This chapter starts out with tips on beginning and executing a job search. The job search tips provided do seem useful, such as setting goals for your job search and being prepared to hear “no”. Overall methods of job searching have changed drastically in recent years with the invention of job search websites and online resumes. The new online job market can be much more demanding in regards to the quality of resumes and the quality of information provided within those resumes.
A clean resume is extremely important for anyone currently seeking a job. A resume should define one’s skills as honestly as possible. A resume should not be overly detailed and (for a recent college graduate) should fit within one page. The resume should include a GPA if the person has recently graduated, but after one’s first job the GPA should be removed. Depending on the applicants situation a professional portfolio may also be applicable. Professional portfolios would be used by those who have been out in industry; it would contain examples of their work and other informative material regarding their experience.
With the scanning techniques and computer ranking systems that many companies are utilizing, the use of standardized fonts and resume formatting can be important factors. These scanning systems are setup to search and find critical words relating to a certain job or position. Acronyms are also important to use in a resume, so that they will be picked up by these scanning systems.
Overall a resume needs to be written to initially impress the HR representative enough to consider it as a viable candidate. The resume must be simple and attractive enough for an HR representative, but it must also be detailed enough to impress the management who will make the final decision. Detailing critical information and providing applicable experience will most definitely make the difference when it comes to job acquisition.
jobs comment
Yeah it amazes me on how much job search engines there are. Most of my friends got their jobs stripped and it amazes me because of how many jobs these search engines have. I have actually never heard of anyone getting a job from a search engine. Another thing that I found interesting was the comment you had on posting a GPA on a resume. I attended a resume seminar a while ago and the speaker said not to post a GPA on a resume if it is under a 3.0. I always thought that was a very interesting fact. Especially in engineering fields, good GPA's are hard to come by and this rule really does not work in the favor of the normal student.
GPA
GPA always seems to be one of the biggest issues when constructing a resume. Leave it on or off? I agree that if its under a 3.0 it shouldn’t be on there, but like you said, it doesn’t really favor engineering majors. I’ve always wondered how much emphasis is put on a good GPA compared to work experience or skills. I spoke with my adviser recently and she said the employer is more interested in your transcript to see the last two years and how you have progressed through college. I find this to be a better measure of a person’s abilities/knowledge because the last couple of years are when you take most of your degree oriented courses, at least in my major.
Posting GPA
When I talked to a recruiter from the company I work for, he told me that they don't consider resumes below approximately 2.8. To me, that says as long as your GPA is around that or above it you have a chance to make your case and try to impress them. My thought is that lower GPAs go further to wreck your chances than high GPAs go to help them. That's just a guess, but as we've all heard companies are looking for reasons to toss resumes out, not to keep them, so it makes sense.
To respond to whether or not a GPA should appear on your resume, I would argue that as long as you are in school and you have higher than about 2.5, to keep it on there. Companies who are recruiting fresh graduates will be looking for it (you might be able to get away with it after having a post-degree job or two). My thought is that companies will have heard the same thing as you about omitting GPAs less than 3.0, and they will assume that if you don't have a GPA on your resume, it's less than 3.0. So if you aren't quite at 3.0 but only a few points below it, you might as well throw it on there. If they are already assuming it's less than 3.0 they might as well know it's at least close. I'm in this boat myself.
Plus, when I toyed with leaving off my resume, most companies I talked to have asked me for my GPA if anyway. And then when I tell them, it's like I'm sputtering and back-pedaling trying to justify it. So my thought is if you have an unimpressive but not terrible GPA, you are better off listing it and having a good answer prepared that waiting for the company to ask.
Bleh... GPAS
I can completely understand what you mean about “good” GPAs and that these may not favor the normal student. Obviously if a student has a great GPA they must be exceptionally smart or they must be very talented at cheating! I do think it is unfortunate how much attention recruiters pay to only the GPA of a student, before considering them at all. I’ve seen recruiters give back a student’s resume, just because they did not have at least a 3.0 GPA. Another important factor in all of this GPA business is the major of that person, if a person’s major has an average low GPA then I don’t see it as much of an issue.
www.JFlitt.com
Automatic Ranking
I agree that it is important to tailor the resume with regard to automatic ranking systems. I have heard that a lot of companies use automatic spelling and grammar checkers to filter out poorly written resume's. I have even spoken with some interviewers and they have told me that they put all of the resume's in a searchable database. Any hiring manager is allowed to use this database to select candidates.
Response
In my opinion the fact that employers look for spelling and grammar in resumes is one of the main reasons to have someone you know proofread it. There are just way too many things that a normal spell check misses and a second, third, or fourth set of human eyes can make all the difference. I know I would not be happy if after years of hard work and studying to get the dream job I wanted that my perfect resume was thrown out because Microsoft Word does not know the that I meant to say “of course” instead of “of coarse” or something along those lines.
Shane
Job Search Engines
I personally haven't had any experience with online job search engines, however my previous employer used one to post a job for a new IT manager for the Networking Department at our ISP. The qualifications he listed were very strict, as the person needed experience in networking, specifically WiMAX, which is still a bleeding edge technology, and the ability to program in multiple languages and have a handle on e-mail applications such as q-mail. He was very surprised to receive over 10 resumes in the first two weeks of the advertisement going live. My boss ended up hiring one of the initial applicants and to this day has been great for the company. I didn't realize job search engines were so powerful, or that people in technical fields actually used them until this.
Response
From the number of career fairs that I attended over the past few years, I also believe that GPA is one of the most important factors companies pay attention to. I’m convinced that human resource representatives are more focused of things of that nature. Typically, when I approach a company at a career fair, I make an attempt to speak with an engineer representative instead. I feel like I can make a stronger connection and that person understands my qualifications better. In addition, when the resume reaches human resources, any engineer representative that recognizes my abilities forwards that opinion.
Response
You make an excellent point in your last paragraph. These days your resume must be able to get through the initial weed out, probably done by a computer ranking system. Then the resume also has to be attractive enough for HR reps. and Management. Hopefully these two systems don't have double standards. Haha, could you imagine if a computer ranking system was catered to picking employees that management thought were inadequate, I bet it happens all the time. I guess it is just part of the employment process, like some resumes might be outstanding but when the individual gets an interview they just blow it.
These weed out systems are
These weed out systems are somewhat of a hindrance in my opinion. A person cannot really be summed up onto one page and a person can certainly not be summed up by a set of “key” words. I think it is unfortunate that some companies have the mindset that if a resume contains these words they are probably a good candidate. It would be entertaining if the system was setup to pick inadequate candidates, but wouldn’t make much since. Personally in the process of acquiring a job I would much prefer getting to meet an HR representative and interacting with them before they see my resume.
www.JFlitt.com
Response
I too do not like the weed out styles. It’s rough that employers just scan through your resume and look for the key words. I am sure that you could make two identical resumes with the exception of key words and they would go with the key words resume. I think this makes it even more important that to have a cover letter with your resume. Using a cover letter allows you to tell your employer more than can be expressed by just a resume, more than just key words. I think really resumes and cover letters are just all about word choice.
-Chris
These weed out systems are
These weed out systems are somewhat of a hindrance in my opinion. A person cannot really be summed up onto one page and a person can certainly not be summed up by a set of “key” words. I think it is unfortunate that some companies have the mindset that if a resume contains these words they are probably a good candidate. It would be entertaining if the system was setup to pick inadequate candidates, but wouldn’t make much since. Personally in the process of acquiring a job I would much prefer getting to meet an HR representative and interacting with them before they see my resume.
www.JFlitt.com
GPA
I totally agree on your comments about GPAs. I think they are way to overrated and blind recruiters from some peoples true talent. Test taking, and doing the whole school things just doesn't work well with the way some people think. I know plenty of highly intelligent individuals that would more than qualify for some jobs, yet due to these restrictions they might not be employed easily. However as they reading does outline, there are plenty of other ways to display your talent to recruiters, just hopefully they don’t totally disregard you for your GPA. It is flat out ridiculous if a recruiter wants to be that blind to the opportunities out there.