Q: I've been laid off due to downsizing twice in the last two years. How do I write a resume and cover letter to show that I am not a wanderer and that I can be a long-term, dedicated employee?
A: You might address this in the cover letter: "Having gone through two downsizings in two years, I am seeking the opportunity to work with a company on a growth curve." Individualize each cover letter so it focuses on what that employer needs, wants or is interested in. You could also put a simple sentence at the end of resume entries about those two jobs. (E.g. "Entire department was eliminated in a corporate reorganization.") But a careful you don't sound like a whiner or victim. Employers want employees who can be resilient to change.
--Tom Morris
Q: I recently took a year off to travel and then another six months off to write a book about my experiences. A recent interviewer expressed concern and disappointment that I had not been "working" for such a long period of time. How do I describe my travel/writing experience in my resume and cover letter so that it helps rather than hurts my chances of obtaining employment?
A: You had the guts to take a year off to travel and the discipline to write a book but you haven't figured out how to present this when it comes up in an interview? Hard to believe, but here are some strategies:
First, look at the experience positively. If you don't view yourself and what you've been doing positively, it's doubtful others will. You took control of your career, you made a decision, and you did it. Bravo! Too many of us are too faint of heart when it comes to taking personal and career risks.
Second, think about what you saw and heard, where you went, who you met, what you learned--about yourself, others, the world--and how that can increase your value to an employer.
Finally, don't be arrogant or boastful about your accomplishments (thus making others resentful), but don't worry about people who are bored or threatened by your travels and memoirs; you don't want to work for them anyway. As to how to put it in writing, first write a cover letter saying what you were doing before your travels, where you went, what you wrote and what you want to do/can do now. Give 2 or 3 short examples of what you did on your travels. Now take the best 2 or 3 sentences from that letter and put them in your chronological resume to account for the 18 months. Alternative: after your future-directed summary, give a chronological list of experience ("Traveler/Author" is one way to list it) followed by functional examples of the type of work you want to do.
--Tom Morris
Q: I am having trouble coming up with an objective statement for my resume. What do employers want to see? Can I leave it out and just list my education and accomplishments?
A: Think of that statement as a 3"x5" card that focuses on what you do best, offer to employers, and want to do. This statement is a direction, not a title. It's what human and machine scanners do quick searches for: focused skills and abilities.
If you're having trouble writing your resume, it may be because you haven't focused your search. Just work on the 3"x5" card. If you can't write that, you need to do more formal or informal career-life assessment to get focused. There are dozens of exercises, instruments and coaches available to help.
--Tom Morris
Q: I have found out recently that my previous employer is giving me a bad reference, even though I worked for him for 4 months with no complaints. It is making it hard to find a job. Should I just leave that job off my resume?
A: Even without a negative reference, a previous job lasting just 4-months will send up a red flag of doubt with any prospective employer. The question will be, "Why did the job only last 4 months?", and the prospective employer will think that you either got fired or made a poor employment choice when you accepted the job. I don't know why you left that job if there were no complaints about your work, but I would strongly consider forgetting that the job happened in the first place. On your resume, just add 4 months to your job search. (Don't fill that 4-month period on your resume by extending the length of the job you held prior to the short one.)
--Marvin Walberg
Q: How should I format my resume to break into the IT field with a background mostly in insurance and banking?
A: The content of your resume will be more important than your resume format. I prefer a chronological format in most cases, and so do most employers. A functional format, focusing on experience and accomplishments, may work well for you in your transition from one field to another, but recruiters and employers will still be interested in your work history. Concentrate on experience, education, accomplishments as they apply to your field of interest, and try to use jargon that is not exclusive to banking/insurance. Transfer your achieved skills and accomplishments to your field of interest, and try to communicate using jargon familiar to the IT industry.
--Marvin Walberg
Q: I have not been employed for 15 years, but I have lots of volunteer experience, and work experience prior to those years of unemployment. What kind of information should I include on a resume?
A: Before you begin to write a resume, it's a good idea to identify the kinds of jobs you may want to consider. Then, use the accomplishments and experiences from your previous 15 years that are relevant to the jobs you want to consider. You would want to identify jobs you held prior to the 15 years in question, but if that experience isn't relevant anymore, keep it to a very brief list, then work on your volunteer work and more recent experiences. Remember a couple of things:
Volunteer work is work experience, and can give you incredibly strong networking contacts, and excellent references. The fact that you weren't paid is meaningless - it's what you did and what you accomplished that makes a difference.
If, and I'm just guessing, those 15 years involved raising a family, you've got fantastic work experience! Think "transferable skills" and list the things you HAD TO ACCOMPLISH while raising children and running a household. Then, make another list of the same accomplishments, but translate them into workplace language. When you finish, get ready to go sell yourself because you'll have plenty of ammunition!
--Marvin Walberg
Q: I am retiring from education after 27 years. I have been teacher, administrator, attended hundreds of workshops and developmental programs. How can I summarize in a resume my "adventures" during this time and provide employers a "snapshot" of my extensive background?
A: Keep the "snapshot" concept--a "panoramic" view of your 27 years in education would be difficult to sell! I think that two major areas are important. One, if you are intending to make a transition to any workplace outside of education, you must use the language of that workplace. The corporate world communicates rather differently than they do in academia. If you "talk" like an academic in your cover letters and resumes, you may not get too many chances to verbalize your worth in interviews. Second, if you know what you want to do in your new workplace, make sure your "snapshot" includes the kinds of accomplishments, skills, training, and experience that your target job would require. Sell what you need to sell, but try not to oversell. An oversell can result in overkill.
--Marvin Walberg
Q: I'm 53. Should I list my last employer only as part of a chronological resume and leave out previous dates of others to disguise age?
A: If your previous employment is not all directly relevant to your current work and job objective, a functional resume format may be more forgiving. In this format, you can highlight RELEVANT EXPERIENCE without giving dates, and ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE as a separate listing. In any event, I would eliminate dates of college courses or degrees unless you attended recent seminars/courses relevant to your work. One thought: 53 is the prime of your working lifetime. Even if you only worked until age 65 (what used to be retirement age), that's 12 more years--in today's workplace, 12 years is a career!
--Marvin Walberg
Q: Is it appropriate to mention membership to organizations that may indicate race, ethnicity, or religion? I know that sometimes employers don't want to know this information (for legal reasons), but I'd like them to know about these activities.
A: It depends upon the organization and the reasons why you want to list them on your resume. If you were highly involved in an organization as a leader, and that experience relates to your future career, then yes, you should list it. Describe it as you would a job description. If you were simply a member of that organization, then take some time to consider why it should appear on your resume. Do you want to show that you can organize your time and keep commitments? Is it important to show high levels of involvement and team work? Check with contacts or friends that work in the company to find out about the company atmosphere. Are they traditional and conservative? Do they have an open attitude and encourage diversity? This also can be a gauge to determine whether you want to work for a company that is tolerant of employee values, lifestyle, and culture.
--Michelle Watson |
Q: For various reasons, I've had three jobs in 2½ years. What can I do to structure my resume so I close the gaps and come across as a stable candidate?
A: You can be infinitely creative in how you structure your resume. One possibility is to use a functional resume which focuses on your skills and accomplishment rather than listing your jobs chronologically. Alternatively you could forgo the resume completely and use a letter describing what you have done when you apply for a job.
Changing your resume will not change the fact that any prospective employer will eventually find out that you have had three jobs in 2½ years. You need to be able to respond to questions about your job history truthfully and without apologizing. Develop answers to questions dealing with your job history and practice them with a friend or relative until you are comfortable with them.
When you go on an interview learn everything you can about the company including what their needs are and problems are. See if a family member or a friend knows someone at the company you can talk to before you go to the interview. Then you will be able to focus the interview on what you can do to help them solve their problems.
--Lee Miller
Q: What is the best resume format for blue collar workers?
A: I'd stick with a chronological resume. It will be the most understood resume format, and will most likely highlight increasing experience over time if you've stayed in the same industry. Try also including sections that might boost interest as well. Some possible sections might include Technical Skills, Computer Skills, Community Service, Leadership, and Interests.
--Michelle Watson
Q: If I stayed at home for 8 months, should I refer to this as "Personal Leave" between jobs on my resume?
A: "Personal Leave" would only draw attention to something you may not wish to discuss in an interview. (Utilize a functional resume to diminsh the impact this gap may create on a chronological resume.) Instead, you might wish to highlight on your resume other events during this time period. Did you pursue further education? Travel? Volunteer? But be prepared to provide an positive (and truthful!) answer should you be asked, "What did you do during that time?"
--Michelle Watson
Q: I've been out of school for a year. When should I remove my school activities and academic accomplishments from my resume?
A: The longer you are out of school, the less you will want to include about your school activities. As you begin to have significant career achievements, pare down how much you say about your school activities. When you have accomplished so much in your career that your school activities are no longer likely to make any impression on a potential employer you can eliminate them. Academic honors, such as Phi Beta Kappa or getting a degree with honors, are always appropriate on a resume no matter how long you have been working. At this point, my guess is your work career is not so distinguished that you should exclude your school activities.
--Lee Miller
Q: When answering an ad online, do companies really want you to send them your resume via e-mail or is it better to send them a hard copy via snail mail?
A: If companies have an online presence and request your resume via e-mail, you should definitely send it in that form. However, to make sure the companies receive your resume in readable form, be sure and read any instructions offered before pushing the "Send" key. Some companies want your resume in a specific format. Others can receive it in any format from any software package. Whatever the company's requirements, comply with them.
Another advantage to sending your resume via e-mail is that it can be easily added to the company's resume database. Since databases lend themselves to search capabilities, a recruiter looking for a specific qualification or work experience can more easily find your resume if it's been entered into the system. So even if you don't get the job for which you are applying, your resume may come up on another recruiter's job search.
Keep in mind that there may be circumstances in which it will be appropriate to follow up with a hard copy of your resume. For example, if you don't receive an e-mail acknowledgement of your resume and you want to make sure it was received by the recruiter, go ahead and send a resume via regular mail.
--Rebecca Alexander
Q: Where is the best place to find a listing of job titles for my resume's "objective" statement?
A: Nothing warms the heart of a recruiter more than a job objective statement that actually matches the job they are trying to fill! So, the best place to look for a job title for your objectives statement is the job for which you are applying. Customize each resume that you send out to reflect that unique job title. It also makes sense to put more detail into the parts of your resume that support that job and keep other areas fairly general.
--Rebecca Alexander
Q: Who can I contact to compose a letter and resume for me? I can never seem to translate my experience into words.
A: The advantage of writing your own resume and cover letter is that the end product is unique. A lot of resume writing services will use formats, phrases, fonts, etc. that have worked for them in the past. So your resume ends up looking like a lot of others out there.
A professional service can help you fine-tune your work, though. There are many Web-based services available as you can see by visiting Yahoo!'s Resume Services listing. If you want to use one of these services do some shopping before deciding on one. Prices vary as well as types of services. Some agencies will convert your resume to HTML and post it to certain job sites. Others also specialize in a certain industry or management level. With so many available you should be able to find one that has experience in your profession and will provide cost-effective services.
--Rebecca Alexander
Q: When a classified ad asks for salary requirements, where should I include it in my resume?
A: The appropriate place for salary requirements is in the cover letter and not in your resume.
--Rebecca Alexander
Q: For various reasons, I've had three jobs in 2½ years. What can I do to structure my resume so I close the gaps and come across as a stable candidate?
A: You can be infinitely creative in how you structure your resume. One possibility is to use a functional resume which focuses on your skills and accomplishment rather than listing your jobs chronologically. Alternatively you could forgo the resume completely and use a letter describing what you have done when you apply for a job.
Changing your resume will not change the fact that any prospective employer will eventually find out that you have had three jobs in 2½ years. You need to be able to respond to questions about your job history truthfully and without apologizing. Develop answers to questions dealing with your job history and practice them with a friend or relative until you are comfortable with them.
When you go on an interview learn everything you can about the company including what their needs are and problems are. See if a family member or a friend knows someone at the company you can talk to before you go to the interview. Then you will be able to focus the interview on what you can do to help them solve their problems.
--Lee Miller
Q: I was terminated from a job that I was with for only two months. Should I list this on my resume?
A: Not necessarily. The first three months are in that "no harm-no foul" area. Even after comprehensive interviewing it is possible to get a less than perfect match. The first three months are an evaluation period for both the company and the employee. If either come to the conclusion that the working arrangement isn't going to work, they are doing each other a favor by bringing it to an end.
By not listing these two months, however, you will have a gap on your resume that some recruiters may pursue. If so, be truthful. Tell them that you had a job that wasn't a good match and you left within the probationary period. There isn't any reason to go beyond that.
--Rebecca Alexander |
