I have had some random resume submissions lately from people applying for jobs which they are not qualified. I don’t fault anyone for this attempt- we all had to do it at one time or another in order to get that big break or anticipated career transition. A few of you have emailed me asking for resume advice, and while I normally don’t hand out individual resume critiques, I will offer a few words of wisdom to anyone who is trying to get that big break for a job that is out of their reach: The first thing to understand is the goal: The goal of your resume is to require the reader to think as little as possible. I can already anticipate the comments I am going to get to this statement, but I am willing to stand by it. A recruiter usually has thousands of resumes at their disposal - whether they are online, email, or on paper, and there is always "the next one" in the stack. Learning how to stand out in a crowd of thousands is hard work, and expecting someone to take the time to piece together your intent or implied passion is risky and likely unrealistic. How do you do this? Make your resume look like you are already doing the job you desire. This is tricky to do if you don’t have experience, but you need to put your most relevant skills at the top and utilize keywords in your resume. While we have debated the use of an objective in the past, in this instance I am a big fan of adding it so that the reader knows exactly what you are intending. Also feel free to remove anything that is not applicable; extra details that don’t fit your objective will likely make your resume feel inconsistent. And don’t forget: There are lots of ways to get experience. Whether it is a new certification or degree, a volunteer program, or that HTML website you built in your free time, you can get experience in a variety of ways and add it to your resume. You don’t have to have all the knowledge now, but you do want to show that you are working on it Once you do the work of catching the recruiter’s eye,
Office Professional Plus 2010, they will be more thoughtful about diving in to understand the story you have to tell. Good luck to everyone who is trying to get their big break ... Jenna
Office Professional Plus 2010 blog no-experience
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