Job searching just plain sucks! It's a job in itself. I know I have spent hours (day and night) writing resumes, searching for jobs, trying to figure what I need to add, take away, or just completely redo. Resume formatting has changed and though hundreds of people out there will charge you for the format. I am not. That's right NOT! $0 dollars. Look I have been where you are. Looking for work, trying to figure out who needs to see what and now with unemployment being at a low turn, applying for jobs is at this point and time and very competitive business, and those multiple "gurus" out there are working like crazy to get you to "buy" there service. It's a cool thing and I wish them great success. 8 billion people on the planet sure they will find quite a few that will use them. Let's be clear though, there are no guarantees with anything, the format they have, the format you currently use (if you have one), and what the format I have available will not always work.
On top of the resume formatting, I would use "1" job search engine to try it out on. LinkedIn allows uploads of resumes (I will go over "naming" resumes in just a few, but I wanted to note that Indeed.com, Careerbuilder.com, and many others have resume writers and helpful tools. One that is not so common www.nexxt.com this site has some cool info and job search insights specific to you that don't cost anything and also some great formats for resume that are free to download.
When you formatting your resume there are few things to remember:
1. Keep it at two (2) pages for most job sites and those companies you apply to- anyone that looks at your resume is "scanning" your resume. They are looking for Order and neatness -key words. NOTE: If you use USAJobs.com is the exception 3 to 5 pages is not uncommon. Use 10 or 12 TImes New Roman (stay away for fancy handwriting fonts and using multiple colors.
2. Keep it neat, consistent through the resume - You be surprised at how many people use different size fonts for each job description. Just stay consistent
3. HR Managers, Hiring Managers, Supervisors, whoever the hiring person is don't care what you did for the company you worked for, they care about what you accomplished while you worked there, how do you set yourself apart? What did you do that went above an beyond the "normal job aspects.". Use specifics like "Reduced cost in project X by 40% by working directly with vendor for discounts on products needed." What did you do? You reduced the cost of the project, you communicated directly with vendor, you saved the company 40% = What the hiring manager sees is Communication, Vendor Management, Saved the company money." That's how you catch their attention.
4. Use Chronological order - go back x10 years. No more than that. They are looking at dates and consistency of how long you stay at a company. If your new to the job world - you have experience through college work you did - USE IT! If you were the #1 person in you class "you need to say it on your resume." "GPA 4.0, First in class in Engineering and drafting". Don't be afraid to brag on your resume, remember this about you. You have to convince that hiring manager they want that you are the right person for the job, the resume is where you need to sell yourself.
5. Make sure that you read the job description for what you applying to. I know it can be a royal pain adjusting a resume for every job you apply to and want to get to a "basic format", it may work but you could also be hurting yourself to. It's a judgement call and up to the individual person. I hope you find this helpful. If you don't like the format I have that is ok, please go see the others I mentioned above.
Oh yeah! Naming your resume. When you save your resume you need to use a naming convention that will (1) catch ATS attention (2) HR managers attention, and (3) Recruiters attention. Name it this way Engineer_JOHN DOE_10202021.CV or Resume. (Here the trick, when the Recruiter or HR person put in the positions, they are looking to hire for anything that has "engineer" for example will pop up first -hence your resume.
Keep an eye open for Ageism Young and Old within the next few weeks. It's tough in world of job searching if you are 40+,50+, 60+ or just out of college between 21 to 25. It's a hot topic with a lot of seniors wanting to go back work or finding a "new" source of income.
Please leave a comment and provide any advice you have. If you want to say something about ageism, please do -Currently working the research on this topic and will update here in a couple of weeks.
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