Under the basic contact information, there is a major opportunity for any job seeker to define themself and their career for the readers of their resume. Yet, so many applicants ignore this opportunity.

Whether you choose to put a paragraph or two together or to simply use bullets and a list, this is the place to give the facts about your experience and your skills.

Instead, what I read in resume after resume is a selection of the following adjectives: “dedicated, loyal, team player, works well independently or in a team, compassionate, friendly, organized, self-starter”.
You get my drift.

Unfortunately, none of these adjectives tells me anything about experience or skills. Instead, the message I get is that the person is unable to understand how to present their background to a prospective employer. Right away, I have a query about their communication skills.

As a recruiter, here is what I am looking for: how many years of experience in their chosen career field do they have? What are their competencies in areas essential to jobs that I am recruiting for, such as specific types of software? Do they have management experience? I am not looking for a full career history. I should be able to read that in the Employment History to follow. I am looking to see if there is a basic match between my clients’ requirements and the candidate. Is it worth my reading the rest of the resume?

Contrast a list of the above adjectives previously mentioned with a simple synopsis like this:

“I am a seasoned medical administrator with ten years of experience in surgical practices with management experience, OR scheduling and am familiar with at least two electronic medical records programmes”.

In a matter of seconds, I know that I want to continue reading this resume, at the very least.

Those adjectives that you think constitute a profile are expressions that we recruiters like to hear from references.

As a job seeker, do yourself a favour and don’t miss out on the opportunity to hook the recruiter’s interest early.

The old thinking used to be that employers wanted to see if a prospective employee was “well rounded”. In 2010, they only care that you can do the job!

The exceptions would be if you are involved in volunteer or charitable work or if your hobby requires a certain level of skill, such as piloting a plane.
Otherwise, less is more on a resume!

The one that job seekers seem to hate the most is the “strengths and weaknesses” question.

Most of us can rattle off our strengths but when it comes to weaknesses, that’s harder.

No one likes to detail their weaknesses and if you don’t bring up any, it can be perceived as arrogance by an interviewer.

I advise candidates to think of some areas where they don’t have much in depth knowledge. Telling a prospective employer that you have not had a chance to use Excel (or whatever) much and that you would like to take a course to hone your skills makes you look honest, ambitious and willing to learn.

There is nothing wrong with letting an employer know that there are areas where you feel you could use more training. It is taking a negative and turning it into a positive.

The other question that job seekers hate is being asked what their current salary is.
I suggest getting around this by saying “my salary expectations for a position such as this one, would be $xx”.

If you quote your actual salary, the employer will focus on starting you in that range or just slightly above and the employer may well have been planning on a higher salary.
State the amount that you are looking for based on what you know about the responsibilities of the job.

So your resume has earned you an interview.
Here’s how to make it a successful one:

1) Research the company/employer if at all possible. Read the company web site if there is one. Know their products or services.

2) Be early for the interview. Yes, early, not just on time. It demonstrates planning.
You’ve shown that you have allowed for that margin of error. Better that you are sitting there waiting for the interviewer than the reverse. There is always that unexpected problem that can crop up.
If the interviewer is available earlier, you’ve made his/her day easier.
Know exactly the location of the office or facility. Check transit or driving times.
Do a dry run on a weekend if necessary. If you’re late, it’s pretty safe to assume that you won’t get the job.

3) Dress appropriately. It counts. It doesn’t matter if the job is one with a very relaxed dress code and you will be wearing jeans or a uniform every day, if you get the job. By dressing in a professional manner, you show respect for the interviewer, the position and yourself. I don’t know of any job seekers who lost a position because they were overdressed for an interview but I know many who lost a position for being underdressed or inappropriately dressed.
For women: a suit with a skirt or pants and a tailored blouse is suitable. No low cut necklines, no long, scarlet fingernails. Keep jewellery simple and understated. No long dangling earrings. No towering stilleto heels.
If you have long hair, consider wearing it up or at least back off your face. You don’t want to hide behind your hair.
For men: a suit or blazer and pants with a tie always looks professional. Shave! The stubble look might be cool on a weekend but not for a job interview.

A word about piercings. A lot of young people have them today. Remove them for interviews and for work. One pair of earrings for women is fine. If you want to wear that ring through your nose on your own time, it’s fine but don’t expect to get hired wearing it.

4) Don’t bring food or drink into the interview. Now, that might seem to be self-evident but you would be surprised at how many job seekers bring a coffee in with them, while waiting to be interviewed and then actually take it in to the interview room. Don’t do it.
It’s distracting. There is the obvious potential for spills. It shows a lack of respect because your focus is not wholly on the interviewer.
If you are actually meeting at a café for an interview (more and more common in this day and age), that is different but forego the giant blueberry muffin!

5) Offer your hand if the interviewer doesn’t do it first. Make sure it’s a firm handshake. It doesn’t have to be a knuckle cruncher but don’t just lay it in the person’s palm like a wet fish. Women are particularly guilty of this.

6) Be sure and take a couple of copies of your resume with you and copies of any written references. As a recruiter, I’ve been called by clients in a panic because they are about to interview one of my candidates, but have misplaced the resume. The well prepared candidate will simply pull out a copy. You may not use it but you look well prepared. Have a list of your references with you as well. If asked, you can produce it.

7) As well, have a notepad and pen with you to make notes. Remember, you are here to learn as much as you can about the job, as well. Having a folio or folder with your resume, references and a notepad, makes you look and feel well organized.

Coming next – those difficult interview questions and how to handle them.

However, there is another area that is often neglected and can spoil a job seeker’s chance in a heartbeat: the accompanying e-mail. Remember that everything that you send to a recruiter or prospective employer gets scrutinized and this includes your accompanying e-mail as well as any cover letter.

I often receive a resume accompanied by an e-mail riddled with spelling mistakes, poor punctuation and grammatical errors. In those cases, I delete the e-mail without even opening the attachment! It speaks volumes to me about lack of attention to detail.

It should also be a given that your resume comes as an attachment NOT in the body of the e-mail. That is also an instant delete for most recruiters.

Remember that when you submit a resume, you are taking the first step in the job screening process. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot before you start!