Tips on Getting Hired

[James Barrow]

>Beth Agnew wrote:
>
>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. 

Agreed.  Whenever I've tried to whittle down my resume, I end up cutting out
a bulleted item or two that I don't see in the job description, or don't
believe will be relevant for a particular job.  Every time I've done this,
the interviewer says something like:

"Do you know anything about [insert tool/app/software]?  We're thinking
about using it in the future".

Then I have to explain that I cut that part out of my resume.  I worry that
I'll come across as making that part up.

[]

>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.

Absolutely.  Once I started doing this, I increased the number of calls that
I got exponentially.  Simply take the job description and cross-reference
that to your resume.  Take the relevant job experience and convert that to a
personalized cover letter.

[]

>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.

Me too, but I usually rip a picture from a male model website.  Seriously,
do you ever include your website URL in your cover letter?

- Jim