
R
raised, ranked, rated, received, recommended, reconciled, recorded, recovered, recruited, rectified, redesigned, reduced, referred, refined, regulated, reinforced, reinstated, rejected, related, remedied, remodeled, renegotiated, reorganized, replaced, repaired, reported, represented, requested, researched, resolved, responded, restored, restructured, resulted, retained, retrieved, revamped, revealed, reversed, reviewed, revised, revitalized, rewarded, routed
S
safeguarded, saved, scheduled, screened, secured, segmented, selected, separated, settled, shaped, showed, signed, simplified, sold, solved, sorted, sparked, spearheaded, specified, speculated, spoke, spread, stabilized, staffed, staged, standardized, steered, stimulated, strategized, streamlined, strengthened, stressed, structured, studied, succeeded, substantiated, substituted, summarized, superseded, supervised, supplied, supported, surpassed, surveyed, synchronized, synthesized, systematized
T
tabulated, tackled tailored, targeted, taught, tested, testified, tightened, traded, trained, transacted, transcribed, transferred, transformed, translated, traveled, treated, trimmed, tripled, turned, tutored
U, V, W
uncovered, undertook, unified, united, updated, upgraded, used, validated, valued, verbalized verified, viewed, visited, waged, weighed, widened, won, worked, wrote
Soft Skills List
approachable
business acumen
charisma
communication
composure
conflict management
creativity
crisis management
critical thinking
decision making
dedication
empathy
energetic
ethical
flexibility
hard working
honesty
humor
ideas
initiative
inspire others
instincts
integrity
interpersonal skills
leadership
listening
management
morale building
motivational
multicultural sensitivity
multi-task
organizational
passionate
personality
planning
poise
problem solving
professional
public speaking
reasoning
research
respect for others
self confident
self-motivated
sensitivity
supervisory
take constructive criticism
team building
team leadership
team player
time management
verbal
visionary
work well under pressure
writing
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June 30, 2008
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