Posts
Aaargh! You’ve been putting it off for weeks. Writing that pesky first resume. Don’t despair! Follow our top ten tips below and you’ll be one step closer to securing your dream job.
- Keep It Simple
So, you might want to experiment with font and colour. Great if you are a wannabee graphic designer. If not, stick to a readable font, like Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri, throughout. You can still play around with bold and italics to highlight important features.
If your resume runs to more than one page, consider including a header or footer with your name and contact details. Sometimes, recruiters print out resumes and this ensures none of your info goes astray.
- Contact Details
Casual voice mail messages, such as “Hey, dude. Surf’s up…etc.” (Yup, we’ve heard them all before) are a big no-no. Record something short and polite. You’re looking for work, not catching your next set. Equally, blasting your caller with on-hold music is not cool.
Check your email message is professional and appropriate. How about keeping shazzarocks@hotmail.com for your personal contacts, and using sharon.rock@hotmail.com in your job search instead?
- Education
List your high school name, location, and dates of attendance.
If applicable, also list your university/college name, location, course title, dates of attendance, and qualification level achieved.
Impressive final grades? Make sure you include them too.
- School/College/University Achievements
Think about what you achieved at school, college and/or uni. Did you hold a position of special responsibility, e.g. class captain? Did you receive any awards? Were you a member of any school teams, music groups, or associations?
This section shows that you did more than just turn up for class and sit the end-of-year exams.
- Personal Attributes
Tell the recruiter what qualities you offer them as an individual. Ask others, such as teachers, university professors, and close family friends, how they would describe you. Or check out your past school reports. Focus on positive descriptions, e.g. motivated, keen to learn, reliable, honest, good team player, and strong communicator. And don’t list too many!
- Skills
This section should focus on your proven abilities, e.g.
Intermediate Software: Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet
Basic Software: PowerPoint, Photoshop
Languages: English native speaker, fluent Italian (written and spoken)
Bear in mind that recruitment agencies and potential employers will often test your software skills, especially if they are essential for the role you are applying for.
- Work Experience
Demonstrating work experience, whether paid, casual or voluntary, can make or break your resume.
Include details, such as employer name, location, role, and dates of employment. And then show how you made a difference. What were your responsibilities in the role? What did you achieve?
If you worked on the crew at Macca’s, you could talk about working as part of a team, delivering top quality customer service, and the challenges of producing results in short timeframes.
If you helped out in the family business, focus on your contribution. Perhaps you designed a new spreadsheet to capture important information, or assisted customers in-store.
- Interests
Along with #5, this is your chance to tell recruiters and potential employers more about you as an individual. Interests should generally fall into three categories:
- Relevant to the job
If you’re applying for a role at a building consultancy, an interest in modern architecture could be a real plus. Just make sure you can talk about it in some detail.
- Showcase for your skills
Don’t just list one word, like “Sailing”, and leave it at that. Mention your participation in local regattas, and any good race results; include your role on the yacht club social committee.
- Plain quirky
Juggling, acrobatics, and collecting paperclips show your originality, and can be useful conversation openers at interview stage.
- Referees
Include the full name, job title, organisation, email and telephone number of two referees. Ideally, these should be people you have worked with, such as a shift manager or team leader. If you don’t have much prior work experience, you could always ask someone who knows you well, e.g. a family friend or high school teacher to be a referee.
Ask your referees before providing their details to recruiters and potential employers.
- Spellcheck
Run a spellcheck through your resume, then print out a copy and read it from start to finish. Ask a couple of trusted friends or family to look through the final draft. They might just find the one error you’ve overlooked.
We have all heard the expression, ‘First Impressions last’ well this is very true especially at interview stage. You have made it this far through the recruitment process so don’t throw away your chance on poor outfit choice!
It can be hard to know what to wear for your interview when in doubt, we say here at Optimal Recruitment, its always better to be overdressed than under-dressed. You should always stay away from denim and leave your hat and flip flops at home.
A three-piece suit is not always needed and what you wear does depend on where your interviewing and what image of yourself you want to portray. The best interview outfit is clean, well-fitting, appropriate for the company’s culture, and not attention-getting. We want the hiring manager to be discussing your skills and experience not your sparkly top or tattoos.
Here are a few ideas to help you for your big day:
Interviewing at a Corporate Workplace
Suit all the way! The whole works, pants/ skirt or shirt, jacket and tie, polished shoes, heels or closed in shoes. Stockings if it’s a formal workplace, hair tied back and brushed, jewellery should be minimal, tattoos and piercings if you can cover them up, make up natural and light, carry a small purse not an oversized bag, keep cologne and perfume to a minimum. Try and avoid patterned and funky designs go for a solid suit colour or small pinstripes if you can. Light coloured or white shirts are best and pick a conservative tie, avoid bow ties at your interview. Wear matching socks, polish your shoes and make sure your belt matches your shoes.
Interviewing at a Casual Business Workplace
Chinos and Buttoned shirt with a collar. Skirt or dress (knee length ideally), covered shoes, block colour dress / shirt. Hair should be combed and tied back from your face. Jewellery should be minimal and please don’t wear too much perfume cologne – we have all been stuck in a lift with someone over-powering our senses before. You don’t want the interviewer to be shuffling you out because they can’t breathe.
Interviewing for Outdoor Work
You can wear those jeans but make sure they are your best ones though with no holes, rips or fraying. Avoid t-shirts with slogans, never wear shorts to an interview unless you are applying for a lifeguard position. Closed in shoes in good condition are best and please avoid thongs and hats.
You want to look neat and tidy and employable!
Interviewing for a job at a cafe, dress shop, or a start-up
It can be tricky when deciding what to wear for some job positions. You probably want to go casual and wear those Jeans but you really should leave them at home. We suggest you wear trousers or chinos instead. There is no need for a tie but if you can, wear a collared shirt or buttoned shirt – ideally not a t-shirt. Ladies choose a skirt, pants and a blouse. Shoes – wear what suits your outfit but make sure they are in good condition – maybe give them a quick clean if they have lots of scuff marks.
In a nutshell:
- Keep scented items — cologne, perfume, and aftershave to a minimum.
- Ensure your nails are clean – especially if you are going for a position in hospitality.
- Hair should be combed and tied back from your face.
- Jewellery should be minimal
- If the company you are interviewing for has a set uniform, try and dress similar to their style.
- Keep the flashy, see through, ripped and torn clothes at home.
- A good rule of thumb is to dress like your boss
No matter what you are wearing to your interview you want to look polished and respectable. Just remember you are more likely to be taken seriously when you present yourself in a professional manner and take the time to attend to the little details.
And as my Nana says Dress for success
Good Luck!
Members
