posted
It's been several months since we had one of these. Okay, my First draft is based on the seemingly idiotic idea that first person pronouns do not belong in a resume. Also, the format is somewhat dictated by the classifieds database I entered it on.
posted
You've got a wide range of objectives - office management, HR, and accounting. Those are three pretty different fields, and the HR person doing the hiring is going to look for different things.
My advice would be have three different resumes, one for each type of position you want, and in the body of the resume, put emphasis on whatever field you're applying for.
For ex, if you're applying to be an HR manager, put that as your objective, stress your experience with payroll and be sure to mention any experience you've had doing interviewing, hiring/firing, or conflict resolution.
If you decide to make HR a career (and it's a very good one) you'll need some law training. That's just the way it is nowadays. See if there are any employment law seminars going on. There's even some kind of certification process for HR professionals in employment law, I'll have to ask my Mom, she's done it. She now not only makes good money as an HR executive, but does outside consulting for other companies because of her experience and training.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
If you can put more about working with a team. I know, I know. But now a days seems like that is a big question in interviews. Also, if you can jazz anything up with any awards or projects you did. You might consider adding a community service section on the bottom. If you’ve volunteered for anything or work at your church you can throw that in there. Makes it look like you’re someone who gets involved in things. Which of course they’ll eat up since they want someone to be involved in their company. The only other thing I noticed that they might ask about and might be helpful is where ya been for the past 5 years or so. Might be able to incorporate that into your objective. Looks good though.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I agree with Belle, but only if it doesn’t take away information. You can emphasis things for certain jobs, but being well rounded is another plus. You might go in interviewing for one position but it’s really something else. Or they might give you the edge since you have those other experiences. Hope that makes sense. I know I’ve interviewed for one job, but there were like three different positions all with different specialties.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I've actually been managing the Clinical Bodywork business in the last 5 years. The trouble is I don't really get paid for it, apart from room and board. Though I guess it did get me the last real job I had.
How important is it to fill in all chronological gaps?
And I'm not up for management of a separate HR department at this point. But the three separate resumes is probably a good idea.
P.S. I'm re-registering at Accountemps on Monday. I really think that's my best bet. I can honestly say I'm a wonderful team player. I cannot honestly say I'm proactive or a self starter. But those terms have probably gotten moldy anyway.
posted
I can't take credit for it, CT, my mom lives with me now and occasionally her wisdom rubs off on me.
Some more unsolicited advice (or maybe it is solicited, you did ask
First of all get rid of this:
quote:"type bids, EPA compliance logs, and workplace safety."
Makes you sound like a typist. You need to stress that you had independent responsibilities and that you fulfilled them.
"Responsible for bids and contract preparation and negotiation, and federal regulatory compliance with EPA and OSHA." OSHA is a big key word - if that's what you meant by workplace safety, just say OSHA. OSHA is a nightmare, it's a maze to navigate and anyone with experience in compliance is a valued asset.
quote:Human Resources: payroll, insurance, occupational exposure records, and advance/per diem checks.
Again, you sound more like a payroll clerk to me. You have emphasized what forms you've filled out, not what you've managed.
Did you negotiate the insurance and benefit contracts? If you did, say so!
If not, then at least give a better impression.
"Managed compensation and benefits for X number of employees, including per diem expenses. Handled exposure reports and followed workman's compensation filing procedures. Experienced with the following payroll software systems: ________" (assuming you've used different systems) Workman's comp is another thing they want to see that you've handled before, so get that buzzword in if you can.
quote:Accounts Payable/Receivable: invoicing, processing, logging, filing, and tax coding.
This doesn't belong in the resume for human resources, at least not in top billing with your other skills. You can mention it without giving much emphasis on it - "Various other duties included Accounts Payable and Receivable, and tax coding." No reason to list invoicing, logging, filing, etc. because that's assumed under the mantle of AP/R.
quote:-Reception and other secretarial duties.
Unless you want to be a receptionist, drop this. No reason for it, and any employer that sees your HR experience will assume you can answer the phone and type.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I’d put in the managing for Clinical Bodywork. Sounds good. Can’t hurt. It is more experience. It’s not a must to have everything gap free. But 5 years is a pretty big gap. I know some do the bullets like that. I like the paragraph way. Here’s mine for my current job in my resume:
MRI Technology, Inc.: Systems Engineer, Mar 2004 to Present Subcontractor for SAIC at NASA IV&V facility in Fairmont WV. Perform Independent verification and validation of spacecraft software. Projects included SDO (Solar Dynamic Observatory) and JWST (James Web Space Telescope). Performed tractability in user requirements and specifications throughout the software lifecycle, including code analysis, while finding risks and severity levels for project issues. Received training in various tools included SuperTrace, Polyspace, Rational Rose Real time, and others. Also helped with other networking and server duties as needed. Project Lead: Michael Kearns (304) ***-****
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
The sample of Mrs. M's that you posted is in much more "functional" style instead of the old "chronological" style.
It is mean to be short, to the point, with a punch. Focus on the actual skills rather than who the former employers were. That way you can include non-paid experience as well.
A short version of my functional is Here The idea of a functional is to highlight and emphasize skills and types of experiences, while mentioning actual employer names, date, and education as more of an afterthought. To grab them in those first ten seconds of browsing the page.
posted
Belle's advice is great. In the different resumes for each position, I would sublty alter the order and emphasis on your experience to focus on the specific objective.
Action words are your friend, the more specific the better. Prepared is better than responsible for, both are better than managed, all are better than "worked on."
quote:I agree with Belle, but only if it doesn’t take away information. You can emphasis things for certain jobs, but being well rounded is another plus.
Not necessarily. I've sat with Mom when she went through resumes, and I've helped her cull them. Immediate throwaways are bad grammer and misspellings. If they can't get a resume right, she won't trust them to do anything else.
But resumes chock full of every little thing the person has done is not something she wants to see. It can call to mind the "Jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome. It also makes you think "Why did this person do so many things, could they just not find one thing they were good at?"
In pooka's case, not so much, because she's been a small business office manager and they by nature have to know a lot of things. But what I'm saying is a good HR person is going to know and understand that, and she can by the virtue of what she stresses control what the potential hirer focuses on, and still mention the other things she knows without making her resume seem cluttered.
She can stress it in her cover letter (which sometimes Mom makes more of a big deal over than the resume, her thinking is there are so many resume-helps out there, the cover letter can reveal more of the person than the resume does)
"As a small-business office manager, I'm used to multi-tasking and handling a diverse range of responsibilities including bookkeeping, payroll, and regulatory compliance." That sentence right there would tell an HR person what type of applicant she has on her hands.
Another thing that will annoy Mom and get her not to consider you - a phone number listed without an answering machine or voice mail. If she tries to call you and there is no answer and no way for her to leave a message, she tosses that resume aside. I've heard her say more than once - "If they wanted a job, they'd have an answering machine."
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote: (they actually have a road in SLC called Amelia Earhart Way)?
Yeah, but it's hard to find. :ba da bing:
I really appreciate these suggestions. The reason I included typing bids is that it takes an insane degree of accuracy, but I'll find some other way to put that.
quote: It can call to mind the "Jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome.
Well, I did leave off my job harvesting slot machines And a bunch of other stuff. If I leave out the '93 assignment, I think all my long term temp was with Fortune 1000 companies. Is that a good or bad thing to include? Is it called the fortune 1000? I know they changed it from Fortune 500 in 1995.
posted
When I make a resume, I try to have a theme in mind, and make sure everything supports the theme. This makes the resume useful not just for making the interview cut, but for actually influencing the course of the interview in advance.
My theme for law firms was "pretty good law student with real world experience doint the things our clients will need help with and is used to learning new fact patterns in depth quickly."
My theme for public interest jobs was "pretty good law student who is a self-starter and does not let his results be limited by the conventional way of doing things."
The resumes were very similar, but keeping the themes in mind helped me decide what order to put things, what to emphasize, and how to structure it. I had to cut stuff off my resume, because we were strictly limited to one page.
posted
I've definitely reached the stage in life where I can trim off stuff. If I were going for publishing/editing this would be a very different resume.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Right on again Belle. All I was really meaning was not to go overboard when narrowing it down for a specific job. Don’t totally eliminate things. But you are so true about over doing it. I once saw a resume, for a tech writer, that had a whole page of computer terms listed. It was so funny. Just one word things in about four columns. Crazy stuff like: mouse, windows, monitor, keyboard, Microsoft. And on and on and on….. So sell yourself without overdoing it and don’t sell yourself short. Sort of the Goldilocks of resume advice.
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posted
A question you can only ask on hatrack: Do I include National Merit Semi-Finalist or not? It's one of the only awards I ever got, but I'm afraid it will make me look like a major slacker. Seeing as how I haven't done much with my life.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
"Do I include National Merit Semi-Finalist or not?"
Good God, no. Rule of thumb: never list anything you won in high school once you're out of college, and never list anything you won in college after you've been out of college for more than five years.
posted
Thanks again everyone. I've been out of college nearly 10 years.
The reason I would even mention what high school I graduated from is that I heard some people talking about it in a hiring conference (weeding out resumes in the cubicle next to mine). It seemed really odd, but this is Utah.
posted
Here's a question: I graduated from college a year and a half ago, but I'm still listing my high school diploma in the Education section of my resume. I got an International Baccalaureate diploma, something I worked really hard for and am proud of, but should I cull it off my list at this point?
posted
No. It's a single line item, and you've only been out of college a year. I wouldn't mention that you were class president of your high school, though.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
AJ, I'd say it depends on the sort of job you are going out for. If it is a job in the intellectual area, I would enclude it. If you are just wanting to get into something to pay the bills it is a fine line to look good without seeming overqualified. The question to ask is whether the person is going to know what that means and what conclusion they will draw from it.
An update on me, Accountemps has a very promising lead for me. I went in with my bookkeeping resume and did their tests, but let my contact know that I was open to administrative as well. She called back right after I got home with a job that is finance, administrative and writing /editing which I am waaay excited about. So if you want to send me good vibes you can. I know some of you who pray like a name, and I'm Tricia. (It's not really me with the sh ). I have an interview sometime tomorrow.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
D'oh! Sorry AJ. I can't even remember who Zeugma used to be.
Syn- I have alot of good stuff on my resume, but not much stability at one job. Have you looked into temping much? I like temp because in the past I didn't interview well (what with the anxiety disorder and compulsiveness, I'd either look down or stare unnaturally into people's eyes and the exact wrong things would pop out of my mouth.) It depends a lot on if you need benefits and stuff. When it comes to temp agencies, go to a couple to break yourself in on the evaluations.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Trying to. They have yet to get back to me. I will try again. I hate how I have been to college, graduated and STILL can't get a decent job that involves actual money$
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
My degree (linguistics) is pretty much ballast as well. I didn't understand my strengths and aptitudes when I was younger. I wanted so much to be like my mom (outgoing, arty) and not like my dad (analytical, formal).
I don't know how the interview went. At least I refrained from asking about benefits. I think I may have come off as too diffident and quiet. I didn't realize until the middle of the interview that they were looking for someone with reception skills. Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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And a bunch of other stuff. If I leave out the '93 assignment, I think all my long term temp was with Fortune 1000 companies. Is that a good or bad thing to include? Is it called the fortune 1000? I know they changed it from Fortune 500 in 1995.![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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