4 Tips on Writing a Resume That Sells Your Skills

4 Tips on Writing a Resume That Sells Your Skills 4 Tips on Writing a Resume That Sells Your Skills A resume that leads to better job opportunities must contain the right keywords, powerful action verbs, expanded job details and results, and a targeted format.1. Use KeywordsKeywords are a necessary component of your resume. Does your resume shine with keywords that match the skills the prospective employer seeks in a candidate?Keywords are commonly known as core competencies. In order for your resume to pass through an employers applicant tracking ordnungsprinzip (ATS), youll have to make sure you mention the right keywords and core competencies.The ATS seeks out certain keywordsin every resume, enabling employers to select only candidate with the qualifications, skills, and credentials needed to fill the position. If your resume lacks the keywords employers are looking for, the ATS will toss it out.The keywords you want to include on your resume will depend on the specific job to which you are applying. Read the job description closely to get a feel for the keyskills and competencies a company is looking for, andtry to use language from the description in your resume.2. Deploy Action VerbsAction verbs can make or break a resume.Job candidates should always avoid using the adjective responsible. It is simply an empty word. Itlacks action, and it does not tell the reader of your resume about what you actually did.Remember when your English teacher would say, Show me, dont tell me? The same applies to resume writing. Every sentence aboutyour professional experience should begin with a powerful action verb.What is an action verb? Action verbs are wordsthat express actions somebody has committed. Examples of powerful action verbs include accomplish, administer, advise, analyze, coordinate, design, direct, evaluate, facilitate, implement, identify, supervise, utilize, and transform.3. List Your Job Details and ResultsTruth be told, it is hard to write down what yo u do on a day-to-day basis. So, take a step back and make a list of the top 5-7 tasks you handle or are responsible for at your company. Do you schedule client appointments? Do you supervise or train other employees? Do you do research or analysis of spreadsheets?Do you serve as a liaison to the executive management?While conveying the details of your work histories,we must also go astep further and discuss our job results. Results can include awards youve received, major contributions you made to the company, representative engagements, and even large projects youve led or managed.If your resume only includes job functions andexcludes job results, this can make you appear as an average candidate, instead of a candidate who goes above and beyondthe call of duty. It is recommended that you list at least three results and accomplishments for each position youve held.4.Format Your Resume ProperlyThere is an array oftemplates out there on the Internet that can help you choose a look for your resume. However, keep in mind that, when you send in your resume, an employer will look at it for an average of about six seconds.Consider, too, the fact that hundreds of other applicants may be applying for the same job.It is in your best interest to create a resume that isclean, clear, and concise, with a font that is easy on the eyes. Sans-serif fonts such as Tahoma or Calibri are highly recommended for resumes due to their easy readability.Additionally, remember to hit the fruchtwein important topics and headings on your resume work experience, education, skills, and certifications. Always center your headings, as a readers eyes naturally gaze at the center of a page.A resume is, ultimately, a sales pitch. Your resume must sell your skills clearly, confidently, and assertively if you want to move on to the next step the interview.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pac e during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career. been quoted by The Huffington Post and Business News Daily. She frequently speaks at local colleges and for organizations on resume writing, LinkedIn profiles, and interviewing skills. Wendi is the owner of The Writing Guru, a resume firm based in Miami, Florida, with national clientele.

How to Lose Your Job on Twitter

How to Lose Your Job on Twitter How to Lose Your Job on Twitter Resume Bear has the scoop and some really eye-opening examples of the incredibly dumb things people post zugreifbar.If you are searching for a job or applying to a college or even just hoping to keep the job you have you should be very careful what you say and post online. Four out of five recruiters regularly run web searches to screen job applicants. Potential employers and colleges may find your online profile and make judgment calls based on what they discover. With all of the innovative websites popping up its getting easier than ever to screen students and candidates online.One recruiter I recently spoke to says that she went as far as to set up rss feeds by certain keywords to facilitate the candidate screening process. More and more employers are starting to monitor the online behavior of their employees. A good rule to live by is Dont share anything online that could come back to haunt you later on. Mentioning h ow you get drunk every night or how many times youve lied on your resume wont make you an attractive candidate for potential employers.And if you think that sounds too crazy and no one would ever be that dumb check out the 30 examples they found. Yikesbtw -I dont say anything nearly that exciting, but for job search tips and news, youre welcome to follow me on Twitter.

The Ethical Lessons of Deepwater

The Ethical Lessons of Deepwater The Ethical Lessons of Deepwater For engineers, playing it safe is never the easy way out. Early December 2010 saw the release of two reports issued by groups tasked with deconstructing the deadly and devastating Deepwater Horizon Spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico.The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling commission, appointed by President Obama, and the Deepwater Horizon Study Group (DHSG), formed by members of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management (CCRM) at UC Berkeley, pointed toward many of the same failures.The DHSGs 60 university professors, accident investigators, petroleum engineers, social scientists, environmental advocates, and directors of research centers did go one step further, however, by directly linking mismanagement by the wells owner, British Petroleum, with its drive for profit. Analysis of the available evidence indicates that when given the opportunity to save time and moneyand make moneytradeoffs were made for the certain thingproductionbecause there were perceived to be no downsides associated with the uncertain thingfailure caused by the lack of sufficient protection.With oil and gas development in the deep waters of the Gulf, Arctic, and other new frontier areas set to continue, the DHSG also contends that the risks of such exploration and production pose likelihoods and consequences of catastrophic failures, that are several orders of magnitude greater than previously confronted.Pondering the Worst CaseThe prospects of failures far more severe are chilling. Yet, Lehigh University Professor John Kenly Smith, a chemical engineer who specializes in the history of technology, believes that forcing stakeholders to ponder the absolute worst is the only way to grapple with whats really at stake. If you are going to work in an environment where its physically impossible to go down there and get your hands on the technology, you really have to think of the unthinkable and nobody wants to do that, says Smith. Ill bet every day on that platform there were engineers thinking, If we have a blowout on this thing what will we do?What have we learned in the months since the worst that could happen, in fact, did? Perhaps not much thats new, says Smith, who believes some of the safety failures that led to the disaster stem from whats all predictably human and imperfect in all of us. Whats also clear is that engineers who design and maintain complex systems are in a tough spot. Here, Smith cites a few lessons of the spill1. Numbers can be deceiving. Theres tremendous pressure in the corporate and scientific worlds to convert uncertainty to risk, says Smith. Take an uncertainty, assign it a probability number then run it through a model to obtain data on how likely a failure might be. The problem, though, says Smith, who during his career in industry investigated a number of serious job-related accidents, is that 999 times, people get away with doing unsafe things, and it s only the 1,000th time that something horrible happens.2. Safety has to be hardwired into a firms SOP. Smith cites the success of companies like DuPontthe subject of a book he coauthored, Science and Corporate Strategy DuPont RD, 1902-1980with rewarding teams with the best safety records. You have to really drill it into people and create counterincentives that make them stop and say Will I cost everyone their prize if I get hurt? A hard-core safety-first stand also can relieve the belastung between line functions that bring in the money and the staff people (i.e., engineers who raise the red flags). This is where ethics come in, says Smith The staff functions and engineers need to have the clout to make themselves heard.3. Simplicity has its virtues (i.e., technical controls can create a false sense of security). The jury is still out on why the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer failed. Even if results of the investigations lead to future fixes, blind faith in technology can be dangerous, Smith warns When facing a problem theres a tendency to add equipment like a blowout preventer, and think Problem solved. In this case, it didnt work. Additionally, he cautions, adding complexity to a system can inject more ways the pieces of the system can interact and produce unpredictable outcomes.4. Think broadly. As the saying goes Its not enough to guard against the failures that have already occurred. Those that havent happened yet are the ones to fear most. Organizations need to prepare for the unthinkable, and when that happens, go beyond devising ways to keep that particular failure from happening again. Engineers are taught to be problem solvers rather than broad thinkers, says Smith. When something goes wrong, the focus should be on what was the thinking that got us in this stelle?5. Know where you work. Engineers, says Smith, have always faced one central dilemma Are we independent professionals who provide objective assessments based on our training and ethic s? Or are we employees who do what the boss says? Clearly society needs the former, and because of that, he contends, its important to know an organizations history before you join it As a young engineer buried down at the bottom of an org chart, you might not see much or really know what a place is about. But studying up on whos running the company and the values it was founded upon can provide important clues about what to expect when its time to take a tough stand.Marion Hart is an independent writer.999 times, people get away with doing unsafe things, and its only the 1,000th time that something horrible happens.John Kenly Smith, Professor, Lehigh University