Tips to Thrive – Build Your Resume

Your resume should be an ongoing work in progress. What that means is that to thrive in the world of work, you always want to be thinking about how you are growing your professional skills and how they factor into your resume. Every job provides learning and growth opportunities, and it is up to you to recognize those opportunities and take advantage of them.

	Say Yes to Opportunities Whether you are asked to take on new responsibilities, participate in a training, or shift departments, you should consider each opportunity that is put in front of you. While not every opportunity will be right for you, don’t allow yourself to be so risk averse that you fail to seize an opportunity for growth.
	Acknowledge All Growth Redwood trees didn’t grow overnight, and neither will your professional skillset. All growth is incremental, and you need to acknowledge the seemingly inconsequential improvements you make. Success is built one step at a time and every step forward you take is something to be recognized.
	Embrace Change The only constant is change, and learning how to quickly embrace it will set you apart from all the rest. When a change presents itself, don’t wallow in what once was – instead, be the one leaning in and moving forward. Change can be scary because there are so many unknowns, but if you embrace it and commit to being successful no matter what, you will thrive.
	Keep a Success Journal Chances are you experience several professional wins and successes throughout the year. It is also likely that you celebrate those successes very briefly, move on quickly, and tend to forget about them. Keeping a journal where you record professional successes will not only provide you with a motivator when times get tough, it will also be helpful should you need to recall them for someone else.
	Keep Your Resume Up to Date Sometimes people forget that their resume is a living and breathing document, and they tend to only dust it off when they find themselves looking for a new job. Unless you are actively looking for work, it is a good idea to review and update your resume every six to twelve months. Keeping your resume up to date allows you to really reflect on your professional accomplishments and highlight the most notable ones.

Want more tips to help you thrive in the world of work? Click below.

Make Your Resume Work For You

Resumes are to job seeking as tires are to cars. They are a core component to helping move you forward. They need regular updating and maintenance, and there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. Knowing this, what can you do to ensure that your resume is working for you?

Less is More

One of the most common misconceptions about resumes is that they should be an exhaustive list of all your accomplishments and professional history. In actuality, a resume should be a brief advertisement that creates just enough intrigue for the reader to call you in for an interview. When preparing a resume you want to be clear, succinct, and focus on the past 10 years of work experience. Naturally, you want to highlight all of your accomplishments to help you showcase all that you bring to the table, but the reality is that less is more, and paring your resume down to no more than two pages is going to help ensure that your resume is more likely to be well-received.

Formatting Matters

You may wonder how you can stand out in a stack of 8.5 x 11in sheets of paper that all look the same – well, it is important to note that gimmicks are unlikely to help. When developing your resume, it is best to stick with traditional formatting. While you want to be noticed, stand out, and be remembered – you want that to happen for all the right reasons. Avoid using flashy fonts, colors, and images, and have trust that the content is what makes a difference.

Keep it Relevant

When preparing your resume, you should always design it for the reader. While you want to showcase your talents and skills, you must consider which of your many talents is most relevant to the job you are applying to, and the person reviewing your resume. Due to the sheer volume of resumes that an employer receives for any given position, chances are they are quickly scanning through them, seeking out certain keywords to narrow the stack down to just a couple that they are interested in speaking with. By focusing only on your relevant skills, you are greatly increasing the likelihood of being moved into the ‘yes’ pile.

Qualification Summary

It used to be that all resumes contained a section at the top called the objective. This was a simple section where an applicant would describe their career interests and goals. While a feel-good section, ultimately it never really spoke to the employer. It is said that you need to capture the reader’s attention in the first 3rd of your resume – and the best way to do that is by including a brief qualifications summary. This is where you can immediately call attention to why they should read on and consider you for the job.

Proofread

It seems that something so simple shouldn’t need to be said, but proofreading is a critical step in the resume process. Not only should you be reviewing your resume for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and relevancy – you should also rely on a trusted friend to proofread for you as well. Having that second set of eyes can make a world of difference. When someone proofreads their own writing it is easy to miss something important because you are prone to focus more on what your thoughts are versus the actual mechanics of what was written. In addition to proofreading for traditional errors, you also want to double-check that you have provided accurate and appropriate contact information.

Would You Call Yourself To Interview?

In closing, before you hit send, ask yourself – “would I call myself in for an interview?” If for any reason you are hesitant to say yes, that may signal that you need to make some adjustments to the content of your resume or possibly consider if this job is even a good fit. Remember, not every job is right for every person. Your goal is to seek out and apply to jobs that you can be successful in.

Ask Manpower: Applying And Not Hearing Back

Ask Manpower:

I have been applying to a bunch of jobs, but it seems like I never hear back. What should I do?

This is a question we hear a lot in our business. Understandably, job seekers find themselves frustrated when they are applying to multiple jobs and not hearing back. If you have found yourself out of work unexpectedly, or if you desperately need to make a job change it is already a stressful time and not hearing back can feel incredibly defeating. While we cannot guarantee that you will hear back from every company you apply to, we do have some tips that will help you get noticed and increase the likelihood of being called back.

Be More Selective About What You Are Applying For

Yes, you want/need a job. And you are likely willing to do just about anything – only, it really isn’t that simple. When an employer is looking to hire, they are looking for people that have both the direct working experience and skills necessary to do the job. The world of work moves at a rapid pace and it leaves little time for training staff. So if you are applying to a ton of jobs, it is likely that you are not being as selective as you should be and carefully applying to positions that are a match for your skills and experience.

When searching for work, be sure to thoroughly read through the job description. Pay close attention to the skills and experience they are looking for. Can you clearly describe to this employer what you bring to the table and how it will help you be successful in this role? If so, great – continue on to the next step. If not, you should probably spend your time looking for another opportunity.

Take the Time to Modify Your Resume for Each Job

As noted above, every ‘good’ job advertisement is going to clearly outline the skills, experience, and qualifications that they are looking for in a candidate. They may use different terms or acronyms to describe what they do. They may call special attention to a certain quality that they are looking for. Before you just send off that same old resume that you have sent to every other employer, take the time to ensure that you are including that information.

The reality is, most employers do not have the time to fully read every resume they get due to having other responsibilities as well as the sheer volume of resumes they get. This means that they are likely scanning through resumes to look for those key attributes that they listed in their job description. From there they will quickly identify a couple people that they are interested in speaking with. The others will likely get placed in the no pile, never to be revisited again.

Double-check Your Contact Information

As simple as this may seem, you would be surprised how often this is an issue. In our line of work, we process hundreds of applications and resumes each month. Common issues we see for contact information are: the wrong/disconnected telephone number, an outdated/out of area address, a less than appropriate email, a lack of voicemail access, and transposed numbers. All of these missteps could quickly move you out of the running for a job that you would be a great fit for.

You also want to be fully aware of the information that can be gathered by simply googling your name. Before you dive right in and start applying for your dream job – make the time to do a simple internet search on yourself and adjust settings on your social profiles if there is any chance that it could negatively impact someone’s perception of you.

Follow Up On Your Application

It is perfectly acceptable to follow up on your application for a job that was advertised within a reasonable time frame. We don’t recommend a high-pressure approach though. All too often employers are eager to get a job out there to start accepting applications, but may not have the immediate capacity to follow up on those applications – so a little patience is encouraged. Most employers we know would be okay with an applicant calling to perform a simple follow up 1 week after they submitted their application.

Again, you should take a soft approach when making this contact whether it be through email or over the phone. Simply say something like, “Good morning (hiring manager’s name), I wanted to take a moment to reach out to make sure that you received my application for your (insert job title). Given my experience and what I read about this position, I am very interested in learning more.” This approach let’s the hiring manager know to look for your resume and demonstrates that you are still interested and engaged in the process.

As you can see, while there are pieces of the hiring process that are out of your control – there are still many things you can control.

About Manpower’s General Application Process

Due to the large number of businesses we work with and the wide variety of skills they are looking for – Manpower offers a general application process. What this means is that you can apply directly to Manpower and one of our recruiters will reach out to talk with you about all the skills and experience you offer in order to consider you for many different jobs we are hiring for.

Tag: Resume

Tips to Thrive – Build Your Resume

Say Yes to Opportunities

Acknowledge All Growth

Embrace Change

Keep a Success Journal

Keep Your Resume Up to Date