Monthly Archives: March 2017

Seven Deadly Sins for New Hires

By Larry Buhl
As seen in career-advice.comcast.monster.com

Congratulations, you landed the job! The hard part is over, right? Not exactly. Your first few weeks in a new company are crucial — they can determine whether your future is paradise or purgatory. And we’re not talking only about mastering the technical aspects of your new job. How you behave in your new work environment is just as important — if not more so.

So when you start a job at a new company, avoid these seven deadly (or at least career-killing) sins:

1. Ignoring the Culture
“Our company asked 250 advertising and marketing executives what the greatest challenge was for those starting a new job, and four out of 10 said it was acclimating to the corporate culture,” says Donna Farrugia, executive director of CreativeGroup.com. How much should you socialize? Do coworkers prefer phone calls, emails or face-to-face conversations? Dress shoes or sneakers? Many aspects of a company’s culture can be subtle and easy to overlook. Instead, observe everything. “Come in 30 minutes early and stay a little late just to observe how people behave — when they get their coffee, where they take their lunches, how they wrap up at the end of the day,” Farrugia says.

2. Arrogance
“Companies can set up new hires for this by treating them, when they’re hired, like they’re saviors,” says Sue Edwards, leadership team coach and president of Development by Design. “As a result, they sometimes come in and insist on doing everything their way, because they’re supposedly so brilliant.” Instead, listen and learn. Take time to understand the company and how things work before you decide to be a maverick.

3. Hiding Out
The flip side of arrogance is timidity, which hunkering down with your own work can look like. Instead, build relationships from the first day. “Take the time to network with your colleagues by having informal conversations to learn what others do and how it affects you,” Edwards says. “It’s also a good way to learn the culture.”

4. Not Clarifying Expectations
When you don’t know what’s expected of you, it’s hard to deliver. Instead, meet with your manager to discuss the responsibilities of your position and how success will be measured. What are the priorities? How should you provide project updates? How will your performance be measured?

5. Refusing to Admit Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, and new hires make plenty. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you don’t admit them, nobody notices them. Instead, accept ownership, learn, make the correction and move on.

6. Rocking the Boat
Implementing changes before you get buy-in from others — and before you understand why things are done the way they are — can lead to jeers, not cheers. Instead, keep an open mind. Fully understand the current processes and procedures before proposing your changes (if you find they’re necessary), so you can make a good case for why they should be made.

7. Not Asking for Feedback
You don’t have to wait six months or a year to learn how you’re doing. In fact, waiting that long could put you, your team and even the company off course. Instead, ask your supervisor for a brief meeting after one month. Discuss what you’ve done right, where you’ve hit some snags and how you can make corrections.

You Can Turn Vice into Virtue
Beginning a new job is never easy. If you know you’re prone to one of these sins, stop and turn that knowledge into a virtue — before it’s too late. “Remember, nobody knows you on your first day,” Farrugia says. “You want to make a lasting impression, but be sure you stand out for the right reasons.”

How to Write an Effective Resignation Letter

A good resignation letter leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling for managers and human resources managers when you go, as opposed to the smell of burning bridges.

Let’s begin with how not to write an effective resignation letter:

Mr. Smith:
I quit. I’ve had enough.
You owe me $2,400 for unused vacation and sick days.
Bill

Nice. And we didn’t make it up: That’s a real resignation letter from the files of Bruce A. Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing Ltd. A candidate insisted on giving him letters of reference, and this particular letter — handwritten, even — was stapled to the packet.

It was, Hurwitz said, “the worst resignation letter I ever saw.”

What is a good resignation letter? One that sets you up to leverage your former position and colleagues in your future path, whether it’s for networking or solid references. Here’s what the experts had to say about writing an effective resignation letter.

The graceful exit letter

1.Keep it formal but friendly. It should be in the form of a business letter but with a first name, as in “Dear First Name,” instead of “Dear Ms. X,” Hurwitz said.

2.Don’t equivocate. Make it clear that you’re not open to counteroffers by using a clear-cut line, such as, “I hereby submit my resignation as [your title] effective on [date].” Senior executives should give more than two weeks’ notice. Hurwitz recommends your allotted vacation as a good measure of the amount of time required for a resignation, as your vacation time is typically a measure of your seniority: If you have four weeks’ vacation, the minimum is four weeks’ notice.

3.Be complimentary. Hurwitz provided this example: “I cannot thank you enough for all that I have learned and all the opportunities you have generously bestowed upon me during the past five years.”

4.Set the record straight. The letter is going to be filed in your personnel file, to which you will never have access, Hurwitz said. That file may contain negative comments regarding your performance, but this is your chance to set the record straight. For example: “I will always look back with affection, satisfaction and pride at our accomplishments,” and then note what those accomplishments were. It might be important should another job search or a corporate merger put you in the path of the same HR department and personnel file.

5.Keep it positive. If a future employer calls to verify your employment, they might well talk to somebody who knows nothing about you except what’s in your dusty personnel file. You want them to see that the last thing you said was “positive and uplifting and thankful,” said Jacob Young, a small-business consultant and Web developer. “Even if there are marks on your file, the human spirit will take over and pause on the side of caution, if you look nice and non-threatening on paper.”
6.Be supportive. Let your employer know that you are available to help in the transition, if needed, after your last date of employment. Provide your phone number and make it clear that you’ll be happy to answer questions.

When Victoria J. Ashford left her position as director of the Helena Public Library, in Helena, Ala., to launch Fearless Coaching, she said in a very gracious letter of resignation that she was confident her employer would have ample time to select a replacement, and she even offered to provide him/her with introductory training regarding federal, state, county and city methods and policies. She also pointed out two pending major projects: New Computer-Print Management & the State Annual Report, both of which she said she felt “duty-bound to oversee and complete. It would be unfair of me to leave those undone.”

7.Close on a warm note. Hurwitz provided this example: “Lisa, I want you to know that I would not have secured this new position without my experiences at [your company]. I will always be grateful to you and can only hope that my new colleagues will be as supportive as you and… [name colleagues].” “It’s a nice touch to recognize other people,” Hurwitz said.

End the letter on an equally warm note, such as, “Warmest personal regards and best wishes for continued success,” signed with your first name.

And walk away with your dignity, your personnel record and your bridges intact.

As seen on www.theladders.com

Sample Resignation Letter

This is a sample resignation letter. Note how the author remains polite and courteous.

(Date)

Dear ________________:
Please accept this letter as my formal resignation as (Title) for (Company) to become effective as of (Date). I have accepted a position that will offer me more challenges and opportunity for advancement, as well as allow me to broaden my experience and knowledge.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and efforts in my training and advancement during the past (Time). The support and concern shown by you and the rest of the management team has been deeply appreciated.

My efforts until my end date will be to wrap up my projects here and turn over my responsibilities as smoothly as possible. Please let me know what you expect, so this process is completed to your satisfaction.

I leave (Company) with no animosity or ill will and wish you and your company continued success.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

As seen on www.professionaloutlook.com

Sample Resignation Letter

When you resign from employment, it’s a good idea to provide the company with a professional resignation letter informing your employer that you will be resigning. Use this professional resignation letter example when you are providing your employer with notice.

Dear Ms. Manager,

I am writing to notify you that I am resigning from my position as Customer Service Manager with Acme Company. My last day of employment will be February 1.

I appreciate the opportunities I have been given during my time with your company, as well as your professional guidance and support.

I wish you and the company the best of success in the future.

If I can assist with the transition, please do let me know.

Very sincerely,
Jill Applicant

As seen on jobsearch.about.com

10 (Smart) Ways to Quit Your Job

Saying good-bye is never easy, especially when it comes to your job. With the job market recovering, many employees could be looking to find work elsewhere. When they do find a new job, numerous departing employees are leaving on a sour note. Here are 10 smart ways employees can quit their jobs while ensuring they don’t burn bridges along the way.

Do it on Friday
The best day for employees to let their company know they are leaving is at the end of the week, said Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and founder of FlexJobs.

“The best time to give your notice, especially if you’re in a less-than-desirable situation at work, is Fridays,” Fell said. “If you can schedule a late-afternoon meeting to give your notice, that’s even better, because it helps everyone involved to avoid the post-meeting awkwardness, and gives you a couple days to regroup before entering your last two weeks at work.”

[7 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Job]

Be prepared
The last thing employees want to do is quit their job, only to realize they aren’t legally allowed to work for the employer to which they think they are headed, said business consultant and human resources expert Teri Aulph.

“Review all the documents you signed when you took the job you are leaving,” Aulph said. “Make sure you did not agree to noncompete or nonsolicitation clauses. You wouldn’t want anything to jeopardize your future.”

Be less than candid
While an exit interview may seem like a place to air all gripes, that isn’t always the best approach, said Charley Polachi, partner at Polachi Access Executive Search. When determining how candid to be, employees should ask themselves what they’d really gain from trashing their boss, Polachi said.

“Try looking at the long term and how it will impact your future employment opportunities,” he said. “Remember: Your boss will be one of the people contacted when you’re looking for future employment positions.”

[Sneaky Ways Bosses Try to Get Employees to Quit Their Jobs]

Spread the word
One way to leave a company on good terms is to find out from the company how they would prefer co-workers to find out about the news, said Ian Ide, president of the search divisions for staffing at WinterWyman.

“During your conversation with your manager, ask him or her how and when they would like your resignation communicated with colleagues,” Ide said. “Before revealing your new plans, make sure you discuss with your manager how to best roll out the message to others.”

Provide reasons
As a manager who cares about the company, George Balta, a public relations manager for nonprofit organization Baby Lifetime, said he likes to know if there was something he could have done differently to make the employee stay.

“I usually want to see a person quitting to move to a higher level or salary at another company, and not just quit to change environments,” Balta said. “If it is just changing environments, that means we failed to keep him or her at our company.”

Give plenty of notice
While two weeks’ notice is standard and expected in most professions, the more time a departing employee can give, the better, said Jeff Gordon, founder of Internet marketing firm Interactive99. Gordon said he once worked with an employee who provided his employer four weeks’ notice, which gave the company plenty of time to prepare for a smooth transition.

“This reflected well upon his character and certainly reduced anxiety among the ranks,” Gordon said. “The four weeks gave the company enough time to absorb his knowledge and bring on a consultant.”

Don’t slack off
Business and life coach DeNeen Attard said after giving notice of an impending departure, it is important for employees to keeping working hard and not coast for the remaining days. “Continue to do your job until you exit the company,” Attard said. “Step up your game, and perform like never before. Leave no doubt in their mind that you are an exceptional employee.”

Tell direct boss first
Anthony C. Klotz, an assistant professor at Oregon State University’s College of Business, said that employees who have developed a close relationship with their supervisor should let him or her know first, before giving the company official notice.

“If an employee is close friends with his or her boss, the boss may feel slighted and blindsided by the sudden act of resigning,” Klotz said. “In that case, it may make more sense for an employee to inform the boss of their intention to resign well before formal notice of the resignation is provided to the organization.”

Give compliments
Business and career coach Sandra Lamb advises her clients to always start out a resignation meeting by paying the current employer a compliment. “Always start with the positive that compliments your present employer,” Lamb said. “There’s always something positive that can be said, like ‘X company provided a very valuable learning environment.'”

Leave notes
Daniel Rothner, founder and director of nonprofit organization Areyvut, said it is always smart for outgoing employees to leave their successor some notes on exactly what their job entailed and how they handled those responsibilities. “Document what you did in the company so that they can pass that along to the person taking your place,” Rothner said. “Doing so will show professionalism and that you value the company.”

By Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor July 30, 2013 8:29 AM
This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Chad Brooks on Twitter @cbrooks76 or BusinessNewsDaily @BNDarticles. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

8 Ways to Graciously Quit Your Job

Leaving a job is a process filled with questions of professional courtesy: Should you give two weeks’ notice? Do you have to tell your boss in person? Should you notify your co-workers? A slighted employee may decide to sacrifice the stellar reputation he or she has built in exchange for a grudging departure that violates professional etiquette.

But tossing aside proper protocol could cost you the respect of colleagues and remove your boss from your reference list. Follow the steps below to ensure your exit is a smooth one.

1. Notify your boss in person. The type of organization you work for and position you hold may dictate a different approach to how you break the news, says Sue Fox, author of “Business Etiquette for Dummies.” But generally, it’s best to schedule a meeting and let your boss know in person. “It just makes a better impression,” Fox says, adding that it “shows respect, self-confidence and that you have strong interpersonal skills.”

[Read: Do You Always Have to Give Two Weeks’ Notice?]

2. Give plenty of notice. Giving a two-week notice is the recognized norm. It’s also a positive way to jumpstart the transition process, says Ian Ide, president of search divisions at Winter Wyman, a Massachusetts-based recruiting firm.

For employees with a position that requires a specialized skill set, it’s recommended to give more advanced warning. “In some cases, they may be the only ones with the knowledge of the area they’re handling, and if they give a little more notice, they might be able to transition that knowledge before departing,” Ide says.

3. Don’t feel obligated to explain your reason for leaving. Barring a non-compete clause in your contract or a counteroffer situation, you don’t have to give the company detailed reasons for your departure, Ide says.

But if you have a chummy relationship with your boss, you may want to offer constructive criticism on what the organization can do to improve or retain employees. However, if the comments could cause backlash, it’s best to avoid specifics, Ide says.

4. Avoid emotional outbursts. Launching into a tirade against your boss may provide some momentary bliss, but it can haunt you later. His or her endorsement may be critical in helping you land future jobs. Also, it’s possible you could work for him or her again in the future, Fox says.

[Read: Is Your Personality Holding You Back at Work?]

5. Don’t leave your employer in a bind. You may be eager to start your new job in two weeks, but with a company project in the final stages and your boss in need of your expertise, you may need to stay longer.

Early in the courting process, let prospective employers know you may need more time before starting. “It’s always much better to be upfront in the beginning … of the interview process,” Ide says, especially when many companies have the expectation that new hires only need two weeks before jumping ship.

6. You want everyone to be a positive reference. Satisfied that your listed reference from the company holds you in high regard, you may become unconcerned with the opinions of other colleagues, disregarding office protocol on matters such as arriving on time or preparing for meetings.

But it’s important to leave a good impression behind with everyone you interact with. Employers can use avenues like social media to find non-listed references “because they expect that a supplied reference is always going to give them a positive [endorsement],” Ide says. And based on your lackluster performance during the final weeks, he or she may paint an unflattering portrait.

7. Keep colleagues in the loop. Co-workers you’ve known for years merit a heads up about your decision rather than the sight of an empty desk and days of speculating about what happened to their colleague. In an announcement email, write about your positive experiences working for the company and avoid trashing it. “Always take the high road, and be as positive as a possible” when constructing the email, Fox says.

By Aaron Guerrero
As Seen on money.usnews.com

Let Sample Resumes Inspire You, Not Define You

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to find a sample resume that matches your background, copy it to your word-processing program, make minor changes and be done with the arduous task of creating a dazzling resume? While that would be ideal, you can shortchange yourself and sabotage your job search if you base your resume on a sample document.
The good news is that if done correctly, taking ideas from resumes in books or free resume examples online can greatly improve your own. Here’s how to use resume samples without copying them verbatim.

The Pitfalls of Using Sample Resumes
“The problem with using a template or copying someone else’s resume — whether from a book or from a friend — is that it doesn’t allow for the uniqueness of each person’s skills, experience and career history,” explains Louise Kursmark, a career consultant and principal of Best Impression Career Services. Kursmark is also the author of 18 career-management books, including Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives and Executive’s Pocket Guide to ROI Resumes and Job Search.
Resume writing veteran and author Teena Rose concurs. “Job seekers need to understand that resumes are like fingerprints; no two are (or should be) alike,” she says. “Resumes should differ because of the varying education levels, career experience and scope of skills that job seekers possess.”
Additionally, copying a sample the author hasn’t given permission to copy is plagiarism, so check the copyright notice.
How to Effectively Harness Sample Resumes
Kursmark says there is nothing wrong with taking a little bit from various samples to make it easier to construct your own resume. “That’s what sample books are for: To inspire you and guide you,” she says.
For example, “You might really like one person’s introduction — the way they’ve clearly presented their unique value — and use that introduction as a guide for writing your own distinct content,” Kursmark says. “Or you might grab a bold accomplishment statement from someone else’s resume and update the numbers or results to make it applicable to you.”
Here are more of Kursmark’s tips to help you make the best use of resume samples:

  • Look for resumes in your field and mine them for industry-specific activities, terms and accomplishments. Have you done similar things? Is your skill set comparable?
  • After you’ve reviewed resumes in your field, peruse resumes across fields to understand how to vary the use of action verbs and get a feel for what makes a powerful accomplishment statement. Then write your own statements, as appropriate, modeled on the ones you like best.
  • Look for innovative formats and striking presentation, such as charts and tables. Can you include a strong visual that will immediately grab the reader’s attention?
  • Dip into numerous resumes to get a feel for good writing, concise yet compelling language and high-impact accomplishments. Work on your own resume with those examples in mind.
  • Read your revamped resume with a critical eye to make sure it reflects you. Will the image you present in person be congruent with your resume? “If you’ve included material just because it sounded good but you don’t have the details to back it up, you’ll destroy your credibility in the interview,” warns Kursmark.

Finally, when reviewing resume samples, think customize, not plagiarize. “Use samples as a guide for ideas, but take pride in writing a resume that has your own unique content and visual appeal,” advises Rose.

By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert

The Biggest Resume Mistake You Can Make

Your resume is the most important document in any job search. But what if you’re submitting resume after resume and receiving no results at all — not even a call? Your resume may be fatally flawed.

How can a resume betray a job seeker? It’s not just typos or poor formatting. “The biggest flaw for a resume is when it fails to showcase a person’s accomplishments, contributions and results, and instead spouts a job description of each position he’s held,” says Lauren Milligan, founder of ResuMayDay, a resume-writing and career-coaching firm based near Chicago.

Use these three tips to make sure your resume doesn’t betray you.

1. Think Big

Whatever jobs you’ve held — be it as an assistant or a CEO — think beyond the everyday tasks of your position. “People get bogged down in the day-to-day details of their jobs, but when it comes to your resume, you’ve got to get out of the clutter and ask yourself, ‘What does this work mean?'” Milligan says.

If a manager is hiring for an administrative assistant, he already knows what an admin does and doesn’t want to see a resume that says an applicant can type and answer a phone. “You have to go beyond that to point out your specific strengths,” Milligan says.

Start by having big-picture conversations about what you do and how it serves the organization as a whole. “If you’re in a support position, consider how successful the person you support is and how you help her do her job better,” Milligan says. “What role do you have in her successes? Those are your accomplishments.”

2. Be Clear

Focusing on your accomplishments rather than your specific responsibilities will help keep your resume concise. “There’s a huge difference between a resume and the Great American Novel,” says Milligan. “The resumes I’m most proud of summed up a 25-year career in a single page.”

She urges job seekers to remember that resumes are typically skimmed for a mere six to eight seconds. “Make sure you’re identifying the companies you worked for, how long you were there and if you earned a promotion,” she says. “Those are things that people look for immediately.” Also, if your job title is long and vague, tighten it up so that people immediately understand what you’ve done. For example, “Marketing Manager” is much more accessible than “Global Identity Architect.”

Given the time you have to catch a recruiter’s eye, a focused, accomplishment-driven resume is the way to go. “If you are loaded up on peripheral stuff, it’s too hard for a hiring manager to find your story,” Milligan says.

3. Get Real

What if you come up blank when trying to think about how you’ve helped build the big picture for your employer?

“A couple of times I’ve talked to people who insisted they just did their jobs and there’s nothing special about them that jumps out,” Milligan says. She’s asked them outright if they’re in the right position. “It’s a difficult question to ask, but these people may be chasing the wrong job,” she says.

She counsels clients that if they cannot speak about what they’ve done in terms of enhancing the position or the company, “You may be just punching a clock — and you and your employer deserve more.”

Look for other opportunities in which you can contribute and grow professionally. You’ll enjoy a more rewarding career and have a more successful resume.

By Caroline M.L. Potter, Monster.com

 

Best Resume Writing Tips for 2014

Your resume doesn’t have much time to make a great impression. In fact, you can count in seconds the time your resume has to get noticed.

What can you do to make sure your resume gets you into consideration for an interview? I asked leading resume writers and career experts to share their best tips for resume writing in this competitive job market.

Top 15 Resume Writing Tips for 2014

10 Seconds and Counting
Recruiters spend an average of 10 seconds reviewing each resume, so you’ll want yours to be…
1) Concise (You only have 10 seconds)
2) Structured (You only have 10 seconds)
3) Specific (You guessed it… 10 seconds)
Brian Shoicket, Dean of University & Community Partnerships at Wakefield Media

Add a Link
Sometimes the hiring manager or HR representative may not be familiar with your former company. I suggest adding a hyperlink to the company in the Experience section of your resume. Consistency is key though and a hyperlink should be added for each company listed on your resume. Doing this quickly allows the decision maker to review a company’s products or services. Also since an increasing number of hiring managers are turning to social media to search for employees, it makes sense to include a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile in the Contact information section of the resume.
Nancy Range Anderson, Author of Job Search for Moms and President of Blackbird Learning Associates

Before Your Write Your Resume
To out distance your job-seeking competitors, follow this best practice… before writing your resume.Make a list of 10-15 (or more) mutual good-fit employers to target.

Do research on them to determine what makes you uniquely qualified to help them meet their current challenges, for market intelligence, and to uncover relevant keywords and phrases. Use this information to create content for your personal brand messaging and career marketing materials (resume, biography, LinkedIn profile, etc.) that will resonate with those target employers.
Meg Guiseppi, Executive Job Search and Personal Branding Strategist for the C-suite, and CEO of Executive Career Brand

Be Specific About Your Qualifications
When applying for a position, prepare a cover letter that picks up 3 – 4 key qualifications listed in the job description and be very specific with regards to what you can offer pertaining directly to those qualifications.
Lori Dermer, Dermer Consulting

Career Summaries or Objectives
A career summary is recommended for most candidates, however there are exceptions. For instance, if you have less than five years of work experience or if you’re changing careers, you’ll want to have a one to two sentence objective statement.

Your objective statement should describe the industry you are targeting. If you’re one of the many candidates that should include a career summary be sure that it is a snapshot of your work experience and offer insight into the skills and attributes you offer. A career summary will typically be in a block paragraph format and run about 3 to 5 sentences long.
John Scott, Career Advocate, Beyond.com – The Career Network

Customize Your Resume
Each time, before you send your resume for a specific position, research the position and company (including speaking with current or former employees, if you can) so you have a better understanding of the goals and culture of the company, how the position fits within the organization, and the skills and qualities that are an ideal match for the position. Then, customize your resume to reflect the priorities emphasized by the company for this position, using language similar to theirs. This also means resisting the urge to tell them everything you’ve done and can do. Rather, look at your resume from the employer’s perspective. What do they need to know to be moved to contact you for an interview? Select the skills, qualities, accomplishments, and experiences that speak directly to their stated and implied needs.
Shahrzad Arasteh, Author of Nourish Your Career, Holistic Career Counselor, and Speaker

Demonstrate Your Achievements
Ensure your resume is a forward looking document that demonstrates how your achievements are in alignment with results desired by the hiring organization. Do not write a historically-focused document that simply shows where you have been – show where you are going and how you will add value.
Lisa Rangel, Chameleon Resumes

Focus on Your Accomplishments
The most important resume tip I offer is that you need to make the focus of the job descriptions listed on the resume a summary of what you accomplished and contributed in each of your positions. Employers are more interested in these than in what you actually did on the jobs. My second most important tip is to tell the truth. Yes, obviously you don’t want to lie about where you worked or what you did, but it’s the little lies that will trip up your application. Things like disguising gaps in employment by only using years or implying that you earned a degree – when you didn’t, give a potential employer a red flag about your integrity.
Susan Heathfield, Human Resources Expert, About.com

Incorporate Keywords
Print job postings you’re interested in and highlight keywords. Are these words used on your resume? Transform your resume from a job description to a series of accomplishment statements that are of interest to the company by incorporating those keywords.

Distribute your resume to close friends, family and references and ask them, “Does this resume communicate my strengths and experiences in a way that will be interesting to the person interviewing me?” Friends and family can be excellent resources for pointing out strengths you have not recognized about yourself.
Robin Richards, Chairman and CEO of CareerArc Group

Keywords as Headlines
Resumes used to feature a list of keywords to entice the computerized Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Unfortunately, a list of terms isn’t very enticing to human eyes and doesn’t differentiate a candidate from others with the same list of skills.

Instead, use these same keywords as “headlines” for bullet items and give an example from your experience. Like this: Project Management: Initiated and implemented national merchandising program for big box retailer.
Jeri Hird Dutcher, National Award-winning Certified Resume Writer, WorkwriteResumes.com

Match Your Resume to Your LinkedIn Profile
Make sure your resume is online! Once you have your perfect document in place, update your LinkedIn profile so it matches, include your job information on Facebook and Twitter, start an About.me page, or create a professional blog for yourself where your resume information can be posted. When employers search for you online (and they will!), it will be a tremendous help to make it easy for them to find the same information confirming what they’re reading on your resume.
Sara Sutton Fell, Founder & CEO of FlexJobs.com

Not a Laundry List
A resume should not be a laundry list of “stuff” you’ve done. It is a marketing document, and should directly address the target employer’s needs by including your specific skills and accomplishments. Before writing a resume, be sure to study job descriptions and collect as much information about organizations that interest you as possible. Then, you can make a clear case for why you are the perfect person to address and solve that company’s challenges.
Miriam Salpeter, Author of Social Networking for Career Success, New Economy Job Search Coach & Social Media Consultant, Keppie Careers

Resume Length
A simple rule with flexibility is that if you have more than seven years of experience, your resume should be two pages. With less experience, write a one page resume. Your resume should never be more than two pages. For people who are older or in areas such as Management Consulting, like myself, create a biography to retain everything you have done.
Jay Martin, Chairman, JobSerf, Inc.

Resumes for Career Changers
Career changers ask career coaches how to format their resume for a new position or industry but first it would be helpful to do something to signify to hiring managers that you are serious about the new career. Join the professional association, do relevant volunteer work, take a skills-building class. Any accomplishments in your desired career field are better than a beautifully formatted resume that lacks proof that you really know anything about the new career path.
Janet Scarborough Civitelli, Ph.D., Career Coach, VocationVillage.com

Throw Your Resume Out
The best thing you can do with your resume is throw it out. That’s right: Don’t use a resume to impress an employer, because it won’t. Write a mini business plan for the job instead – and submit it to the hiring manager, not to HR, and not to some “applicant tracking system.” You don’t know the manager? Then you have no business applying for the job. The information you submit should be about the manager and your plan for fixing her problems – not about you. This approach is actually fun, because you must focus on one job at a time, which in turn means you must choose wisely, and meet the manager first. After all, isn’t that how you behave when you’re on the job?
Nick Corcodilos, host of asktheheadhunter.com and author of Fearless Job Hunting

Read More: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumetips/fl/best-resume-tips-2014.htm