Archive for the ‘Resumes’ Category

Here’s a little humor to brighten your day. The 150 Funniest Resume Mistakes, Bloopers and Blunders Ever should provide a much needed laugh.

Among my favorites:

Objective: “career on the Information Supper Highway”

a resume… was printed on the back of the person’s current employer’s letterhead.

Candidate explained an arrest by stating, “We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig.”

“I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.”

You can check out the rest of the list here.

Enjoy!

This is a really tough question. I was recently reading a post on Brazen Careerist called Does Your Twitter Handle Belong in Your Resume? which tackled that very issue.

Here the author suggests that your Twitter handle (and other information such as blogs, etc.) belongs on your resume:

In my opinion, yes. I put my twitter handle in my resume. Where you decide to put your social media information is personal preference, but I decided to make my twitter handle very noticeable and included an entire section under “skills” where I include which social networks in which I am active.

While I don’t disagree, I want to add a big, fat caveat to this. You should include your social media profile ONLY IF you are extremely careful and professional about what you post. Writing insightful, meaningful content will help you land a job. Bragging about the great kegger last week will not (especially if you include pictures).

I’m open for debate on this one, but I would strongly caution you to sanitize your profiles before sending them to a potential employer.

I’ve always been intrigued by the concept of the video resume. There’s something about it that just appeals to me. However, in reading The New Approach To Resumes, I’ve come to realize that there are only a select few instances when you should actually make and use a video resume.

For some recruiters, the video resume is something that is cringe worthy. Nervous candidates awkwardly trying to portray confidence does not make for a pretty picture. Often times you get an A for effort, and an F in execution. According to Connie Thanasoulis (who was quoted for the linked article), the video resume can often backfire:

I’m so distracted by how awkward people look, I have trouble listening to what they have to say.

Yikes! That’s the last thing you want to hear a recruiter say.

So, if you are a charismatic speaker with the “TV looks” to match, a video resume may be a good idea. However, if you lack either of these qualities, stick with the standard resume.

There has been some debate recently about whether or not candidate references matter. In fact, a recent article on CNN called Do references really matter? explores this issue.

One quote from this piece caught my eye:

Harsh [an employer] agrees that when he receives a resume with references attached, he gives them virtually no weight.

Honestly, I don’t blame him. Today’s resume references are no more likely to turn up negative information than if you called the candidate’s mother directly. No job hunter is going to willingly provide a bad reference, it just doesn’t make sense.

Regardless, I still believe that references have their place. I have three reasons for this:

1. Everyone else is going to provide a reference when asked. Regardless of whether you agree that references are useful, you need to have them in order to be at the level of other candidates. Sad, but true.
2. Finding and contacting references also provides you with valuable networking experience. You never know when these references may be able to help you down the line.
3. Finally, it allows you to find out directly whether or not your references will support you in your job search. Believe it or not, “non-positive” references are not uncommon.

So take the time to go through your references. It will be beneficial in the long run.