I was in the final round of the interview process for a Management Consultant. They did a background and saw my credit report… due to a divorce, my credit was ruined. I was denied the job. This should be illegal for any job that isn’t a government level clearance position or banking.
Why is it even necessary for them to run your credit? That sounds horrible. My credit is horrible now because of not being able to find work and bills kept accumulating.
@@smintner that’s a pretty absurd proposition. Getting catastrophically ill while living in the US has nothing to do with not being able to manage your money.
Video Summary: 1) Avoid bright colors, infographics, or clipart. 2) Avoid columns (will mess up ATS parsing). 3) Avoid photos/headshots. 4) Avoid personal identifiers (anything that identifies certain characteristics a recruiter could use to screen you out). 5) Avoid unprofessional email addresses. 6) Avoid full home addresses (city and state are okay). 7) Avoid irrelevant work history (anything 10+ years old). 8) Avoid industry-specific jargon. 9) Avoid giving too much detail about your education, the basics are enough. 10) Avoid listing references or “references available upon request”. 11) AVOID SALARY HISTORY! 12) Avoid mentioning standard skills like Microsoft office (excel, word, etc) or leadership. 13) Avoid cliches like “quick learner” or “team player”.
TLDR: No personal identifiers aka name, address, email address, any other PII; list no skills, talents, or anything else that would identify you as being more qualified for the position than someone else; .......in other words, attach a pdf or word doc with nothing on it or alternatively a pdf or word doc with everything redacted.
Avoid listing references, even though they'll ask you in the application and if you refuse to do so, it means "You don't know anyone that would be willing to talk highly about you so that must mean you're a red flag."
Especially don't list references if you're applying to many jobs. Your colleagues don't want to get 20 calls when only 2 of those jobs could have worked out. Let the recruiter or hiring manager ask for them.
AND DONT PUT “portfolio available on request!” You’re a designer. It’s a given. And I put in “portfolio required for consideration” and disqualified folks who didn’t follow directions”
Man, you educated me more in 14 minutes on resume writing than unemployment offices have done in weeks of "professional resume writing" classes. Thank you. I got my present gig(highest paying ever) using your techniques.
This is really good, well done. I most case workers aka civil servants in the UK aren't that thorough. One took a look at my CV some years ago and told me 'you have too many bullet points'. She didn't give me any guidance but stated 'the devils in the details'. What was I meant to do with that information I don't know.
Agree 100%... these "systems" have ruined the entire process and removed the organic element of candidate qualifying. Anyone can fluff and lie on a resume or even create a completely fake resume with all of the right keywords to fool the automated systems. These systems have polluted the candidate pool with false applicants, which ruins opportunities for actual qualified "human" candidates.
Sorry isn't that supposed to be the work of the HR person? How is it that HR people have this tool to do what the majority of their work (reading the actual resume and synthesizing info) and yet, recruiters will constantly moan about how "hard" their job is..??? What a joke!
The bane of recruiters too. One called me to tell me I should never have had a first round interview, because the ATS software had qualified me when I wasn't.
I was hired to one of my best jobs was the hobbies section. I recall contemplating leaving it out 😅 My boss later told me how he scrolled through hundreds of similar resumes and got very interested in a person who was reading Ancient Greek and Russian literature, studied astronomy and loved hockey.
I had an interview recently where I was asked what I did to relax outside of work. I mentioned photography, and that led to a very fun back and forth with the interviewers about photography techniques, subjects, etc. However, I didn't get the job, oh, well😁
In bigger companies managers are specifically trained to avoid such "unconcious bias". Selection must be exclusively on prospective performance on the job, absolutely not on attributes unrelated to the position to be filled, e.g., which sports team you support, what hobbies you do in your spare time etc. I personally ask questions reagrding spare time activities during the interviews I conduct, but I mainly try to cross-check whether their story based on their job experience and attidude holds true and consistent. And only if the applicant is willing to talk about it (they can refuse, no problem). Talking about hobbies makes a lot of people drop guarding themselves and speak more carelessly about themselves, than during job-related information exchange. So beware, not all hobby-discussions are done in a good faith by the hiring manager! 😅
I enjoy pornhub. Fortnite. Pizza. and smoking bongs. I'm good at my job but I would never put my hobbies in my resume. Not everything is for everydoby.
The part at 3:00 on columns is very important. I had a really fancy resume that was laid out in columns. It looked amazing, but I was just not getting any response from it. Turns out the automated sifting programs were only reading the first column and not the next one that had all the relevant information!! When I removed the columns I started to hear back from employers again. So do be careful using columns in a resume. I learnt that the hard way.
How did you ultimately reformat while calling out skills? I have a top section in my resume that highlights skills- it is a table (no borders shown). Basically, I’d like to bullet and call out skill sets that aren’t in job description and am curious how best to format if there is concern for columns/tables.
As someone with a degree, an unimpressive internship, who is two years out of school, and has no experience in my field, applying is daunting. I hope my food service experience doesn’t hinder me from being hired, it’s all I’ve got.
In your food service experience - what did you learn? What skills did you gain? When I look back on my grueling days of food service- I gained extraordinary customer service skills. As well, client communication, high volume-fast-paced productivity, food handling & facility management skills that met & exceeded health dept (govt) quality standards - and passing inspections. The list is endless. As meaningless as it seemed at the time, I probably learned more from my misery (especially smiling at psycho customers & providing them with quality service in spite of their demands) than any other job I've ever had.
Does your field have a certification? A lot of certifications can be obtained by self study and then taking the exam. You course need to invest in the books and time. Believe me, a certification makes your resume stand out.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been told by two recent recruiters to absolutely list Microsoft Word, Excel, etc., because the system will kick it out if you don’t. Just saying, that’s what I was told.😊
Yes you should. It is not taken for granted that everyone knows how to use those basic programmes. If I'm hiring, depending on the role, I'd like to even know how fast you can type on a computer
The sad truth is that HR people are lazy. Rather than read resume's they simply scan them and have software search for key words. The more key words that match up the higher you are ranked. In this way the HR people can quickly get through a stack of resumes and get back to playing solitaire. A former HR executive told me this fact and recommended that every resume you send should be tailored for the job. Scour the job description and put as many key words from the job description into your resume. One targeted resume like that is worth a thousand generic resumes blanketing a metro area.
I agree with that. Most HR personnel, particularly with smaller companies, are clerks promoted beyond their education and skill set. As an accountant and controller had to do their ork for them.
@@elhanson5426 Right, an accountant listing "Financial Reporting" under their skills, probably knows "Double-entry Bookkeeping" as well. An intelligent 2023 applicant tracking system OR human recruiter would make these assumptions, instead of saying you match only 3 out of 15 skills because you didn't specifically list Bookeeping and also Teamwork, Attention to detail and Communication 😅 Linkedin I am looking at you. If ChatGPT doesn't take our jobs then maybe it could actually help us get jobs by improving ATS's 😂
Lazy? Try being a hiring manager and having to go through a large stack of boring resumes. Scoring by hand is tedious. At least the key word scan can thin out that pile of totally unqualified candidates from those, who really ought to be considered. Now, if only the head-hunters would learn to search for the REQUIRED job skills, education, etc. Another point: Show interest in the company that you are going to interview with. Learn all that you can about them. What do they do? What processes and technology do they use? Who are their customers? Who are their competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can they improve what they do, or break into a new line of work? From this, be able to engage in thoughtful discussion when you are asked for questions. Nothing is a greater turn-off to a hiring manager than someone who shows no interest in the job. I was greatly impressed with a recent (5 yr.) B.S. graduate who showed interest that was lacking in a 25 year Masters and 30 year PhD. Guess who got the job offer?
The best way to get hired is to have a friend or acquaintance already working for the company you want to work for. That person can act as your champion to get the management to look over your resume in more detail. Most resumes are scanned by software for key words others are briefly looked over by some HR intern and that person is so bored that their eyes are glossed over. You can continue to listen to these scam artists and even pay them, but having someone on the inside IS almost priceless and will up your chance significantly in getting an in face interview. Don't forget when you do get hired in to help some other acquaintance to get a job also. So do some networking discreetly.
I’m a graphic designer, a profession which requires more creative resumes, and your note on the “3/10 star skills” is bang on. It’s fairly common with creative professionals, but I’ve heard from people in hiring positions that they don’t care about those because they’re YOUR estimations of how you’d doing. Like, you give yourself 4/5 stars for Photoshop knowledge, but what does 5 mean to you? It’s arbitrary and subjective, which isn’t extremely helpful.
I wonder what he means by job jargon, if background illustrator or VFX artist is "too hard" for HR what are they doing hiring ppl for creative companies?
As a matter of principles I wouldn't hire someone with those star skill levels on their resume. It may look pretty but it's a huge red flag and speaks more of what you don't have than what you have.
@Jeremy Oboe Out of curiosity, do you agree or disagree with this: Those stars take up valuable resume space that could be better spent listing more skills or types of projects you've created.
Great advice all round. My old resume was based on template of my brother's when he was applying for analyst roles. I wanted to go into financial accounting and never seemed to make it past the initial screening. I didn't end up getting anything with it. When I changed my resume to a more simple design, I got more interviews and got the job I really want.
Here are a few of my resume pet peeves from recruiting: 1) Having no location on the resume (not even a country, and we recruit worldwide). 2) Using a different font for the first initial of your first and last name. It doesn't parse correctly in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). 3) Putting your current work email address on your resume. That will populate in the ATS and when we contact you by email or schedule an interview, it will appear in your work email and possibly your work calendar. 4) Overlooking typos. Please proof your resume, or ask a detail-oriented friend to do so. 5) Having no contact information at all. (Yes, I've seen it.) And finally, make it easy for us to review your resume, locate your skills and experience, and get in touch with you about the next steps. Great video; thanks!
Put a work email in your resume? Most companies spy on any emails going through the company servers and that includes personal email (yahoo, Google, etc.) because if it’s on the web, they will intercept it. I usually turn off WiFi and send personal emails through the cell connection.
@@picklerix6162 I know, crazy isn't it? But I had a candidate who did exactly that -- put his work email on his resume. He was upset with me when I scheduled his interview and sent a confirmation email, but I hadn't noticed the domain of his email address (it is parsed and was automatically added into the email). That incident made me wonder if we really wanted to hire this person anyway.
@@picklerix6162 That's not how HTTPS works. Unless they are actually faking and MITM'ing SSL certificates of Gmail etc, which, uhm, I think they could be sued for.
Lol I don’t know anyone around me who puts work email address. What a crazy thing to do, a cause for termination in most companies. I’m in tech and in IT. We watch employees behavior red flags like doing job hunting on a company’s time. Never apply to other companies online using company resources or even talk on companies cell phone to other firms and NEVER ever put your work email on applications to other companies. You must be in HR? Your advice is very bad… Having no contact information? Email is a contact information and must be a personal email always. Never a phone number (people disclose phone number rarely) and never a full address. Why the heck anyone wants on their calendar most people share with others (yes they can see who you are meeting whom) that they’re getting interviewed by another company? It’s also illegal in many places to use company assets like work email for applications to other firms; to use company assets other than professional use. Job hunting is done on your personal time using personal devices including personal phone number and personal email address. These days corporate HR seems to be too far from sane candidates.
Exactly. I was a graphic designer for over twenty years, never put graphics in the resume itself. I also got dinged regarding columns and resume parsing systems. Keep it simple. Great advice!
On the last point you mentioned on the resume issue. I had the worst time getting my first real job until I removed karate instructor assistant from my job history. Went from 0 interviews to 5 interviews in just a week
This has been the best resume writing session I have seen. I was not aware of most of the information spoken about. Typically coach's say make sure your spelling is correct, have everything in short paragraphs, fit everything on one page, used industry buzz words to stand out etc, blah blah blah. I had given up on learning how to write resumes. They're too difficult because we do not know what's in the head of employers or recruiters. I'm a low income earner and gave up. This video gave me some confidence. Thanks.
This is the most valuable video i’ve watched in years. Definitely removing references from my resume. I had FIVE of them wasting space. Im actually a little embarrassed now.
I used to live in northern Michigan back in the 90's and early 2000's. After doing several job interviews, I quickly found out that What I knew, or experience I had, didn't matter to employers in the least. The only thing that really seemed to matter to most of the managers doing the interviewing was WHO I knew. Thankfully I live in a big Ohio city now that's growing. I've gotten very frustrated lately. I've been looking for work for a while now, and still haven't found anything yet. I hope this information helps. Thank you.
I broke the first few rules you mentioned. My resume was colorful, had infographics, included a pic of myself, had multiple columns. . . I have since changed it (especially since I have experiences and updates to make). . .but my first resume got me way more attention and way more interviews (the only time I've had interviews in my life) than when I removed those elements. I thought it was just because of timing, but I just sent out my old colorful resume, and it started getting responses. For my next test though, I'm going to find ways to have my sections stand out without the colors, because part of me suspects that it's not the colors or fonts that are doing the work, but the fact that it did a good job calling attention to the different highlighted elements, where my new one may not provide so much.
@@RM-wt9hi I most likely will. As soon as I’m done stacking some credentials I’ll redesign it as well. A lot of the resume advice that’s common is from recruiter simplicity and also primitive software that serves neither the employer nor applicant (and we’re all catching on and changing this). All the tips in this video are great at attracting recruiters… but not great at attracting employment which is the only metric that matters. All my worst resumes came with the advice of recruiters giving me tweaks. After they ghosted me, I sometimes would apply for the same position without their tweaks, and actually get a response. Also it’s strange that in a world of UX and user interface design that hat résumé’s which are communicative pieces are supposed to be the exception to these principles. All this to say… I’m grateful for all the advice and help people are willing to give, but the metrics are speaking all around… I’m returning to my way
@@RM-wt9hi the other interesting point is that everyone points out that hiring people only spend a few seconds on resumes… yet somehow the elements that will make those few seconds worth the most are talked down. With my bright colorful resume, people were able to know what they needed at a glance. It’s the difference between “raw data” and a “graph” might be the same in for but presentation matters to humans even if hiring people aren’t aware of the forces influencing. I even remember one of the few interviews with the recruiter approved resume… interviewer said “you’re a good candidate but we’re looking for someone who holds X certification”…. I replied, “I do have that certification and the one that is the next step above that one”… “oh I’m sorry I missed that, I just thought it would …” that had never once happened with my highly formatted resume where people would memorize almost every detail at their first glance
I have accepted a lot of applicants with colourful resumes. I'm less fond of very eclectic ones, but some good use of colour is not a bad thing to me. But I work in a different context (EU, university) so take it with a grain of salt.
I disagree with omitting industry specific jargon - only in that if you are applying for jobs in the same industry then it may be very useful. I am in an industry that is heavily regulated and idiosyncratic - I use our industry specific jargon because it highlights certain skills I have or certain technologies I have worked with. However, I only do this when I apply for jobs in my industry because I know anyone on that actual team or within the actual department will be more interested in my resume when it says I have worked with the implementation of XYZ technology.
What I find strange is that an internship is not counted as work experience even though that's literally what they are meant for. How does that work exactly?
That's training which is part of your study (~apprenticeship). That's why it's not work experience. Work experience starts after you finish your studies.
On who's authority does internship not count as work experience? In an internship, you learn a lot about how work in that field is done. The little practical things, like time management. You learn how to write effective emails. Lots of these things are not taught in school, rightly so.
I agree with most of this but the bigger issue is that a lot of companies are accepting your resume on a website and there they ask all the questions to say to avoid like full address or your minor in college. My biggest pet peeve is forcing me remember dates, to the day, for a job duration. The month shouldn't even matter. Are people staying that short at a job that the month duration is making a difference?
I've done relevant temp jobs in my early years after graduating that only lasted 2 weeks (I never knew why the employers decided not to keep me on though sometimes I did suspect illogical dislike/bias, racism). Those jobs were via recruiters and I was naive so I realise now they were a mistake to accept though I picked up skills and realised toxic work culture red flags. Today I have more years in jobs that I can remove or hide them and when asked in Company Applications I try to avoid going too far back on 'previous' or fudge the dates a little for the oĺdest roles.
Right? It should honestly be illegal to ask for your address. Not only is it a major breach of privacy to force people to dox themselves to all these companies, but it opens up a host of opportunities for discrimination
Hello Bryan. I have seen a few of your recruiting videos and they are very well done with great advice. I have over 20 years recruiting experience myself. Keep up the good work and I know you're helping lots of people. Take care.
One of the things I heard you should never put down is working for an MLM like Amway, Monat or Avon. On another channel an employment manager said how she rejects applications made by people who worked for these companies claiming they were CEOs. The people who get recruited into these pyramid schemes claim they’re business owners, when they’re really independent unpaid customers. So in reality, to employers it’s considered an employment gap.
For the skills, that may depend on the job you are applying for - if you are applying for a data-related or accounting/finance position you should absolutely list excel on your resume especially if your skills are beyond the basic assumed skills because that's a keyword those jobs filter on. Sure, everyone probably knows what Excel is and can do some basic stuff, but if you also know pivot tables, VBA, Power Query, etc. you should call that out.
Aren't pivot tables and power query pretty basic as well? You can succeed with both with just basic clicking around. VBA is when you start needing additional programming skills with no real shortcuts.
Yeah, there is a massive difference in efficiency between someone who has been using Excel for years but only ever used SUM() and very basic features, and someone else who actually learned or took a training course / certification and can use some keyboard shortcuts as well as more advanced features. The number who think they "know Excel" but don't even know absolute cell references exist... With Excel it's easy to stay in your comfort zone and never learn something new even after years of "experience". That's why I am also going to take a certification to go the extra mile and actually demonstrate the skill because I feel like "Excel Certified" sounds much nicer than "good Excel knowledge" as listed on 1000s of applicants' CVs.
No. I am accounting/finance and have never used a spreadsheet. As an auditor, I view them with great suspicion when they are used as a critical part of the accounting process.
@@KameraShy So you use only specialised software for your analytical procedures yeah? Curious because I'm training to become a chartered accountant and I'm interested in audit. Though "critical part" is a big word, it's just a convenient tool, especially in the management accounting world. I think no one would indeed want or expect financial accounts to be prepared with over-reliance on general-purpose software.
My manager typed my resume for a promotion with big bold graphics. I argued that it was too busy and unprofessional but it worked! So many different philosophies out there...
So all the advice here is great, but in particular it is *really* good to know that full addresses are no longer expected. (I'd also heard long ago that it can open up to another possible bias, if you're say in a suburban area and have an apartment number... unfortunately and unreasonably that can lead to some unfair assumptions, and an employer doesn't need to know anything about your living situation).
Thanks for sharing! This made me feel a bit better bc I thought my resume was trash but my resume doesn’t include any of the “donts”. Only tip I need to implement is removing my 10 year experience. Hopefully that helps 😩
As an ATS manager, I’d also like to add to the graphics, avoid using a graphic or word art to represent anything like a name or qualification. Some people like to put the logo or “badge” of the certification they’ve earned, rather than typing it out. Best case: This will get ignored by the parser. Worst case: the parser will decide it can’t get useable info out of your resume and will reject it.
Hey I know your comment's eleven months old, but I gotta ask, does this include wingdings font? I use a little wingdings symbol to separate my email, phone number, and city so that I can have them all on the same line. I don't use the font anywhere else in my resume. Could the ATS have been throwing out my application because of this?
Thanks for the great tips, I just landed a dream job for my current situation and your videos were an amazing resource for my interview prep + CV edits
This is great general advice. However, I'd add that it's best for applicants to know the industry to which they're applying. In my field, for example, things are very conservative and old school. Hiring managers and search committees (yes, we still have search committees) will expect to see a resume with ALL prior experience since graduating from college--even if that's 30 or 40 years. The same goes for degrees--they want all degrees listed with their major focus, if any. In fact, I've seen some TAM systems set up to require all job entries going back to the first employer. While this may not be the mainstream, it does exist in certain groups, so know your audience and write accordingly.
@@sandrabeck8788 You know nothing of my industry or where I work. Yours is a very short-sighted answer. If you're so ready to dismiss my employer without knowing anything else about them, then I'm glad you won't be applying. It's your loss though. Working conditions are great. Work-life balance is great. Benefits are world class. Camaraderie and cooperation are great. And you'll miss out on all that because you want to limit your resume to the first two entries. Got it.
This is very common for government-based jobs, honestly. The same ones who will scrutinize if you have a 2-month gap in your resume that happened 15 years ago, or why you took a demotion 18 years ago.
I was recently laid off as a part of corporate restructuring. I made a few tweaks to my 10 year old resume and started sending it out to local employers I thought would make for a good fit. After watching this video, I totally rewrote what I had from the ground up, making sure all my data would parse easily in an automated system. By the end of the week, I'd lined up interviews with four prospective employers. With your interview tips, three of these four interviews resulted in offers. Now it's starting to look like the corporate restructuring was a good thing for me as my new employer is a closer match to my personal values and I'm looking forward to growing in my new role. This video, along with others in your series, helped to bring me up to speed with modern job hunting and I'm now a strong advocate for CARL as well. Thank you for sharing tips like the ones in this video. Your videos are some of the most helpful I've found.
This was really excellent advice. I agree about never putting salary history on a resume and I appreciate that you called out regional norms. As a current director of total rewards, the recent laws around pay transparency should theoretically help move us away from being locked into past salary history trends. But of course you are correct, there are still unscrupulous employers out there.
I never disclose my previous salary. If they ask me I tell them that it's confidential, which it is. Are they going to share with you their current salary? I don't think so. If an org insists on that then I move on. I took a negotiations class and the last thing you want to do in a negotiation is to disclose any kind of history. You anchor yourself like that. I tell them what I think I'm worth and I add about 20% since it's a negotiation. I usually wind up pretty close to my actual target, and sometimes even over what I was expecting. When I used to disclose my previous salary I always wondered why I worked at the same rate for almost 10 years. Well I learned it was because I was anchoring myself, and the recruiters love that. It makes their job easier.
I've disclosed my salary and it's worked out. Might it have worked better if I hadn't, perhaps, but I have no regrets. Simply telling the hiring manager that I currently make X you have to beat that. I already make well above average for my field and round up, so it's not like I could sell myself short.
Now I understand why I get plenty of bites on my resume. NONE of the things mentioned are on my resume, so good to know that a pro knows and confirms this. I like this guy, he knows his shit and explains things really well. He's got good delivery.
Please explain why recruiters think we only have short-term memory? If I have been doing the same job for 20 years, but in the last two years, I have done something else. (Obviously, because I could not find a job in my career) Why would the recruiter think I have no memory of the 20 years of experience? I do not understand why the recruiter would think I forgot half my life or my whole career in the last two years. Please help me understand. Thanks.
Super informative!! I’ve watched hundreds of youtube videos about resume but this one provides more insights which are crucial. Question- what do you think about not putitng graduation year in the resume? I’ve heard even though you have many years of experience but you just recently graduated, some employers may base on your graduation year to decide your chance or your salary…. Thank you!!
This was Extremely Helpful & Useful.. Wasn't even aware of some of this.. Especially about adding your Address on Your Resume.. You've saved me a lot of Typing & giving unnecessary information.. Appreciate.
This is a great video with lots of useful advice. However, I'd like to follow up about something in the Generic Skills category, particularly MS Office programs. As was stated, lots of people in the workforce have been exposed to Word and Excel, but it's been my experience that a significant number of people aren't very good at using those programs beyond opening and printing a document. In past resumes I wrote for myself years ago, I noted that I have not only used Word, Excel, etc. regularly, but I also have advanced knowledge of how to use those programs, and how in previous jobs co-workers came to me for advice or help in using them. I'm pretty sure that helped me get those first entry-level jobs. Of course, you do have to be able to back up your claims, but advanced proficiency in office tech could be a selling point, especially for younger job-seekers.
Asking if you can use basic office applications is basically asking if you can read and write. If you can't read and write, you have much more wrong with your life than problems getting a job.
I’m a senior software engineer that’s been programming professionally since 1998. I recently left my job of 6 years at a large publicly traded company where I was the programmer/exec in charge of the most successful application in the companies history. I had to leave because the commute was taking up to 4 hours. I put my resume on Dice and was immediately overwhelmed with calls, texts and emails. I specifically said in my resume I would not do basic programming skill assessment as you don’t get to my skill level not understanding coding. I agreed to one teams interview where this Indian guy started with the darn skill Assessment. I shut it down and told them I wasn’t the guy for them. These people don’t read resumes.
I've been programming C++ since 1993 and I find any non-standardized tests to be infuriating. I once walked out when a guy asked what a hash table was (I later felt bad for the guy who might have been young). After 20 years or so, you can't fail the test. The test fails you.
@@EchoMeToo I no longer need to work so it worked out great. Exactly how many code assessments does one need to take in a 20+ year career? When you’re hiring at my level you need to hire on experience, not some goofy code test.
@@MichaelBrown-ho5wc I totally agree with you! I bet these people, "engineers", who pick these assessments for us can't complete them under the same circumstances. They mumble with accent sitting far from their's laptop's microphone so that we can't make up what they are saying or even talk to others while we take the assessments.
The exception that I have seen for the 10 year rule is in K-12 education...if you have been at the same school for many years, put down all of your teaching experience. But of course, if you have had multiple gigs, focus on the most relevant.
You advise to omit jobs older than 10 years. But for someone who has been in the field for much longer, wouldn't that look like an employment gap? How do you suggest that be addressed? What about omitting dates for education, which might date you? Ageism is a thing, too.
Hey there, Thanks for a great video. Do you have any great advice for someone middle aged (40s) who has been doing the same thing for the last 13-17 years, which is completely unrelated to my secondary education (I have a bachelors and masters) and is looking for a definite NEEDED career change? I painted myself into a corner and I understand it's the hardest thing to attempt a career change at middle age . I want to transition back to a field in congruence with my education.
Hi Bryan! This video was great! However, one of the suggestions you mentioned was not to include jobs older than 10 years. I have been out of the workforce for 12 years, then what should I do? 😢
Thank you, just removed my zip code. I had a few people look up my zip code and assumed that I live further away from the positions I was applying for.
I would highlight a minor degree IF it is directly relevant to the position requirements. Be kind to your references -- they are a valuable resource. So don't throw their names out there in dozens of resumes. Best is to say references available upon request. If you do need to include them, then let your references know they may be contacted. You don't want them to get cold calls. "I'm a reference for who?" is a bad look. Don't pay for a resume class. There are way too many free sources of information available. Many organizations offer this for free.
I am 76! Physically and mentally fit. My last 3 interviews, for a mechanical/electrical journeyman position have each been 1 1/2 hours long. How do I overcome the apparent age bias. Note my qualifications are stellar.
I applied to a particular company many times and would never get an interview. I had the skills, was very experienced, salary expectations in range, but never a call or interview. I applied one last time, and I put a headshot on my resume this time. Boom! Got the call, the interview and the job.
Great tips and very helpful. Unfortunately a lot of this information is being asked when you apply for a job. After you upload your resume, they pre-populate a lot of fields based on that scanned info and ask you explicitly and on mandatory fields what your address is as well as the protected classes such as Veteran status, sexual orientation, and so forth. While you can at the protected class question chose not to answer, that in itself could be held against you. Others, mostly with Workday as a hiring system, want all the information they ask from their employees. And I rarely see forms where it is not mandatory to provide salary expectations or you won't get through the door in the first place.
That protected class stuff is a totally different thing. By law, employers are required to ask those questions about protected class and report to the goverment - but the system hides that information from the recruiter and the manager and deidentifies it from reporting. Concerning the address - the hiring manager likely can see that if they go looking for it but most are just looking at your resume attachement. I have totally Google mapped addresses or questioned why someone lives in South Dakota and applied to an in-person role across the country only to find it's a college grad still using mom's address by they live in the city where the job is - SO DONT DO THAT.
I don’t agree with the too much education. If you graduated with a specific distinction, like I graduated with research in a specific department with honors which is specifically outlined in my degree. I always include that and it’s never hurt me.
Hi. I've been watching your emails and wanted to comments on a couple of things: 1) I live in Southern CA and more often than not, References have been required - especially Business. At the same time, almost all companies I have worked for have said they are not allowed to give references, so I've lost out on moving forward in the interview process for lack of these references; 2) What do you say to them when you are asked about previous salary - especially if you are looking for more pay than you were getting? 3) Lastly, if I end up quitting a job before having another (rare, but happens), what do I tell prospective Employers about why I left and didn't wait until I had another job? Thank you!
Also make sure you write an amazing one page cover letter that shows how well you have researched the company. This will set you apart more than you know
I pretty much quit putting education on my resume. I have 20+ years of experience as a Software Engineer. The one thing I'd love to put on my resume is "Don't hire me if you micro-manage". I worked at one company so micromanaged that if I sat in traffic for 2 hours and was 5 minutes late I'd get strike against me. Then they are over your shoulder constantly. This has been about 5 years ago but I quiet quitted :) I barely did shit... just showed up while looking for another job. After they fired me I found great job I'm still at. VP of Technology is my boss. He said to at least come into office 1 day a week and work remote other times. Really no set schedules or times except for some meeting here and there on zoom. He told me he didn't really care about time and stuff as far as work... just to make sure I get my projects done. Such a laid back place... love it.
I've had potential employers ask me what my SAT score was. Those scores are confidential and are used for college placement purposes only and in my case are over 25 years old. Moreover the SAT is on its way out with college admissions.
Wow, what kind of dinosaur employer was that? While they may have been serious, sometimes a interviewer is looking for any reason to reject an applicant so they'll ask for obscure info. Had that happen a few years ago for a call center job w/ Hartford Insurance, the east coast interviewer didn't like me during the 30 minute phone interview and told me I wasn't qualified because the call center experience I had was only with telecom businesses.
Can you please do a video on references? I feel so out of touch when it comes to resumes. In 2017 I went to school to obtain my BFA (I was 42 at the time). I graduate in 2021 (at the age of 46). I had a professor look at my resume and she was so helpful as I didn't realize how dated it was. I had no idea that people didn't state "references available upon requests" she pointed it out amongst other things. Also on a separate not, after I graduated, I was able to secure a job in my new field (what I went to school for). This place ended up not being good. To the point I had to sign an agreement upon my exit stating I wouldn't tell future employers what took place at this company. They promised they would give me a neutral reference if needed. I was only there for 3 months. I feel stuck because if a future employer ask why I was only there for a short period of time, I don't know what to tell them. Any advice on what I can tell a future employer? Or should I take the job off my resume? I graduated school a year ago and it is the only thing related to my new career as a fashion design. Thank you in advance.
@@ALifeAfterLayoff Turns out I had already watched the video you linked and had given it a thumbs up. I watched it again. I still don't know what I would tell a future employer as to why I left....at any rate, thank you.
I would keep any response to that question as vague as possible, such as it just wasn’t a good fit. If they try to press for details, maybe say that you are not able to give specifics, but there was a situation you weren’t comfortable with. Take my suggestions with a grain of salt as I am not a hiring manager, but a worker who has been through some toxic job situations.
@@Rossturnerphoto Thank you so much Ross for your response! I really appreciate it! What took place (repeatedly) at this company was so bad that it became a legal matter and they had me sign all these forms stating I wouldn't talk about it. At the end of the day it left in me in a bind because how do you explain you have been at a job for only 3 months and due to what you sign you can't properly explain. The advice you gave is awesome and I really appreciate your response!! Thank you!
One of the best tips I learned was to leave only one space, not two, after a period in my resume and cover letter. Two spaces immediately identifies you as "old."
A poor choice of words but…ok? Thanks for the tip form someone who is “old”. I can’t wait to be done with working in a culture that constantly finds tiny, petty reasons to discriminate. But I guess you’ll find that out in 25-30 years. ….If we have a workforce, a country or a world left.
I have a lot of work experience in the past but I have not worked since 2014. And this is due to a long-term chronic illness that prevented me from doing simple things like walking around. But now I'm better so how can I create a resume with that in mind?
Hi I just found you on TH-cam your content for this video is absolutely awesome. My biggest issue is that I have been studying cybersecurity and training in cybersecurity for the last 2 years and my current job is at a casino as a dealer doing that 8 years and before that I was an accountant doing that for 16 years so trying to figure out how to transition all that information in my resume is my biggest issue because I'm trying to get my first job cybersecurity / it spending money but my resume has been revamped over and over and I just need to know how to make a clear smooth transition from the table games dealer
The last line of my resume is a one line description of the 10 years as an employee of the local NFL team, as an entertainer. I’m sure it’s never gotten me an interview, but it always comes up.
Hey what do you have against green man? An earthy muted green is not only refined and sophisticated, but the psychology of the color makes it an excellent choice for an accent color on a resume
You know how some job applications ask you why you left your old job? What if I don’t want to say I was fired or forced to resign? What if I tell a future employer the truth but they think I’m lying?
I am so glad to hear that references are becoming antiquated. I feel like that is a lot like the skills graphic no-no --- useless and subjective. People can hire someone to be a reference! It's better to have a solid resume, interview a background check that checks out
What you mentioned about the skills self-rating is right on point. First, I'm not sure recruiters have the same standards then the candidate to rate skills, and second, it can be (and has been) used against the candidate. And I have also seen email addresses that are very unprofessional. Also I have been eliminated in the past based on location (not sure what makes employers determine your ability to be on time based on that; it's quite silly). I'd disagree about including skills like Word, but for the reason that some people list it and don't even know the correct name, indicating that they in fact don't know what they claim (i.e., "Microsoft Office 10"), Great advice, excellent video.
Had an interviewer ask me to rate my skill with java from 1-10. Put on the spot, I considered that I had 15 years of experience and was comfortable with everything I knew in the language, so I went bold and said 10. I could tell that didn't go over well with them. And in hindsight, yeah, maybe that was overstating things a bit, always room to grow, right. But it was a pretty lousy trap question, I think, force me to judge, not my own skills, but what these guys THINK my skills should be and what they think is too high for someone to claim.
@@SuprousOxide That was just stupid and petty from the candidate. That question measures nothing, other than the level of insecurity of the interviewer.
You know MS Word is part of the Office? And you can just know MS Word but not Excel. If the job is say Admin, the Word application is acceptable. Nothing wrong to put the Word if the job assumes you know it and I’ve seen some JD mentions a specific like Word, Excel, PP etc. They may not know Excel like expert level but Word, and PP.
Hi Brian. I don't know if anyone's asked this in the comments but what's your recommendation on length and/or word count for mid to senior level Tech jobs? There are a lot of different info on this topic. Some say try to limit to 1 page. Others say 2 is fine and more if it's an executive position one is applying for. Also, do you feel summaries or objectives are required or can they be omitted?
Hi sir. I’ve watched a few of your videos and like them. Thanks for the good info. Do you have any videos addressing what to do if you’ve submitted 10s if not dozens of resumes and applications and have gotten zero interviews? Let alone any feedback. Thank you.
In the UK EVERYONE seems to demand previous salaries and/or ask what your expectations are, and I absolutely hate it! I always try to leave it blank or say 'negotiable', but that seems to work against you. There should genuinely be laws demanding employers post the salary up front and not ask about what you've been paid in the past. Pay me what the job is worth, not what you think you can get away with!
Any time I use an email that's not my main one, I forget to check it, or forget the password, so I'm constantly resetting it, lol. Regarding the resume layout though, is it okay if it has absolutely zero graphics or colors on it? I admittedly have just been using the same layout for ages, just updating the iinformation as I go along. It's nothing fancy whatsoever and probably looks old-fashioned, lol. All of the other resume templates cost money and I don't want to pay for something when my current resume hits all of the pertinent information, it's just very dull and straight-forward.
I was expecting fluff, but this is really good. I would add that while employment past 10 years may not be very relevant, blank periods are worse. What were you doing for those 10 years? So I'd summarize. Another is that if you're applying for a government job, in general, listing more experience is probably better, because they sometimes have systems and HR people designed to rate based on total experience and count of different types of technology understood. That's perhaps an older approach to things, but government generally lags behind private sector practice in HR. Same with references.
Can you give specific clues for a better resume for onder applicants as myself, 56 Years old and back on the market. I learned a lot in this one but i mostly get Some feedback as being overqualified for the jobs i apply for. Which can either mean they think i would be over the budget or getting into a non satisfying work situation. The fact is i have been into salesmanager functions most of the time and want less pressure and seek for something slightly different as sales coaching or aftersales management as working 200% is getting to hard on my body and this is not something i can say or write in my resume. In my country getting hired after 45 is hard and pension age is 67 years, there is an enormous gap thats left and its pretty hard to get any reaction or invitation at all so perfecting my resume is indeed of the highest importance. So the question is how to emphasize qualities without having the overload factor of a lifetime of experience, today I saw career is only counting for max 10 years and that is making me confused as a lifetime of experience suddenly is indeed against me. Some specific hints for older applicants might therefore be a good theme for your next video. Thanks in advance
I've gone through a career change so if I leave off all work experience not directly related to the job I'm looking for then I won't have any jobs listed. Wouldn't that be more detrimental? I try to hightlight transferrable skills and have a projects section more prominently placed on my resume to show relevant experience but I think employers would wonder about the years of gap in work if nothing was included.
Actually I had bad resumes in past, but now my resumes are good, I think. I had invitations for all my job applications in the last years. Some days ago my girlfriend and I applied to the same job and both were invited to a short interview. 😅
This is funny - I just updated my resume and many things I did are red flags from this video. Thanks for the tips I will be updating my resume to return it to a more business professional style.
Hi there. I am an employment coordinator in the UK. I have battled my organisations and colleagues for YEARS and still do on EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON THIS LIST!! Thank you so much for letting me know that I'm not crazy! Greg, Scotland.
What should you do if some required information inherently gives away something about a protected class? For example, I went to a large religious university, so a recruiter will know something about me if they see that. I'm guessing graduates of HBCUs run into the same issue. But, would it look weird to leave the university off? I'm in the higher ed field btw.
It's the same issue as using your first name (implies gender, possibly even approx age & ethnic background). You can test out both versions, and maybe use the one that gets the most responses. But @thedarklordx has a point that I agree with these days - if they're gonna discriminate against you, better to know that ASAP, so they don't even waste your time. Only you know your situation though - desperation/timeline, local job market, culture, etc. Do what you need to to pay the bills, and then find something better.
I don't think your resume needs to be sterilized of these things. I think you want to avoid adding information you don't need or putting it where it doesn't fit. As a candidate you should do your research about the company, size them up during the interview, etc. There should be warning signs of discriminatory behavior.
Apparently as a kid, I had the same idea as the network guys that set up my school computer accounts, because I just used the first letter of my first name and then my last name, all in one word for my email. I still have it to this day (15-20 years after creation) and it's still my primary email.
Great content! Would you recommend remote workers in Colorado to not share their City/State? I ask as many employers that are hiring remote workers will specifically not even consider Colorado applicants. Job descriptions may not even list the "Except Colorado".
That's likely due to the new job posting laws in CO, NYC, and some other places, that require including the target pay-scale. There are some other constraints around taxes & labor laws as well, so you really do have to include your city & State. They 100% need to know, for legal reasons.
yeah most o this is common sense, its amazing how many people just dont get it . hey, quick-tip, there is a tapping clicking noise, as if something hard is bumping the mic or the table, just an fyi when recording , while its subtle, it can be desecrating and a tad annoying since this is an informational vid where folks are really intensely listening .
I was in the final round of the interview process for a Management Consultant. They did a background and saw my credit report… due to a divorce, my credit was ruined. I was denied the job. This should be illegal for any job that isn’t a government level clearance position or banking.
Agree!
Why is it even necessary for them to run your credit? That sounds horrible. My credit is horrible now because of not being able to find work and bills kept accumulating.
Running your credit is pretty typical at larger companies. It's happened to me a few times.
If you can not manage your own money, what makes the hiring firm think you can manage a company’s?😊
@@smintner that’s a pretty absurd proposition. Getting catastrophically ill while living in the US has nothing to do with not being able to manage your money.
Video Summary:
1) Avoid bright colors, infographics, or clipart.
2) Avoid columns (will mess up ATS parsing).
3) Avoid photos/headshots.
4) Avoid personal identifiers (anything that identifies certain characteristics a recruiter could use to screen you out).
5) Avoid unprofessional email addresses.
6) Avoid full home addresses (city and state are okay).
7) Avoid irrelevant work history (anything 10+ years old).
8) Avoid industry-specific jargon.
9) Avoid giving too much detail about your education, the basics are enough.
10) Avoid listing references or “references available upon request”.
11) AVOID SALARY HISTORY!
12) Avoid mentioning standard skills like Microsoft office (excel, word, etc) or leadership.
13) Avoid cliches like “quick learner” or “team player”.
Thank you!
3 is total bull shit advice. On my sniper resume.....
TLDR: No personal identifiers aka name, address, email address, any other PII; list no skills, talents, or anything else that would identify you as being more qualified for the position than someone else; .......in other words, attach a pdf or word doc with nothing on it or alternatively a pdf or word doc with everything redacted.
Avoid listing references, even though they'll ask you in the application and if you refuse to do so, it means "You don't know anyone that would be willing to talk highly about you so that must mean you're a red flag."
Especially don't list references if you're applying to many jobs. Your colleagues don't want to get 20 calls when only 2 of those jobs could have worked out. Let the recruiter or hiring manager ask for them.
Designer here. Graphics are for your portfolio. Keeping your resume functional with good typography is advisable.
And portfolio is more important than resume
AND DONT PUT “portfolio available on request!” You’re a designer. It’s a given. And I put in “portfolio required for consideration” and disqualified folks who didn’t follow directions”
Man, you educated me more in 14 minutes on resume writing than unemployment offices have done in weeks of "professional resume writing" classes. Thank you. I got my present gig(highest paying ever) using your techniques.
Hey! Good job!
Why do you think the unemployment offices are inefficient? (Its in the name)
Same here. Wish I had all of this stellar information in many a prior year of job hunting. :|
What exactly is the ATS system? I gather it is the system that pulls your resume/picks your resume based on certain key words etc. Thanks.
This is really good, well done. I most case workers aka civil servants in the UK aren't that thorough. One took a look at my CV some years ago and told me 'you have too many bullet points'. She didn't give me any guidance but stated 'the devils in the details'. What was I meant to do with that information I don't know.
Applicant Tracking Systems are the bane of job seekers.
Agree 100%... these "systems" have ruined the entire process and removed the organic element of candidate qualifying. Anyone can fluff and lie on a resume or even create a completely fake resume with all of the right keywords to fool the automated systems. These systems have polluted the candidate pool with false applicants, which ruins opportunities for actual qualified "human" candidates.
Taleo.. thank you for your prepared Resume, now please write it all again in these web forms?!
Should be illegal. If a human ain't looking, ban it.
Sorry isn't that supposed to be the work of the HR person? How is it that HR people have this tool to do what the majority of their work (reading the actual resume and synthesizing info) and yet, recruiters will constantly moan about how "hard" their job is..??? What a joke!
The bane of recruiters too.
One called me to tell me I should never have had a first round interview, because the ATS software had qualified me when I wasn't.
I was hired to one of my best jobs was the hobbies section. I recall contemplating leaving it out 😅 My boss later told me how he scrolled through hundreds of similar resumes and got very interested in a person who was reading Ancient Greek and Russian literature, studied astronomy and loved hockey.
I had an interview recently where I was asked what I did to relax outside of work. I mentioned photography, and that led to a very fun back and forth with the interviewers about photography techniques, subjects, etc. However, I didn't get the job, oh, well😁
You're the rare exception.
Unless the job requires you to know all those things, your boss is flirting with you....
In bigger companies managers are specifically trained to avoid such "unconcious bias". Selection must be exclusively on prospective performance on the job, absolutely not on attributes unrelated to the position to be filled, e.g., which sports team you support, what hobbies you do in your spare time etc. I personally ask questions reagrding spare time activities during the interviews I conduct, but I mainly try to cross-check whether their story based on their job experience and attidude holds true and consistent. And only if the applicant is willing to talk about it (they can refuse, no problem). Talking about hobbies makes a lot of people drop guarding themselves and speak more carelessly about themselves, than during job-related information exchange. So beware, not all hobby-discussions are done in a good faith by the hiring manager! 😅
I enjoy pornhub. Fortnite. Pizza. and smoking bongs.
I'm good at my job but I would never put my hobbies in my resume. Not everything is for everydoby.
The part at 3:00 on columns is very important. I had a really fancy resume that was laid out in columns. It looked amazing, but I was just not getting any response from it. Turns out the automated sifting programs were only reading the first column and not the next one that had all the relevant information!! When I removed the columns I started to hear back from employers again.
So do be careful using columns in a resume. I learnt that the hard way.
How did you ultimately reformat while calling out skills? I have a top section in my resume that highlights skills- it is a table (no borders shown). Basically, I’d like to bullet and call out skill sets that aren’t in job description and am curious how best to format if there is concern for columns/tables.
You know if these stupid employers would just READ the cv’s they’d find the employees they need!!
As someone with a degree, an unimpressive internship, who is two years out of school, and has no experience in my field, applying is daunting. I hope my food service experience doesn’t hinder me from being hired, it’s all I’ve got.
In your food service experience - what did you learn? What skills did you gain? When I look back on my grueling days of food service- I gained extraordinary customer service skills. As well, client communication, high volume-fast-paced productivity, food handling & facility management skills that met & exceeded health dept (govt) quality standards - and passing inspections. The list is endless. As meaningless as it seemed at the time, I probably learned more from my misery (especially smiling at psycho customers & providing them with quality service in spite of their demands) than any other job I've ever had.
Does your field have a certification? A lot of certifications can be obtained by self study and then taking the exam. You course need to invest in the books and time.
Believe me, a certification makes your resume stand out.
You could try 2 versions and see which one gives you better responses
How is it going one year later?
For what it’s worth, I’ve been told by two recent recruiters to absolutely list Microsoft Word, Excel, etc., because the system will kick it out if you don’t. Just saying, that’s what I was told.😊
Yes you should. It is not taken for granted that everyone knows how to use those basic programmes. If I'm hiring, depending on the role, I'd like to even know how fast you can type on a computer
Have you ever considered a life of crime. No experience is required and many street people are willing to teach you.
does it have to be specifically Word or Excel or will Microsoft Office be enough
@@tee228for that, excel is last. Hired for state of ca and ms word, ms office are mandatory. Excel helps, but not nescessary
@@tee228 Office is usually enough, assuming you actually know it enough.
The sad truth is that HR people are lazy. Rather than read resume's they simply scan them and have software search for key words. The more key words that match up the higher you are ranked. In this way the HR people can quickly get through a stack of resumes and get back to playing solitaire. A former HR executive told me this fact and recommended that every resume you send should be tailored for the job. Scour the job description and put as many key words from the job description into your resume. One targeted resume like that is worth a thousand generic resumes blanketing a metro area.
I agree with that. Most HR personnel, particularly with smaller companies, are clerks promoted beyond their education and skill set. As an accountant and controller had to do their ork for them.
The HR is lacking the H
@@elhanson5426 Right, an accountant listing "Financial Reporting" under their skills, probably knows "Double-entry Bookkeeping" as well.
An intelligent 2023 applicant tracking system OR human recruiter would make these assumptions, instead of saying you match only 3 out of 15 skills because you didn't specifically list Bookeeping and also Teamwork, Attention to detail and Communication 😅 Linkedin I am looking at you.
If ChatGPT doesn't take our jobs then maybe it could actually help us get jobs by improving ATS's 😂
Lazy? Try being a hiring manager and having to go through a large stack of boring resumes. Scoring by hand is tedious. At least the key word scan can thin out that pile of totally unqualified candidates from those, who really ought to be considered. Now, if only the head-hunters would learn to search for the REQUIRED job skills, education, etc.
Another point: Show interest in the company that you are going to interview with. Learn all that you can about them. What do they do? What processes and technology do they use? Who are their customers? Who are their competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can they improve what they do, or break into a new line of work? From this, be able to engage in thoughtful discussion when you are asked for questions. Nothing is a greater turn-off to a hiring manager than someone who shows no interest in the job. I was greatly impressed with a recent (5 yr.) B.S. graduate who showed interest that was lacking in a 25 year Masters and 30 year PhD. Guess who got the job offer?
@@ichetuknee Been there and done that. Not a big deal. Do you farm out creating the job descriptions too?
Keep an email account dedicated to job searching. Don't use it for anything else. I totally agree there!
I have different email addresses for different things. I have a separate one that is ONLY used for professional purposes.
The best way to get hired is to have a friend or acquaintance already working for the company you want to work for. That person can act as your champion to get the management to look over your resume in more detail. Most resumes are scanned by software for key words others are briefly looked over by some HR intern and that person is so bored that their eyes are glossed over. You can continue to listen to these scam artists and even pay them, but having someone on the inside IS almost priceless and will up your chance significantly in getting an in face interview. Don't forget when you do get hired in to help some other acquaintance to get a job also. So do some networking discreetly.
I recently update my resume. Got an interview waiting to hear on starting date. Thanks
I received the starting day last night.
I’m a graphic designer, a profession which requires more creative resumes, and your note on the “3/10 star skills” is bang on. It’s fairly common with creative professionals, but I’ve heard from people in hiring positions that they don’t care about those because they’re YOUR estimations of how you’d doing. Like, you give yourself 4/5 stars for Photoshop knowledge, but what does 5 mean to you? It’s arbitrary and subjective, which isn’t extremely helpful.
I wonder what he means by job jargon, if background illustrator or VFX artist is "too hard" for HR what are they doing hiring ppl for creative companies?
As a matter of principles I wouldn't hire someone with those star skill levels on their resume. It may look pretty but it's a huge red flag and speaks more of what you don't have than what you have.
@@HisameArtwork I was thinking that too, though he might be speaking more about less techy or creative roles.
@Jeremy Oboe Out of curiosity, do you agree or disagree with this: Those stars take up valuable resume space that could be better spent listing more skills or types of projects you've created.
@@chibiktsn3 100% agree. It's a sign that someone does know what to add to a resume.
Great advice all round. My old resume was based on template of my brother's when he was applying for analyst roles. I wanted to go into financial accounting and never seemed to make it past the initial screening. I didn't end up getting anything with it. When I changed my resume to a more simple design, I got more interviews and got the job I really want.
Here are a few of my resume pet peeves from recruiting:
1) Having no location on the resume (not even a country, and we recruit worldwide).
2) Using a different font for the first initial of your first and last name. It doesn't parse correctly in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
3) Putting your current work email address on your resume. That will populate in the ATS and when we contact you by email or schedule an interview, it will appear in your work email and possibly your work calendar.
4) Overlooking typos. Please proof your resume, or ask a detail-oriented friend to do so.
5) Having no contact information at all. (Yes, I've seen it.)
And finally, make it easy for us to review your resume, locate your skills and experience, and get in touch with you about the next steps.
Great video; thanks!
Put a work email in your resume? Most companies spy on any emails going through the company servers and that includes personal email (yahoo, Google, etc.) because if it’s on the web, they will intercept it. I usually turn off WiFi and send personal emails through the cell connection.
@@picklerix6162 I know, crazy isn't it? But I had a candidate who did exactly that -- put his work email on his resume. He was upset with me when I scheduled his interview and sent a confirmation email, but I hadn't noticed the domain of his email address (it is parsed and was automatically added into the email). That incident made me wonder if we really wanted to hire this person anyway.
@@picklerix6162 That's not how HTTPS works. Unless they are actually faking and MITM'ing SSL certificates of Gmail etc, which, uhm, I think they could be sued for.
Lol I don’t know anyone around me who puts work email address. What a crazy thing to do, a cause for termination in most companies. I’m in tech and in IT. We watch employees behavior red flags like doing job hunting on a company’s time. Never apply to other companies online using company resources or even talk on companies cell phone to other firms and NEVER ever put your work email on applications to other companies. You must be in HR? Your advice is very bad… Having no contact information? Email is a contact information and must be a personal email always. Never a phone number (people disclose phone number rarely) and never a full address. Why the heck anyone wants on their calendar most people share with others (yes they can see who you are meeting whom) that they’re getting interviewed by another company? It’s also illegal in many places to use company assets like work email for applications to other firms; to use company assets other than professional use. Job hunting is done on your personal time using personal devices including personal phone number and personal email address. These days corporate HR seems to be too far from sane candidates.
@@KittenBowl1 I work in tech recruiting. I didn't recommend doing it; I said a candidate did that. I've seen all kinds of crazy things!
Exactly. I was a graphic designer for over twenty years, never put graphics in the resume itself. I also got dinged regarding columns and resume parsing systems. Keep it simple. Great advice!
On the last point you mentioned on the resume issue. I had the worst time getting my first real job until I removed karate instructor assistant from my job history. Went from 0 interviews to 5 interviews in just a week
This has been the best resume writing session I have seen. I was not aware of most of the information spoken about. Typically coach's say make sure your spelling is correct, have everything in short paragraphs, fit everything on one page, used industry buzz words to stand out etc, blah blah blah. I had given up on learning how to write resumes. They're too difficult because we do not know what's in the head of employers or recruiters. I'm a low income earner and gave up. This video gave me some confidence. Thanks.
This is the most valuable video i’ve watched in years. Definitely removing references from my resume. I had FIVE of them wasting space. Im actually a little embarrassed now.
I used to live in northern Michigan back in the 90's and early 2000's. After doing several job interviews, I quickly found out that What I knew, or experience I had, didn't matter to employers in the least. The only thing that really seemed to matter to most of the managers doing the interviewing was WHO I knew. Thankfully I live in a big Ohio city now that's growing. I've gotten very frustrated lately. I've been looking for work for a while now, and still haven't found anything yet. I hope this information helps. Thank you.
It's who you know OR how well you get along with the folks during the interview, unfortunately.
I am finding this out as well…it has nothing to do with your skills…just who you know. It is so discouraging!
I broke the first few rules you mentioned. My resume was colorful, had infographics, included a pic of myself, had multiple columns. . . I have since changed it (especially since I have experiences and updates to make). . .but my first resume got me way more attention and way more interviews (the only time I've had interviews in my life) than when I removed those elements. I thought it was just because of timing, but I just sent out my old colorful resume, and it started getting responses. For my next test though, I'm going to find ways to have my sections stand out without the colors, because part of me suspects that it's not the colors or fonts that are doing the work, but the fact that it did a good job calling attention to the different highlighted elements, where my new one may not provide so much.
Brooooo
See my response to the author. Go back to your first way.
@@RM-wt9hi I most likely will. As soon as I’m done stacking some credentials I’ll redesign it as well. A lot of the resume advice that’s common is from recruiter simplicity and also primitive software that serves neither the employer nor applicant (and we’re all catching on and changing this). All the tips in this video are great at attracting recruiters… but not great at attracting employment which is the only metric that matters. All my worst resumes came with the advice of recruiters giving me tweaks. After they ghosted me, I sometimes would apply for the same position without their tweaks, and actually get a response. Also it’s strange that in a world of UX and user interface design that hat résumé’s which are communicative pieces are supposed to be the exception to these principles. All this to say… I’m grateful for all the advice and help people are willing to give, but the metrics are speaking all around… I’m returning to my way
@@RM-wt9hi the other interesting point is that everyone points out that hiring people only spend a few seconds on resumes… yet somehow the elements that will make those few seconds worth the most are talked down. With my bright colorful resume, people were able to know what they needed at a glance. It’s the difference between “raw data” and a “graph” might be the same in for but presentation matters to humans even if hiring people aren’t aware of the forces influencing.
I even remember one of the few interviews with the recruiter approved resume… interviewer said “you’re a good candidate but we’re looking for someone who holds X certification”…. I replied, “I do have that certification and the one that is the next step above that one”… “oh I’m sorry I missed that, I just thought it would …” that had never once happened with my highly formatted resume where people would memorize almost every detail at their first glance
I have accepted a lot of applicants with colourful resumes. I'm less fond of very eclectic ones, but some good use of colour is not a bad thing to me. But I work in a different context (EU, university) so take it with a grain of salt.
I disagree with omitting industry specific jargon - only in that if you are applying for jobs in the same industry then it may be very useful. I am in an industry that is heavily regulated and idiosyncratic - I use our industry specific jargon because it highlights certain skills I have or certain technologies I have worked with. However, I only do this when I apply for jobs in my industry because I know anyone on that actual team or within the actual department will be more interested in my resume when it says I have worked with the implementation of XYZ technology.
I should clarify - company specific jargon.
What I find strange is that an internship is not counted as work experience even though that's literally what they are meant for. How does that work exactly?
Just a ploy for free labor under the promise of experience.
But if it's not really work, how can it be considered experience?
They help with graduate school if that's of interest...
I think they do help with entry lvl/the first few jobs. But I'd say that after 5 to 10 years in a genuine position they're no longer needed/relevant.
That's training which is part of your study (~apprenticeship). That's why it's not work experience.
Work experience starts after you finish your studies.
On who's authority does internship not count as work experience?
In an internship, you learn a lot about how work in that field is done. The little practical things, like time management. You learn how to write effective emails. Lots of these things are not taught in school, rightly so.
I agree with most of this but the bigger issue is that a lot of companies are accepting your resume on a website and there they ask all the questions to say to avoid like full address or your minor in college. My biggest pet peeve is forcing me remember dates, to the day, for a job duration. The month shouldn't even matter. Are people staying that short at a job that the month duration is making a difference?
I've done relevant temp jobs in my early years after graduating that only lasted 2 weeks (I never knew why the employers decided not to keep me on though sometimes I did suspect illogical dislike/bias, racism). Those jobs were via recruiters and I was naive so I realise now they were a mistake to accept though I picked up skills and realised toxic work culture red flags. Today I have more years in jobs that I can remove or hide them and when asked in Company Applications I try to avoid going too far back on 'previous' or fudge the dates a little for the oĺdest roles.
Right? It should honestly be illegal to ask for your address. Not only is it a major breach of privacy to force people to dox themselves to all these companies, but it opens up a host of opportunities for discrimination
Best video. Monotonous voice, but no-nonsense. Just straight to the point.
Hello Bryan. I have seen a few of your recruiting videos and they are very well done with great advice. I have over 20 years recruiting experience myself. Keep up the good work and I know you're helping lots of people. Take care.
One of the things I heard you should never put down is working for an MLM like Amway, Monat or Avon. On another channel an employment manager said how she rejects applications made by people who worked for these companies claiming they were CEOs. The people who get recruited into these pyramid schemes claim they’re business owners, when they’re really independent unpaid customers. So in reality, to employers it’s considered an employment gap.
Eh, to a marketing company it might actually be considered relevant experience, depending on numbers.
It’s also a marker of being easily manipulated and lack of independent thinking.
Employers shouldn't even be allowed to consider employment gaps. There's plenty of logical reasons for them.
@@lmusima3275 what is MLM?
@@elimgarak1127 absolutely agree, legit reasons too
For the skills, that may depend on the job you are applying for - if you are applying for a data-related or accounting/finance position you should absolutely list excel on your resume especially if your skills are beyond the basic assumed skills because that's a keyword those jobs filter on. Sure, everyone probably knows what Excel is and can do some basic stuff, but if you also know pivot tables, VBA, Power Query, etc. you should call that out.
Aren't pivot tables and power query pretty basic as well? You can succeed with both with just basic clicking around. VBA is when you start needing additional programming skills with no real shortcuts.
F*uckimg pivot tables gave me nightmares in my excel class! Never could really figure them out!
Yeah, there is a massive difference in efficiency between someone who has been using Excel for years but only ever used SUM() and very basic features, and someone else who actually learned or took a training course / certification and can use some keyboard shortcuts as well as more advanced features.
The number who think they "know Excel" but don't even know absolute cell references exist...
With Excel it's easy to stay in your comfort zone and never learn something new even after years of "experience".
That's why I am also going to take a certification to go the extra mile and actually demonstrate the skill because I feel like "Excel Certified" sounds much nicer than "good Excel knowledge" as listed on 1000s of applicants' CVs.
No. I am accounting/finance and have never used a spreadsheet. As an auditor, I view them with great suspicion when they are used as a critical part of the accounting process.
@@KameraShy So you use only specialised software for your analytical procedures yeah? Curious because I'm training to become a chartered accountant and I'm interested in audit.
Though "critical part" is a big word, it's just a convenient tool, especially in the management accounting world. I think no one would indeed want or expect financial accounts to be prepared with over-reliance on general-purpose software.
I finally got my first full time job but I’m still watching your videos
Thanks for your continued support and congrats on the new job!
My manager typed my resume for a promotion with big bold graphics. I argued that it was too busy and unprofessional but it worked! So many different philosophies out there...
So all the advice here is great, but in particular it is *really* good to know that full addresses are no longer expected. (I'd also heard long ago that it can open up to another possible bias, if you're say in a suburban area and have an apartment number... unfortunately and unreasonably that can lead to some unfair assumptions, and an employer doesn't need to know anything about your living situation).
Thanks for sharing! This made me feel a bit better bc I thought my resume was trash but my resume doesn’t include any of the “donts”. Only tip I need to implement is removing my 10 year experience. Hopefully that helps 😩
As an ATS manager, I’d also like to add to the graphics, avoid using a graphic or word art to represent anything like a name or qualification. Some people like to put the logo or “badge” of the certification they’ve earned, rather than typing it out. Best case: This will get ignored by the parser. Worst case: the parser will decide it can’t get useable info out of your resume and will reject it.
Hey I know your comment's eleven months old, but I gotta ask, does this include wingdings font?
I use a little wingdings symbol to separate my email, phone number, and city so that I can have them all on the same line. I don't use the font anywhere else in my resume. Could the ATS have been throwing out my application because of this?
Thanks for the great tips, I just landed a dream job for my current situation and your videos were an amazing resource for my interview prep + CV edits
I learned all this when I got a job running background checks for employers. Such valuable information. Thank you for posting this.
This is great general advice. However, I'd add that it's best for applicants to know the industry to which they're applying. In my field, for example, things are very conservative and old school. Hiring managers and search committees (yes, we still have search committees) will expect to see a resume with ALL prior experience since graduating from college--even if that's 30 or 40 years. The same goes for degrees--they want all degrees listed with their major focus, if any. In fact, I've seen some TAM systems set up to require all job entries going back to the first employer. While this may not be the mainstream, it does exist in certain groups, so know your audience and write accordingly.
Jeez, who would even want to work for your company? Not me.
@@sandrabeck8788 You know nothing of my industry or where I work. Yours is a very short-sighted answer. If you're so ready to dismiss my employer without knowing anything else about them, then I'm glad you won't be applying. It's your loss though. Working conditions are great. Work-life balance is great. Benefits are world class. Camaraderie and cooperation are great. And you'll miss out on all that because you want to limit your resume to the first two entries. Got it.
@Park Justin See my answer to Sandra.....it's your loss, and I'm glad to have short-sighted knee-jerk people work elsewhere.
Mind if I ask what industry you work in?
This is very common for government-based jobs, honestly. The same ones who will scrutinize if you have a 2-month gap in your resume that happened 15 years ago, or why you took a demotion 18 years ago.
I was recently laid off as a part of corporate restructuring. I made a few tweaks to my 10 year old resume and started sending it out to local employers I thought would make for a good fit.
After watching this video, I totally rewrote what I had from the ground up, making sure all my data would parse easily in an automated system. By the end of the week, I'd lined up interviews with four prospective employers. With your interview tips, three of these four interviews resulted in offers.
Now it's starting to look like the corporate restructuring was a good thing for me as my new employer is a closer match to my personal values and I'm looking forward to growing in my new role. This video, along with others in your series, helped to bring me up to speed with modern job hunting and I'm now a strong advocate for CARL as well.
Thank you for sharing tips like the ones in this video. Your videos are some of the most helpful I've found.
This was really excellent advice. I agree about never putting salary history on a resume and I appreciate that you called out regional norms. As a current director of total rewards, the recent laws around pay transparency should theoretically help move us away from being locked into past salary history trends. But of course you are correct, there are still unscrupulous employers out there.
I never disclose my previous salary. If they ask me I tell them that it's confidential, which it is. Are they going to share with you their current salary? I don't think so. If an org insists on that then I move on. I took a negotiations class and the last thing you want to do in a negotiation is to disclose any kind of history. You anchor yourself like that. I tell them what I think I'm worth and I add about 20% since it's a negotiation. I usually wind up pretty close to my actual target, and sometimes even over what I was expecting. When I used to disclose my previous salary I always wondered why I worked at the same rate for almost 10 years. Well I learned it was because I was anchoring myself, and the recruiters love that. It makes their job easier.
I've disclosed my salary and it's worked out. Might it have worked better if I hadn't, perhaps, but I have no regrets. Simply telling the hiring manager that I currently make X you have to beat that. I already make well above average for my field and round up, so it's not like I could sell myself short.
Now I understand why I get plenty of bites on my resume. NONE of the things mentioned are on my resume, so good to know that a pro knows and confirms this. I like this guy, he knows his shit and explains things really well. He's got good delivery.
Please explain why recruiters think we only have short-term memory? If I have been doing the same job for 20 years, but in the last two years, I have done something else. (Obviously, because I could not find a job in my career) Why would the recruiter think I have no memory of the 20 years of experience? I do not understand why the recruiter would think I forgot half my life or my whole career in the last two years. Please help me understand. Thanks.
Super informative!! I’ve watched hundreds of youtube videos about resume but this one provides more insights which are crucial.
Question- what do you think about not putitng graduation year in the resume? I’ve heard even though you have many years of experience but you just recently graduated, some employers may base on your graduation year to decide your chance or your salary….
Thank you!!
This was Extremely Helpful & Useful.. Wasn't even aware of some of this.. Especially about adding your Address on Your Resume.. You've saved me a lot of Typing & giving unnecessary information.. Appreciate.
This is a great video with lots of useful advice. However, I'd like to follow up about something in the Generic Skills category, particularly MS Office programs. As was stated, lots of people in the workforce have been exposed to Word and Excel, but it's been my experience that a significant number of people aren't very good at using those programs beyond opening and printing a document. In past resumes I wrote for myself years ago, I noted that I have not only used Word, Excel, etc. regularly, but I also have advanced knowledge of how to use those programs, and how in previous jobs co-workers came to me for advice or help in using them. I'm pretty sure that helped me get those first entry-level jobs. Of course, you do have to be able to back up your claims, but advanced proficiency in office tech could be a selling point, especially for younger job-seekers.
Asking if you can use basic office applications is basically asking if you can read and write. If you can't read and write, you have much more wrong with your life than problems getting a job.
The columns tip was super helpful since my resume has skills on the left and experience on the right
I’m a senior software engineer that’s been programming professionally since 1998. I recently left my job of 6 years at a large publicly traded company where I was the programmer/exec in charge of the most successful application in the companies history. I had to leave because the commute was taking up to 4 hours. I put my resume on Dice and was immediately overwhelmed with calls, texts and emails. I specifically said in my resume I would not do basic programming skill assessment as you don’t get to my skill level not understanding coding. I agreed to one teams interview where this Indian guy started with the darn skill
Assessment. I shut it down and told them I wasn’t the guy for them. These people don’t read resumes.
I've been programming C++ since 1993 and I find any non-standardized tests to be infuriating. I once walked out when a guy asked what a hash table was (I later felt bad for the guy who might have been young). After 20 years or so, you can't fail the test. The test fails you.
How did that work out for you? Most jobs require some form of coding assessment.
@@EchoMeToo I no longer need to work so it worked out great. Exactly how many code assessments does one need to take in a 20+ year career? When you’re hiring at my level you need to hire on experience, not some goofy code test.
@@MichaelBrown-ho5wc I totally agree with you! I bet these people, "engineers", who pick these assessments for us can't complete them under the same circumstances. They mumble with accent sitting far from their's laptop's microphone so that we can't make up what they are saying or even talk to others while we take the assessments.
@@MichaelBrown-ho5wctrue
The exception that I have seen for the 10 year rule is in K-12 education...if you have been at the same school for many years, put down all of your teaching experience. But of course, if you have had multiple gigs, focus on the most relevant.
You advise to omit jobs older than 10 years. But for someone who has been in the field for much longer, wouldn't that look like an employment gap? How do you suggest that be addressed? What about omitting dates for education, which might date you? Ageism is a thing, too.
Hey there, Thanks for a great video. Do you have any great advice for someone middle aged (40s) who has been doing the same thing for the last 13-17 years, which is completely unrelated to my secondary education (I have a bachelors and masters) and is looking for a definite NEEDED career change? I painted myself into a corner and I understand it's the hardest thing to attempt a career change at middle age . I want to transition back to a field in congruence with my education.
Hi Bryan! This video was great! However, one of the suggestions you mentioned was not to include jobs older than 10 years. I have been out of the workforce for 12 years, then what should I do? 😢
Depending on your situation, you may want to include what you've been doing for the past decade as a "job".
Thank you, just removed my zip code. I had a few people look up my zip code and assumed that I live further away from the positions I was applying for.
I would highlight a minor degree IF it is directly relevant to the position requirements.
Be kind to your references -- they are a valuable resource. So don't throw their names out there in dozens of resumes. Best is to say references available upon request. If you do need to include them, then let your references know they may be contacted. You don't want them to get cold calls. "I'm a reference for who?" is a bad look.
Don't pay for a resume class. There are way too many free sources of information available. Many organizations offer this for free.
How about including a certification logo?
Thank you for these helpful hints!
I don't think they are necessary.
I am 76! Physically and mentally fit. My last 3 interviews, for a mechanical/electrical journeyman position have each been 1 1/2 hours long. How do I overcome the apparent age bias. Note my qualifications are stellar.
I applied to a particular company many times and would never get an interview. I had the skills, was very experienced, salary expectations in range, but never a call or interview. I applied one last time, and I put a headshot on my resume this time. Boom! Got the call, the interview and the job.
Great tips and very helpful. Unfortunately a lot of this information is being asked when you apply for a job. After you upload your resume, they pre-populate a lot of fields based on that scanned info and ask you explicitly and on mandatory fields what your address is as well as the protected classes such as Veteran status, sexual orientation, and so forth. While you can at the protected class question chose not to answer, that in itself could be held against you.
Others, mostly with Workday as a hiring system, want all the information they ask from their employees.
And I rarely see forms where it is not mandatory to provide salary expectations or you won't get through the door in the first place.
I was going to mention this as well. Any tips for this situation?
That protected class stuff is a totally different thing. By law, employers are required to ask those questions about protected class and report to the goverment - but the system hides that information from the recruiter and the manager and deidentifies it from reporting. Concerning the address - the hiring manager likely can see that if they go looking for it but most are just looking at your resume attachement. I have totally Google mapped addresses or questioned why someone lives in South Dakota and applied to an in-person role across the country only to find it's a college grad still using mom's address by they live in the city where the job is - SO DONT DO THAT.
TIL I'm a natural at this but what has always sold me was experience. Got a lucky break early in my career and it has carried me throughout jobs.
I don’t agree with the too much education. If you graduated with a specific distinction, like I graduated with research in a specific department with honors which is specifically outlined in my degree. I always include that and it’s never hurt me.
Hi. I've been watching your emails and wanted to comments on a couple of things: 1) I live in Southern CA and more often than not, References have been required - especially Business. At the same time, almost all companies I have worked for have said they are not allowed to give references, so I've lost out on moving forward in the interview process for lack of these references; 2) What do you say to them when you are asked about previous salary - especially if you are looking for more pay than you were getting? 3) Lastly, if I end up quitting a job before having another (rare, but happens), what do I tell prospective Employers about why I left and didn't wait until I had another job? Thank you!
What about Thesis title? Is it smart to be included with your College/University degree? Great video!
Thank you for this. I already do most of this - only skills like Microsoft, or leadership or team player I will have to remove
Also make sure you write an amazing one page cover letter that shows how well you have researched the company. This will set you apart more than you know
I never write a cover letter and still will get hired
Do you have videos for someone at retirement age looking for consulting or part time positions?
I pretty much quit putting education on my resume. I have 20+ years of experience as a Software Engineer. The one thing I'd love to put on my resume is "Don't hire me if you micro-manage". I worked at one company so micromanaged that if I sat in traffic for 2 hours and was 5 minutes late I'd get strike against me. Then they are over your shoulder constantly. This has been about 5 years ago but I quiet quitted :) I barely did shit... just showed up while looking for another job. After they fired me I found great job I'm still at. VP of Technology is my boss. He said to at least come into office 1 day a week and work remote other times. Really no set schedules or times except for some meeting here and there on zoom. He told me he didn't really care about time and stuff as far as work... just to make sure I get my projects done. Such a laid back place... love it.
Happy I found your channel. Good advice and noted. Will be back for more! Thank you. Subscribed.
I've had potential employers ask me what my SAT score was. Those scores are confidential and are used for college placement purposes only and in my case are over 25 years old. Moreover the SAT is on its way out with college admissions.
Wow, what kind of dinosaur employer was that? While they may have been serious, sometimes a interviewer is looking for any reason to reject an applicant so they'll ask for obscure info. Had that happen a few years ago for a call center job w/ Hartford Insurance, the east coast interviewer didn't like me during the 30 minute phone interview and told me I wasn't qualified because the call center experience I had was only with telecom businesses.
This video was so helpful. Thank you so much for this
Glad it was helpful!
Can you please do a video on references? I feel so out of touch when it comes to resumes. In 2017 I went to school to obtain my BFA (I was 42 at the time). I graduate in 2021 (at the age of 46). I had a professor look at my resume and she was so helpful as I didn't realize how dated it was. I had no idea that people didn't state "references available upon requests" she pointed it out amongst other things.
Also on a separate not, after I graduated, I was able to secure a job in my new field (what I went to school for). This place ended up not being good. To the point I had to sign an agreement upon my exit stating I wouldn't tell future employers what took place at this company. They promised they would give me a neutral reference if needed. I was only there for 3 months. I feel stuck because if a future employer ask why I was only there for a short period of time, I don't know what to tell them.
Any advice on what I can tell a future employer? Or should I take the job off my resume? I graduated school a year ago and it is the only thing related to my new career as a fashion design.
Thank you in advance.
th-cam.com/video/wHgbH9vnMAo/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=ALifeAfterLayoff
@@ALifeAfterLayoff Turns out I had already watched the video you linked and had given it a thumbs up. I watched it again. I still don't know what I would tell a future employer as to why I left....at any rate, thank you.
I would keep any response to that question as vague as possible, such as it just wasn’t a good fit. If they try to press for details, maybe say that you are not able to give specifics, but there was a situation you weren’t comfortable with.
Take my suggestions with a grain of salt as I am not a hiring manager, but a worker who has been through some toxic job situations.
@@Rossturnerphoto Thank you so much Ross for your response! I really appreciate it! What took place (repeatedly) at this company was so bad that it became a legal matter and they had me sign all these forms stating I wouldn't talk about it. At the end of the day it left in me in a bind because how do you explain you have been at a job for only 3 months and due to what you sign you can't properly explain.
The advice you gave is awesome and I really appreciate your response!! Thank you!
@@shirleysaidsew1969 no problem. I hope it helps.
This is by far the best resume advice points ❤
One of the best tips I learned was to leave only one space, not two, after a period in my resume and cover letter. Two spaces immediately identifies you as "old."
A poor choice of words but…ok?
Thanks for the tip form someone who is “old”. I can’t wait to be done with working in a culture that constantly finds tiny, petty reasons to discriminate. But I guess you’ll find that out in 25-30 years.
….If we have a workforce, a country or a world left.
Modern fonts do not need the forced spacing because they are not fixed width fonts. Word will make it look right for you.
@@dearyvettetn4489 Too right mate!
@@dearyvettetn4489 🤣🤣🤣that last sentence is so honest which is rare these days.
So basically there are updated grammar rules now?
I have a lot of work experience in the past but I have not worked since 2014. And this is due to a long-term chronic illness that prevented me from doing simple things like walking around. But now I'm better so how can I create a resume with that in mind?
Hi I just found you on TH-cam your content for this video is absolutely awesome. My biggest issue is that I have been studying cybersecurity and training in cybersecurity for the last 2 years and my current job is at a casino as a dealer doing that 8 years and before that I was an accountant doing that for 16 years so trying to figure out how to transition all that information in my resume is my biggest issue because I'm trying to get my first job cybersecurity / it spending money but my resume has been revamped over and over and I just need to know how to make a clear smooth transition from the table games dealer
The last line of my resume is a one line description of the 10 years as an employee of the local NFL team, as an entertainer. I’m sure it’s never gotten me an interview, but it always comes up.
I used to color code my resume in the company colors.... used to...
Hey what do you have against green man? An earthy muted green is not only refined and sophisticated, but the psychology of the color makes it an excellent choice for an accent color on a resume
You know how some job applications ask you why you left your old job? What if I don’t want to say I was fired or forced to resign? What if I tell a future employer the truth but they think I’m lying?
I am so glad to hear that references are becoming antiquated. I feel like that is a lot like the skills graphic no-no --- useless and subjective. People can hire someone to be a reference! It's better to have a solid resume, interview a background check that checks out
What you mentioned about the skills self-rating is right on point. First, I'm not sure recruiters have the same standards then the candidate to rate skills, and second, it can be (and has been) used against the candidate. And I have also seen email addresses that are very unprofessional. Also I have been eliminated in the past based on location (not sure what makes employers determine your ability to be on time based on that; it's quite silly). I'd disagree about including skills like Word, but for the reason that some people list it and don't even know the correct name, indicating that they in fact don't know what they claim (i.e., "Microsoft Office 10"), Great advice, excellent video.
Had an interviewer ask me to rate my skill with java from 1-10. Put on the spot, I considered that I had 15 years of experience and was comfortable with everything I knew in the language, so I went bold and said 10. I could tell that didn't go over well with them. And in hindsight, yeah, maybe that was overstating things a bit, always room to grow, right.
But it was a pretty lousy trap question, I think, force me to judge, not my own skills, but what these guys THINK my skills should be and what they think is too high for someone to claim.
@@SuprousOxide That was just stupid and petty from the candidate. That question measures nothing, other than the level of insecurity of the interviewer.
You know MS Word is part of the Office? And you can just know MS Word but not Excel. If the job is say Admin, the Word application is acceptable. Nothing wrong to put the Word if the job assumes you know it and I’ve seen some JD mentions a specific like Word, Excel, PP etc. They may not know Excel like expert level but Word, and PP.
I know MS Word if part of the MS Office Suite since 1992. You do know that there's not such thing as MS Office 10, right? Which is my point.
Most helpfull/useful video I've seen this year.
Hi Brian. I don't know if anyone's asked this in the comments but what's your recommendation on length and/or word count for mid to senior level Tech jobs? There are a lot of different info on this topic. Some say try to limit to 1 page. Others say 2 is fine and more if it's an executive position one is applying for. Also, do you feel summaries or objectives are required or can they be omitted?
Sounds like bias in hiring managers is the biggest obstacle.
I stopped using the bars a few years back. I haven't used colors in a while, but I might try a little blue sometime
I never understood why people would put salary on their resume. I see it asked on applications. I really hate that tbh.
Hi sir. I’ve watched a few of your videos and like them. Thanks for the good info. Do you have any videos addressing what to do if you’ve submitted 10s if not dozens of resumes and applications and have gotten zero interviews? Let alone any feedback. Thank you.
In the UK EVERYONE seems to demand previous salaries and/or ask what your expectations are, and I absolutely hate it! I always try to leave it blank or say 'negotiable', but that seems to work against you. There should genuinely be laws demanding employers post the salary up front and not ask about what you've been paid in the past. Pay me what the job is worth, not what you think you can get away with!
It’s the same in the US, it’s a trap. It’s only in favor of the employer.
How to go about describing Mental Health issues (when they could be underlying reasons for leaving previous jobs)?
Any time I use an email that's not my main one, I forget to check it, or forget the password, so I'm constantly resetting it, lol. Regarding the resume layout though, is it okay if it has absolutely zero graphics or colors on it? I admittedly have just been using the same layout for ages, just updating the iinformation as I go along. It's nothing fancy whatsoever and probably looks old-fashioned, lol. All of the other resume templates cost money and I don't want to pay for something when my current resume hits all of the pertinent information, it's just very dull and straight-forward.
You can set up your professional address to forward to your main account, so you don't have to check it separately
@@AliciaMcIntire Ya know something, I've never thought of that. Thank you! 😂
I was expecting fluff, but this is really good. I would add that while employment past 10 years may not be very relevant, blank periods are worse. What were you doing for those 10 years? So I'd summarize. Another is that if you're applying for a government job, in general, listing more experience is probably better, because they sometimes have systems and HR people designed to rate based on total experience and count of different types of technology understood. That's perhaps an older approach to things, but government generally lags behind private sector practice in HR. Same with references.
Can you give specific clues for a better resume for onder applicants as myself, 56 Years old and back on the market. I learned a lot in this one but i mostly get Some feedback as being overqualified for the jobs i apply for. Which can either mean they think i would be over the budget or getting into a non satisfying work situation. The fact is i have been into salesmanager functions most of the time and want less pressure and seek for something slightly different as sales coaching or aftersales management as working 200% is getting to hard on my body and this is not something i can say or write in my resume.
In my country getting hired after 45 is hard and pension age is 67 years, there is an enormous gap thats left and its pretty hard to get any reaction or invitation at all so perfecting my resume is indeed of the highest importance. So the question is how to emphasize qualities without having the overload factor of a lifetime of experience, today I saw career is only counting for max 10 years and that is making me confused as a lifetime of experience suddenly is indeed against me. Some specific hints for older applicants might therefore be a good theme for your next video. Thanks in advance
So very helpful. I thought I was current but I discovered a few passe items on my cv. Thank you!
I'm also convinced that people who are married with kids are way more likely to keep jobs and get jobs. Single people are simply more expendable.
I've gone through a career change so if I leave off all work experience not directly related to the job I'm looking for then I won't have any jobs listed. Wouldn't that be more detrimental? I try to hightlight transferrable skills and have a projects section more prominently placed on my resume to show relevant experience but I think employers would wonder about the years of gap in work if nothing was included.
Actually I had bad resumes in past, but now my resumes are good, I think. I had invitations for all my job applications in the last years.
Some days ago my girlfriend and I applied to the same job and both were invited to a short interview. 😅
😂😂😂😂😂
This is funny - I just updated my resume and many things I did are red flags from this video. Thanks for the tips I will be updating my resume to return it to a more business professional style.
Hi there. I am an employment coordinator in the UK. I have battled my organisations and colleagues for YEARS and still do on EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON THIS LIST!! Thank you so much for letting me know that I'm not crazy! Greg, Scotland.
Great advice - a lot of this should be obvious but it's always a good idea to double check your cv for all of these no-nos.
What should you do if some required information inherently gives away something about a protected class? For example, I went to a large religious university, so a recruiter will know something about me if they see that. I'm guessing graduates of HBCUs run into the same issue. But, would it look weird to leave the university off? I'm in the higher ed field btw.
I wouldn't want to even apply or interview at a place that might deny me for being black or Christian or something.
It's the same issue as using your first name (implies gender, possibly even approx age & ethnic background). You can test out both versions, and maybe use the one that gets the most responses.
But @thedarklordx has a point that I agree with these days - if they're gonna discriminate against you, better to know that ASAP, so they don't even waste your time.
Only you know your situation though - desperation/timeline, local job market, culture, etc. Do what you need to to pay the bills, and then find something better.
I don't think your resume needs to be sterilized of these things. I think you want to avoid adding information you don't need or putting it where it doesn't fit. As a candidate you should do your research about the company, size them up during the interview, etc. There should be warning signs of discriminatory behavior.
@@thedarklordx you almost everywhere?
Well now days if you're not a black gay good luck getting a job with all the discrimination going on
Apparently as a kid, I had the same idea as the network guys that set up my school computer accounts, because I just used the first letter of my first name and then my last name, all in one word for my email. I still have it to this day (15-20 years after creation) and it's still my primary email.
Great content! Would you recommend remote workers in Colorado to not share their City/State?
I ask as many employers that are hiring remote workers will specifically not even consider Colorado applicants. Job descriptions may not even list the "Except Colorado".
That's likely due to the new job posting laws in CO, NYC, and some other places, that require including the target pay-scale. There are some other constraints around taxes & labor laws as well, so you really do have to include your city & State. They 100% need to know, for legal reasons.
Lib leaders hate you getting a job
You should still include your city/state.
yeah most o this is common sense, its amazing how many people just dont get it . hey, quick-tip, there is a tapping clicking noise, as if something hard is bumping the mic or the table, just an fyi when recording , while its subtle, it can be desecrating and a tad annoying since this is an informational vid where folks are really intensely listening .
Hahaha, I thought that was just my tinnitus! I heard it too!