7 Mistakes That Will Make an Employer Ignore Your Resume

Thirty seconds. According to a 2012 survey by CareerBuilder, that’s how long hiring managers spend skimming each resume they receive.  In this economy, with hundreds of applications for each position, you have to create a resume that is as flawless as possible—but too many job seekers make crucial errors.  Avoiding these 7 common, but avoidable, mistakes may mean the difference between getting an interview and having your resume ignored.

Mistake #1: Failing to Proofread

Spelling and grammatical errors are at the top of employer pet peeves when it comes to reviewing resumes. In fact, in a recent survey from Adecco, employers said these types of errors were the number one reason why resumes were ignored.  Here’s the truth: employers expect resumes to be perfect, so if spelling and grammar rules are not your strength, find a friend or mentor who will look over your job application packet.  Another pair of eyes will certainly see things that you will not—and help you get your foot in the door.

5 Tips For Writing Your First CV

An employer or recruiter may only review your CV for 30 seconds when they will be looking to identify the key points that will help them to make a decision on your application. It is critical, therefore, to make sure that the content and structure of your CV promotes you in the most positive way.
Unfortunately there is not one magic rule to make sure your CV stands out from all of the others. However here are a few tips that will hopefully help you when writing your first CV.
1. Tailor your CV
Make sure that your CV is tailored to the job that you are applying for. Research the company and the industry beforehand to gain an understanding of what it is they are looking for. Once you have thought about your content, you are ready to write the CV. Make sure that when writing it you are consistent with the format throughout - a poorly produced CV is more likely to put off an employer/recruiter.

How to Write a Winning CV Cover Letter

When you apply for a job, you should always accompany your CV with a cover letter. This document is hugely important and is your first introduction to a potential employer. This introduction gives you a chance to personalise your job application.
In your letter, you get the chance to quickly and clearly outline your qualifications and explain to the reader why you would be good for the job and why you are interested in the job. A well written, clear letter can make a massive difference to the success of a job application.
Tips and Advice
Your cover letter is your sales pitch and is your chance to sell yourself and make yourself stand out from the crowd. Your presentation here is critical. It is the first impression the employer will get of you so make sure you grammar and spelling are correct and the it is laid out in a neat and tidy format.

Top Ten Ways to Create A Killer LinkedIn Profile

There are social networks out there and then there is LinkedIn. LinkedIn has become the dominant network for business. It has also become the dominant tool for headhunters, recruiters and anyone looking to hire someone.
As a headhunter, I use LinkedIn to find potential candidates more than any other source. I pay money to use LinkedIn as a recruiter. Since I pay for every message I send to someone on LinkedIn, I'm very careful about who I contact.
I'm going to reveal to you exactly how headhunters and hiring people use LinkedIn to find people. If you know how we search, you'll be able to create a profile that is more search friendly and will pop up more frequently. Even if you are not actively looking for a new job, it's always interesting to hear about what's available on the market.
Here are the TOP TEN WAYS to create a search friendly profile so you have headhunters and recruiters clamoring at your door:
10: In your Professional Headline, list the skills for which you want to be known. If you are a website designer, put that in first. Next to it, add your other skills - content creator, graphic artist, user experience designer, etc. Your name and this little paragraph is what appear in a search result, nothing else. If this section looks good, and ONLY if it looks good, will I take the time to open the full profile.

Writing Effective LinkedIn Headline

Many people now understand that LinkedIn is an important social media tool for business. There are many different elements that make up your profile. One of those elements that is critical and often disregarded is the headline.
Giving your headline a facelift
If you aren't sure how effective your LinkedIn headline is, it is definitely time to examine it closely as soon as possible. If you read your headline and you aren't sure of its potency, it is definitely time to reevaluate. You should never discount how important LinkedIn is for your professional reputation and for your online presence. If all you have is the minimum amount of information that you could possibly have, such as your title and the name of your business, your headline needs a facelift. It is common to see that many people don't know how to write a really effective headline. You would be surprised at how many people have headlines that have been there for a long time and have not changed the entire time. The reason for that is because many people don't realize that you can actually edit your headline. You have the ability to change it any way that you want.

Top Volunteering Interview Questions

I know what you're thinking: "I have to do an interview to VOLUNTEER?" but don't throw in the towel just yet. Volunteer interviews simply allow the company that you're applying with to get an idea of who their going to be working with, and ensure that it is a good fit. Here are some of my typical answers to the 10 most common volunteer interview questions.
1. Why do you want to volunteer with our organization?
There can be numerous reasons depending on the organization. But I try to hit on a few key points:
  • To obtain work experience
  • To meet new people from different backgrounds
  • To give back to the community
2. What has been your most rewarding volunteering experience so far?
Here I usually just tell a short, simple and heartwarming story from any of my volunteer experiences. For example: When I was volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Bolivia: A squirrel monkey came in with an injured eye; and although the Vet was unable to save the eye, she did save the little monkey. Everyone at the center banded together to nurse that little monkey back to health, and he is now happily living out his days there. I would then state that this taught me about the power of working as a team and the resiliency of both human and animal spirit, or something along those lines.

Interview Questions To Ask Employer

Picture this: you're in a job interview, you're well prepared with possible questions that might come your way. You presented yourself well, and would love to get this job. Now it's the end of the interview and you reach the final question:
'Do you have any further questions I can answer for you?' Most people will give the standard answer: 'Thank you, you have already covered all my open questions during our conversation. At this point in time, I don't have any questions.'
This is a place where so many people go wrong in an interview.
What's Wrong With This Answer?
During my career of interviewing hundreds of potential candidates whenever I would hear that answer, the first thing that came to my mind was: 'Mhmm, I'm not sure if this person is the right candidate... '
It may sound a little harsh, but If a candidate cannot think of any interview questions to ask, they appear not to be interested in the role. It leaves a feeling that he or she would have probably taken any job, possibly leaving me once they get a better offer.

Using Linkedin To Find Internships

LinkedIn is the professional networking and job searching social site. You may not have a full time job yet, but having (and taking time to update) a LinkedIn account is a great way to speed up your search for a good internship. There are three main reasons to utilize a LinkedIn account – creating a professional brand online, networking and finding internships or jobs.

1. Create a Professional Brand – LinkedIn is an important part of your internship search because the site helps you work on personal branding. LinkedIn's Learning Center even helps users develop an appealing page that could get the attention of employers. By completing details such as seminars attended, awards, educational attainment, personal blog and all other professional achievements which prospective persons can review and evaluate, you are creating your online brand.
The goal is to differentiate yourself from other internship seekers, so it's important to spend more time building your page. One way to get positive attention is by becoming an "expert" by sharing industry secrets, tips and other types of information on the LinkedIn Answers. Of course, you'll get to be featured on LinkedIn as an "expert," so you should take advantage of this feature.

How can You Write an Effective MBA Resume

Who can deny the charm of the word MBA these days? No one since the word has taken the world by storm almost and what is most amazing is that the majority of people across the globe consider it as a job assuring program, especially in the private sector. Is this true? Well, there can be long debates but it can certainly be said that the acid test is writing a proper MBA resume. Believe it or not, whether a student is fit for the job or not gets determined through a single test - whether he can write a proper MBA resume or not.
How should you begin then? Keep in mind that writing of a good job application letter is very important for having a decent job. If you want to get hold of a nice job as an MBA student then you must set up an effective cover letter. Your first and foremost duty is to keep your document short and simple. Never forget that you are writing a MBA resume so you can't make any fuss. Try to write your letter in such a manner that the length is simply nice, not too short or too long. The first paragraph is supposed to address the person by name and second paragraph should include your set of skills.
What should be the next process in writing the MBA resume? Never try to be too descriptive of your own; be job specific and succinct always. Never forget that the employer always remains concerned in your educational qualification and professional skills. He is in no way concerned in knowing your personal skills and character. For that reason only, talk about those things that relates to the job for which you are applying.

Mobile Resume: The Wonders of a QR Code

Technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives, especially in the world of resumes, job searching and interviews. The QR code is one such example of how the job world has been revolutionized.
The QR code to the mobile resume is increasingly replacing the traditional paper resumes. The mobile resume is a very attractive alternative to the plain, old-fashioned CVs and effectively shows that the candidate is equipped IT skills that are very much demanded today.
Here are some reasons why mobile resume might be the future of today's boring paper resume.

The Mobile Resume Engages the Reader
Many job candidates today are very receptive to the world's trends. Those that fail to keep up in this technologically-driven economy will find problems getting employed in companies that require IT skills and expertise.
The QR code is an apt representation of being tech-savvy. By handing or presenting the QR code to the hiring manager anywhere (from a job fair to a social function), the hiring manager just has to scan the code, which won't even take a minute. This would direct him or her to a delightful, informative presentation of a resume on the mobile phone. The mobile resume can be used for almost every industry and is definitely more eye catching than the mundane, plain paper resume.

Apply to Multiple IT Jobs With one Resume

The job application process can be time-consuming. You know that you need to submit your resume over and over again. If there are 10 companies hiring, that means that you need to send out 10 different resumes. If you are like most people, you are also trying to apply for IT jobs that aren̢۪t even vacant in the hopes that your resume is better than the person that they currently have in the position. This means that you may be sending out dozens of resumes. You have the ability to apply for multiple jobs one resume - and this can save you
a significant amount of time.
Make Your Resume Look Good
When you apply for IT jobs, you want to make your resume look as good as possible. This means keeping it up to date with all of your recent training seminars, certifications, and job experience. Before you can even think about submitting a resume to accompany, you need to make sure that you have listed all of your skills and included the most recent in that you have been involved in.
You never want to show significant gaps in your resume. If you have been out of work, make sure you show something - seminars, freelance, consulting or something else to show you were active, just not employed with a specific firm.

Find the Best of Career Opportunity

If you are a person who is searching the ways to find career opportunity, then you have arrived at the right place. This article gives you detail about how to find best career opportunity.
Searching for the new employment(s) can lead an individual to where ever he/she thinks there may be career opportunity. From the daily classified(s) to online venues, most of the individuals look to make the change in their career that will improve their standards in life. For some people, this can be as simple as submitting their resume or curriculum vitae to a number of appealing listings. For some other people, increasing their chance(s) for the better career opportunities will mean returning to school or receiving some other kind of degree. Either way, the hunt for the perfect place to work has almost turned into a full time job itself.
To make things easier, career opportunity are often broken down in different categories. These categories can go by job position or even industry. A number of online websites offer advice and helpful resources for all types of professions. Whether one is looking to work in the sports industry; education; culinary arts; or even the medical field there is likely to be a website offering information on diverse career opportunity. These opportunities can be both national and worldwide. Typically, all the users of the website are allowed to not only read listings but post their own resumes to be seen by a vast number of organizations.

Write A Great Resume For HR Jobs

There are no specific rules on drafting a resume for an HR position. However, the document should convey you have excellent public relation skills and are genuinely interested in the welfare of company employees. It should also communicate you value empathy and sensitivity. Read on for tips and techniques on how to write an effective resume for HR jobs.
Roles and Responsibilities of the HR Personnel
Crafting a resume for an HR job requires you to understand the typical roles and responsibilities of an HR personnel. They often include developing and implementing policies to promote welfare of the employees as well as forging relations with other organizations Formulating compensation schemes, incentive programs as well as safety and occupational health measures are also part of the job.
What Makes a Great Resume for HR Jobs
Apart from clearly stating your experience in handling HR jobs, consider the following highlights of a great resume for HR jobs:

How to Write Effective Journalism Cover Letters

Journalism involves a systematic practice of representing various happenings and events. It relates to serving the targeted audience and communicating the things in a well coordinated manner. Hence, you need to cover your excellent communication and coordination skills while writing a journalism cover letter. Such a letter should help you in presenting your profile in the most effective way by highlighting key aspects of journalism.
Thus, as a journalist, you need to put forth your prior working experience and commitment towards the work. Such a job involves altogether a different kind of lifestyle and assumes dedicated services from you. Hence, you need to highlight your strong career aspirations in connection with journalism and your abilities to perform the best in the specific environment. Here are some of the tips or guidelines which would surely help you to closely coordinate the content for the letter and thereby, improve your job prospects consequently.

Referral Cover Letters

As a result of increased job opportunities, the job search competition has also intensified. Hence, for a limited number of vacancies we find a heap of applications and the recruiter is loaded with applications. So, in order to screen such applications, he applies various criteria such as under-qualification, over-qualification, salary expectation, recommendations and many more and thereby, reduces applications to a manageable number. This helps to lower the number of applications and thereby, reduces the employer's burden to go through each resume and cover letter.
Importance of referral cover letters:
The referral cover letters are written from a high authority or relation having a strong power to recommend the candidate personally for the specific position. The recommending person can be a principal or respectable authority from any corporation. He is the person having considerable knowledge about the candidate and can render his personal opinion about the candidate's performance and skills. Thus, for writing referral cover letters you need to keep in mind the following things.

LinkedIn Strategy: Info for Beginners

Developing a LinkedIn strategy can prove to be very important for success and expansion for many of the professionals that use it on a daily basis. LinkedIn is an online network designed for professionals who want to give themselves an competitive advantage with regard to their work.
Using LinkedIn can be beneficial to professionals in many different ways, including the way it helps build and maintain a network of professionals that you can come to know and trust; a broader network than a professional who did not use LinkedIn would likely be able to build and maintain. With this network of professionals that you will become associated with through using LinkedIn, you will gain access to a collective of knowledge and information that is relevant to you, and would not otherwise have been accessible without the use of the LinkedIn service. LinkedIn gives its users the ability to discover and learn about various other companies that are out there, and to become aware of opportunities that would've otherwise gone unnoticed.

Using Keywords Effectively to Top the LinkedIn Search Results

If you're running a business, I'm sure you've heard about LinkedIn. LinkedIn is considered as the social media site for business professionals and it has made a big splash in the business world.
The secret to success with LinkedIn is topping the search results within this medium. But how can you ensure that your profile appears at the top of the search rankings? Well, I'm going to share some important key points that can lead you to the top of LinkedIn search results.
The first thing that you need to realize is the influence of keywords. Basically, a LinkedIn profile that is strategically sprinkled with the keywords that you want to rank for will guarantee that you show up at the top of the search rankings. There are five areas in your LinkedIn profile that needs to contain your chosen keywords:
The first part is the "headline". The headline should let people how you can assist them or it should introduce your products and services that you offer. Make it a short, clean and compelling headline. Your headline should explain what you do, and it should show the benefits they can get for connecting with you. Insert keywords when trying to make your headline. This will improve your search rankings. The next areas that must contain your keywords are "current work experience" and "past work experience". Adding keywords on this area will make you profile more relevant, thus increasing your page rank in search results. Here, you may use niche-specific keywords.

A Career in Clinical Research - How You Benefit

Having previously dissected the skills that employers are looking for and the career paths available, this time my focus switches to hiring trends in clinical research and the rewards you can expect as a professional working in the sector.
From hands on involvement in cutting edge therapy development, the chance to work in a truly innovative environment, the option to work flexible hours to attain the perfect work-life balance and being rewarded handsomely for your efforts, the clinical research industry does offer plenty of enticing career lures.
But let's start with experience, knowledge and skills required. The first essential requirement that the majority of Clinical Research Organisations (CROs) are looking for is clinical research professionals who have at least one or two years' onsite clinical monitoring experience (it is worth noting that CROs have to fulfil the expectations of their sponsor prior to working on a given study).
Although Pharma companies tend to outsource their activities to CROs, those with in-house clinical research units are more likely to promote their employees and train them internally, rather than looking for talent externally. Therefore, the scope for career development within the pharmaceutical industry itself is first class.

European Resume

How to write a European Resume?

If you’re thinking about studying abroad or would like to work in a European country, it’ll be indispensable for you to be able to show your skills and abilities in an easy-to-understand mode. 
You've to know there are divergences among countries when talking about resumes. The same resume isn't valid for all countries, and not only because of the language.  
Different countries ask and expect certain information to be present on resumes, and consequently it is critical that your new resume fills the unique requirements of that country. 
American resume tend to be ‘functional’ exposing skills and experience but they often miss depth and don’t equate experience with employers. 
So, what about the European Resume? 
European resume tend to be chronological and often gloss over skills.

Tips to Make Your Career Development Plan Work

Career Development is a favourite topic on the agenda of employees and their managers. Career development plans are created at the start of the year and then put on back burner till the year end or next formal performance appraisal. What can you do to avoid getting into this trap and use it to propel career growth and pay raise.
The following tips are provided to help you ensure that your career development plans are relevant and reflect the skills and capabilities you want or need to build in a world where change is the only constant!
Does the Career Development Plan work for you?
At the end of the day, it's your development and your career. You are responsible for proactively ensuring that your development is in line with your own performance expectations or career aspirations.
Prepare in advance
Most of the employees feel that they are in grip of their career and walk in unprepared for the career plan review meetings with their manger. The discussions are generally vague with a lot of feel good factor and no solid action. Knowing your manager very well cannot be the excuse for not having prepared for the meeting.