How Many Jobs Should I Include on my Resume?

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentYou have finally decided to leave your current “dead-end” position and look for a more challenging and enjoyable career.

Where do you start?

Update and polish that resume of course! A key question you should be asking yourself at this juncture is how many jobs you should include on your resume. As a professional, you likely fall into one of two scenarios:

Tenured Professional: If you have been in the workforce for many years and have held several different positions, you may be wondering how many of your past jobs you should list on your resume.

Novice Professional: You may have just earned your college degree and are wondering what hiring managers want to see on your resume.

Most Hiring Managers are looking for a two to three job window, at least. This window should always include your most recent job as Hiring Managers like to know where people are coming from and what they have been doing leading up to the submission of their resume.

In a perfect world, we find that listing at least three jobs on your resume gives it depth and substance. By highlighting your last three positions, you are able to show your career progression, which is a critical message to relay when you are asking to be considered for a new opportunity.

We do understand listing three positions may be more challenging for those who haven’t been in the workforce for long or have held only one or two jobs in their career. If this is your situation, don’t worry! Since honesty is the best policy and creating fictitious jobs to add bulk to your resume will land you right back in the unemployment line, you may have to stray from the norm in order to add quality and showcase your experience and talents on your resume. Volunteer work is something that most people don’t considering adding to their resume, but in reality, listing your volunteer efforts not only says a lot about you personally, but also helps to add depth to your resume, explain your lack of employment, or speak to what you were doing during employment gaps.

Additionally, if you are a recent college grad struggling to add content to your resume, consider listing professional organizations you are or were affiliated with while in school such as business fraternities, participation in student government, etc.

Stay tuned as the next article in this series will discuss the rule on listing relevant work in your resume.

Written by Katie Fidler

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you considering a career change? We specialize in clinical recruiting! You can sign up for our Job Seeker email course which provides valuable insight into how to become more competitive in the marketplace.

5 Outdated Job Search Myths

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentNow that you are searching for a job I am sure you are getting tons of unsolicited advice on what you should be doing to land that dream job.

But let me ask you a question:  Are you sure the tidbits of advice you have received are not outdated?  What if the advice is just downright wrong?  Following outdated job search advice will likely hurt your chances of being competitive as a Job Seeker.  So how do you find out which advice is sound and which advice should be avoided?

To arm yourself against poor job search advice, take a look at the following top 5 outdated job search myths listed below:

Myth #1:  Your resume can only be one page.  This is one of the most ridiculous pieces of advice out there!  Of course all your content should be relevant; however you should focus on providing enough great job qualification content to show the hiring manager you are competitive for the position.  So don’t worry about some arbitrary page limit!

Myth #2:  Include “references available upon your request” on the bottom of your resume.  This statement is about as relevant to your ability to do the job as you stating you love long walks on the beach and know how to needlepoint.  Believe me, if the hiring manager wants references, she will request them!  Be sure to only include content relevant to how you meet the job qualifications in your resume.

Myth #3:  Include an objective.  Including an objective in your resume can be catastrophic.  One of my applicant’s resume objectives stated “To obtain an entry level position as a financial analyst in a company where I will be able to grow and meet new challenges”.  Not a bad objective, right? The problem is he was applying for a position with me as a recruiter…YIKES!

I recommend leaving the objective off and if you feel you need to craft a message, a well written cover letter will be a million times more effective than an objective!

Myth #4:  Mail or fax your resume to perspective employers…or better yet, drop your resume off in person.  Believe me when I say you won’t stand out…you will look outdated!  It is extremely rare for businesses to accept applications or job inquiries any other way except electronically.  I would recommend you not even invest in good resume paper as hard copy resumes are a thing of the past.

Myth #5: Frame your “weakness” as a positive.  Being asked to describe one of your weaknesses is probably one of the toughest questions to expect during an interview.  When a Hiring Manager asks you this question, she is not only analyzing whether or not you recognize your weaknesses, but wants to know if you have a plan to do something about them.

Answering this question is a chance for you to show your self-awareness as well as your willingness to continually improve as a professional.  Spend time preparing for this question so you dazzle your future employer with your maturity.  Whatever you do, do not attempt to fluff your way through this question by using a false positive, self-serving statement like “I work too many hours”, “I am too hard on my team”, or “I am a perfectionist”.  Your interviewer will see straight through this type of answer and will not be impressed.

I do hope this “myth buster” article has been of benefit.

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you considering a career change? We specialize in clinical recruiting! You can sign up for our Job Seeker email course which provides valuable insight into how to become more competitive in the marketplace.

Candidates, Do Employment Gaps Matter?

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentLife happens.  Layoffs happen.  New babies happen.  Relatives become sick, people take time off from work to go to school, and many other things occur which could result in a significant resume gap.

A gap in your work history is a reality many job seekers face.

So how do you handle employment gaps so they do not impede your chances of winning a great job opportunity?

Unexplained Employment Gaps – are your Gaps really Gaps?

Never leave employment gaps up for the hiring manager’s imagination to explain!  In many cases the gaps are not really “employment” gaps but are due to other reasonable explanations such as:

1.  Working towards a degree or certification

2.  Having and/or caring for children

3.  Taking time off to handle a personal health issue

4.  Dealing with a serious illness in your immediate family

Many people will experience at least one of these instances throughout their work history and by simply explaining why there is a gap in your work history you will mitigate many concerns the hiring manager has.

How to explain your Employment Gaps

Many recruiters will tell you to be prepared to explain your employment gaps during the interview.  I DISAGREE.

In today’s market, only a small percentage of applicants make it to the interview stage.  I recently posted an in-house Data Entry position and received 772 applicants for that one opportunity.  As the hiring manager I had to be smart about which candidates I would speak with and unfortunately, those candidates who had a trend of short job tenured positions and unexplained employment gaps were the first to be culled from the applicant pile.

So how do you win the interview even though you have gaps in your work history?  Be up front about your situation.  Write a cover letter which clearly and succinctly explains your employment gaps.  Additionally, be sure to speak to how you have kept your skills up even though the gaps exist.

By taking just a few extra moments of time at the submission stage you will be more likely to be awarded that coveted interview.

Should you attempt to hide your Employment Gaps in your resume?

I will make this one super simple – no.

Recruiters and Hiring Managers are wise to the many tricks people use with their resumes to hide their employment gaps.  It is always better to be open about your past work history and your current situation.  Some simple things to think about:

1.  Don’t “stretch” the dates of employment of previous positions to cover gaps in your work history.  When a background check and employment verification is performed it will become clear you falsified your resume and this will be a deal breaker.

2.  Don’t eliminate the dates of employment for your previous positions.  Additionally, don’t only use years (and not include months) when listing work dates on your resume.  While this practice can cover several months of unemployment it is clear to the hiring manager you are hiding something.

3.  Don’t get fancy with the formatting of your resume hoping this will hide your gaps.  Not using traditional formatting can make it more difficult for the hiring manager to see your qualifications too!

4.  Don’t worry about explaining gaps that happened 10 years ago.  Employers are more concerned with your recent work history.

I hope you find this article useful and if you have any experiences to share, suggestions or questions please feel free to comment.

Investing in a Lifetime of Success

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you considering a career change? We specialize in clinical recruiting! You can sign up for our Job Seeker email course which provides valuable insight into how to become more competitive in the marketplace.

Not Just for Your Friends: Social Media Etiquette

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentRemember the pictures from that wicked Halloween party last year? You know, the one where you dressed up as a sexy nurse and had fourteen beers too many? What about the status update you posted last week when you were so frustrated with your boss and the things he makes you do around the office? Or that LinkedIn profile that you haven’t bothered to complete? You might think that the information you put on your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts has little or no effect on your professional life, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. According to a Vault.com survey, 44% of hiring managers search social media sights when screening candidates, and 39% said they search current employees as well! When you’ve spent so much time and effort building an impressive resume and acquiring the skills needed to excel in your field, why let your social media presence ruin your chances of landing that dream job? Following these tips will save you from letting your social media sites eliminate you as a serious candidate or worker.

  • First off, it is not necessary to completely eliminate your social media presence. Often times hiring managers will search your profile just to get an idea as to the kind of person you are outside of the office. If they notice that you have no online presence at all, they might think that you have limited social skills or are unable to stay relevant in today’s social media-centered world. The safest way to build and update your social media profiles is to consider them a less formal extension of your resume.
  • Make sure your professional social profiles, such LinkedIn, are completed and updated regularly. Employers take it as a sign of laziness and lack of initiative if they find your profile and the only information you’ve contributed is your name and the job you had a Wendy’s when you were 16.
  • Make sure that the pictures and information you share are appropriate. For pictures, a rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t print them out and give them to your grandma to look at, then don’t post them on your profile. Similarly, if your posts and updates are riddled with curse words and derogatory statements, employers will assume you will bring that attitude into the workplace and immediately dismiss you as a candidate.
  • Avoid “friend-ing” or “following” current employees of the organization or company you’re trying to join. While this may seem irrelevant, most people do not want to be contacted and harassed by strangers who they may or may not one day work with. Similarly, use good judgment when posting things on the company’s profile. Don’t post things that are contrary to the company’s values or views, even if you feel you are in the right. Also, don’t feel compelled to respond to every post the company makes. This will portray you as shut-in who seldom leaves their computer.

There is nothing wrong with having a social media presence as long as it is reflects your professionalism. Because so many employers search social media sites to gather information during the candidate screening process, it is essential that you careful monitor your sites and share photos and information that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to show a potential employer in person.

Written by Katie Fidler

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
Facebook

Are you considering a career change? We specialize in clinical recruiting! You can sign up for our Job Seeker email course which provides valuable insight into how to become more competitive in the marketplace.