Your resume must capture the reader’s attention within the first 15 seconds or risk being lost in the reject pile. One key success factor for your resume is its readability, that is, how easily and quickly the reader can absorb your information without loosing interest. To help you gain maximum attention, here are ten tips to keep eyes focused on your resume.
1. Avoid small font. Nothing in your resume should be smaller than 11 point. If your reader has to squint, he’ll end up skimming over the important parts of your resume.
2. Keep your font simple. They may not be the snazziest, but the two easiest-to-read fonts are Arial and Times New Roman. Anything in your resume that causes eye strain de-motivates the reader to keep reading.
3. Don’t write large blocks of text. A resume reader’s attention span just isn’t up to more than three consecutive lines of text. Beyond four lines and your block of text gets ignored completely.
4. Use white space to separate bullet points. The purpose of bullet points is to visually separate text so that your information stands out in easy-to-digest bits. Without white space your list of bullet points takes on the look of an extended block of text.
5. Don’t try to squeeze too much onto the page. A densely packed resume carries a 0% motivating factor-nobody wants to read it! Never sacrifice readability in order to keep your resume to a certain page length.
6. Write concisely. The best way to insure your resume isn’t too dense is to keep your words to a minimum. Keep the fluff out so that your important key words stand out loud and clear.
7. Keep your bullet points to two lines each. Bullet points are a shortcut method of giving your reader a lot of information quickly. If your bullets are longer than two lines you’re probably trying to give more information than necessary.
8. Use bolding to visually direct the reader’s eye. Not only does bolding break up the gray space, it helps draw attention to specific critical skills and quantified information. It also helps slow the speed of reading to avoid fast skimming of your information.
9. Use lines to separate resume sections. Simple lines work as a visual break between the different types of information within your resume. They help the reader make the transition between sections without taking up too much valuable white space.
10. Don’t get fancy with design elements. Multiple styles of bullet points, line thicknesses and font styles can detract the reader’s attention away from what you want to say. Additionally, with electronic document transmission, you can never tell if your design elements will be read correctly or if they translate into non-readable coding.
Once you’ve implemented these ten strategies your resume will gain stronger interest from potential employers and recruiters as they actually spend more time reading your resume. The result is more interview requests. Improve your resume’s readability and improve your odds of getting hired quicker.
Deborah Walker, CCMC is a career coach helping job seekers nationwide. Her clients gain skills in resume writing, interviewing and salary negotiation. See her sampleresumes and read more job search tips at: http://www.AlphaAdvantage.com.
Our candidates and employers work in these areas: mobile hydraulics, industrial hydraulics and pneumatics, robotics, motion control, power transmission, bearings, and fluid sealing. Typically, they are selling, designing or manufacturing components and systems comprised of pumps, motors, valves, cylinders, manifolds, seals, hose and fittings, or filtration.
A unique benefit of pursuing a career in fluid power is that our industry encompasses many fields. These include construction, agriculture, entertainment/simulation, automotive, material handling, biomedical, automation, machine tools, utilities, wood processing, packaging machinery, plastics machinery, military, marine and offshore, and aerospace.
1. Avoid small font. Nothing in your resume should be smaller than 11 point. If your reader has to squint, he’ll end up skimming over the important parts of your resume.2. Keep your font simple. They may not be the snazziest, but the two easiest-to-read fonts are Arial and Times New Roman. Anything in your resume that causes eye strain de-motivates the reader to keep reading.
3. Don’t write large blocks of text. A resume reader’s attention span just isn’t up to more than three consecutive lines of text. Beyond four lines and your block of text gets ignored completely.
4. Use white space to separate bullet points. The purpose of bullet points is to visually separate text so that your information stands out in easy-to-digest bits. Without white space your list of bullet points takes on the look of an extended block of text.
5. Don’t try to squeeze too much onto the page. A densely packed resume carries a 0% motivating factor-nobody wants to read it! Never sacrifice readability in order to keep your resume to a certain page length.
6. Write concisely. The best way to insure your resume isn’t too dense is to keep your words to a minimum. Keep the fluff out so that your important key words stand out loud and clear.
7. Keep your bullet points to two lines each. Bullet points are a shortcut method of giving your reader a lot of information quickly. If your bullets are longer than two lines you’re probably trying to give more information than necessary.
8. Use bolding to visually direct the reader’s eye. Not only does bolding break up the gray space, it helps draw attention to specific critical skills and quantified information. It also helps slow the speed of reading to avoid fast skimming of your information.
9. Use lines to separate resume sections. Simple lines work as a visual break between the different types of information within your resume. They help the reader make the transition between sections without taking up too much valuable white space.
10. Don’t get fancy with design elements. Multiple styles of bullet points, line thicknesses and font styles can detract the reader’s attention away from what you want to say. Additionally, with electronic document transmission, you can never tell if your design elements will be read correctly or if they translate into non-readable coding.
Once you’ve implemented these ten strategies your resume will gain stronger interest from potential employers and recruiters as they actually spend more time reading your resume. The result is more interview requests. Improve your resume’s readability and improve your odds of getting hired quicker.
Deborah Walker, CCMC is a career coach helping job seekers nationwide. Her clients gain skills in resume writing, interviewing and salary negotiation. See her sampleresumes and read more job search tips at: http://www.AlphaAdvantage.com.
Fluid Power Jobs and Bosco-Hubert & Associates, LLC are continually working to find the best talent in our industries, including; fluid power, motion control, power transmission, and automation. If you have experience working for a fluid power manufacturer or distributor, we can give you an objective view of the conditions in the industry that can directly affect your income and lifestyle!
Our candidates and employers work in these areas: mobile hydraulics, industrial hydraulics and pneumatics, robotics, motion control, power transmission, bearings, and fluid sealing. Typically, they are selling, designing or manufacturing components and systems comprised of pumps, motors, valves, cylinders, manifolds, seals, hose and fittings, or filtration.
A unique benefit of pursuing a career in fluid power is that our industry encompasses many fields. These include construction, agriculture, entertainment/simulation, automotive, material handling, biomedical, automation, machine tools, utilities, wood processing, packaging machinery, plastics machinery, military, marine and offshore, and aerospace.
Labels: job seeker, resume
Friday, November 6, 2009
Questions to Ask an Interviewer
Job seekers usually ask themselves what interview questions to bring when preparing for their interview. These may be a crucial part in giving the impression that they are interested in the job position and well-informed about the company. Ask intelligent questions.
Take note that an interview is a two-way process. Employers often allow the applicants the time to ask few questions during an interview. Be prepared with some questions of your own that you feel will help you better understand the job, the company, their policies, compensation terms and other necessary details.
Make sure it is associated to the job, company, to what the interviewee offer the company when considering what interview questions to prepare. You could write it down on a sheet of paper of remember it. It could be your guide during the interview. You could revise it as you go along, depending on how the conversation turned out.
What Particular Questions to Ask
A particular job and industry will greatly help the applicants decide what interview questions to ask the individual they are meeting with when talking about the job. So, the following are some good queries to prepare which will help the applicants make a short list together.
Interview Questions To Ask About the Job
The applicants may ask about the qualities of the perfect candidate for the job position, the usual workday for the position, the special skills this position needs, and the special skills would the perfect candidate must have.
The interviewee may also ask about the people he will be working with and the people he will be handling if applicable. He may also ask if the position is newly created or just looking for a replacement, how his performance on the work be measured, and how much travel time he would need to reach the office.
They may also ask about the better things did by the company than its competitors, the goals of the department they will be working in, the company goals, and the reason why the group was matched into the company’s organizational structure.
The applicants may also know the things about the company’s biggest challenge, its competitive advantage, and the interviewer’s most want about the company.
Interview Questions to Ask the Hiring Manager
The applicants may also ask about the specific objectives made for the position in the first 6 months or 12 months, challenges he could expect to fulfill these and which were stated in the first question, and ask suggestions about making this role easier in the future.
The applicants may also ask if the company give employee training and what are the rules of the company on continuing education.
Interview Questions to Ask Before Leaving the Interview
And lastly, the applicants may also clarify if there are some questions that need to be answered about the background and qualification for the job position, if there are questions need further clarification, any concerns about interviewee’s suitability for the job position, qualities of the applicant compared with other candidates, and knowing what is the next step in the interview process.
Keep track of the flow of conversation because you might ask a question that has been previously answered during your dialogue. Try not to be redundant because it usually annoys the employer. It also reflects on your listening skill and attentiveness.
For more information on Job interview questions and Visa Interview Questions. Please visit our website.
Source: http://www.employmentdigest.net/2009/11/questions-to-ask-an-interviewer/
Job seekers usually ask themselves what interview questions to bring when preparing for their interview. These may be a crucial part in giving the impression that they are interested in the job position and well-informed about the company. Ask intelligent questions.
Take note that an interview is a two-way process. Employers often allow the applicants the time to ask few questions during an interview. Be prepared with some questions of your own that you feel will help you better understand the job, the company, their policies, compensation terms and other necessary details.
Make sure it is associated to the job, company, to what the interviewee offer the company when considering what interview questions to prepare. You could write it down on a sheet of paper of remember it. It could be your guide during the interview. You could revise it as you go along, depending on how the conversation turned out.
What Particular Questions to Ask
A particular job and industry will greatly help the applicants decide what interview questions to ask the individual they are meeting with when talking about the job. So, the following are some good queries to prepare which will help the applicants make a short list together.
Interview Questions To Ask About the Job
The applicants may ask about the qualities of the perfect candidate for the job position, the usual workday for the position, the special skills this position needs, and the special skills would the perfect candidate must have.
The interviewee may also ask about the people he will be working with and the people he will be handling if applicable. He may also ask if the position is newly created or just looking for a replacement, how his performance on the work be measured, and how much travel time he would need to reach the office.
They may also ask about the better things did by the company than its competitors, the goals of the department they will be working in, the company goals, and the reason why the group was matched into the company’s organizational structure.
The applicants may also know the things about the company’s biggest challenge, its competitive advantage, and the interviewer’s most want about the company.
Interview Questions to Ask the Hiring Manager
The applicants may also ask about the specific objectives made for the position in the first 6 months or 12 months, challenges he could expect to fulfill these and which were stated in the first question, and ask suggestions about making this role easier in the future.
The applicants may also ask if the company give employee training and what are the rules of the company on continuing education.
Interview Questions to Ask Before Leaving the Interview
And lastly, the applicants may also clarify if there are some questions that need to be answered about the background and qualification for the job position, if there are questions need further clarification, any concerns about interviewee’s suitability for the job position, qualities of the applicant compared with other candidates, and knowing what is the next step in the interview process.
Keep track of the flow of conversation because you might ask a question that has been previously answered during your dialogue. Try not to be redundant because it usually annoys the employer. It also reflects on your listening skill and attentiveness.
For more information on Job interview questions and Visa Interview Questions. Please visit our website.
Source: http://www.employmentdigest.net/2009/11/questions-to-ask-an-interviewer/
Labels: interview, job seeker