Snelling Staffing Services

10 Resume Errors That Will Land You in the Trash

snellingstaffing — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:19:16 +0000

Resume writing is really hard; you want to be professional and conform to accepted conventions, but at the same time, it’s important to be distinctive enough that you get the recruiter or hiring manager’s attention.

That might sound like an impossible contradiction, but this much is true: Wacky or unprofessional resumes get rejected immediately. So it’s really important to know what not to do. Here are the 10 most important resume glitches to steer clear of.

Yahoo Finance recently wrote about 10 resume red flags. All good stuff, many of which are things I’ve warned you about before:

1. Don’t show peacock feathers. We all want to stand out, but don’t use weird fonts or embed images in your resume. It makes your resume look strange (not in a good way) and might not even render the way you expect on someone else’s PC.

2. Omit the references. Including references on the resume itself says that you needed it for page filler, or you just don’t understand how the system works. References should only be provided upon request.

3. Don’t write in complete sentences. And don’t, for the love of God, include full paragraphs. Write in bullets and short, impactful sentence fragments that tell your story with a minimum of reading.

4. Don’t omit the numbers. Quantify your accomplishments.

5. Don’t list your responsibilities. No one cares what your last job’s requirements were. In fact, including them sends the message that you don’t understand that your job is to provide value through accomplishments.

6. Don’t include an objective. These were recommended once, long ago, but now they’re totally passé. Objectives tend to sound insincere, are hard to map to specific roles at each company you apply to, and limit your options.

7. Spell check. It goes without saying that your resume should be completely spell checked, free of grammatical errors, and not include any unexpected references to zebras.

8. Don’t list your Yahoo or sparklemotion e-mail address. As I discussed before, keep your e-mail address professional.

9. Don’t include your picture. Not only can this come off totally unprofessional, but it poises the employer for legal exposure since the picture reveals details about your sex, age, and ethnicity. They don’t want any part of that kind of pain and will toss you in the trash.

10. Don’t get too personal. Don’t include information about your personal interests or hobbies unless it’s relevant to the role.

The Multi-Tasking Trap

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:13:33 +0000

You have undoubtedly heard numerous co-workers brag that they are “multi-taskers”. Most people assume a multi-tasker is someone who can perform numerous tasks, but in reality it can prevent a worker from being productive. Here are a few time management tips to assist you in staying focused during your workday:

Checking Email – instead of reading emails as they come in, set aside a specific time 2-3 times a day to check your emails. Try changing your settings in Outlook to turn off the notification feature.
Prioritize Your Day – Interruptions can kill your workflow. If you are working on a top priority project, just learn to say “no” to questions or requests that could be handled later.
Control Yourself – Sometimes the biggest distractor in your day is yourself. Keep a pad and pen nearby and as you think of things that must be done, emails that should be composed, or other tasks that come up, jot them down. Set aside a time during the day to follow-up on this tickler file

What You Should Know About Blogs

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:10:36 +0000

Blogs are online diaries that allow people to share anything with the world and are becoming a popular communications tool. However, they can also raise some legal issues for employers.

While having a personal blog that is worked on at home is growing in popularity, employees have also been using blogs to pass on confidential information, including inappropriate material that could be perceived as harassment, or posting slanderous statements about the employer. To protect themselves, while still protecting an individual’s 1^st Amendment rights, an employer should keep these things in mind:

Study the Law – Investigate any State restrictions you may have and learn what rights your company has and what rights your employees have.

Write a Policy – Be sure this policy is entirely clear regarding blogs and is included in your company’s overall HR policies.

Communicate – Assure that all employees are given the policy to read and communicate the policy’s intent to them.

Keep it Legal – This is a new area of law and it is advised that companies consult their in-house or contracted legal counsel prior to acting on any employee’s blog.

Since blogs are such a new arena in the Internet world, most employees are unaware of any legal implications from what they post. It is important to educate them on the implications of their actions, to protect them, as well as you.

The Enduring Work of a Temporary

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:06:16 +0000

Each year, the American Staffing Association (ASA) recognizes the enduring work of a temporary by honoring them with the National Staffing Employee of the Year. For the 2007 award, ASA received over 180 nominations from staffing firms throughout the country. The winner, Agapito Soto, represents the three million temporary and contract employees who work through U.S. staffing firms every business day. These workers personify the value of the staffing industry for its clients and employees.

Soto has been working as a contract employee at the Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Department in Santa Ana, CA for over three years. He has worked as an information technology specialist, helping various agencies in the county straighten out communication and software issues that would cripple communications in an emergency.

There is no better example of Soto’s dedication than the week of October 21, 2007, during a wildfire breakout throughout Southern California that destroyed numerous homes and businesses. Soto put in many extra hours and had a willingness to do whatever was necessary to help with the crises. Working with others, he made sure that his desk was manned in 12-hour shifts to ensure that help was available 24 hours a day.

Soto is very satisfied having a contract assignment. “I have had several offers to go full-time,” he says. “But I like what I am doing and I like the people I work with.”

Soto is just one story out of millions of staffing employees who are a vital part of the workforce in the U.S.

Preparation Leads to Good Hiring Decisions

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:03:33 +0000

While most employers are aware of the protected classes or areas that cannot be discussed during the interview process – age, national origin, race, gender, religion and disability – most hiring authorities should keep in mind these other important points:

While an employer can ask a candidate if they belong to organizations related to their potential job, they cannot ask about what involvement the candidate has in the organization.
An employer can ask a candidate if they are willing to work overtime. However, an employer must not ask about the willingness to work on religious holidays or whether the employee has children that will make working overtime difficult.
An employer may ask the candidate for references, but not from a priest, minister or rabbi.
No photos should be taken of the candidate unless they have been hired by the employer.
Companies should always include a statement of being an equal opportunity employer on their application. The application should clearly state that it does not equal an employment contract, nor provide any guarantee that the candidate will be hired.
An employer may administer skills testing for areas that are relevant to the job in question; however, those tests must be administered to all candidates who are applying for the same position.
When conducting reference checks, the employer should avoid questions that may involve the status of the candidate in one of the protected classes.

Poor interview preparation can not only lead to bad hiring decision, it can also lead to costly litigation. Employers should document the interview and hiring process as much as possible and always consult with its in-house legal department or outside counsel.

Building Better Managers

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:24:49 +0000

Research has shown that most companies do not hire strong leadership who will focus on employee development. Trends show most managers today only concentrate on their own jobs, while neglecting mentoring and developing their employees. Generation X employees have high expectations of what they expect from their managers, including immediate feedback (good or bad), assistance in furthering their skills, goal-setting and rewards based on individual achievements. Companies expect more work from fewer people, so managers today are stretched thin to try to be it all for their team.

Many studies have found that management behavior is key in employee retention. Factors that often determine employeeturnover include:

Lack of feedback and coaching
Lack of developmental opportunities
Lack of reward and recognition
Lack of perceived value to the company

Each of these factors should be in a manager’s control. However, building better managers must start by aligning the company’s culture with clear expectations of the manager’s role, which should be to find, retain and motivate employees. Some areas of change that must occur are:

Leadership – Be a role model for the rest of the company. Managers must spend time with their people, set goals and expectations, provide immediate feedback and don’t be afraid to reward great production.

Communication – This is one area a lot of companies undervalue. But it is a powerful vehicle that managers can use to send clear messages and enhance performance.

Core Competencies – Good technical skills do not equal good management skills. Not all great staff members equal good managers. When you define core competencies, companies can develop individuals to improve in specific areas.

Reward – Managers should be rewarded on how they retain and develop employees. Companies that reinforce good managers will build strong management capabilities over time.

Structure – Companies must redesign their structure to allow managers the time they need to work with their staff. Managers who can develop talent in their department will result in tenure and increased productivity.

Building better managers is not always a quick and inexpensive process, but one that will produce dividends over time.

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Corporate America Still Hiring

snellingstaffing — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:05:55 +0000

Recently Harris Interactive conducted an online survey about hiring trends by managers for the second quarter of 2008. The survey, which was conducted between February 11 and March 13, 2008, was sent to over 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals. Despite the U.S. Department of Labor reports showing declines in the number of payroll jobs, the survey found that 88% of hiring managers said they would either increase or have no change in their full-time staff. In addition, the survey shows a decrease in those surveyed who planned to do any layoffs – down 4% from the first quarter.

Finding good talent is always a challenge for companies. This was verified by the survey, which indicated that 38% of the hiring managers said they cannot find qualified candidates for their open positions.

Some companies are assisting their employees with a cost of living raise to thank them for their loyalty. They are finding that the overall modest increases are important to reward and retain employees.

Writing Resume’s

snellingstaffing — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:16:56 +0000

Resume Tips To Land The Perfect Job

Your resume must always attract an employer’s attention at first sight. Hence make a best resume using some resume tips to land you your dream job

Always use attractive titles and heading that match the job profile you want and a great way to do this would be to mention the job titles and skill headings clearly. Maintain the flow and the length of the resume and like a myth, you don’t have to follow the strict rule of writing a resume in one page. You can highlight the headings to make it more presentable

Employers generally make snap judgments while reading your resume – and if they see an unrelated job profiles or titles or skills then they immediately assume that you are not qualified for the position. Don’t waste your time elaborating on your skills or the headings, as employers don’t have time to waste on each resume and determine whether you have the appropriate skill or experience which they are looking for. The design of your resume must showcase your skills, experience and education at the first glance. At first glance, employers must form an image about your skills and abilities.

Your resume should be designed to attract the employer’s attention, but it should not be jazzy and should have the complete content and should include all your skills and abilities. These things may land you an interview, as well as determine your salary package that you may receive.

Always use powerful words and statements to demonstrate or describe your achievements as well as your responsibilities. These points can grab an employer’s attention and elevate your image in front of him or her. The more you specify your positive points, the better. Use powerful words and phrases to control the images that the employers develop about you while reading your resume. Powerful words should match the job profile you are seeking.

Learn and analyze the key words that employers provide in the advertisements or job descriptions, as this should be the key element in creating powerful and impact oriented resumes.

Always try and understand and project the employers hidden needs through your resume like for example if an employer needs someone who can handle departments, accounting more efficiently then you should identify it and anticipate the full range of need and show that you can resolve it through your resume.

Resumes should always provide a list of duties of each applicant without explaining the benefits of the skills to the employers like for example a secretary’s resume should state her typing speed and should also state how it could benefit the new employer. The real benefit of the employee should produce more work and also save the employer money.

Your resume should create an image of you in front of the employer. When writing your resume, keep in mind the level of the job you are seeking and the salary you are expecting. Always use language according to the position you are seeking.

Try and prioritize the content of your resume, as this is the most important mistake that is made by many job seekers. Always compile statements according to importance, relevance of the job you want.

Always try and tweak your resume and cover letter as they can generate many more interviews for you. Try and place the heading to the left hand column for retail management positions.

Try and improve your resume as much as possible – after all, it’s the one that can get you an interview call.

written by Tony Jacowskii