The Job Awful Truth

The purpose of this blog and this article is to tell you the TRUTH when it comes to the hiring process.  The good, the bad and the ugly.   The truth is your resume is your first, and sometimes, your only chance to make an impression on the hiring authority of the company that you want to work for.  Most hiring managers see loads of resumes  and Corporate Recruiters see even more than that, they see thousands upon thousands of resumes.  How do you make your resume standout from all the others?  You make it as easy as possible for these people to determine that you are qualified for the position.  Keeping that in mind, we will be publishing a week long series of the 5 things that should be on everyone’s resume:

1.  EDUCATION:  The truth of the matter is most positions have some sort of education requirement, whether it be a licensure, certification, or degree.  Your education should be at the top of your resume. Now I am not talking about listing a name of some school you attended for a couple of semesters while you found yourself, but from which you never graduated. When listing your education you should always include the school you attended, where that school is located, the degree or licensure you attained, and the month and year you graduated or completed your studies.  If any of these things are missing it sends up a red flag in the hiring manager’s mind, it signals that the candidate is trying to hide something.  If you leave off the year you graduated because you are worried the company will find out how old you are, well, THE AWFUL TRUTH is they will figure out your age regardless of whether or not you include this bit of information.  So just be honest and let your experience speak for itself.  If you leave off the type of degree because you are concerned that the company won’t consider you because you don’t meet their education requirements, THE AWFUL TRUTH is they won’t consider you if you don’t meet their education requirements.  Don’t waste your energy contorting your resume for this job, instead go find a job you are qualified for, do a really good job there, or go back to school and get the educational requirements for the type of job you want. 

© Copyright, 2009, Jennifer Bruton. All rights reserved. Used with Permission

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