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Resumes: Know Your Audience and How To Deliver Them!May 26 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Advice on how what methods to use to deliver a resume, and how to target your work experience toward a different industry. In my company, we have had some recent promotional opportunities and transfers. As a result, my department has recruited every position from Director, Manager, Computer Technician, to Administrative Assistant in the past month. We have had a flood of resumes, phone calls, application screenings, interviews, and hiring committee meetings to find the perfect fit for each opening. Unfortunately, that has not been an easy task. Although we have had a lot of applicants for each position, many candidates were not prepared when they sent in their resumes or came to the interview. Know Your Audience (or the Company in which you are applying for) I work for a large, well-known Internet retail provider. That is why it surprises me to see that many applicants had career objectives that were not suitable on their resumes. For example, I received resumes for the director (the advertisement stated 8 years management experience in a retail or customer service environment) with job objectives that read “Nursing” or “Travel Agent.” Of course, this was not what we were looking for. As a Human Resource Manager, this makes me wonder: 1. Are they just applying to every job, and not reading the position descriptions? 2. Did they want the job, but did not take the time to update their resume? 3. Do they really want the job? 4. Do they pay attention to detail? If any of those answers are no, then it is a waste of both the applicant and employers time to proceed with an interview. So my advice is: know the company in which you are applying for. If you do not have experience in that particular industry, tailor your resume to your strengths that could apply to that particular industry. For example, the applicant with the “travel agent” objective could have modified his resume to focus on his “customer focus” and his ability to work with ability to work with a wide variety of people. Make sure that your resume is a fit for the advertisement for the job in which you are applying. Avoid industry terminology or abbreviations from your previous jobs that do not apply. This is often confusing, and may appear that you cannot adapt into another environment. When I review resumes, I look for: • Work experience • Education and specialized training • Relevant achievements or activities (awards or professional affiliations) • Contact information (address, phone number and email) Many employers consider personal information such as personal hobbies, past salary history, and reasons for leaving a company useless on the resume. That information should be covered in the application and interview. The resume should be a detailed format of your accomplishments and experience as an applicant, not a basic employment application. That is why it is frustrating when applicants don’t take the time to complete an application, and write “see resume.” (This may also look as if an applicant does not take the extra time to make a good impression) The resume should provide insight into the candidates work experience and abilities. The application should fill in the blanks about past salaries and contact information with previous employers. How to Deliver the Resume The way you apply for a job can be almost as important as the resume you are delivering. There are many different ways to apply for a job, some will work better than others: 1. Emails- I actually prefer emails, because I can read and respond during the best time of the day for me. This also allows an employer to establish a written rapport before ever meeting the applicant. When sending emails, make sure that they are sent in a standard format (such as Microsoft Word or in a text file). 2. Mailed in resume- I like getting a nice copy of a resume. However, it does not have any value unless there is a cover letter that is included. 3. Internet resumes – Monster.com and other such websites are good resources for employers to get a glimpse at an applicant’s resume (at any time) without the initial direct contact the applicant. This is the what I refer to as the "blind date resume" because someone else is setting it up! 4. ”Drop-offs” - Only drop off a resume if you plan on doing just that, but I think that it is often intrusive when people just come in and ask to speak to the hiring manager. I had some guy do that this week when I was in the middle of a meeting. He told the receptionist he would wait for me, although she told him that I was going into a two-hour meeting! I told her to have him drop it off so that we could review it. When I got out of the meeting, I had three voice mails from him! 5. Send a Fax- This is quick, but is sometimes difficult to read some copies. This is the method that I prefer least due to that reason. If you do send a fax copy (due to a time deadline), make sure that you send a clean mailed copy, as well. 6. Employee Referral- This can a good way to get your foot in the door if you know someone is a good employee of the company you are applying for. However, be considerate of your contact person and let them make the initial delivery, then let them step away from the process. I have many employees drop off applications, then come back to ask if I plan on interviewing their friend. That often puts me in a precarious situation, especially when the person was not someone that we were considering. Whatever method you decide to use in your job search, do not give up. I am a firm believer that there is a right fit for everyone. Good luck in your job search!  |
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