Foot
In The Door
Getting
The Interview
The Facts
• Cisco Systems Job page gets 500,000 visits per
month
• Microsoft gets more than 12,000 resumes per
month
• American Express screens 3,500 resumes
monthly
• 10,000 Web sites offer job postings.
• More than 1.5 million resumes online.
• 30 percent of Internet users are looking for a
job online
Types of Organizational Fit
• Person-Job Fit
– Degree to which the applicant has the necessary
knowledge, skills and abilities and competencies to
do the job functions
• Person-Organizational Fit
– Degree to which the applicant matches the values,
beliefs and ethics of the culture.
• Person-Group Fit
– Degree to which individual fits within a work group.
Sequential Selection
Process
Stage 1
Screening
Reasons to Reject
Person-Job Fit
Risk-Seeking
Stage 2
Selection
Reasons to Accept
PersonOrganizational Fit
Risk Averse
Purpose of the Resume
And Job Letter
Applicant perspective
– To demonstrate you meet or exceed minimum
qualifications
– To highlight key competencies
– To separate your resume from the masses
– To get your foot in the door
– To demonstrate value-added attributes
• To Sell Your
Personal Brand
Purpose of the Resume
And Job Letter
Employer Perspective
– To assess whether candidates possesses
minimum qualifications
– To narrow down applicant pool
– To identify inconsistencies or
gaps in employment history
– To determine if people
are lying about their
credentials
Accredit Your Job Worth
• Cover Letter
– Summary of Qualifications
– Links to Specific Company
• Resume
– Functional AND Chronological
– Specific, vivid adjectives
– Concrete Examples
• Portfolio
– Executive Briefings
– Code Samples
– Planning Documents
Potential
Resume Components
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Identification and Contact Information
Career Objective (optional)
Key Competencies
Work Experience
Education
Honors (optional)
Life Experiences/ Interests/Community
Involvement
Types of Resumes
• Chronological
• Functional
• Combination
• Electronic
Chronological
• Job by job listing of each job you've held
starting with your most recent job and going
backwards.
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Strong work history
Worked for each employer 2 years or more
Only a few gaps of only a few months between each job.
Several years of employment in the field or type of
position you seek.
• Positions show job growth.
Samples: Employment
• 1992-1997 Oliver Health Services (Oliver Corporation)
– Generated $5 million in annual revenue for Northwest
branch.
– Positioned Oliver to win new contracts worth $16 million
in annual revenue.
– Sold high tech home health care services including disease
management and early discharge programs, acute and
chronic infusion therapies, high risk women and pediatric
health programs. Client domain included managed care
organizations, hospitals and physicians
 Success Award Winner for exceeding performance targets
 1996 President's Club Award Winner (Top 20% of sales
personnel)
Functional/Skill-Based
• Uses skill headings but does not include a
work history.
• A functional/combination resume uses skill
headings but also includes a work history.
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Erratic work history.
Gaps in employment.
Short work history
Making a career change and your past work history and
job titles don't match your job objective or salary level.
Samples:
Key Competencies
• Medical
– 15 years of medical sales experience in the managed care, hospital,
physician group and pharmaceutical markets
• Sales Prospecting
.
– Positioned Oliver to win two prestigious contracts worth $16
million in revenue for Northwest branch office.
– Successfully led roll-out of Collastate Homeostatic Sponge and
led entire region in total sales ($5.5 million)
• Customer Relations
– Excellent client relations skill leading to broad-based and long term
relationships.
– Teamed with physicians to conducted client assessment and followup analysis to develop customized stimulators
On-Line Resume
• Electronic Mail
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Plain Text (.txt) -- ASCII only files
Rich-text (.rtf)
Hypertext (.html)
Compressed files
Electronic Forms
Personal Web pages
Scannable Resumes
Your own domain name
Personal homepage
On-Line Resume
• E-mail Address
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“WildOne” versus “JaneSmith”
Signature
Easy to spell
Avoid Cutesy
• Your own domain name
• Personal homepage
Elements Of Your Resume
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Heading
Objective (if desired)
Core Competencies
Employment data
– Key functions
– Job Skills
– Accomplishments/ awards
• Education and Training
• Personal Data
• Qualification Summary
The Buzzword Resume
• Use the buzzwords to solidify your
standing in the Industry
– Developed JIT inventory control
system using A-B-C hierarchical
• Use their buzz words
– Terms in advertisements
– Homepage
– Mission Statements
– (e.g. evangelist, guru, independent
contributor)
Individualize Resume
• Use a customer driven approach
• Individualized For EACH Company
– Insure you have clearly delineated that you
meet the company’s minimum qualification
• (e.g. 3 years C++ experience)
Quantify
Accomplishments
• Include specific concrete numbers
– Numbers (10% increase, staff of 15)
– Dollars ($1 million),
– Percentages ( 15% increase, Up 125%)
Original Job History
Experience
• Manager, Freddie’s Readymart, Nanhassett, NY
– Supervised employees, trained cashiers. Responsible
for inventory control. (1992)
• Manager, K-Mart Stores, Long Island City, NY
– Responsible for camera department, hired employees
and supervised night shift (1991)
• Distribution supervisor, ABC Stores, Ithaca, NY
– Oversaw all deliveries to 17 stores. Controlled 7 truck
drivers. Assisted customers ( 1990-1991)
Experience
• Manager, Freddie’s Readymart, Nanhassett, NY
Hiring, firing and staffing authority for 5 full-time and 22 part-time
employees. Designed and delivered 8 hour in house training for
cashiers. Coordinated inventory control system 10,000 SKU items.
Weekly sales of $100,000 in1999.
Accomplishments
– Increased customer satisfaction ratings by 3% points in five
months.
– Reduced shrinkage by 25% in a six month period.
– Received commendation for store cleanliness.
– Increased weekly sales by 50%
Two Words
Not to Use
•Entry Level
Don’t Lie
Lie or Exaggerate
• Ward Howell’s executive search firm found
that among executive candidates
• 65% lie about their academic credentials
• 43% lied about job responsibilities
• 42% lied about previous compensation
• University of Pittsburgh found
• 29-35% of medical students lied about research,
presentations and articles.
Cover
Letter
• Proper Business Format
– Crisp and clean, no spelling errors
• Addressed to a specific person
• Original letter with specific reference to the
company
• Provides relevant information
– Summary of your skills
– Concrete example of value added
• Sells your brand to the reader?
– Impress reviewer with applicant’s focus
– Clears up any questions from resume
Include Quotes
Personal Statement
– “The secret of success is consistency of purpose”
– “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is
to go on creating oneself endlessly - Henry Bergson
– “We are what we believe we are.”
– “If you win the rat race, you are still a rat.”
Quotes from References
– “Tom is the brightest student I have ever known”
– “Ally always completed projects on schedule -- even the
toughest ones”
The Postscript
Technique
Highlight a marketable skill by adding a
postscript
– “P.S. I was the first intern at The Boeing
Corporation to be named employee of the month.
And I won it not once but three times. I am
looking forward to bringing the same level of
commitment to you at High Flyers.com”
Life Experiences Section
• Employers want people who are well rounded and
have diverse interests
• People like people who are like themselves.
• Conversation starter
Samples
– Won Best in Show at the superbowl of dogdom, the
Westminster Dog show with Scottish Terrier Ch. Gaelforce
Postscript
– Correspondent for the National Enquirer
– Avid runner. Successfully completed 5 marathons.
Improved personal best time each run.
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Accredit Your Qualifications
Gives a Competitive Advantage
Demonstrates Creativity
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
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CD ROM or disk containing examples of your work
Business Plan or analysis
Class Project (e.g. Compensation study, executive briefing)
Computer code,
Power point presentation
Product Design
Web page (make sure it is perfect and links work)
“Fleshed out” example of your solution to a particular
problem
Appearance
Of Resume
• Are there spelling errors?
• Is everything in proper tense?
• Is it printed on good quality bond with matching
envelope and cover letter
• Is the printing readable?
• Does it provide relevant information?
• Does it ramble?
• Are the entries consistent?
• Overall cleanliness, legibility?
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"Please note that I have a Fortune 500 pedigree."
"Worked in hospital as a candy striper."
"Great eye for derail.”
"Currently unemployed because of self-inflicted toe sprain."
"I have incredibly entertaining hair."
"Education: Some."
"Responsible for all customer complaints."
"Finished eighth in my class of ten."
"References: none. I've left a path of destruction behind me."
"Sex: often. Marital status: often. Children: various."
"It's best for employers that I not work with people."
"Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions."
"Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave.”
"Note: Please don't misconstrue my 14 jobs as 'job-hopping'. I have never quit a
job."
• "The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers."
• "I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse."
Did They
Really
Say That?