Resume checklist to make sure you get the interview

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RESUME

Is your resume going to get you an interview? Here’s how to make sure your resume gets you an interview.

BEFORE YOU SEND YOUR RESUME – take a minute to look over your current and recent jobs.
* Your current and recent jobs will or won’t get you an interview.
* Look at your current and recent jobs. Does it show the required skills you have? Does it show your focus on what they need? If not, no interview.
* Adding a few lines of your related experience will get you an interview. The more the better.
* Adding your challenges, achievements and deliverables under each job will increase your chances for an interview

Make sure you only have listed what you’ve actually did (not what someone else did) and can explain it in details. You want the interviewer to be even more impressed during the phone interview than they were when they read your resume, otherwise you don’t get to the next step.

For example:
Manager said:
her resume looked great, but she wasn’t able to back up some of the things she had listed on her resume. Not interested in a second interview.

Hiring manager resume complaint
The work history doesn’t show what the person’s role really is. 
Wants to see under work history more of a narrative (more descriptive) 

Here’s how to improve what your role is
What to include under current and recent jobs:
Adding your accomplishments, challenges and deliverables under each job will increase your chances for an interview

* Replace responsible for with accomplishments
* Include how you saved the company money
* Evaluated and recommended software, hardware, etc.
* Suggested a process or procedure that improved performance or some other benefit
* Found a problem no one else could find
Always include the benefit(s) for what you did.

Please review you work history’s current and recent jobs and see if you can improve on what your role is.

How to get past the phone interview and get an onsite interview
* Are you a SME: Subject Matter Expert?   Does your resume show what you’ve    done that makes you a SME?
* Always back the technical concepts with examples of how you applied it at your work place. It adds to your credibility.

Did you leave any jobs off your resume and change the dates of other jobs so it’s not obvious you left a job off? Why?

Are the from and to dates of employment correct? My client will run a background check and if dates don’t match up within a few months, they will withdraw the offer.

Shorter resumes get more interviews.
To keep your resume shorter,
you can leave off jobs that are more than 6 years old and indicate older jobs details available on request.

HOW TO GET THE INTERVIEW
I receive resumes every day from applicants who say they’re qualified. The problem is,
their current and recent jobs don’t read like they’re qualified.

The hiring manager will look at your current and recent jobs to see if you are qualified for their position.
If you’re qualified and your current and recent jobs don’t show you focus on the job requirements, you won’t get an interview.

Take a minute to look at your recent jobs and add whatever required skills you have.

Objective: What you say here could cost you an interview. For example:
If you’re a hands-on manager and open to a non-management position but your objective says management, no interview for non-management positions. You have to list every title you want to be considered for or even better, just leave off objective.

Does your resume say you are careless (typos, bad grammar)? If it does, no interview. Have two other people whose first language is English look it over.

If you improve your resume and send me another Word resume, indicate that you have improved your resume for this job and what you added or changed.

Don’t lie about your degree, experience or anything else.
An applicant had a degree on his resume that he never received. He then signed a document saying he had a degree. Client made an offer based on a successful background check which included verifying his degree. Degree couldn’t be verified and applicant admitted he didn’t get the degree. The client withdrew the offer.

The ironic thing was the position didn’t require a degree.  These days all companies run background checks. If you make a recruiter look bad, they will never represent you again.