Monthly Archives: March 2011

How To Disguise A Checkered Work History

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Many of us have, even through no fault of our own, had a bumpy work history. This may be due to lay-offs, illnesses, temporary contractual work, staying home to raise children, career transitions, or a myriad of other situations. You may have perfectly legitimate reasons; however an employer may not understand why you have short tenures or gaps between jobs – they just want the best candidate for the job.

But have no fear! There are some ways to format your resume so that employers notice your excellent skills and qualifications rather than circumstances in your past. It starts with functional formatting, which means bringing your skills to be beginning and expanding on them, and moving your simplified work history to the end, which downplays your work chronology.

How exactly does this work? Here are the parts of a functional resume:

Introduction: Start with a career summary that gives an overview of your strongest selling points, including unique skills, certifications, corporate awards, etc. This immediately catches the eye of the reader and draws them in. You may also choose to include a list of relevant keywords and a personal branding statement in your introduction.

Summary of Skills: This is where a work history might traditionally go. However, your strengths lie in your skills rather than your work history so displaying a detailed, categorized breakdown of those skills is a great use of space. For example, if you’re a retail sales manager, you may choose to break your skills down into sales and marketing, leadership, retail planning and purchasing, and operations (HR, accounting, etc.). It’s important to be specific here; listing generic skills wastes space and bores readers.

Work History: Use this section to simply list your job title, company name, location, and dates of employment for each job you’ve held. Don’t draw attention to this section by expanding on each job. You may also choose to leave dates off of positions you held more than 10 years ago as they lose relevance after that amount of time and indicate candidate age.

Additional Sections (education, certification, affiliations, etc.): It is important to place these features carefully according to your situation. IT professionals may choose to list their technical certifications at the beginning of the resume. Recent graduates may opt to do the same with the education section. Either way, I would recommend leaving one of these sections at the end of the resume so as not to stop with your broken work history, which ends the resume on a sour note. No matter the order you choose, be sure your skills and qualifications outshine your job chronology.

While this method is a great alternative for those who need it, it is by no means perfect. Recruiters and hiring managers are well aware that candidates use a functional format to hide questionable work circumstances. Therefore, it is important to be prepared to address your work situation. But don’t dwell and give excuses; keep it positive and focus on your skills rather than your past. And remember, you are not defined by your work history!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Prepare For The Hunt

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For every recent college graduate, nothing should be more on your mind than the job hunting that awaits you. As you prepare to do battle and embark on your quest, you will need to do more than simply organize your cover letter and resume. Instead, you should be paying attention to the event that occurs in the middle of applying for a job, and being offered a position the interview. Going in for a job interview can be a nerve-wracking experience for a young professional. However when you really think about it, the job interview should be an exciting time. Only in that moment are you able to put you credentials on the shelf and let a company get to know who you are as a person. While you have spent a considerable amount of time practicing how to get a job interview, once you have been given that opportunity, the necessary preparation may not be there. This is where time and practice come in to play – getting yourself ready to blow away the competition.

The first step you will need to make in your climb towards becoming employed is learning about the company you are applying to. Do not focus on general information – go beyond public knowledge and try to uncover any future business plans or any big news currently going on within the company. By showing your knowledge of the company’s future, you can give yourself the opportunity to be a part of that upcoming change. This is not going to be content that you can find simply on the company’s website you will have to search through various news outlets. An additional benefit to you conducting this research is that you can then choose whether you want to be a part of where this company is trying to go.

After breaking down the focus of the company, your focus should turn to the person who will be interviewing you. By finding out this person’s name and job title you remove any surprises. Through looking up their business profile, you be able to gauge the type of person that is sitting on the other side of that desk. Beyond tailoring your resume to a specific position, you should be very familiar with it. When you are asked a question about your past education or experiences, you should know what they are referring to and you should be ready to answer their questions concisely. Finally, take the time to evaluate your own answers through another person’s eyes. Whether you practice in front of a close friend or family member, try and acquire feedback on how you are coming across. The job interview can be a one shot deal and you want to present yourself as best you can.

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.