Archive for the ‘Resumes’ Category

As most of you already know, your resume is going to hit some form of resume parser if you have applied for a job online. A resume parser (or “Applicant Tracking System” in industry-speak) is a piece of software which scans your resume and helps determine your suitability for a position based on criteria entered by the company.

The trouble is, most people don’t understand exactly how this works. And to be honest, I don’t either.

So if you are like me and you want to know about the inner workings of an ATS system, check out Resume Meet Technology: Making Your Resume Format Machine-Friendly on TheLadders.

It’s a long, technical article, but well worth the read. Plus, there are some interesting tips on how to ensure your resume has the best shot at making it through.

Here’s another list of great advice on crafting a stellar resume. This one comes from The Ladders and is called 13 Ways Your Resume Can Say ‘I’m Unprofessional’.

While I don’t quite know what to make of The Ladders as a job search site (I’ve never used them to look for work), they do offer some solid tips that can be used by all job seekers.

It’s a good read. Check it out here.

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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.