Keep it short and simple

I will not add stupid to above because I know you are not that. You are quite smart, and in your 45 years you have also understood the power of simplicity. And believe me when I say that simplicity works in résumé as well. No one likes to read a CV-epic, so keep it short and simple. Mention only those things that really, really matters for the job you are applying for. Keeping it short will help you keep it focused. Focus is another important thing.

Use chronological not function résumé

A new trend of using functional résumé —the type in which skills are mentioned in a cluster— has caught the fancy of young job seekers. Yes with young job seekers, particularly those who are looking for a career change, so let it remain confined to young people only. You do not need to follow the trend because in mid-aged job seekers the use of functional in place of chronological résumé is seen as an attempt to hide age. Well, I understand you do not intend to do that, and I am equally certain that you will not get even a 10 seconds of personal time with employers to explain this to them, so why take chances? Go with a résumé that lists your experience in chronologically. If you are too much in love with functional résumé then use it in combination of chronological one.

Write emphatic cover letter

Although cover letter has come at the end of pour discussion on résumé, it does not take away the importance assigned to a cover letter by your employer. A cover letter is your elevator pitch, and the emphatic it is the greater is the chances of your being called for a personal interview. A great cover letter makes your résumé stand out from the crowd of hundreds of faceless curricula vitae.

With this our discussion on résumé comes to an end. I hope you will apply these principles in your own CV. From the next post in the series we shall discuss about interviews and about ways to handle tough questions. Till then keep applying the principles taught so far.

Wear your Employer’s Shoes

Well, not literally. What I meant was you need to have a fresh look at your résumé to see how a person on the other side of the table will look at it. Put yourself in your employer’s shoes and see if you would have called a person carrying this résumé for the interview? There is no point for being right, so do not lie to yourself. This exercise is done solely to find problem in your CV.

See what is the flavor of the market

Tight fitting, camel toe revealing outfit might be a huge fashion in yesteryears, but today if you wear it you will look funny—I am not a fashion person so I might be wrong here. But, I know I am not wrong when I say you need to use the format that looks modern. See what format is used these days, and follow that trend. You may be 45, but your résumé should not look that old. Dress it up like youth does!

What’s the new lingo

In your youth, hyperlink and HTML would have meant nothing, but today it does. There are many similar changes in terminology of almost every field. Find out what words got omitted and what got added to your field in last couple of years, or from the time you last checked. Embrace the change, at least in your résumé. It will tell your employer how much you are unlike your age, I meant up-to-date with current trend.

We all new to adapt and evolve with time, this is the only way we can sustain ourselves. Keep on working, and keep on evolving.

Show you can evolve

No one likes anything static, not even you and so does your employer. The main reason why he wants young people in his team lies in the fact that young people have up-to-date knowledge and they are ready to evolve. Show the same degree of commitment by taking extra classes to train yourself. Enroll to some vocational courses or training classes that will put you at par with youth in their 20s, in terms of technology and knowledge. Mention this on your CV, your prospective employer will take notice of it, and you will get duly rewarded for your hard work with a job and better salary.

Talk about experience

If you have not spent 40 years of life daydreaming or sleepwalking then you definitely have accumulated some kind of skill set that will make the job you are applying a piece of cake for you, well at least easy. In your résumé talk about your experience from the related fields, this along with your commitment to evolve with time (read above) will give you an edge which will be hard for your younger competitors to surpass.

Keep it Up-to-date

Do you know what the first company you worked with call itself these day? Or do you know who has taken the ownership? Are these details in your résumé? Contact the companies that you are mentioning in your CV under experience or past employer columns and ask about their names, locations, phone numbers, and people in charge. Finding it may or may not be difficult. It depends upon the kind of companies you worked in. If those were big corporate giants then you may be knowing their details already, but if they were small setups then you need to visit their office or call your old colleagues for the detail.

Always remember, nothing is impossible not even at this age. Well, I meant almost nothing. You cannot put toothpaste back inside the tube from which it has been squeezed. Try it, you cannot. But getting a job is far much easier than that. Talk to you in the next post, till then keep looking and stay calm!

What happened?

They had their job and I didn’t, for long time, and that is how I realized the importance of a cover letter in job search. Do you wish to travel the same path, and have the same experience before you realize the importance of having a nicely written cover letter?

I hope not!

Benefit of having a cover letter

Why do we need a cover letter? What difference does it make to our skills?

None. A cover letter does not make any difference to your skills. But, it helps you present your skills in the friendliest manner using the least possible words. You need a cover letter because:

1. You have to compete with hundreds (if not thousands or tens of thousands) of applicants who have exactly same qualification as you do.
2. You have to make your claim of being the most suitable candidate for the job stand out among the claims made by other applicants through their résumé.
3. You do not want your CV to remain unopened and get thrown in the trash bin.
4. You want to give an idea about who you are, what your qualification is, and what you can do even before your employer reads your résumé.

Let me tell you a HR secret. HR people do not go over all the résumés that they get. They read the cover letter typed in the mail body or sent with the CV and make their mind based on the information they get in the cover letter.

If you are not convinced with what I have said above then reread the entire post and do it until you start believing it because this is important. I am leaving you with this thought, and tomorrow I will tell you about the structure of a cover letter.

Article writing

If you can write a well-researched article on the given topic then this is the job you have been waiting for. Many people needs 500+ words articles on various subjects, and if you think you can provide a well-crafted article then tell them about your desire to help. And also provide some samples of your previous work.

Blogging

Blogging is another thing that a freelance writer can do. You can either write your own blog or work as a staff blogger for big and established blogs. As a staff blogger, you are supposed to write a predetermined number of posts per day, and for that you may get paid on per blog post basis, or on per month basis. You can have more than one blogging job at one time.

Résumé writing

If you know how to create a well-crafted CV then the world of jobseekers is waiting for you. Seeing the competition for each vacant seat, everyone wants his CV to stand out from the crowd and for this one seeks professional help. You need to know what kind of CV works for what industry to succeed as a professional Résumé writer.

Press release writing

A press release is as important for a web-based company as it is for any brick and mortar company. Press release writing is a specialized task, and if you know how to write one then the world is waiting for you. Well, not exactly, but still there are plenty of press release works available both online and offline.

Web content writing

Whoever needs a website, needs content for the website. You can also choose this niche, if you know how to express everything a company needs to say using the given number of words than this is the right kind of writing job for you. You may also need to write about terms & conditions, FAQS, and help pages for the company along with home pages, services, and about us page.