What are job recruiters look for? How can a recent college grad stand out? Well, here are some answers for you from real job recruiters like Eddy Nicolas :
- Are resumes moving on to 2 pages? The answer is no. Keep it short and to the point is best. Quantitative data never fails. Recruiters are looking for how you can make their company more successful/profitable. Also, fitting into the work culture matters. It’s like dating, you can’t give too much or too little. Only when you are doing a CV ( completely different from a resume or cover letter) should your resume go beyond 1 page. CVs are mainly requested for academia. When Mary Millerworked at a dean’s office, she got to see professors applying for positions– some of them had CVs that were almost 20 pages, listing all of their publications etc. I think they still trimmed everything down for the first resume, though, just like “selected publications”. I agree with making two different ones, so you can provide a full look at yourself when you get to the interview! I usually bring a portfolio and I have a virtual portfolio I keep on my website / up date anytime I meet a professional goal.
- If you are applying to an entry-level position and the resume goes beyond 2 pages, will your resume be thrown out? Sedale McCall says it depends. If you’re applying to an entry/junior level finance job, anything more than 1 page gets thrown out. But if you’re in academia, or more literary fields, they have 10-15 page CVs all the time.
Main thing is simple: Put the most important things on your resume and make yourself the best candidate for the job. If you have 2 pages worth of high-quality accomplishments/qualifications, go for it. You can go over a page as long as you have a legit reason to.
McCall worked at UCS for awhile doing this and still helps people out from time to time. - Does networking matter? The answer is yes. Befriending recruiters, I was able to improve my resume and even snagged a couple of job interviews. When recruiters like you, they send leads & ask for leads when searching for talent.
- How is a CV different from a Resume? A CV is different from a resume and only for use in academia for the sole reason of expanding on all accomplishments. A CV however differs from a cover letter for non academia. Your cover letter and resume should both be short, especially when you have less than 5 years experience. Once you have surpassed approx. 1- years experience it’s ok to go over a page. Cover letters in most industries are commonly associated with the resume. Internationally the CV is more universally adopted than the resume and not limited in length.
- Are there any tips for recent college grads related to the job interview process? Yes.
- Know the company you’re interviewing for better than the interviewer .
- Know the market that company operates in, if you bring knowledge useful for the advancement of the company in its market, this is an asset.
- Companies want people who can do things for them, segway. Always talk about what you can give, not what the company provides its employees.
- Appearance and basic etiquette is still everything. Dress to kill on the job interview.
- Be prepared with examples of how you have done key bullet points in a description. Most job interviews have evolved to behavioral questions. Demonstrate how you’ve done something similar in school.
- Stand out – hand written thank you notes still blow people completely away.
Remember: Use key words not full descriptions of your work history. Nowadays companies just look for resumes with certain key words related to the job position. The whole resume never gets read, trust me.
Here at Fromgirltogirl.com we offer internet resume writing services for $85 for the resume and cover letter! Awesome deal as most run about $150 just for the resume and an extra $30 for the cover letter. Let us help you create an awesome cover letter and resume today. Contact me at brianabooker@fromgirltogirl.com for more information or call at 443.474.3524.
