Tips on Getting Hired

[Beth Agnew]

When it comes to resumes and job hunting, every tip or piece of advice 
should be filtered by your own individual situation, the type of job 
you're trying to get, the current state of the market, and the job 
finding process you are using. Your resume shows that you've applied for 
the right job, i.e. that you have the experience and qualifications 
necessary to do that job; the cover letter is the most important piece 
of any job application because that is the thing that gets you the 
interview. Then the interview gets you the job.

If you are sending a bland, boilerplate cover letter, you are wasting a 
valuable way to get the employer's attention. The cover letter is your 
chance to demonstrate your personality, and point out to the employer 
how your skills and abilities match their job requirements so they don't 
have to infer it from the resume.

A 1 to 2 page resume flies in the face of "show don't tell". I'm one of 
those people with 25+ years of experience and a 6-page resume which 
details my relevant experience in a variety of communications jobs. 
Every time I send a resume it is customized to the job I'm applying for 
(though I don't have to look for a job any more, I still send it to 
clients). By the time the reader gets past the cover letter to the 
resume, they have already decided whether they'll bring me in for an 
interview. I also include my picture on my resume.

Bottom line: give people enough information on which to make a decision 
about an interview, and don't be like everyone else when it comes to you 
job application.
--Beth

Steven Jong wrote:
> --- Ami WRIGHT wrote:
>>> Tip #1:  Don't send a 5-page resume.
>>>
>>> Resumes should be a maximum of two pages.  If yours is five pages, it
>>> suggests that you are overly wordy, and have trouble prioritizing and
>>> organizing information.
> ... and John Posada asked:
>> Is this an opinion or do you know this for fact? If the later, how?
> Ami's tip is almost universally repeated by every headhunter, career 
> counselor, and how-to-get-a-job book I've encountered. It also seems 
> sensible.