10 Sure-Fire Ways to Make Your Resume Scream “I’m an Amateur!”

Is your resume not getting as many replies as you expect?

This is a guest post by Casey Accord. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guidelines.

You’re probably not actively seeking ways to make yourself appear LESS professional. But plenty of resumes suggest otherwise. This article outlines the 10 most common things people do that make their resumes—and themselves—look amateurish, whether or not that’s the intention.

1. Use Comic Sans or some other over-used, impractical font. Hiring managers especially love flowery script that’s hard to read!

Pro Tip: Stick with fonts that are easy to read and professional looking. Great choices are Times New Roman, Georgia, Arial, Verdana, and Tahoma.

2. Include every job you’ve ever had—even that 2-month gig as a video store clerk in junior high.

Pro Tip: If it’s not relevant to the position—or completely outdated—forget about it.

3. Include a bunch of unnecessary personal information like your height, weight, birthday and social security number. (This is especially helpful if your prospective employers are also identity thieves.)

Pro Tip: Avoid giving any information that may be too personal or could be used to discriminate against you. Focus on your unique professional traits, not personal ones.

4. Create solid, single-spaced blocks of text in 8-point font to squeeze as much information as possible onto one page.

Pro Tip: Use bullets to break up text and make it easier on the eyes. Be concise and organized in your formatting, and if your experience warrants it, allow your resume to fill two pages. The one-page rule is considered by most to be outdated.

5. Use a lot of clichéd buzzwords like self-motivated, outside-the-box, people person, and team player.

Pro Tip: Don’t waste space with meaningless jargon and corporate-speak. Be authentic and cite specific examples that demonstrate who you are and what you are capable of doing.

6. Throw in a few graphics. A little clip art makes any document more fun.

Pro Tip: No. No. No. This is not an art project. It’s a resume. Keep it professional. That goes for pictures of yourself as well. Don’t do it.

7. Avoid numbers and specifics. Be as vague as possible. Draw them in with mystery.

Pro Tip: Quantify your accomplishments. Using real numbers to back up your claims creates a compelling story.

8. Don’t worry a lot about editing. No one cares about proper spelling these days.

Pro Tip: All it takes is one typo for a hiring manager to toss your resume. Careless mistakes can make you look sloppy or—even worse—uneducated. Proofreading is an absolute essential.

9. Lie, exaggerate or embellish your qualifications. Just keep your fingers crossed that no one finds out.

Pro Tip: You want your resume to represent the real you. The job needs to match your skills. Don’t fake it just because you’re desperate to get an interview. The truth will always come out—eventually.

10. Use a bunch of cute text lingo and emoticons. This’ll show how tech-savvy and fun you are ;)

Pro Tip: Just say no to slang and other “adorable” embellishments. Your resume is not the place for smiley faces. Focus on using powerful words that add value. Save the textese for your BFF.

About the author

Casey Accord is a writer monkey for Resify.com, the coolest site on the web for resume-related advice and free resume templates. She’s passionate about helping job seekers, correcting public displays of grammar dysfunction, and dressing her dog in silly costumes. You can connect with her on Resify, via email (Casey@Resify.com) or on Twitter (@Resify).

If you recognize who the cartoonist is for the image above, please tell me in the comments so I can credit them. Thanks!

If you found this article useful, you’ll also enjoy The Secret “So What?” Method To Resume Writing Success.

10 Sure-Fire Ways to Make Your Resume Scream “I’m an Amateur!”

5 Alternate Ways to Use Twitter

image by joelaz

When you ask someone who doesn’t use Twitter why they abstain, you’ll most likely hear, “There’s no point”, “I’m on enough networks already”, or my least favourite, “I don’t need to hear what anybody had for breakfast.” Sigh.

These are all obviously silly reasons but they do show something important: Twitter has a learning curve. It’s not evident right away what you’re supposed to do. In an effort to help persuade new users to using Twitter, I’ve outlined these five out-of-the-box ways to use Twitter that don’t include talking about breakfast.

1. Newsfeed

A great way to start using Twitter is to replace your RSS reader or whatever way you currently digest news. Your local news channels and newspapers will have a twitter account to keep you in the know, as well as national and international news sources. There are also people who tweet only articles and news from specific niches like web design. You can take it one step forward and use Lists to organize your sources, offering you personalized niche-specific newsfeeds.

2. Find a Job

Twitterers like to help others. That’s why if I was looking for a job here in Ottawa I’d follow @ottawatweetjobs, and if I wanted to land a freelance gig working with Wordpress I’d follow @wordpressjobs. Your area and niche will have people tweeting opportunities as well, and there’s always @monsterkaw, @simplyhired, and @microjobs as well. (For more specific accounts to follow, check out Find a Job on Twitter by Mashable.)

3. Bookmarking

After you start getting all these resources in your Twitter stream you’re going to realize you don’t have time to read it all! That’s ok, just mark it as a “favourite” and read it later. You can also favourite your own tweets, so if you see something elsewhere you’d like to find later just tweet about it and favourite it.

4. Find Deals and Coupons

Everybody likes saving money (I’d hope), and Twitter can help you do that. There are lots of accounts that only tweet sales and coupons, such as @fatwalletdeals, @slickdeals, and @coupontweet.

5. Stalk Celebrities

I don’t know what people’s obsession with celebrities is, but Twitter marks the first service where celebrities and us “common falk” mingle and converse together. Try a search for your favourite celebrity, comic, artist, musician, etc. and I’ll bet you’ll find them tweeting away. P.S: This one you might end up hearing what somebody ate for breakfast.

Now everybody might not think Twitter is for them, but I can guarantee anyone could find usefulness in using at least one of these methods. So next time somebody says Twitter’s not for them, or they’re bored of Twitter and thinking of leaving, offer up one of these solutions.

What neat ways have you been using Twitter?

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.

5 Alternate Ways to Use Twitter

What good does THIS contact do for me?

“I’m an Electrical Engineer, I go to a job networking meeting and ask for contacts at one of my target companies, and someone gives me the name and contact information for an Accountant! What good is that???”

Or…

“I already know someone at ‘XYZ Company’, I don’t need anymore contacts there.”

Leading job networking groups and teaching job search classes, I get the same kinds of questions or comments all the time.

What good does a company contact do you if it’s not the hiring manager for the kind of job you want? And, why should you pursue multiple contacts at a company you are targeting? Because the more information you gain, and the more allies you develop, the better your chances of gaining an interview and a job!

When networking for contacts in your job search, any contact can be a great asset to you. Also, pursuing multiple contacts in the organization can boost your exposure when you need it. There is a great deal of value to those introductions and names. They can each be sources of company information, help in navigating the organization, guides to help you get to the best person, and resources in helping you assess the company’s fit for you.

If you are an “Electrical Engineer”, and connect with an “Accountant” at the company you are pursuing, you can ask any of those kinds of questions. Be concise, be professional, be upbeat, and be humble. Ask them things like:

“I realize you’re not involved with the type of role I’m pursuing at ‘XYZ Company’, however, I’m hoping you might be able to point me to the best person to talk to about the ‘Electrical Engineer’ position.”

“Knowing the company as you do, however, pursuing an opportunity like I am and hoping not to get lost in the sea of other applicants going through the normal HR process, how would you recommend I get noticed or find the right person to talk to for that position?”

“As I pursue opportunities in the organization, I’m hoping you can help me get a better understanding of the corporate culture and what priorities are for the company.”

“I have an interview scheduled in the next few days, and I’m hoping you may be able to help me be better prepared. I hope to go beyond what most others would do. Is there any general advice could you provide that would help me excel?”

”Could I ask for your consideration in sharing my resume with someone in the functional area I’m pursuing?”

“Even though I have connected with the ‘Engineering Manager’, I’m hoping to gain more knowledge and understanding of the organization from others as well. Could I ask you a few questions?”

Those questions and others can provide you a great deal of insight and help from any contact within the organization… and sometimes your best information comes from the least likely sources.

In today’s job market, you generally find that most people are willing to help in some way. If you ask in a professional and unassuming way, you will often get the guidance you seek.

Don’t regard any contact as not ‘valuable’ to you, and don’t get discouraged with some ‘dry wells’. Follow up with every contact you receive and your progress will accelerate.

What good does THIS contact do for me?

By Harry Urschel

Resume Objective Statements: Tell the Hiring Manager Why He Should Read the Rest of Your Resume

image by CharlotWest


Don’t be fooled by people who tell you that resume objective statements are optional, or that you shouldn’t have one at all. Their reasoning is usually that objective statements fence you in and limit your job-seeking focus.

I’m here to tell you that you need an objective statement on your resume. Why?

• An objective statement tells me why I should keep reading the rest of your resume.

It’s advertising, basically. It’s the teaser that will draw me in to reading the rest of your resume. (The cover letter won’t do it. Recruiters don’t generally have the time to read a cover letter–we go straight to the resume. So, make sure the first few lines of your resume make me want to read more.) Read about how to craft a compelling objective statement. At it’s core, it’s about creating a statement that fits your capabilities to fulfilling the needs of the organization. What are a few of your key qualities that will make you a good fit for this job? Be careful that you don’t make this too generic (boring).

• An objective statement makes it easier for me to figure out who you are and what you want.

Don’t be vague: Think of your resume objective as a Personal Branding Statement (thanks, Phil Rosenburg of reCareered). It’s not only saying what you want, but it’s also indicating what problems you can solve and how you can bring value to the organization. In that way, it’s tailored to the job you’re applying for. Jessica Holbrook’s article on Career Rocketeer agrees: Don’t start off by telling the hiring manager what you want, tell the hiring manager what you can do for the company.

Don’t worry: a well-crafted, tailored objective statement won’t stop you from being considered for other jobs. For instance, as a medical sales recruiter, I’m always looking for the best candidate to submit to my clients for consideration for jobs in medical sales, laboratory sales, medical device sales, health care IT, and more. If your objective statement has led me to read the rest of your resume to see what you can do (and what you have done), I’m going to think about you for any job you might be a good fit for because that’s what’s in the best interests of me and my client companies.

Original Post Resume Objective Statements: Tell the Hiring Manager Why He Should Read the Rest of Your Resume

No One Bats a 1000!

If you’re a baseball fan, you know that even the best hitters in Major League Baseball actually get a hit significantly less than 40% of the time they step up to the plate. That obviously means they try, and fail, over 60% of the time!
Over a 60% failure rate! However, anyone that’s close to ‘only’ a 60% failure rate earns several million dollars per season!
Everyone knows… NO ONE bats a 1000!
Joe Mauer, last years best batter in the Major Leagues, averaged .365. That’s considered an extraordinary year. However, it still means that 63.5% of the time he got an ‘at bat’, he failed!

Whether you’re a baseball player, a sales person, an investor, an engineer, or in a job search… the same thing is true! You will not be successful in every call, or in every effort you make. Unfortunately, that’s not how most people approach their search.
Job seekers regularly hear that the vast majority of jobs are filled through ‘networking’. That means you have to actually connect with real people, make an introduction, and ask for referrals. Applying to positions online or some other way, and just waiting for a call are not likely to get results in today’s job market.
However, too many people make a phone call or send an email to someone new, get no response or no results, and become convinced that “networking doesn’t work for me.”
Setting expectations properly goes a long way to being able to continue on toward results. You’re not going to get a job lead or another networking referral from each person you talk to, perhaps not even from every 5 people you talk to. However, you may get a great name or lead from the 3rd, 5th, 6th, or 8th person you connect with. You’ll never get that name or lead though without getting to that 8th person. Persistence pays, and with each contact you make, you get better at your approach and your numbers improve.
Don’t get discouraged, slow down, or give up after a few ‘strikes’. Keep swinging away. The more you do, the closer you get to a base hit or a home run!
Remember, no one bats 1000!

Original Post No One Bats a 1000!

Thank-You Notes: Not Just for Interviews! | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

by Meg Guiseppi • March 29, 2010 • Original Post Here

Here’s a piece of old-fashioned advice to build personal brand equity when you’re in the job search, and for overall successful networking and healthy career management:

Invest in some quality thank you notes and plenty of postage stamps, and start using them regularly.

That’s right. Remember snail mail? Get into the habit of sending hand-written thank you’s to just about anyone you interact with in your job search –not just interviewers!!! This can include people in your network who provide introductions or do favors for you, employers and colleagues who write recommendations, etc.

I recently heard that at most a mere 5% of job seekers send thank you’s after interviews. So imagine that number is closer to 1%, probably lower, for non-interview purposes. The impact for those who take advantage of this little-used strategy can be significant, as you will really stand out from the crowd.

Much more than a courtesy, a thank you note is your opportunity to re-sell yourself and once again position your brand and value proposition in front of hiring and business decision makers.

Clients of mine have told me that thank-you notes were the tipping point in their favor. The decision was down to the wire. My clients sent thank you’s, their competition didn’t. Hiring decision makers said they were so impressed by the thoughtfulness and effort, the thank you was the deciding factor.

That thoughtfulness will go a long way towards impressing your other contacts as well, and may make them inclined to want to do more business with you, or to do you another personal favor at some time in the future. Imagine yourself giving someone a gift for their birthday. If they thank you sincerely, and make it known how much your gift was appreciated, won’t you be more likely to give them a gift next year?

Emailed thank you messages are okay, and sometimes necessary to get something out quickly, but they just don’t impress the way a mailed one does (also consider hand-delivery through the office secretary for maximum effect!).

Here’s what a personalized, brand-reinforcing thank you note accomplishes so beautifully following an interview, or any other professional encounter:

• Conveys courtesy toward the contact for their time.
• Reminds the contact of you and puts you top of mind again.
• Mentions highlights of the conversation and reiterates your interest in the topic being discussed.
• Provides an opportunity to restate your value proposition and good fit for the company.
• Provides an opportunity to bring up information you poorly addressed or forgot in the discussion.
• Provides an opportunity to ask about the next step in the interview/sales/whatever process.

Send your thank you notes the day of the discussion, if at all possible. Get the full name, correct spelling, and title of each person you speak with before you leave. Ask for their business cards so you don’t have to fumble for paper and pen.

Take a few moments to jot down the following information as quickly after talking with them as possible, while everything is still fresh in your mind. This information will make writing your thank you notes much easier:

1. What key things did they ask you?

2. How did you answer?

3. What answers or info did you give that captured their attention and/or impressed them?

4. What did you tell them about yourself that they said represented important skills or personal attributes for the position’s requirements or organization’s challenges and needs?

5. What concerns did they voice about you?

6. What areas/things did you neglect to mention?

7. What little tidbits about the company did you learn that you can impress them with?

8. How can you reinforce your fit for the job or sale?

A few other points:

• Don’t send generic or canned thank you notes. They’re almost worse than sending nothing.
• Don’t hand a thank you letter to the employer at the end of the interview. You’ll clearly be giving her or him a canned note.
• Don’t forget to sign the letter.

Be generous in sending thank you’s. They can make all the difference in keeping you and your personal brand top of mind with the very people you want to leave a lasting, memorable impression with. Remember, the cost to overnight Fedex a letter to make sure it’s received promptly is a drop in the hat compared with the benefit you stand to gain if things go well.

Be sure to check out this post about different types of thank-you’s and when each might be appropriate. But remember to make each your own!

Related post:

Best Executive Job Interviewing Strategies

An Executive Personal Branding, Online Identity and Job Search Strategist, Meg is a 20-year careers industry professional and one of only a handful of people worldwide to hold the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Master Resume Writer credentials, both gold standards.

“I love my work collaborating with savvy senior executives and entrepreneurs who know where they’re going, but need help differentiating their unique promise of value in the new world of work and executive job search, and positioning themselves to work their passion. My clients are typically c-suite, senior-level executives and rising stars.”

Find out more about Meg at Executive Career Brand, and by viewing her LinkedIn profile andfollowing her on Twitter.

Add Context to Business Cards to Help Remember the Person

If you're great at taking business cards when they're handed to you but not so great at remembering who gave them to you, where, and what you were talking about, reader meep offers a simple but smart trick:

A friend told me about this excellent networking tip: when you get a business card, write where and when you met the person, along with important facts you may need later on the back. This way you can say, 'Oh, remember when we were [there] and you asked about [this]' as a conversation starter later on.

Despite what we may have expected, it turns out business card use is alive and well among Lifehacker readers, so this tip might come in particularly handy next time you're at an event where the business cards are flowing like wine. Got another method that helps you remember more about the person who handed you the card? Let's hear it in the comments.

'A friend told me about this excellent networking tip...'