Writing An Effective Resume by John Koh

Your curriculum vitae or CV creates the first impression that recruiters and prospective employers have of you. Before even meeting with you, your CV already starts selling you, in a positive or negative way.

Your CV is like a mini-biography of you. You will have a compelling story to tell if you have prepared a great CV. Readers will quickly pick up salient points about your skills and work experience in a logical and concise manner. Not only will a great CV generate strong interest in you, it also distinguishes you from others competing with you for the same job.

Conversely, CVs that are unstructured, written poorly or contain missing information typically do not get past the first round of selection. Employers will question your professional ability and your chance of getting a job interview will diminish considerably.

So, how do you prepare a good CV? Here are four key points to help you:

1. Write concisely

A well-written CV is one that is concise and contains all the essential information about you in a simple and readable format.

Job seekers typically err on the two extremes of writing CVs — they are either too lengthy or so brief they hardly say anything about the applicants or the value they can bring to prospective employers.

Keep your CV between four to five pages long. Anything beyond that risks losing the attention or interest of the reader.

2. Talk about yourself

The first section, which draws the reader’s attention, is your personal information. This includes your full name, contact information (telephone numbers, e-mail and home address), education, professional qualifications, technology skills and language skills.

This section should also include a statement or short paragraph about yourself, and a summary of your key strengths and skills, career achievements and aspirations.

Employers typically use this to determine your suitability for the job. It is one of the criteria used to decide whether or not to grant you an interview.

3. Share your work experience

The next section sells you as a potential candidate for a role. Get all your facts right and list your work experience in reverse chronological order.

This means putting your most current work experience first. Employers typically look at your current job and its relevance to the role they are hiring for.

Summarise the scope of your responsibilities neatly and use bulleted points where necessary (if there are more than two areas you wish to cover) to enable the reader to gain an accurate understanding of your role.

Be specific when writing about your job achievements. For example, if you were directly responsible for managing the profit and loss of a department, list down in numerical terms how much you did to increase revenues or save costs.

Also list qualitative achievements, such as job promotions, awards recognising your efforts, or improvements and positive changes you have made during your tenure.

4. Manage flaws in your CV

As you accumulate work experience over the years, how desirable your profile is to a prospective employer depends increasingly on the jobs you have done and the companies you have worked for.

Employers seek to hire candidates with a track record of success in a similar role, as there is greater certainty that they will do well in the role.

Firms are wary of job hoppers as they doubt their staying power after investing in training and inducting them into their jobs.

Conversely, if you stay too long in one job or company, it may raise questions about your ability to adapt to a different environment or job scope.

If this is the case with you, think over carefully the various roles you have filled and skills you have learned over your long tenure.

How many times have you been promoted within your role? Have you been exposed to different functions across the firm? How much of your experience would be directly relevant to the new employer?

Another potential flaw in your CV is the appearance of gaps. This is common especially in the current economic environment in which a significant number of people are retrenched or laid off from their work due to corporate restructuring.

As much as possible, fill those gaps in your CV with clear descriptions of what you achieved.

Be truthful about what you have or have not done and never be tempted to insert false information in your CV. The truth can easily be verified through reference checking and deception can cost you the job, or worse, tarnish your reputation in the job market.

10 Ways To Get Noticed By Andrew Lucy

In his book, The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, author Seth Godin speaks of the need to continuously differentiate and then re-differentiate to stay ahead of the game and “beat the competition”.

In looking for any new job opportunity, you must see yourself as the product and the employer as the customer. How do you stand out and convince the employer to choose you?

This can also work the opposite way around — as an employer, you want the best candidate to “buy-in” and join you, making you the product and the prospective employee your customer!

Either way, why not first exploit the same principles we all use to attract “real customers” and re-apply them to the task of landing a dream job or dream candidate?

So, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd without donning a fancy dress costume?

I believe there are 10 basic and easily followed traits and actions that can help (eight of which were first prescribed by Richard St John in his book, 8 To Be Great: The 8 Traits That Lead To Great Success).

1. Passion

This is at the top of the list and is often referred to as “fire in the belly”. If you enjoy what you do and who you do it with, feel motivated, acknowledged and rewarded for it, money becomes secondary. But it will come, as a natural consequence of the passion you have and the success to which that drive leads.

2. Hard work

Realise that results should, and will, be rewarded, but don’t ignore effort and hard work. They are essential and need to be encouraged and recognised, whether or not there is an immediate pay off in dollars and cents.

As an employer, dismantle the fear culture and bring on the incentives. Even a donkey will kick out against the stick eventually, but he will always follow the carrot.

3. Practise

Get really good at something. Listen, question, practise, learn — and always think!

4. Focus

Don’t run around trying to do everything. Concentrate and excel process by process. If you are the employee, showcase your top skills. If you are the employer, your primary business and the culture you establish are your key attractions.

5. Keep pushing

As an employee, push through shyness, self-doubt and being passed over. Find a mentor and let him or her help you grow. Then move on to the next opportunity.

As an employer, press on through downturns by valuing and preserving your staff and communicating with them. One day, it will be you who needs them more and they will return the favour with their loyalty and wholehearted support, rather than through grudging self-preservation.

6. Build a service culture

Don’t just offer service. Give your customers, employers and employees something they want or need, and for which they are prepared to pay or work to obtain and keep. Make your culture one that serves something of real value.

7. Persist

Never give up and don’t let negative people hold you down! Everyone fails now and then. The winners are those that seek the distinctive “purple cow”, swim through the sludge, turn it to manure and reap the harvest.

8. Let the ideas flow

Good ideas come from observation, curiosity, asking questions, solving problems, networking, connecting and risk-taking!

No one can ever become remarkable by conforming — sometimes it is best to simply go with your gut.

9. Accept feedback

Warmly embrace criticism, complaints and failure as useful feedback. Only through your mistakes can you grow, learn and improve. Then can you become truly remarkable.

10. Connect with people

Communicate with your customers, your employees, your employers and your colleagues on an emotional level not just a commercial one.

But, more than that: delight each other! Always go beyond what is necessary to close the deal and provide not just what is expected, but what is needed. Those are things that you can only discover by listening more than you speak.

Remember that when you pay for attention, it becomes merely advertising and hyperbole, and people think that you are just trying to sell them something.

Instead, win loyalty from your new customers and your old ones, and from your staff and your employers. Loyalty is generated by people feeling good about you and spreading the word.

While marketing can sustain you and may bring in a few more leads, loyalty and the brand image that comes with it can truly grow your business and your reputation — and make you an employer or employee of choice.

"Want to be headhunted?" by Laletha Nithiyanandan

You hear about a friend landing a great job through a headhunter and you wonder what he has that you haven’t.

How does someone become a target for headhunters? What do they look for?

These days, employers are very specific about their needs, and using headhunters to locate talent has become a popular option.

Here are some of the more employable traits that employers and headhunters seek:

Expertise in your field

When headhunters start mapping an industry, they talk to people within that industry.

They ask these people to recommend who they think is the best or is known for a specific line of work.

This means you need to be visible and be among the best in your field.

Some people do this by attending industry events and conferences.

Others write articles and speak at conferences, so they are known and looked up to for their opinions and views.

Value-added skills

In this multi-cultural and diverse environment, some profiles stand out even more.

Headhunters seek people with skills, experience or exposure that can add value to their clients’ organisations.

This includes overseas postings, assignments or educational exposure and the ability to speak other languages.

“As headhunters, we often see one candidate losing out to another just based on some of these attributes,” says Mr Mark Lam, principal consultant at BTI Consultants.

He recommends that young managers gain overseas exposure and be willing to live and work abroad.

Positive image

While social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are popular, people in senior or high-profile positions must be vigilant in monitoring what gets published about themselves.

Also monitor what your children say about you in sites like Facebook.

Their comments may be fine in a social setting but if you are interviewing for a job, some personal information is best kept private.

Background

Where you come from in terms of education, family background and your social circles are important in some jobs.

Some headhunters want to know more about your background and family circumstances because they know that sometimes it just takes one family member to influence a candidate from taking a job.

Employment status

A company usually uses headhunters when it wants to reach passive candidates who are not actively looking for a change.

From a headhunter’s perspective, being unemployed can make you less attractive as a candidate.

However, it is prudent to discuss your desire to move from your current role only with those you trust.

People you know

The headhunting profession thrives on connections, so whom you know is important.

Stay on friendly terms with headhunters; they will remember you and keep you in their contact base.

Experience

You would have spent a substantial time in a role, job or company to make a sufficient impact and build a successful track record.

For a more senior position, employers are probably looking for depth of experience.

However, on the flip side, headhunters and employers can also consider breadth of experience a plus, as it can point to a candidate’s versatility and adaptability to different challenges and environments and cultures.

Strategic career move

Be strategic with your career move.

Don’t get enticed by just the lure of an attractive package or title. While you know this is common sense, even very senior-level candidates make this mistake.

Consider longer-term impact, employability and lifestyle changes when you accept an offer.

Credibility of headhunter

The term “headhunting” can be used rather loosely. Just approaching a prospect about an available job isn’t really headhunting.

Check out the headhunter before you divulge any information about yourself.

Company reputation, experience in the business and reputation of the senior leadership team are all factors that separate a good headhunter from one who is just trying to earn a fee.

Career decisions are big decisions, and getting headhunted is just the start of that process. Be open to discussion and be wise.

Put More Energy Into Your Job Search By Atul Mathur

If you are looking for a job, what is the way to stand out from the crowd and improve your chances of getting hired? The answer lies in understanding your conduct in your daily life.

You don’t climb the stairs to reach a higher storey when you can take a lift. You don’t walk up to the TV to flip channels when you can do so with a remote control. And you don’t visit a bank when a transaction can be completed over the Internet.

From dishwashers and washing machines to software, online reservations and ready-to-eat foods, most of the gadgets, technologies and services are aimed at a basic human quest: to minimise effort and time.

When it comes to the job market, however, the tendency to minimise effort and time can prove to be counter-productive. But, if you stay off the path of least effort during your job search, you could enjoy better prospects. Here is how it works:

The resume

The quickest way to apply for a job is to update an old resume and send it out to as many employers as possible. That is the path of least effort, often leading to not-so-favourable outcomes.

First, when you prepare a resume without spending sufficient effort and time on it, it is likely to be longer than necessary, vague, complex, unimpressive and may contain errors.

Second, when you send a standard resume to multiple employers, it fails to connect with their unique requirements and convey your true value. The likely destination of all such resumes is the rejection pile.

If you wish to open doors for interviews, make an effort to:

• tailor your resume according to each potential employer’s unique needs;


• keep it short — two or three pages is enough;


• make the information easy to grasp by using bullets and headings/sub-headings;


• use short and clear sentences;


• support your credentials with specific examples and data;


• and avoid grammatical and spelling errors.

These actions require more effort and time, but they are worth it, for recruiters pay attention to resumes that are relevant, clear and tailored to their unique needs.

Job opportunities

The conventional way to search for a job is to look for openings in the newspaper and on the Internet. In addition, you could try two more simple but proven strategies, which require extra effort.

First, go for networking! Get in touch with all your friends, colleagues and relatives, and seek their help in guiding you to new job opportunities. Networking is like adding 40 to 50 more pairs of eyes to your own to look out for a new job.

Another powerful strategy is to get directly in touch with potential employers even if they have not advertised any vacancies. This method requires guts, but it works if you can contact the right person at the right place.

Interviews

If you present yourself at an interview with a mindset that an interview is about answering questions, you are part of the crowd. Most people expect recruiters to ask probing questions to dig out relevant information and then make an assessment of their suitability.

Now, imagine a job seeker who takes the lead during an interview to not only demonstrate an understanding of the employer’s challenges, but also shows how she, with her relevant credentials, could meet those challenges. Don’t you think recruiters would be inclined to go for such a promising candidate?

The key is not to present yourself in an interview as a bundle of degrees, certificates and designations. Instead, do your homework before an interview and present yourself as the best solution to the employer’s specific challenges.

The bottom line: Remember, the tendency to go down the path of least effort is natural, but the job market is more likely to reward you if you deliberately put in extra effort at every stage of your job search process.