How To Edge Out Competition for a Good Job?

Issue I: Sending your resume

There are so many people competing for the same jobs, today! What can you do to give yourself every advantage?


ONLY APPLY TO JOBS FOR WHICH YOU ARE QUALIFIED!

Your target jobs should be only the ones for which you are qualified. Sending resumes to EVERY job listed doesn't increase your chances of getting a job, it just makes the HR department's job more difficult when trying to vet the best candidate. You may have been passed over for a job for which you truly are qualified because the HR manager was bombarded with unqualified resumes, gave up and hired someone else rather than read more resumes to find the perfect candidate! If the ad says, "two years experience required," and you have just graduated... don't send your resume. If you have never done this job but think you CAN do it... don't send your resume, instead, apply to entry level jobs. Likewise, if you have 25 years experience and the job description says, "ENTRY LEVEL," don't send your resume! Qualify the jobs and send your resume only to the jobs you are qualified for and really can do! You will get more calls for interviews if you take your time and qualify the jobs for which you apply.

BE SURE YOUR RESUME IS PERFECT!
We receive thousands of resumes and so many are badly written, have errors, difficult to read or understand or are incomplete. Your resume is a written representation of you, take time to make it as nice as you possibly can, do a good job and don't forget that you can get help at teh unemployment office. They offer free resume help! Don't lie on your resume or references, the truth always comes out and in this day of the internet, there are few secrets. If someone wants your work history or education information, they can find it. Never go back more than ten years on your resume, never send more than two pages for a resume and do not send email resumes with email addresses which are off color or improper. Have a separate email address just for resume and job searches. Be sure to proof all correspondence, cover letters and resumes before sending. Be certain there is a phone number on your resume and that the phone is working, the voice mail is working, the ring-tone is not loud music and your voice mail message is proper, polite and represents you as a reliable person the HR manager would like to invited in for an interview!

PREPARING FOR INTERVIEWS
this blog will be continued on issue two.