[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
hopping just looking around casually and leaving if the job
didn t work out for you?
" Did you quit prematurely? Were you fired? Could you
not adjust to your responsibilities or to the personalities
of those you were working with? Did you quarrel with
your boss or your supervisor?
What happened, and why did you stay for only a month? Are you
afraid of commitment? Are you unable to keep your word? All of
these fears and more enter the employer s mind when he sees
one, two, or a pattern of short stays at positions.
Although, in my own opinion, you have a right to leave a job
for almost any reason whenever you wish, most employers don t
see it that way, and it makes sense from their perspective. As you
already read, when you put together all the time it takes to do
the advertising, paperwork, interviewing, and training of a new
hire, it can cost the employer well over $10,000 and sometimes
much more.
When a company is making an investment like that, it wants
you to stay at least long enough for it to get a return on its invest-
ment that is, profitable productivity from your efforts.
106
Tips for a Terrific Résumé
I don t have any judgment if you have a choppy work his-
tory. There are a host of reasons, including family issues, marital
separation or discord, medical problems, disability, emotional
upset, financial challenges, addiction, harassment on the job,
trouble with the law, layoffs, company closures or reorganization,
travel or study opportunities, or just simply changing your mind,
that may make the work history on your résumé not look as
smooth as you would like it to be. The point is, most people,
whether you know it or not, have some gaps in their employment
history.
The very idea that people should have a perfectly smooth
and untainted record of service from the time they graduate
from high school or college until the time they retire is unfair
and absurd. It s not often that real life works that way.
Still, most companies frown upon obvious gaps in your
employment history, and they may pass your résumé by or ask
about these gaps at the interview if you don t do something about
them on your résumé. Fortunately, there are ways to tackle this
problem and still maintain your integrity without having to lie.
Three of them are
1. Listing only years on your résumé
2. Omitting certain jobs, if possible
3. Indicating on the résumé what you were doing and/or
that you are willing to discuss a gap of more than one
year at the interview
Listing Only Years on Your Résumé
Let s look at each of these solutions one by one. Remember the
example of the person s résumé that indicated that she had
worked for only one month at a company? Here it is again:
Job Title, Company, December 2006
City, State January 2007
Now, what if we omit the months and use only the years of
employment?
107
Fearless Résumés
Job Title, Company, 2006 2007
City, State
Much better, isn t it? It s even possible that the person was at that
job from January 2006 to December 2007 almost two years.
" On a job application, you must write the year, the
month, and sometimes even the day that your employ-
ment began and ended. Fortunately, this is not necessary
on a résumé unless the employer specifically requests it,
which is very rare.
Omitting a Job from Your Résumé
Let s look at an example of omitting a job from your employment
history.
October 2005 December 2008
June 2005 August 2005
June 2001 May 2005
Take a look at what happens when we omit the middle job, then
delete the months and use only years:
2005-2008
2001 2005
Unless the short job in the summer of 2005 (in the middle) is
absolutely essential to the job you re seeking, I recommend that you
leave it out. We ve already listed some of the many reasons that
jobs can end. If your shorter job ended for any of those reasons,
it s within your rights and definitely to your advantage to put it
behind you.
Explain at Interview
If you have a gap of two years or more between positions, it s bet-
ter to say on your résumé that you re willing to explain the gap
than it is to ignore it. This is very simply done.
2008 present
Will explain at interview. 2004 2008
2000 2004
108
Tips for a Terrific Résumé
Dates for More than One Job
at a Company
There is another way to make your dates look smooth and make
your tenure at a company where you ve had more than one job
title seem longer.
Mary Lou Smith
222 XXX Drive
Honolulu, HI XXXXX
(808) 344-XXXX
Objective: XXXXX
Summary: XXXXX
Employment History
JJL Inc., Honolulu, HI 1999 2008
Human Resources Director (2003 2008)
Human Resources Manager (2001 2003)
Human Resources Representative (1999 2001)
Education: XXXX
" When you ve had more than one position, list your
cumulative (largest) span of years in bold type and the
time you spent at each particular job title in parentheses
in a regular typeface.
Dates on Your Education
Your reader may be prejudiced on the grounds that you are
either too young or too old if you list the dates of your educa-
tion, so please leave those dates blank. Do list education in
progress.
Blocks You Should Not Use
Hobbies
Notice that we do not include a hobbies block. Listing hobbies is
an old-fashioned custom that is outmoded today. You may think
109
Fearless Résumés
that using it makes you look like a well-rounded person (which,
to some degree, it does), but in a modern résumé, including hob-
bies and other personal information is unnecessary and detracts
from the image of the professional you that your résumé is
going to portray. It s best not to mention your hobbies, even if
you think they make you unique.
Mentioning your hobbies can sometimes backfire on you if
the employer disapproves of certain activities or believes that the
time you spend pursuing your outside interests might detract
from your time or focus on the job.
Don t let the temptation to test the open-mindedness of the
reader ruin your chances to make a living. Perhaps when you ve
been hired and your employer and colleagues know you better,
you can have fun sharing more of your personal side by talk-
ing about or even inviting others to participate in some of your
hobbies.
References
You also do not need to write your references names and phone
numbers on your document. Likewise, including a phrase like
References Available upon Request, which is a very common
mistake, is actually redundant and does not belong on your Fear-
less Résumé. The employer knows that he can request your ref-
erences if necessary.
When You ve
Finished Writing
Be sure to use spell check and have someone else read (not judge)
your résumé to correct any errors that may be lurking there. As
I said, it s almost impossible for everyone to agree that any résumé
is perfect, but let s make sure we get your Fearless Résumé as
close to the highest goal as possible. After all, your Fearless
Résumé is about you, and it s time to show the world just how
incredible you are.
Now, let s move ahead where you ll find a template for
writing your own Fearless Résumé to make sure it s the best it
can be.
110
Tips for a Terrific Résumé
Your Name
Your Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Home phone:
Cell phone:
E-mail address:
Objective: A position as a(n) ______________________.
Summary: (power proposition)
Over _______ years (or knowledge of, proficient in, or competent in)
as a(n) _____________ in the ____________ industry, specializing
in ___________, _____________, and _____________.
Write a Q statement here. ______________________________.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]