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The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever
Liz Ryan / Business Week
Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at all costs:
1. Don’t Wrap It Up
The Summary or Objective at the top of your résumé is the wrap-up; It tells the reader, “This person know who s/he is, what s/he’s done, and why it matters.” Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s salient in your background, and puts a point on the arrow of your résumé. Don’t skip it, no matter who tells you it’s not necessary or important.
2. Tell Us Everything
Another piece of horrendous job search advice tells job-seekers to share as much information as possible. A post-millennium résumé uses up two pages, maximum, when it’s printed. (Academic CVs are another story.) Editing is a business skill, after all—just tell us what’s most noteworthy in your long list of impressive feats.
3. Use Corporatespeak
Any résumé that trumpets “cross-functional facilitation of multi-level teams” is headed straight for the shredder. The worst job-search advice tells us to write our résumés using ponderous corporate boilerplate that sinks a smart person’s résumé like a stone. Please ignore that advice, and write your résumé the way you speak.
pkkhmyn
8 months ago
4 comments
everyone is trying to make a resume like one style fits all. If you have technical skills you have to state that boldly. If your job requries getting along with people, point that out. Whatever is important to the type of job you going for is important. If you trying to get a sales job , you would want to point out how social you are and any sales exp.
CJLipps
9 months ago
2 comments
When my job was eliminated due to restructuring I was offered a course through my employer. The course was through a company called Right Management and offered great advice along with a session on resume writing. It got me out there, taught me that networking is extremely important in hunting for that elusive job. It's not all about what you know but who you know in that company that can get you in the door. A great networking site is called LinkedIn.com If you can get your employer to get you a session through Right Management, do it! I highly recommend it. If not, try LinkedIn. They have a good resume builder application there as well. Good Luck! CJ
smacdav
9 months ago
72 comments
What I'd really love to see is examples of resumes from people who got hired for the job they wanted. You hear all kinds of conflicting advice, but without examples it's sometimes hard to know even what people are talking about.
On that subject, does anyone know where/how I can get examples of good resumes? I'll be looking for work as a software/web application developer in about a year (and I'm starting to look for internships now), but I've never written a resume for anything other than academia so I'm a little bit lost.
Ninu
9 months ago
2 comments
Sir's I am a romanian guy ans I am a non-worker man from 3,4 years.What can I do to catch some job,in telecomunication for example.can you say to me/My email adress is rufus874@yahoo.com
Good bye.
Artean Ioan
3much
10 months ago
374 comments
All well and good, by and large a very insightful article...for those that want to play by these rules. It almost sounds like a "dating for jobs" etiquette! :-)
Bah! I say write an honest resume that pleases and showcases how YOU the jobseeker, wants to be perceived. Not on some cockeyed or skewed rule/model as defined by what "some say and said". The truth will out eventually someday!
Be 100% confident and don't follow anyone else's rules (including your's truly lol) - UNLESS you agree with them. And if you don't? Well then - INVENT yours based on your own principles backed up by confidence and intelligence. I know, I know - easier said than done, eh? LOL
That said, I do agree with some aspects of this article, but the fundamental still stands - there is no surefire model when it comes to jobseeking generally; what works for some people may not necessarily work for you. Pick and chooose what aspects you think makes sense and invent your own rules as you go along.
rarodulfo
about 1 year ago
6 comments
Great article. I personally know what putting a summary section to the top of your resume can do ....it will open opportunities. I learned this tip from a Career Counselor among others.
Good luck and don't ever give up because the only way you lose is if you quit trying!
davidjohnsen
about 1 year ago
132 comments
Interesting....
jemmakirk
about 1 year ago
2 comments
Regarding the controversary about having an Objective on your resume--I have heard both sides (i.e., "absolutely include it!" and "it really doesn't matter if it is there or not"). However, as a hiring manager myself ( I don't mean recruitment or HR, etc. but the one who makes the hiring decision), I can only speak for myself (well, and the other managers) I can honestly tell you that when reviewing a resume, I could not care about the Objective. Sure, I might read it, but that is because it's right there at the top. That's all. As for the other managers over the years, I have never heard one refer to an Objective or care about it either.
I am NOT telling you to definitely omit an Objective from your resume. My intention was to give you some insight from the other side of the line. If you do include one, and I cannot stress these points enough, make sure it applies to the job you are applying to, and make it succint!! I can recall reviewing resumes and reading Objectives that told me pretty clearly that the position(s) the job seeker applied for are wrong for the applicant or nowhere near what the job is even about/requires/etc. (even if it is an open req and not just a specific position). In these cases, oh and there were many, I did one of two things: tossed the resume directly after reading the Objective, or only skimmed/flipped through the rest of the resume. You do not want this to happen.
Therefore, the lesson I am trying to impart is:
Don't shoot yourself in the foot!!!
graydoll
about 1 year ago
26 comments
There are several points here with which I agree based on experience, however much of this should be considered on a case by case basis. I know people who do hiring, and the sorry truth is, all of this is up to the hiring supervisor. (Except for the HR parts, which nothing gets through the HR system, and that's pretty consistent advice I get.) Use an objective if the job you're seeking isn't quite expressly obvious by your experience, and if you're putting a resume in via a friend for a non-specific position. Don't use one if you're applying for a specific position, and your work experience is explicitly relevant to the position. a.k.a. Don't duplicate the obvious. I completely agree with scastle about creating the resume for the job.
Personally, I've found two jobs through job fairs, one through a friend and neighbor, and one through an online posting. The people I know who do hiring choose people through posted resumes online, applications, friends, etc. It's random. My best piece of advice, though, would be to edit your resume better than this article was edited. And certainly don't cut yourself short to 2 pages if you've been working in the industry for 20 years. Do consider clipping irrelevant information, though. Maybe don't cut old jobs completely, but I do make very short descriptions for the unimportant ones.
davidhall
about 1 year ago
2 comments
To futprim13 - put an Objective! I have an Objective and Qualifications sections with bullet-point lines of items in each. The Objective is what you want to do, the type of work and how (such as perm vs contract), location, willing to travel, etc. The Qualifications are what you have done, in sections - languages, databases, platforms, processes, etc. Make sure to use full names, and acronyms for search engines to find. To aogilmor - my resume was to 3 pages (25 years of work), I cut out stuff I did past 20 years, that way they don't think you're too old or whatever also, and I got it down to less than 2 pages.
MjR
about 1 year ago
6 comments
Another good thing to do if you get an interview is be honest. I had been called in for a second interview with the CIO of the company. I was asked "So why do you want to work for us? Is it because you just need a job?" My answer was "At first yes, but after meeting with several people and seeing the culture of the company it's what I am looking for." He said he had liked the answer as it was an honest one. I am now working for that company..
edahl
about 1 year ago
164 comments
I'd get rid of anything that actually feels "canned," because that kind of writing really does turn off employers. But that doesn't mean your objective section has to be written that way. An engaging, concise, non-canned objective section can do exactly what you said: summarize who you are and what you're looking for. Just make sure it's doing work and leave it in, I say.
I think that's the problem with corporate-speak as well. "Facilitated implementation of ROI-increasing measures" is a whole lot of non-specific verbiage to basically say you increased efficiency. You definitely want to stay away from that type of language. IT terms tied to specific accomplishments are great, though. Talk about specifics of what you accomplished and how it impacted your company or team. Dollar figures, product names, etc. are all great if you can fit them in without making things too long
futprim13
about 1 year ago
2 comments
Would love to know why there seems to be so much controversy over an Objective? Another "resume tips" info page I recently read said to get rid of an objective because it is considered "canned". I have since deleted it but now I'm not so sure. I actually like having it as it expresses briefly who I am & what I am looking for - but then I wonder if it can work against me as well?
scastle
about 1 year ago
62 comments
Not sure I follow on some of these though I have not been on the market in 5 years. I wonder if they consider “IT” speak and “Corporate” speak the same thing. If they do I want to see someone write a resume for an IT job without it. One thing I did not see mentioned is writing a resume for the job. I have had luck with that in the past. It allows you to make the most of the skills that they are looking for.
edahl
about 1 year ago
164 comments
Interesting how the resume advice has changed over the years... When I was in school (and it's not THAT long ago) I remember being told that it was best to keep your resume to one page if at all possible. Now it seems like two pages is the conventional wisdom. Frankly, I'm glad. Between an objective paragraph and a skills section, it's hard to pare down much farther than two pages.