| BostonDotCom: | Elaine Varelas, BostonWorks Job Doc, The HIre Authority, and a career managment professional with Keystone Partners. . . |
| BostonDotCom: | is here with use to kick off the Chat-a-thon and answer your questions about "Winning Resumes" |
| BostonDotCom: | Welcome Elaine |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Thanks! Looking foward to chatting! |
| BostonDotCom: | Fire away with your questions, chatters |
| DME: | Q: Elaine - if I'm
mid-career, with a fair amount of experience, should I try to jam my
resume onto one page? It's tough and seems to undersell me as I can't
add much detail. |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Two pages is appropriate for valuable content. Make sure it is easy to read and shows results. |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Quantify the data, and ask yourself at the end of each sentence - WHO cares? If it matters to the reader - include it. |
| DME: | Q: Is personal
information, such as outside interests, hobbies, etc. a good idea to
include, or is it just seen as distracting clutter? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Activities can be valuable as they add information about you as a person but... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | The examples need to be powerful - are you a marathon runner, hold a community office, volunteer in significant ways? |
| dude: | Q: at what point should you put the experience part ahead of education part in your resume? When you graduate from school? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | As a recent graduate, education comes first after that start with your experience - it takes on greater value as time passes. |
| Happy_worker: | Q: Do resumes really matter? If I'm in touch with an employer through a contact, isn't my interview what matters most? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | The interview matters most, but you are introduced to other people via the resume - your paper trail of experience... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Most often a resume gets you in the door, but if you get in through networking even better! |
| Happy_worker: | Q: How long is too long for a resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | If the reader falls
asleep it is too long. The goal is to get the reader interested. You
sell and close the deal in the interview. |
| Ophelia: | Q: I've heard employers throw away a resume if it has a grammatical mistake on it -is this true? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | It can be true if you are looking for a job in writing, or editing, or similar skills. Take the time to proof carefully. |
| Harold_CC: | Q: Does formatting matter on your resume? Or is it just what you've done that counts? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Format matters as it makes the resume inviting to the reader. You are encouraging them to take a look at what uou have done... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | You skills need to be easy to identify, not hidden in needless words or mixed up bolds, italics etc. |
| nomad: | Q: At what point do
you stop putting your education on your resume? After 30 years does it
really matter where you went to college?
|
| Elaine_Varelas: | Your education can
always play a part. You may share an alma mater with the reader. Or
they want to see how you ended up geogrpahically in a certain place. |
| I_lean: | Q: What's the most common mistake people make on their resumes? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Most common are
types, grammatical errors that show a lack of attention to detail. The
focus being on "I" and not what you accomplished for the roganization... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | All of these lead a
reader to not stay interested in what you could do for them. Not
quantifying success or results - and that word earlier was typos! |
| Bella: | Q: How long should the Summary be on your resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | A few lines in a
summary is plenty. The goal is to explain in one or two sentences the
potential role you can play at any organization and the breadth of
skills you bring to the employer. |
| LeeAnn: | Q: How do you gloss over gaps in job history? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Gaps need to be
addressed and you can do that in a cover letter. On the resume try to
minimize the empty months/years listed and show what else you were
doing. Readers recognize that job search time is needed between roles. |
| Sue_S: | Q: I've been doing
temporary work for the last few months in order to find a permenant
job. Should I include this experience on my resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Temp work is
extremely valuable and should be listed. Again show what value you
brought the company and the experience you gained by working at that
specific employer...i |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Try and list the
temp organization as one employer so it doesn't look like you change
jobs every 3 months. - Job hoppers are not typically sought after! |
| Ray: | Q: I'm a
Financie/Accounting Professional.....what's the best way to have my
resume stick out...since my analysis skills, and accounting proficiency
is common in my field? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Certifications,
liscening, awards, are all valuable to get you to the top of the pile.
Other experience with other parts of the business are also a great
addition. |
| kh: | Q: When applying online, I heard that you shouldn't include cover letters. True? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | If you mean electronicall (via email) you need to include a letter. If you mean on boards, cover letters are not needed. |
| Robert: | Q: Do I need to put my address on my resume? Isn't that a breach of my privacy? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Your address is
valuable to a hiring manager who may want to take potential commute
issues into account. It can work to your advantage, or it may not. On
many job boards you don't need to add this so you are protected. |
| Robert: | Q: Is it safe to
update my resume on places like BostonWorks and Monster if I'm already
employed? Is there a chance my company might find out about it? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | You can keep
information private but listing the type of company but not the name of
the firm. You may be found out, and I have seen people forget to delete
their name from the second page of your resume... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | If you are looking you need to be prepared with a good answer to why your resume in out there. |
| Mike: | Q: What weight to
employeers put on the college you attended? I have a BA from a state
school and an MBA from a specialty business school, but not ivy league?
I feel like this often limits me... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | All colleges offer
different percpetions. I love state school graduates. It says you
worked hard for your education, and didn't necessarily have lost of
people financing your education. You need to take pride in your alma
mater, and work the network of other proud grads very well. |
| LeeAnn: | Q: How do you downplay or explain the job hopping? I had numerous short-term jobs while putting myself through school. |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Job hopping as a
financail mean to an end can be ok. But if you loose interest in jobs,
or don't learn the jobs, red flags are raised. ... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | You need to show that you were buildina career or gaining additional experience. |
| Mary_Drake: | Q: Hi Elaine, how can I prevent looking "too old" on my resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | On your education
you wouldn't list the year of graduation, you would also want to start
the first job maybe 5 or so years in. ... |
| Elaine_Varelas: | How you write up
your experience also becomes important. Stay current on technology
words etc. Age is not always "old" - but about expertise you can add. |
| Sue_S: | Q: If you had to pick one feature of a resume to get you in the door, what would it be? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | If you have 100
percent match on what the job description calls for you need to
highlight those areas. If you can show you have successfully done the
job before, you'll get in the door! |
| Bob_2: | Q: How valuable is continuing education or management seminars for a technical role? Do the employers value this at all?? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Showing a
committment to continuing education and staying current in your field
are really sought after - especially by tech hiring managers. Be
specific about the classes, where you took them. |
| Chat_man: | Q: Should I have a new resume for every position I apply to? Or can I just use the same one? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | One resume is the
easist to manage as a job seeker. If you are looking for two or three
different types of jobs where the content of the resume may look
different you may have two or three versions. But cover letters can be
tailored - I wouldn't do individual resumes. |
| BostonDotCom: | Chatters, great job with the questions - we have time for just one more for Elaine. |
| Job_Seeker_MA: | Q: Should I put my photo on my resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Unless you are applying for a modeling job, or a tv achor, or some other role that involves your looks - no pictures on resumes. |
| sales_technology: | Q: I am interested in hearing your perspective on companies that provide resume services for a fee. |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Using experts to
HELP write your resume is smart. Hiring anyone to write it for you will
not help your search. You have to put time and energy into who your
taget audience is and understanding what it is you want to sell to the
hiring manager. |
| julie_2: | Q: what should I do if I haven't completed my degree? should I leave edu off my resume? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Include a phrase
like "completed coursework in..." and list the corses. Highlight the
classes that apply to your area of expertise. And if you are continuing
your education list that also. |
| LeeAnn: | Q: I am the founder
of a software start-up and now I am looking for a new opportunity in a
mid-level company. A headhunter told me that people are wary of my
entrepreneurial background. Any suggestions on how to make the resume
more attractive without being intimidating? |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Entrpreneurs who
now want to work for an organization need to show how team oriented
they are. People will be worried you can nevr work for anyone else
again. So show how much you partnered with your board, your leaderhip
team, or with all the others you worked with. |
| BostonDotCom: | Outstanding, Elaine - thanks so much for joining us today. |
| Elaine_Varelas: | Great chatting with you all! Best of luck with your careers. |
| BostonDotCom: | Chatters, see you at noon for a networking chat with Diane Danielson. |
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