Monthly Archives: June 2010

How To Use Sample Resume Objectives To Make A Strong Objective

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When you start a job application at a company and send in your resume, you can be sure that many other people are doing the exact same thing, competing with you for that very same job opening. You need to do as much as you can to make your resume stand out from amongst the inevitable crowd of people who will also be sending the company their resumes. One way you can do is to include a resume objective and an easy way to craft a good resume objective is to make use of sample resume objectives.

What Exactly is a Resume Objective?

A resume objective is a statement of your goals for employment, such as obtaining a management position in a large software firm, developing greater leadership skills, leading a team of engineers, and designing innovative changes to an established system. Such a statement of objectives regarding employment is an excellent way of letting your prospective employer know that you are clear about your goals and where you see yourself going. This is important because many employers think that this reflects well on an employee’s ability to manage his responsibilities.

How do Sample Resume Objectives come in Useful?

The difficulty in writing a resume objective is how and where to start. It is here that sample resume objectives will be extremely useful to you. Sample resume objectives are examples that have been written by professionals in the field of resume writing and made available on the internet for job applicants the world over. There are, however, certain things that you need to take note of if you decide to use sample resume objectives to help you craft your own resume objective.

Incorporating Sample Objectives Into Your Own Objective

The most important thing about sample resume objectives that you must realize is that, if you can get access to them, then everyone else can too. This means that you will have to be very careful about using them only to give you ideas and not copying any part of them outright, lest your interviewer throw your entire resume aside after seeing that you made use of the same resume objective sample that many hundreds of people have probably made use of before.

One of the most common difficulties people face when writing a resume objective is achieving the appropriate level of detail and conciseness. You hardly want to send in a resume with the objective ‘get employed’ on the cover of it. You need to be specific about what employment goals you have so that your prospective employer will be better able to tell whether your aims are in line with what they are looking for in an employee to fill that job opening.

Sample resume objectives are an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the kind of specificity required in a good resume objective. You should search the internet for sample resume objectives and as you read through them, take note of the type of goals that they state. Later, when writing your own resume objective, you can compare your own objective to those you have read to ensure that you are not being too vague about your goals. In this way, you can effectively incorporate sample resume objectives into your own objective to make it that much stronger and more impactful.

Check Out CareerRush’s Free Sample Resume Objectives…

The Job Interview Thank You Letter: Samples Of What To Say

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Anybody who has written a thank you letter in one form or another before, whether it was to thank someone for their help or for inviting you to an event would automatically assume that they should be able to write a job interview thank you letter without too much trouble. The problem however, is that a thank you letter that you send to the person who conducted your job interview is very different from a thank you letter you might send socially. If you are unsure as to where to get started, you should know that there are certain accepted guidelines that you can use to help you through the process of writing a job interview thank you letter.

Getting Started on the Right Foot

The opening paragraph of your thank you letter is the most important paragraph in the entire letter. This is the paragraph where you express your appreciation for your interviewer taking the time and trouble to interview you. Many interviewers see it as a mark of professional courtesy that job applicants thank them for their efforts, and if you do not do so, your standing in your interviewer’s eyes will be lowered.

A good way to start out your job interview thank you letter would be to say that you deeply appreciate your interviewer taking the time and effort out of their busy schedule to sit down and talk to you. You know that conducting interviews can be an arduous process for interviewers and that you acknowledge their hard work. It is also good to end your opening paragraph with an offer to help your interviewer clear any doubts or questions that he or she might have.

Getting Down To Business In Your Thank You Letter

Once you have thanked your interviewer in your thank you letter, you should definitely not let the opportunity to further market yourself pass you by. Too many people take the name ‘thank you letter’ at face value, and write letters that only convey their appreciation to their interviewers and nothing more. Your thank you letter, however, is really another means by which you can reiterate to your interviewer the strong points on your resume and exactly why you are suitable for the job.

In your second paragraph, you should express your enthusiasm for the job, followed by strong examples of what you can bring to the job. You will need to show your interviewer exactly what the company stands to gain by hiring you.

In your remaining paragraphs, you should attempt to engage the interviewer on their own concerns. If, for example, you know that the company you are applying to is looking specifically for applicants with experience in positions of leadership, then you should respond directly to that. You could start by writing how you realize that the company is on the lookout for candidates with leadership abilities and how you think you fit the profile of a leader. You should then go on to list whatever prior experience you might have in leadership roles or holding positions of responsibility.

The examples listed so far should give you a fair idea of what you should include in your job interview thank you letter, and make the process of writing this important document that much easier for you.

Check Out the Free CareerRush Job Interview Thank You Letter Example!

The Important Parts Of An Information Technology Cover Letter

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A cover letter is essentially a form of written introduction which you append to your resume for your interviewer to read before going through the rest of your resume. Just like when you meet someone face-to-face, first impressions play a major role in affecting how that person will treat you in your subsequent meetings. There are thus certain things that you must remember when writing an information technology cover letter, so as to avoid giving your interviewer a bad first impression.

Salient Features of an Information Technology Cover Letter

Your information technology cover letter should be a single page in length, and include a header, introduction, body and closing. The introduction section is perhaps the most important, because it contains the first words from your resume that your interviewer will read. For this reason, you must ensure that this section is well thought out and well written. You have to take the effort to introduce yourself and your achievements in an interesting and original manner, while still including everything that makes you suitable for a job in information technology.

Another good way to draw attention to your suitability for the job you are applying for is if you make use of industry jargon in your information technology cover letter. This will show your interviewer that you are not merely someone with no experience or training in the area applying for the job just to test his luck. Instead, it shows your interviewer that you are a serious applicant intent on landing the job that he is uniquely suited for and will perform well in.

Linking Your Cover Letter With The Rest Of Your Resume

While your cover letter serves as a written introduction to who you are, the rest of your resume is extremely important as well, and you need to connect your information technology cover letter with the achievements and qualifications that you put down in the main part of your resume.

In order to do this, the body of your cover letter should act as the linking element. The body of your information technology cover letter should be a section on what you have to offer your prospective employer. To that end, you might already have included all of your achievements, characteristics and qualifications in the rest of your resume. Thus you have an excellent opportunity to explain or elaborate on the achievements and qualifications that you merely listed in other parts of your resume.

Finally your closing paragraph should be a follow-up paragraph in which you give your interviewer the details of how you will follow up on your resume. You might choose to visit the company’s offices or call to indicate your continuing interest in applying for the job. Your follow up is another great way to make use of the more detailed information that you have listed in the main section of your resume. When doing your follow-up and attempting to persuade your prospective employer to grant you an interview, you can reiterate why you are so interested in applying for the job and the key qualifications that make you suitable for the job.

In this way, you will be better able to link your information technology cover letter to the rest of your resume, thus giving your entire resume greater coherence and making it that much more compelling when your interviewer reads through it.

Check Out the CareerRush Information Technology Cover Letter Example!

Writing A Human Resources Resume

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If you are writing a resume for the purposes of applying for a job in human resource, then you need to take note of the differences between a human resource resume and a resume for a regular job. These differences, while not large, are fundamental and reflect on your preparation and suitability for a job in human resource.

Jobs in human resource are different from other jobs because you will deal almost entirely with people and their allocation within the company. This is quite far removed from other jobs which deal mostly with money, figures, or even sales. The qualities and characteristics that employers look for in potential employees are therefore very different than with other jobs. You will need to take note of those areas which employers place emphasis on and slant your resume in that direction.

Breakdown Of A Good Human Resource Resume

• Experience: First and foremost, potential employers want to know all about your previous employment. There are many employers who pick new employees based solely on their experience in their previous employment, so you should provide a complete list of the companies you worked in prior to your application and also the positions you held in those companies.

• Interpersonal Relationships: Next, you should emphasize your skills with maintaining interpersonal relationships. Because human resource is all about dealing with people, your employers will be looking for evidence that you work well with other people and are able to communicate easily and well with everyone that you meet and work with. This area also overlaps with previous experience in sales or even negotiation and contract formation, as these are all activities which require skills appropriate for someone in a human resource department.

• Leadership Positions: Positions of leadership also look extremely good on a human resource resume, so be sure to include any positions of leadership that you might have previously held. This is not limited to leadership positions in your previous employment, but also in other aspects of your life as well. If you were the captain of your local soccer team, then you should also include that position in your resume. Having the skills of leadership shows that, not only do you have the necessary interpersonal skills, but that you are also able to manage people.

• Responsibility: Another area that you should focus on is responsibility. Merely telling your interviewer what position you held in your previous employment does not really shed much light on what you actually accomplished in that position. By showing your interviewer exactly what sort of responsibilities you handled, you give your interviewer a better idea of the kind of tasks that you can handle.

• Qualifications: Finally, you will need to include a list of your qualifications. This includes your academic qualifications and also any professional qualifications that you might have acquired. This section forms the last part of your human resource resume because, once you have been employed, prospective employers are much more interested in what you did in your previous employment than in what kind of degree you graduated from college with.

A good human resource resume is really not difficult to write, and as long as you keep the tips laid out above in mind as you write your resume, you will soon find yourself in possession of a well-organized and comprehensive resume.

Check Out the CareerRush Human Resources Resume Example!

How To Use Resume Samples To Make Your Own Resume

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Crafting a resume is a delicate process of including the right amount of information about you and your achievements and qualifications without coming across as desperate or conceited. It is also about making yourself stand out from the crowd. Job applications are essentially competitions, wherein you compete against other applicants to win the favor of your prospective employer. In order to help you in the arduous and difficult process of writing your resume, you can make use of resume samples that are easily available on the internet.

Why Not Just Use Resume Samples?

Using resume samples to help you craft your own resume may sound like a simple process but if not done properly, they can do more harm than good. You need to be very careful when you make use of sample resumes and the rest of this article is dedicated to identifying the potential traps and pitfalls that many first-time resume writers fall into when using resume samples.

What you need to remember is if you have access to resume samples, then a million other people have access to those same samples. This means that, if you are not careful, you might wind up having a resume that looks similar to those of a lot of other people. You should also keep in mind that your interviewer is likely to be someone with a great deal of experience in dealing with resumes, and will most probably be able to tell if you used a sample resume without making changes to it.

Creating Your Own Resume

The key to using resume samples safely and effectively is to use them as idea generators instead of templates. You will most probably be tempted to use the first sample resume you come across as a template and simply replace the sample information with your own particulars and qualifications. While this will indeed give you a resume, the result will most definitely not be something your interviewer will appreciate.

The main purpose of looking at sample resumes should merely be to give you an idea as to what a proper resume should look like. If you already know what the outline of your resume should be, then you most probably do not require the aid of sample resumes. If, however, you have questions about writing your resume such as what information you should include, whether to separate you achievements and qualifications into different sections, and what a cover letter is, then resume samples will be of great help to you.

You should use sample resumes to give yourself guidelines as to what you should include in your resume and the kind of order everything should appear in. Take down major headings or fields that you need to include as you look through various resume samples, then synthesize your own resume outline from that. This will ensure that your resume reads like an original, instead of a rehashed sample that anyone and everyone can access for free on the internet. You will score points with your interviewer for originality and also keep him or her more interested in your resume and what you have to offer.

Check Out CareerRush’s Free Resume Samples!

Sending A Job Interview Thank You Email

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It is accepted that job applicants are expected to send a thank you letter to their interviewers after having gone for their job interview. Earlier, it would have been inconceivable for an applicant to have done this by sending their interviewer an email. In this day and age however, with technology being integrated into almost every part of our lives, sending a job interview thank you email has become an accepted practice.

Post or Email? What are the Deciding Factors?

If you are having difficulty deciding whether to send your thank you letter via post or email, there are certain guidelines that can help you reach a decision. The first thing to consider is whether or not you have the luxury of time. If time is short and you think that your prospective employer will come to a decision regarding the job opening very soon, then you should definitely send a job interview thank you email instead of posting a letter. In such a situation, sending a letter by post might take too long and your prospective employer might reach a decision before even having received your thank you letter.

Even if time is not of the essence, however, you should also consider the personality of your interviewer and the company you are applying to. As a general guideline, large and formal companies will expect a thank you letter by post while smaller companies will be satisfied with a job interview thank you email. You should also assess the level of rapport you form with your interviewer during your interview. The more you connect with your interviewer, the less formal you have to be in your future communications with him or her, and the more a simple email conveying your thanks becomes appropriate.

How To Organize Your Email Message

As is evident from its name, a job interview thank you email must convey your sincere appreciation and gratitude towards your interviewer for taking the time to talk to you and get to know you. Letting your interviewer know that you are a courteous and polite individual with a firm grasp of social conventions such as sending thank you letters is the first step towards cementing your interviewer’s good impression of you.

Next, you should sit down and go over your interview in your mind in as much detail as possible. Try to remember every question that was asked and the answer that you gave. As you do so, you will probably realize that there were questions that you might have answered better or even entirely differently. Your job interview thank you email is a good place to remedy those little errors. Doing this will help to smooth out any rough edges on the picture that your interviewer would have formed of you.

Finally, let your interviewer know that you are still interested in the job and are enthusiastic about getting it. A line or two reiterating exactly why the job interests you and how your personality and characteristics make you suitable for the job is a great way to end your job interview thank you email. With an email like that, you are sure to leave a lasting impression on your interviewer, making it that much more likely that you will land your dream job.

Check Out the CareerRush Job Interview Thank You Letter Example!

How Important Is A Job Interview Thank You Letter?

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Sending in your job interview thank you letter is just like crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s – something is quite obviously missing without it. Most people harbor the misconception that the entire process of a job interview is limited to that short span of time that you are actually sitting in front of your interviewer. The truth however, is that what you do before and after your job interview can be just as important as the physical interview itself. In short, if you want a chance at getting that job, then you better send in that thank you letter.

Why bother with a Job Interview Thank You Letter?

A job interview thank you letter is the best way of informing your interviewer and prospective employers that you are still interested in applying for a job. Statistics indicate that quite a few job applicants actually go on to decline the job offer even after getting through the interview. Employers have therefore become wary of offering a job to an applicant who does not take the minimal effort required to send in a simple thank you letter after their job interview.

A simpler reason for sending in a job interview thank you letter is that even job interviewers like to feel appreciated. Interviewing job applicants is by no means an easy task, and it is often also a thankless one – successful job applicants quickly forget their interviewers and unsuccessful applicants often blame their failure on their interviewers. A thank you letter is a nice way of letting your interviewer know that you appreciate his or her taking the time to talk to you and find out whether you are a suitable candidate for the job.

Do’s And Don’ts When Writing A Thank You Letter

The most important thing to remember when writing a job interview thank you letter is that the interview process is not over yet! Your thank you letter is just as much a part of the interview process as the physical interview. Keeping this firmly in mind will help you maintain your focus as you write your thank you letter. It will also ensure that you keep the right tone of voice in your letter, as you must remember to use a fairly formal register.

Be positive in your letter, so as to reinforce good impressions your interviewer has formed of you and to ameliorate any bad impressions. To that end, you should sound enthusiastic and sincere in thanking your interviewer for taking time of their busy schedule to interview you. You should also reiterate key points such as what makes you keen to land this job and why you are particularly suited to it.

Finally, do your best to be different when writing your job interview thank you letter. Your interviewer will likely be receiving many tens or even hundreds of thank you letters, and will almost certainly not take the time to read all of them. Writing your thank you letter in such a way that it stands out from those other letters will help to ensure that your interviewer does actually read your letter. One easy way to keep your letter different is to not start with the words ‘thank you’. Be creative and think out of the box and your interviewer is sure to remember your job interview thank you letter in a positive light.

Check Out the CareerRush Free Interview Thank You Letter Sample!

Using A Resume Builder To Create An Effective Resume

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There are two main ways that you can go about actually writing your resume. You can either write your resume manually and take on all the formatting and organization on your own or you can choose to go about using a resume builder. There is no right or wrong way to go about building your resume. It is all about personal choice and the level of time that you wish to commit to creating your resume. However, most people who do not have extensive experience when it comes to creating resumes will choose to seek out and to begin using a resume builder to create their first resume.

Using a resume builder will save you a great deal of time and effort when it comes to building and creating your first resume. There are many reasons for this.  First and foremost, a resume builder will assist you with ensuring that the formatting of your resume is up to industry standards. A resume builder will automatically carry out the formatting process and will ensure that your resume appears professional in nature.

Additionally, using a resume builder will help you ensure that you don’t miss a single section on your resume. Resume builders will generally walk you through every step of the process. This is great news if you have little to no experience when it comes to crafting a resume. All you have to do is plug-in your information on the various sections as they appear on your screen. This makes the process no harder than sending an email and will definitely save you a great deal of time and effort when it comes to creating a professional and effectively formatted resume.

How To Find A Free To Use Resume Builder

There are two ways you can generally find resume builders for free use. The first way is to visit a download website which features free to use software downloads that are designed to assist individuals in formatting and creating their resumes. There are numerous free to use downloadable resume builders that you can find online and download to your computer to instantly begin building your resumes.

The second way you can obtain a resume builder is to seek out online websites that feature resume builders. There are many websites that are designed to assist individuals in building their resume online. These websites then allow you to save and print up your resume so that you can then submit them to potential employers.

Regardless of what type of resume builder you choose to take advantage of, you need to make sure that they are actually 100% free. Some companies and websites that claim to offer free resume builders will place watermarks on the resumes or will require you to pay a fee before you can save your resume or print it up for distribution. Therefore, be sure to do your homework and research in order to make sure that the resume builder you choose to use is actually free to use.

Try the Free CareerRush Resume Builder!

After the Interview: Sending a Thank You Letter

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Using a resume is the first step in impressing a potential employer and getting your foot in the door. The second step is attending an in person interview wherein you can connect one on one with a potential employer to truly show them what you are made of. However, does the process stop there after the interview? The truth is that is doesn’t have to. You should consider sending a thank you letter once you have completed your in person interview.

Many individuals have debated whether or not it is appropriate to even consider sending a thank you letter after their interview. Many people see this as a form of “sucking up.” However, sending a thank you letter can be an excellent step to take in order to remain in the minds of those individuals who interviewed you. It is also an excellent way to further show a potential employer just how interested you are in obtaining the position that you applied for.

Rules Of Etiquette For Sending Thank You Letters

The first thing you want to consider when you begin thinking about sending a thank you letter to an employer after your in-person interview is the professionalism that you will exhibit in your letter. There is a fine line that you will be walking when it comes to writing this type of thank you letter.  A thank you letter will allow you to be personal and professional at the same time. You just have to be sure that you don’t cross the line and be seen as being unprofessional in the manner in which you present your thank you letter.

A thank you letter should be brief and short. Don’t overdo it! You simply should thank the employer for their time and for their consideration. There’s no need to write a long and detailed letter that recounts your job experience and your desire for working for their company. You should simply thank them briefly for allowing you to come in for an interview. This type of “short and sweet” letter is an excellent way to keep your name on the minds of those individuals who interviewed you after the interview process is completed.

Are Thank You Letter Effective When It Comes To Acquiring Employment?

Often times when you walk out of an interview you may not truly be remembered by the employer. They may have placed your name in a stack of resumes that they wish to call back or to offer a job to or to consider.  However, you may not have stood out in such a way that they can’t stop thinking about you. When you take it upon yourself to send a thank you letter after you have attended an interview, you will simply be reminding them of your interest and will be reminding them of who you are. This will keep your name on their minds and could possibly cause them to place your resume back on the top of their stack.

In short, thank you letters are effective when it comes to gaining attention from potential employers, and are a great way to make an extra impression.

Check Out Our Free Job Interview Thank You Letter Example!

How To Go About Creating Your Resume Reference Page

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When creating your resume you want it to be an honest and accurate representation of yourself. You also want it to be a tool that you can truly use to sell yourself. In all reality, your resume is a marketing tool that you can use to truly advertise yourself in order to obtain the position that you desire. These are things that you want to keep at the forefront of your mind when you go about creating your resume reference page.

Your reference page is one of the most important parts of your resume.  This is why you must take great care when you are choosing individuals to use for your references. You don’t simply want to list your best friends or immediate family members. It is important to take your time in seeking out those individuals to use as references who can clearly and professionally provide potential employers with an accurate portrayal and image of yourself.

How Should I Choose Individuals For My References?

The first thing you should do when compiling references is to consider professionals whom you have worked with or for, who would realistically provide another employer with an open and honest reference. It is best to choose people who will positively present you in an excellent light in order to persuade an employer that you are the best choice for them when it comes to filling their vacant positions.

Most employers frown upon the use of family members for references. In fact, this is generally a big “no, no.” Employers are aware that most family members will lie for another family member or will present their family members in a positive light, even when they are not the best choice. This is why you should never use a family member as a reference. Instead you should choose individuals whom you have connected with on a more professional level over the course of your life. This can also include individuals such as counselors or teachers.

How Do I Properly Format My Reference Page?

Another factor that you need to consider is formatting your reference page in a professional manner. The best way to ensure that your resume is formatted properly is to seek out online in order to ensure that your resume is up to your standards and up to the standards of employers. You must be sure that your resume is pristine and easy to read so that a potential employer can find exactly what they are looking for.

Finally, you always need to be sure that all the information on your reference page is accurate. Spend some time and keep your reference page updated with the most current addresses and contact numbers for the individuals who you have listed as your references. You should always be sure to contact your references to also let them know when you have submitted your resume; this way they know that they may be receiving a call. This little warning could encourage them to answer unlisted numbers so that potential employers can quickly contact them with no hassle.

Check Out Our Free Resume Reference Page Example!