Hi there,

 

 

Welcome to the June edition of the Blaze Unlimited E-Zine.  It's about 1,000 words and should take no longer than 6 minutes to read. 

Pursuing Passions Recharges Batteries

 

Here is why most resumes suck! 

 §         Too many redundant sections (eg/ career objective - talk's cheap and if the role you're applying for isn't part of your career objective... why are you applying for it?)

§         Waste of valuable space on front page (people spend the most time reading the 1st page and progressively less)

§         Too long (should be no more than 4 pages)

§         I'm not sure how tailored the resume is (it should speak directly to the requirements of the target role)

§         Key principle with contemporary resumes is that 'less is more'.  This means that content like your customer letter extract doesn't have a place in your resume.  You may well use it in your application or take it to interview but not in your resume.

§         You don't have employment dates in your previous position snapshots - most employers want to know how long you spent in certain roles etc.

§         I personally don't put referees contact details in what is essentially an uncontrolled document (privacy issues you see)

§         I'd drop the job overview thingy - most people who recruit for roles that you'd be qualified for will understand what a Manager Personal Lending does.  What they don't know will be delivered in your Responsibilities/Achievements section.

§         You've missed many opportunities to use powerful, persuasive language when describing responsibilities and skills/knowledge required. 

It's important to keep in mind that most career counsellors will have their own views on a resume.  My approach is to structure the document based on the target role and the client's skills, knowledge and experiences adhering to some basic principles.  Less is more, focus on needs of the target role (not telling your life story), resumes get interviews not jobs, and finally... what goes in your resume (and where) is determined by two things (it's relevance to the target role and whether it's likely to be viewed as a strength or weakness when compared to fellow applicants.  

Here's something for nothing.  A colleague of mine who has lots of interesting things to say about relationships, communication and just about everything in between has started his own e-zine.  It's a good short read and comes out once a month.  If you subscribe now you will get a free copy of his relationships e-book.  Well worth a read.  Here's the link http://www.actualise.com.au/ezinesignup.html

In my next few E-zines I will talk more about resumes, what to put in them and how to structure them, so you can get the results you are looking for.  If you’ve had a read of the above and feel that you resume is in major need of an overhaul, then stay tuned for E-zines to follow.  If however, you have no time to waste and would like some help then why don’t you talk to us about a complimentary coaching session?  Click here to arrange for someone from our office to contact you.

 

 

Warm Regards