Career Jamaica https://careerjamaica.com Tue, 19 Mar 2024 11:34:21 +0000 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Resume Mistakes to Avoid https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/61-resume-mistakes-to-avoid-new https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/61-resume-mistakes-to-avoid-new Top Resume Mistakes It is extremely easy to make a mistake on your resume. There is no way to repair the damage that is done once an employer gets it. Preventing these mistakes is the key to landing a job interview and making the best first impression to potential employers.…

Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect. If it isn't, employers will read between the lines and draw not-so-flattering conclusions about you, like: "This person probably cant speak well or write" or "This person doesn't pay attention to details.
Avoid making this mistake by having at least two persons proof read your resume for you before sending it off. Also, if you are sending your resume in via email, send it to yourself first to see what the employer will see once they get it.

2. A Bad Objective

Employers do read your resume objective, but will often overlook candidates that use clichéd phrases like "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth." Your objective should provide employers with a clear impression of your professional goals and how they would potentially benefit their organization. For example: "Seeking a challenging entry-level marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience in fund-raising for a non governmental organization."

Be sure your objective fits with each position you apply for. Do not send an employer hiring for sales reps the same objective you would if you were applying for a post as a brand manager. Read the job posting carefully and tailor your objective to match.

3. Lack of Specifics

Employers what to know what you have accomplished not a list of you duties. For example:

From the perspective of an HR Manger there is a huge difference between a candidate who states, "Worked with employees in a restaurant setting" as opposed to one that states "Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in annual sales"

Both of these phrases could describe the same person, but the specific accomplishments given by the second candidate will make them more likely to be the one called for an interview.

4. Attempting One Size Fits All

Whenever you try to develop a one-size-fits-all resume to send to all employers, you almost always end up with something employers will toss in the recycle bin. Employers want you to write a resume specifically for them. They expect you to clearly show how and why you fit the position in a specific organization.

5. No Power Words/Action Verbs

Avoid using phrases like "responsible for." Instead, use action verbs: "Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000 students and staff." Click here for a list of our top Power Words to help you get started.

6. Leaving Off Important Information

You may be tempted the jobs you took "just because" or "just for the money" The soft skills you've gained from these experiences (e.g., work ethic, time management) are more important to employers than you might think.

Be sure to include them on your resume

7. Visually Unappealing

If your resume has four different fonts with italics, colours and and stylization, it may be too busy on the eyes. This may give a negative impression to the employer and in general, is just difficult to read.

Show your resume to several other people before sending it out and ask them if they it visually attractive? If what you have is hard on the eyes, edit. Remember: sometimes less is more!

8. Incorrect Contact Information

janine.b@mymail.com / janine_b@mymail.com. Notice the difference?

One incorrect digit, character or letter means that an employer will not be able to contact you. Check and recheck your contact information to make sure it is current and correct. Most importantly (and yes, more people than you would this do this) ensure that your full name is on your resume!

CJ Admin

]]>
careerjamaica@gmail.com (Career Jamaica) Resume and Cover Letter Writing Tips Wed, 02 Jun 2021 21:06:08 +0000
Structure of a Cover Letter https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/7-structure-of-a-cover-letter https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/7-structure-of-a-cover-letter Structure of a Cover Letter
Structure of a Cover Letter If you’re unsure how you’re actually going to write a cover letter, it can help to break the letter down into its various parts and concentrate on just one section at a time. Here’s what goes into each of the four main sections of a…

The Beginning:

This is where you tell employers who you are, why you’re writing , and how you heard about the organization or the specific opening. The “who you are” part is a brief introduction of yourself with a phrase like: “I am a senior at XYZ University graduating in May with a major in biology.” Just mention the basic facts about you and your situation, choosing the ones that will be most relevant to the employer. The “why you’re writing” part is where you mention which position you are applying for, or what your job ­objective is if no specific opening has been advertised. Then be sure to tell them how you heard about the organization or the job. You might say, for example, “I saw your posting for a Marketing Assistant at the Career Services on Career Jamaica.” Or, “I read about the expansion of your East Coast operations in the Jamaica Gleaner and am ­interested in ­discussing entry-level opportunities you might have ­available.”

The Middle:

1. The Sales Pitch

It’s best to get right to the point. The objective of this part of the letter is to list–either in paragraph form or as an actual list of bullet points–the reasons why the reader should see you as a viable candidate. It’s best to start with a statement that provides an overview of your qualifications, then go into them more specifically, using the examples you ­identified ­before you started writing. A typical opening statement might sound something like: “As a political science major and former campaign volunteer for the Liberal party, I offer the following skills and accomplishments.”

2. The Flattery

This is the “why them” section of your letter. It’s where you flatter the reader a bit by commenting  on something positive about the organization and letting them know why you would want to work there.

You might mention the organization’s reputation, sales record, size, corporate culture,  management philosophy or anything else that they take pride in. Prospective employers like  to know that you have chosen them for a reason and that they’re not just one of hundreds of  companies you’re writing to as part of a mass mailing. (Even if you are doing a mass  mailing, you must tailor each letter to “flatter” the reader and show that you’ve done some  research on that organization or that person.)

 The End:

A Request for Further Action

Some people think of this final section of a cover letter as the closing , but it’s much more than that . The closing paragraph isn’t just about thanking the reader for taking the time to read your letter or for considering you as a candidate for a job. It ’s also about where to go from here–about opening the door to fur ther contact . It’s where you suggest how to proceed, usually by saying that you will call or email the reader to follow up and see if a meeting can be arranged.

The important thing is to end the letter in an assertive, but courteous way by taking the initiative to follow up Once you’ve gotten these four sections of the letter completed in terms of content, go back and smooth out any rough edges of your writing and check for typos, misspellings and grammatical errors.

Then you’re ready for “Sincerely” or “Best Regards” and your signature,and you’re off and running on the road to a great job.

]]>
careerjamaica@gmail.com (Career Jamaica) Resume and Cover Letter Writing Tips Sat, 19 Dec 2015 05:13:58 +0000
Resume Checkist https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/6-resume-checkist https://careerjamaica.com/career-tools/item/6-resume-checkist Resume Checkist
Resume Checkist Did you know that a resume will only get less than a 15-second glance at the first screening?If you don't make a good impression within those 15 seconds, it's straight to the "no pile". Before sending off a resume to an employer, be sure that ALL your answers…

First Impression

  1. Does the resume look original and not based on a template?
  2. Is the resume inviting to read, with clear sections and ample white space?
  3. Does the design look professional rather than like a simple typing job?
  4. Is a qualifications summary included so the reader immediately knows the applicant's value proposition?
  5. Is the resume's length and overall appearance appropriate given the career level and objective?
Appearance
  1. Does the resume provide a visually pleasing, polished presentation?
  2. Is the font appropriate for the career level and industry?
  3. Are there design elements such as bullets, bolding and lines to guide readers' eyes through the document and highlight important content?
  4. Is there a good balance between text and white space?
  5. Are margins even on all sides?
  6. Are design elements like spacing and font size used consistently throughout the document?
  7. If the resume is longer than a page, does the second page contain a heading? Is the page break formatted correctly?
Resume Sections

Are all resume sections clearly labeled?
Are sections placed in the best order to highlight the applicant's strongest credentials?
Is the work history listed in reverse chronological order (most recent job first)?

Career Goal

  1. Is the career objective included toward the top of the resume in a headline, objective or qualifications summary?
  2. Is the resume targeted to a specific career goal and not trying to be a one-size-fits-all document?
  3. If this is a resume for career change, is the current objective clearly stated, along with supporting details showing how past experience is relevant to the new goal?
  4. Accomplishments
  5. Does the resume include a solid listing of career accomplishments?
  6. Are accomplishments quantified by using numbers, percentages, dollar amounts or other concrete measures of success?
  7. Do accomplishment statements begin with strong, varied action verbs?
  8. Are accomplishments separated from responsibilities?
Relevance
  1. Is the information relevant to hiring managers' needs?
  2. Does the resume's content support the career goal?
  3. Is the resume keyword-rich, packed with appropriate power words, buzzwords and industry acronyms?
  4. Is applicable additional information, such as awards and affiliations, included, while personal information like marital status, age and nationality unrelated to the job target omitted?
Writing Style
  1. Is the resume written in an implied first-person voice with personal pronouns, such as
  2. I, me and my, avoided?
  3. Is the content flow logical and easy to understand?
  4. Is the resume as perfect as possible, with no careless typos or spelling, grammar or syntax errors?

    Adapted from: Resume Critique Checklist
    By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert
    www.monster.com
]]>
careerjamaica@gmail.com (Career Jamaica) Resume and Cover Letter Writing Tips Sat, 19 Dec 2015 05:01:26 +0000