Experts offer advice, tips
CRANBERRY TWP — When applying for jobs the first impression given to a potential employer comes way before the interview.
It comes on two documents — the resume and cover letter.
Gary Schwartz, franchise owner of Express Employment Professionals with five locations in the greater Pittsburgh area, said a resume to an employer is a document that is a sales pitch to the employer about what an applicant has.
“When I am looking at a resume I am looking for something that's going to tell me a story about the applicant,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said there is no such thing as a resume that is too long or too short.
He noted that job seekers who are 50 and above might want to consider creating a functional resume. A functional resume lists experiences in skill clusters and leaves out dates and might not list specific jobs and employers.
“I think what a lot of employers really don't like about resumes are that they get people (who say) they are qualified for a position that are not necessarily always qualified and not telling enough of a story about why they are a good candidate for the job,” he said.
Schwartz said he believes that every person should have multiple resumes that are tailored for specific jobs.
“From an employer's perspective it is much more powerful,” he said. “The more current you keep something, the better off I think it is for everybody involved.”
Schwartz said one of the biggest things he can tell with people when looking at a resume is that people need to make sure there are not typographic errors in it.
“You gotta' make sure that you've read it, that it is current and it's fresh,” he said. “This is basically your 'in' to trying to get into a company you desire to work for.”
Schwartz said it does not matter if a person is a dishwasher or a CEO, everyone should have a resume. It gives candidates the opportunity to point out things about what they did to help their company, such as being the employee of the quarter and other accomplishments.The other thing is that an applicant needs to explain gaps in their resumes, he said. Like if someone took five years off to raise their children and have decided to return to the work force. There is also an opportunity were an applicant can talk about while at home they worked on family budgeting and got some real-world practical skills. Another example are applicants who know how to use different kinds of software should make sure to list that on their resumes.Schwartz said it is better “to under promise than over deliver.” His advice is to make sure everything on the resume is truthful. His other recommendation is to explain your job title if it is hard to understand and how it correlates to the position being sought.The other thing is employers can tell when an applicant is just sending out the same resumes and cover letters just with different names on them, Schwartz said.“If it is the job you want, shouldn't you invest the time in preparing to be the best possible candidate?”Schwartz said he also can't stress enough that job seekers should send a personalized thank-you note in the mail, because it is going to get a person noticed. His other piece of advice was to always ask questions at the interview and carry a notebook to write things down during the interview.“Always have the thank-you note as the last piece when you are leaving,” he said. “It is just powerful. If it is a two-horse race and you are one of the two horses you send a thank you card immediately after the interview and the other person didn't that might be the thing to put you on top.”Schwartz said he recommends job seekers to check out refreshleadership.com, which is a blog by Express Employment Professionals. Some of the topics on the blog are emerging leaders, executive insights, leadership and management, human resources, small business, workplace and several other topics.
