Tips On What NOT To Include In Your Resume

You don't want to give the impression that you are old fashioned or out-of-date! If you haven't looked for a job in awhile, expectations for resumes have changed!

Do NOT include:

• Age, marital or health status, ethnicity, weight, number of children or other personal information.
• Do not list "References Upon Request." It is assumed that you will provide references, so why waste your valuable space saying so?

Many consider listing an objective on your resume to be wasteful and obsolete. Typically, your objective is to get the job! If you are using your resume for networking, a targeted skills or accomplishments section helps the reader narrow your interests and skills.

Do not list your salary history!

A resume is not a place to try to tell your life story.

Omit articles (a, an, the) from your job descriptions. These are "stop" words that cause the reader to pause. Excluding them helps you get the most from the 10-20 second glance your resume is likely to earn on a first review.

Unless you are applying for a job in a creative field (art, entertainment, graphic design), keep your resume's appearance conservative. Avoid using courier and all script or decorative fonts that may be difficult to read or scan.

Spelling, grammatical and other careless errors (such as omitting your zip code in your address or leaving off a year in your descriptions) are your resume's kiss of death. Most hiring managers will assume a careless error indicates a careless worker and send your resume straight to the circular file.

Make responsible use of bold and italics to help guide the reader's eye. Don't use bold in the second line of a description, as it confuses the eye and makes it more difficult to quickly glance at your resume.

Avoid large blocks of text. They are difficult to review quickly and may frustrate the reader. Use bullet points and white space to your advantage for an eye-pleasing document.

Don't start your bullet points with tired phrases such as: Assisted, Contributed, Supported or Responsibilities included. Don't simply list what you did - describe how you did it!

Large, unexplained gaps of time call negative attention to your resume.

It should go without saying, but don't lie on your resume. Present the most positive image consistent with the truth.

Your resume may be your only opportunity to put your best foot forward with an employer.

This list is from Keppie Careers

How long is an "Ideal" resume?

Here's more advice from Keppie Careers on how long is a LONG resume.

Many hiring managers still prefer a one-page resume. However, if your industry tolerates longer versions, one rule of thumb is that your resume should not exceed one page if you have less than 10 years of experience. If you have more experience, a two-page resume may work. Typically, our bias is that your resume should be one page unless there is a specific reason for it to be longer.

Electronic resumes do not have page limits, but you still want to hone your materials to effectively target your key skills relative to the job.

What is the difference between a CV and a resume?

I've come across a lot of people who confuse these 2 and often times they are mis-used and more often mis-understood. Here's a nice differentiation from Keppie Careers.

A curriculum vitae (CV) is, literally, an accounting of your life. (It is Latin “for course of life.”) It is a resume on steroids! In the old days, terminology for CV and resume was inter-changeable, and you may still find ads requesting a CV. CVs are still used in academe, medicine and research fields, where the employer expects long lists of your presentations, publications, organizational affiliations, fellowships and internships. CVs for experienced academics, for example, may go on for 10 pages or more!

Obviously, most jobs outside of these traditional fields do not welcome a 10-page document describing your life’s work! So, if an ad asks for a CV and you are not applying for a research, medical or academic job, send a resume.

Tips On How To Make Your Resume

Here are some tips from Wikihow on resume writing

• Be consistent! Format each entry in your resume in the same way.
• You might not need to list your whole name if it takes up two full lines (James Michael Allan Hoffman III; James Hoffman is fine or even Jim Hoffman if that's the way you like to be addressed.
• Don't over qualify yourself for a position. Give enough information for interest and save the "wow" factor for the interview. Write the resume for the position you are applying for without altering the truth.
• Don't attach 6 letters of recommendation, your diploma, your birth certificate, and your CPR and fitness certifications. Indicate your current certifications and be prepared to give references upon request. Do not waste space on your resume by saying "References available".
• Put your educational details in before your employment details, with the most recent first on both of them.
• Another approach is to lead with your strong suit, whether it be education, skills, work or volunteer experience. The idea is to showcase your strengths and hide any weaknesses.
• Detail your duties within each position but don't go overboard.
• Highlight your expertise in software programs and/or any other particular skills that will impress the interviewer.
• Listing personal hobbies is optional, but make sure they are sending the right impression. In other words, you might want to mention your stamp collection if you're applying for a job at a delivery company, but don't include Monday night football at Hooters.
• Be careful about listing volunteer activities. When you start listing things that tie you to political and other emotionally charged organizations, you might get put in a bucket of preconceived notions. It's not right, but everyone has biases and it is better to avoid them if possible.
• Quantify your accomplishments, if possible, by applying specific numbers to your successes. For instance, if you streamlined the flow of work for your department, define how much time it saved the company over a period of, say, 4 months. Time is money.
• Most people are somewhat shy and modest about what they have done on the job. Don't be! Think hard about what you've done and what you've accomplished. For instance, instead of saying "answered phones," say "answered multi-line phone and routed calls for an office of 43 people." The example here shows the prospective employer the volume of work you've handled and the complexity of the equipment.
• Try to keep your resume to one page, and two at most.
• Get a friend or business adviser to check it for mistakes. It is easy to miss typing errors and grammatical mistakes in your haste to produce the perfect resume.
• Print your resume on good quality paper, such as 20 pound bond white paper. Fancy papers are nice, but it's the content of your resume that employers care about.
• If possible, keep the resume for a day or two before reading it again. You may think of something else you want to add before submitting it to prospective employers.
• Write a cover letter that is short, sweet and to the point (and specifically written for the job you're applying for). If at all possible, do not write more than a page-long cover letter (make sure, though, that you include everything the employer asks for). Try and remember that the person reading it is probably looking at hundreds of resumes. Address logical questions in your cover letter. If you're applying for a position in California but your resume has a New York address, explain why. If you don't, the reader will probably trash the resume (unless the company is ready and willing to pay for a relocation package).
• If you do have to use two pages, make sure that the second page is at least half filled. If not, go back and re-work the formatting to see if you can fit it on one page. You can also review all the information you have and make sure it is all necessary and relevant. Remove the "fluff".
• Use no more than three different fonts.
• Always backup your resume on a floppy (yes, a floppy), flash USB drive or even print it out.
• Use white space effectively. The resume layout should be professional, crisp and well-defined. If you have too much information on the page, feel free to leave out what you feel is not 100% necessary, such as that fast food job you had in high school, if you have other more relevant experience to draw from.
• Do not pad your resume. This may be illegal in some instances, and is quite likely to make you look like a fool.
• Do not include irrelevant personal information. If you make inappropriate personal disclosures on your resumes, employers may perceive you as having poor judgment. They may also, intentionally or unintentionally, discriminate against you.
• Although in some cultures, it's customary to list your age, marital status, and family status, it isn't common in the United States. If you think age is important, you can allude to it with the year you graduated college or high school. Otherwise, these dates aren't necessary. Beware that, depending on the industry, you may face age discrimination if you graduated many years ago. For example, in creative industries, having graduated more than a few years ago may disqualify you from getting an interview for a junior position.
• In some countries (like Germany) you have to include a photograph with your application. In others, like the US and Canada, including a photo will immediately disqualify you with many employers. This just goes to show how important it is to research the local culture if you apply for a job in another country.
• Many word processors, including Microsoft Word, have "fill-in-the-blank" style resumes. Check for one with an appropriate style and then follow their guiding. It can give you help on how to start.
• Make a lot of drafts!
• Remember, the resume lands you the interview and the interview gets you the job!

Image from Online Writing Lab

Tips And Advice For US-bound Nurses. Essentials For Filipino Nurses Who Want To Work Abroad

Here are tips for US bound nurses by Danny Fernandez of OFWGuide Forum

Get Your Social Security Number (SSN): It is important to apply for SSN upon arriving in the US at the Social Security Office near your place of deployment. You may seek the help of the Human Resource Department of the hospital where you will work. Most State Boards requires the SSN to get your permanent nurse license, be a registered rurse and practice your profession. Without the SSN, you may not be able to secure your license and will not be allowed to work. Securing SSN takes between 10 to 30 working days while the processing for the RN License takes 30 to 90 days.

Don’t Overspend: The contract you signed in the Philippines may include a clause stating that for the first 90 days of your stay in US, the hiring hospital will provide for your needs and you will receive an allowance or stipend. The usual stipend is USD 1500 to USD 2000.

The stipend may seem like a large amount but the truth is, it will barely cover your expenses. Normally, the accommodation they provide is a one-room apartment with free water and electricity. It has a stove, ref, sofa, TV, and a bed. You need to buy your utensils, plates, spoon, fork, bed sheets, food, and other personal items. Some hospitals have these things included in the package but some do not. It is a must to inquire about these matter to your agency. You need to spend frugally until you earn your first paycheck. Until then, you have to live with the stipend unless you brought some pocket money before leaving the Philippines.

Learn to Drive in the Philippines: If you can, you need to learn to drive and secure a driving license in the Philippines. Knowing how to drive in the US is not a luxury but a necessity. There are public transport facilities available but it is very time consuming and inconvenient to wait for buses, and taxis at times. When you have a Philippine driver’s license, some State allows you to drive for one year as long as your license is valid. Another thing is, if you provide a Philippine driver’s license when you apply for a driver’s License in the US, you are exempted to take the drug test. On top of these, you will also have a big edge in passing the driving test. It is also lot easier and less expensive to learn to drive in the Philippines than learning it in the US.

Learn about the US Hospital Environment: The Philippine Hospital environment is totally different from those in the US, from the way they treat their patients, the patients themselves, the equipment used, and the procedures. Don't be fooled of the patient-nurse ratio of five patients to one nurse in the US against forty patients to one nurse in the Philippines. The procedure necessary for you to handle five patients in the US exceeds the procedure in handling forty patients in the Philippines. The documentations alone consumes so much time. You need to be ready for this. Orientation period is usually six weeks (on the floor) after the classroom orientation. You need focus and alertness on the work floor. It appears that it is during the orientation that you will experience difficulty but will soon get use to it in no time.

Practice Talking and Listening in English: You need to be adept in English comprehension. This should be easy because Filipinos are very good in English. However, the way Americans speak English is different from the way we do in terms of pronunciation and accent. Many foreign nurses find it difficult to understand doctor’s orders. The key solution is practice. The more you practice, the easier it would be for you.

Image from Philamllc.com