I hate my job - I'm gone! 
Resume Blunders
I
hate my job - I'm gone!
Can
you relate to this statement? If so, looking for another
job is the solution, or is it? Perhaps it might not
be the job itself, but the personal challenges that are
causing you to hate your job. If this is true, more
than likely, the same problems will follow you to your next
employer. Who wants to quit their job, get a new one,
and within a few months or even weeks, start feeling the
same way they did with their past employer – not me. You'll just be going back to square one.
Asking
yourself the following questions may help you discover if
leaving your current employer is the right thing to do or
not. Finding answers to these questions can help you put
things into perspective before making the decision to call
it quits.
1. What led me to hate my job?
2. Why is my job no longer inspiring?
3. Why do I feel leaving will solve all my problems?
It’s
no secret that today’s job market is tight and the
decisions you make about your career are not something to
take lightly. You want to make sure that leaving your
employer is a comfortable and sound decision. Leaving
your employer may lead to great disappointment rather than
career fulfillment if not carefully thought out first.
What
a waste if you were to discover that you hate your new-found
job after spending time preparing your resume and cover
letter, researching companies, investing time and money
to mail out your resume, and posting your resume on the
Internet. Why? Because you’re back to
square one and faced with the same challenges you had at
your last job.
It’s
very important that you look at the big picture, not bits
and pieces, before making your decision to quit. A
few reasons why people want to leave their job is because
they feel they’re being dumped on, they don’t
get chosen to work on the exciting projects, someone else
gets the promotion they deserved, or their salary is nothing
compared to what they feel they’re worth.
Let’s
try to see if we can come up with some answers. Let’s
analyze the situation of feeling dumped on. First,
ask yourself why you’re being dumped on – is
it because the company is short staffed, because you’re
a “yes” person who won’t say no because
you’re afraid of ruffling feathers, or is it that
you have so many other on-going projects that it might be
truly a matter of managing your time well?
After
answering these questions, what can you do to change your
situation? If you’re the “yes” person,
why do you fear you’ll ruffle feathers? Have
you actually tried to say no to a request that someone else
could easily take on? If not, why not give it a try? You might be surprised that if you hold out, maybe someone
else will step up to the plate instead.
Again,
evaluate your circumstances and try to resolve the issues
at hand before making the decision to look for another job. Finding solutions could just turn the job you hate back
to one you loved long ago. If you find that you still
hate your job after giving serious thought, analyzing your
situation, and putting forth every effort to make it work,
then maybe it is time to move on.
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Resume
Blunders
Employers
and recruiters don’t have time to waste and they have
no problem tossing out your resume. More than likely there
are hundreds, possibly thousands following yours. The job market is tight and it takes more than a mediocre
to open doors. To make it to the second round of reviews,
your resume must grab the attention of employers.
Common
resume blunders you want to avoid:
Presenting a resume with no focus
Coming across as a “jack of all trades” rather
than an expert in your field
Giving more attention to your duties and responsibilities
instead of career achievements
Using the wrong resume format
Making your resume too long and drawn out
Squeezing everything into one page because “they”
say it shouldn’t be longer
Including a work phone number as a point of contact
When
writing your resume, think of yourself as the product and
the employer as the buyer. Before a buyer will consider
purchasing a high-end product, the product must gain their
interest, establish its quality, and present its value. Once these factors are determined, they’ll
move to the next step – buying the product.
Now,
let’s put this analogy into perspective. If your resume
generates interest and demonstrates your value as a qualified
candidate, you’ve effectively sold yourself. The message
will get through to the employer that you’re able
to meet their needs as a member of their company. Grabbing
the employer’s attention and motivating them to contact
you for the interview is the objective of your resume. It’s
critical that you gain their attention in the first 30 seconds. Yes, the first 30 seconds.
Below
are some resume writing tips that can help improve the effectiveness
of your resume. Writing a powerful resume can be challenging. It takes serious thought and time to make it a powerful
self-marketing tool.
1. Have focus –
Employers and recruiters are looking for a “fast match.” Many people are competing for the same job, so your
resume must be eye-catching! Focused resumes address
the needs of the employer, which creates interest and the
desire to learn more about you.
2. Don’t appear as a “jack of all trades” – What areas do you consider yourself an expert and
can you prove it? Employers are looking for specific
skills and abilities to resolve their problems. Stating
and supporting your areas of expertise will help deliver
the message that you have the knowledge and experience to
address their issues. Remember, one can’t be
an “expert” in everything, although some people
think they are.
3. Include achievements – Career achievements are what sell you in a resume. Achievements demonstrate your abilities in leadership,
communication, problem solving, project management, time
management, employee relations, and many other areas. Employers appreciate applicants who know what their talents
are and what they have to offer their company.
4. Use correct format – The chronological or combination resume format seems
to be most popular with employers. The chronological
format exhibits your continuous and upward career growth. The combination format offers a brief overview of your market
value, followed by your employment history.
5. Don’t be long-winded – Don’t making your resume appear as a "read.” Make it easy for employers to find out what your
skills and abilities are by NOT making them dig for details
about your qualifications. Your goal at this point
is to generate enough interest to motivate them to continue
looking through your entire resume.
6. The one-page rule – Who made this rule? If you’re a recent college
grad or a young professional seeking an entry-level position,
chances are your resume will fit on one page. But,
if you’re an experienced professional, manager, or
senior-level executive with many years of experience, it’s
very unlikely that your resume will fit on one page. If it takes two pages or even three pages, don’t worry. If your resume content is focused, organized, visually
appealing, and generates interest, it will motivate employers
to take an in-depth look at your resume.
7. No work numbers –
Don’t use your work number as a point of contact. This implies that you have no problem using company
time for your personal gain. In other words, the employer
may say to himself "Hey, if he has no problem using
company time to find another job, who's to say he won't
do the same if he worked for us?”
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Don’t
miss out on great career opportunities just because of your
resume!
