You Know Your Resume is Bad When...

Caroline M.L. Potter wrote this great article on Monster.com entitled - The Biggest Resume Mistake You Can Make. I took inspiration from this article and crafted the one below. Basically the biggest mistakes can cost you your job and you know your resume is bad when



Your resume betrays you

In Potter's article she starts with the question -- How can a resume betray a job seeker? It's not just typos or poor formatting. "The biggest flaw for a resume is when it fails to showcase a person's accomplishments, contributions and results, and instead spouts a job description of each position he's held," says Lauren Milligan, founder of ResuMayDay, a resume-writing and career-coaching firm based near Chicago.

Three tips from Caroline Potter's article in Monster.com to avoid that fatal betrayal

1. Think Big

Whatever jobs you've held -- be it as an assistant or a CEO -- think beyond the everyday tasks of your position. "People get bogged down in the day-to-day details of their jobs, but when it comes to your resume, you've got to get out of the clutter and ask yourself, 'What does this work mean?'" Milligan says.

If a manager is hiring for an administrative assistant, he already knows what an admin does and doesn't want to see a resume that says an applicant can type and answer a phone. "You have to go beyond that to point out your specific strengths," Milligan says.

Start by having big-picture conversations about what you do and how it serves the organization as a whole. "If you're in a support position, consider how successful the person you support is and how you help her do her job better," Milligan says. "What role do you have in her successes? Those are your accomplishments."

2. Be Clear

Focusing on your accomplishments rather than your specific responsibilities will help keep your resume concise. "There's a huge difference between a resume and the Great American Novel," says Milligan. "The resumes I'm most proud of summed up a 25-year career in a single page."

She urges job seekers to remember that resumes are typically skimmed for a mere six to eight seconds. "Make sure you're identifying the companies you worked for, how long you were there and if you earned a promotion," she says. "Those are things that people look for immediately." Also, if your job title is long and vague, tighten it up so that people immediately understand what you've done. For example, "Marketing Manager" is much more accessible than "Global Identity Architect."

Given the time you have to catch a recruiter's eye, a focused, accomplishment-driven resume is the way to go. "If you are loaded up on peripheral stuff, it's too hard for a hiring manager to find your story," Milligan says.

3. Get Real

What if you come up blank when trying to think about how you've helped build the big picture for your employer?

"A couple of times I've talked to people who insisted they just did their jobs and there's nothing special about them that jumps out," Milligan says. She's asked them outright if they're in the right position. "It's a difficult question to ask, but these people may be chasing the wrong job," she says.

She counsels clients that if they cannot speak about what they've done in terms of enhancing the position or the company, "You may be just punching a clock -- and you and your employer deserve more."

Look for other opportunities in which you can contribute and grow professionally. You'll enjoy a more rewarding career and have a more successful resume.

Video: Job Interview Tactics

Job Interview Tactics from Frankfurness channel on Youtube

Of Weaknesses, Salaries, Your Previous Job, The Next 5 Years, and Why You Should Be Hired?

Nicole Williams of Monster.com talks about five of the most difficult interview questions and gives us an idea of how to answer them. Hope this helps everybody. Read the original article here

1. What is your biggest weakness?

Questions like these, says Denham, are asked so that interviewees admit a weakness that justifies their being shown the door. He recommends responding with: “I have a tendency to say yes and get overcommitted.” Then follow that with an example of how you are working on prioritizing and setting personal limits. Never draw negative attention to yourself by stating a weakness that would lead an employer to think you are not the best person for the job, Denham says. “The focus of your interview should be on your strengths,” he says.

2. What salary do you think you deserve?

“The person who states the salary is the loser,” says Denham, explaining that if you are the first to throw out a number, the number you give could be less than what the employer was planning to pay. Wait for the employer to give a range, and when it does ask you for a figure you expect to be making, choose a salary that is higher than the median they provide. Use online tools and resources to find out what you can realistically expect. Also, don’t talk salary on the first interview.

3. Why should I hire you?

For this one, Denham says it’s important to prepare before the interview. “Go back to your resume and look through it for the three to five things that make you outstanding,” he says. These qualities should accent your work ability, like “I’m a hard worker” or “I get things done.” You have to demonstrate a track record of results. “The notion is that past performance is always the best predictor of future performance,” Denham says.

4. What didn’t you like about your last job?

The employer who asks this question could be looking for you to answer with something that would indicate a weakness of yours, once again in an attempt to eliminate you. So while it may be tempting to trash your boss or complain about the hours (they expected me to be in at 8 a.m.!), try answering with something like this: “I did not feel my responsibilities were challenging enough.” Then the employer will feel confident that you are ready for whatever they may throw at you.

5. Where do you see yourself in three to five years?

The worst answer you can provide to this one, Denham says, is “I have no idea,” even though that might be the truth. “It’s basically like saying, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing with my life and I have no idea how long I’ll stay with this job,’” Denham says. Try a response like “I’ve done a lot of self-assessment, and what I’ve learned about myself is that I want to make a commitment to this career and I want to build my career here.”

Top Three Interview Questions And How You Should Answer

Wondering what they'll ask you during your interview? Here are the top three interview questions practically all interviewers ask during job interviews. More experienced (and senior) interviewers will go through your resume in detail and will jump start questions from different sections like where you previously worked, what you used to do.

The questions here are more the generic type that most likely an HR person will ask. As you go through the door, take note that the HR personnel is the gate-keeper. You are more often than not, not going to get to the boss if you are rude to the human resources department.



1. Tell me something about yourself

This is a natural question given the interviewer has no clue who you are. This is also a way to test your eloquence at presenting yourself.

The ideal answer here should be relevant to the position your applying for and should be brief but concise. Don't delve into your childhood or how well you play siatong. Be smart - put your best foot forward

2. What are your strengths and weaknesses

The key as always is to be honest. You don't need a job interview to tell you that. Your strengths and weaknesses will be recorded and referenced once you start or they will be cross-referenced when they do your background check

You HAVE to mention a weakness. There isn't a person in the world without a weakness so might as well be straight forward. But of course note how you are improving or the steps you've taken to improve

3. Why should we hire you

Now to be able to answer this accurately, you will need to do some initial research on the company and the position you're applying for. You can't just mouth off on all your skills (which may help sometimes) but instead of shooting in the dark. Your answer should be precise. Note the need of the company via your position. Understand what the company does and show your interviewer that you did look them up - this will definitely impress them.

These are just some of the secrets to getting hired. Stay tuned for more updates

Four Rules To Answer The Toughest Interview Question

In interviews, I've noticed one of the toughest questions to answer is "What is your greatest weakness?" Simply because your answer can work against you and the inability to answer is also by itself considered a general weakness. I looked up Shine.com - a job site, and this is what they had to say on the subject

Read the complete article from Shine.com here:

From blatant... 'greatest weakness'; 'weakest attribute'; 'most significant failure' to soft 'what might your previous employer say? even softer 'you certainly seem to have a lot of strengths, but we understand no one is perfect' The question will come one way or another, everyone knows it, yet still befuddled by it. There have been many Rules of Thumb developed over the years, from making light of the question with an answer like “Pizza!” (Do not pass go; do not expect a job here) to true confessions, putting a cloud over everyone, to developing a response that actually demonstrates a strength: “I tend to be a workaholic” or “perfectionist” (Yuk!)

I find many Rule of Thumb to be off the mark and misleading. What may be good for one may not be for another. That is not to say there are no rules that can be applied; there are. Just choose your medicine carefully.

So the 4 rules when answering this interview question are:

Rule#1: Stay Positive…Always! “What’s your greatest weakness” is your opportunity to shine. One way is to demonstrate that you are a positive person by nature. Everyone likes a person with a positive nature, right? Remember you are in the interview to make yourself desirable for hiring, so you might say, “I rarely sit there and think of myself in those terms, nevertheless, I do want to respond to your question” or something on those lines. Notice by the way I did not say “I rarely sit there and think of my weaknesses”. Okay, I take it back. Here’s a rule of thumb that always applies: Do not use or repeat negative terms, even if the interviewer throws it out there.



Rule#2 No Superlatives! Keep it singular. Superlatives such as “weakest” or “worst” or “biggest” indicate the greatest degree of whatever is it describing. “Worst weakness” is the weakness of the highest degree implying there are other weaknesses of varying degrees but weaknesses nonetheless. That begs the question “what are some others?” Likewise, “need most to improve” implies there are others areas for improvement. In any case, try this as an alternative: “If I had to come up with one…” (No negatives; no multiples).



Rule#3 No Absolutes! The absolute, as in “my weakness is…” states that the weakness exists unconditionally: Utterly fixed and not likely to change. Wow! Wouldn’t it be better to be a little less restrictive, something more conditional like “it could be that I am…” Conditional responses suggest you yourself are not completely convinced of it. This type of response also accomplishes what the bungling technique of using a “strength” to describe a weakness consistently fails to achieve – that your “weakness” may not be a weakness after all.



Rule#4 Keep it real! Your “weakness” should be one (singular) that is subjective – of your person. Humanize it! “If I had to come up with one (singular) it might be (non-absolute) somewhat (qualifier) of a lack of internal patience (human)”. Continuing … “I seem (unconvinced) to have strong tendencies to expect the same from others that I do from myself (human). Not just in terms of results – I’m smart enough to realize that not everyone has the same level of skill, abilities and education (real) … I do however, expect others to give their best effort, and if that’s not there, then yes, that might (conditional) bother me to some degree” (Ah! … “bother me to some degree” … human, non-absolute, qualifier, and conditional … Don’t you love it!) Another tact, similarly keeping it real, could be an incident resultant of some area where improvement was needed (potential weakness) that turned out to be a learning experience and later grew into a personal asset, thus giving you, once more, an opportunity to showcase strength.