Foo - Good Cover Letter and Resume

Anyone good at writing up a cover letter or resume?

Any hints or suggestions for a strong application, and to be able to take it to interview?

Suggestions from HR people? What has worked for you in the past?

Too many résumés are best described as keyword spam. Try not to be one of them.

Too many résumés are best described as keyword spam. Try not to be one of them.

Hey there, can you clarify more about what you mean by keyword spam on a résumé? Do you have an example?

Here's a website for you. It talks about key words:

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumes/u/resumesandletters.htm#s1

Try and limit your resume and cover to one page each. Be brief. Highlight pertinent and important issues. Allow the interviewer to fresh out the details in an oral interview. Remember HR has to read 100's of resumes and get through them quickly... if too wordy, it gets set aside. For instance:

Good:

JOB HISTORY:

2001 - 2005 XYZ Corp, Los Angeles, CA. Director of new product development. Responsible for staff of 12. Expert knowlegde in all aspect of computer programs and software.

Poor:

JOB HISTORY:

2001 - 2005 XYZ, Corp., near the Staple Center, on Grand, in the Cuty of Angeles (Los Angeles). Started in the shipping department and after putting in long hard hours was finally promoted to the director of new product development. My staff comes and goes but generally there is between 10 - 12. I am responsible for creating their job duties and supervising all aspects of their work. I get in at 8 just to make sure everyone is at their desk...

* * *

OK alittle over the top but you get my drift (I've actually seen a resume similar to the latter one). Keep it simple especially if there is no job history. Employer's know when they see bull so don't go there.

Do not include any naked pictures of yourself, no matter how flattering, unless you are applying for a position in the adult video industry.

NO spelling, grammatical, punctuation etc errors. Period.

Do not include any naked pictures of yourself, no matter how flattering, unless you are applying for a position in the adult video industry.

Taerom's Adult Entertainment Inc is now accepting applications. Please PM cover letter and resume along with self portrait. Minimum of three years industry experience required.

Do not list bug boy as a reference.

I've helped a lot of people put together resumes for job applications as well as for grad school. One thing that has worked well for all of them is to have a professional summary at the top of their resume. The first question I usually ask people when helping them is how they would describe themselves in 30 seconds. This eventually is crafted into a 1-2 sentence summary that is often followed by a bulleted list summarizing their main qualifications.

The resume should, in some ways, be like a teaser. Include enough information to make them want to pick up the phone to find out more, but not so much that it becomes tiresome to read.

Thanks, that is very interesting stuff. Any more?

When you're done, print off your resume and hold it five feet away and see what you notice first. That will be the first thing an employer (someone not already familiar with YOUR resume) will notice. I recently learned/did this, and realized I had to adjust my margins to make it look more complete. Did wonders.. Then do it again until there's nothing extreme (or until your name is first to be seen)..

EDIT: and DEFINITELY have someone else proofread it...

When you're done, print off your resume and hold it five feet away and see what you notice first. That will be the first thing an employer (someone not already familiar with YOUR resume) will notice. I recently learned/did this, and realized I had to adjust my margins to make it look more complete. Did wonders.. Then do it again until there's nothing extreme (or until your name is first to be seen)..

EDIT: and DEFINITELY have someone else proofread it...

+100

By the time you've come up with a final draft, you will have looked at your resume so many times you might miss small spelling or punctuation errors. Give it to a couple people before sending it out. Also consider slightly different versions of your resume depending on where you are applying. You may want to emphasize different skill sets or projects depending on who is reading it.

I took a class on interviewing (being an interviewer) from a HR professional a few years ago. They said that the "Knock 'em Dead" series by an author named martin yates are the "bibles" in the HR world. He has a "knock 'em dead" book for resumes, cover letters, and a few others too.

Take that info with a grain of salt, but it's what I was told from the HR person.