As a young leader in the corporate world, I get a lot of requests from my peers asking me to review their resumes.  To shed some light on those lost in the dark, here is some insight on what should stick out and what does not matter in a resume.

One of the biggest mistakes I see often, even from myself (guilty!), is quickly revising and updating an older version of a resume without much editing or changes.  The most important thing you MUST point out in your resume is PROACTIVENESS.  In other words, what things did you do at your job or internship that showed what an incredible asset you were to the company?

The most recent resume I edited displayed significant amounts of information and great experience, yet held back on overall potential as an employee.  Here are a few examples:

Before: Created and administered internal company intranet website

After: Created and administered internal company intranet website for importing clientele information

Note: Be more precise. I added “for importing clientele information” because it shows how his software database’s benefited the company by organizing the company’s clientele information in a systematic manner.

Before: Designed various printed and online marketing material

After: Designed layouts for various printed and online marketing material

Before: Administered and setup office network

After: Set up office network and managed network system on a daily basis

Before: Administered and setup Wifi captive portals at various properties

After: Oversaw and employed Wifi captive portals at various properties

Note: Try not to start sentences with the same word, spice it up a bit!

Here’s another example of a resume I worked on a few weeks ago:

Before: Imported data into an excel sheet

After: Collected data from various online resources and imported them into excel

Before: Cold called potential clients

After: Cold called around 200 potential client’s and successfully converted 30% of them into sales leads

Note: Adding numbers makes it more detailed (just make sure those numbers are correct and true!)

Before: Assigned leads to sales team

After: Assigned more than 1,000 leads to the sales team based on geographic location

Note: Details and precision, this is a prime example.

Recruiters want to see how you will benefit their company.  Don’t be shy, show them!

Number one rule: ALWAYS spell check!  Then after you yourself have done so, ask your friend or roommate to check it for you as well. Small mistakes in grammar or spelling will definitely cost you, so pass that puppy around and ask for advice.

After taking some time in redoing my own resume, I got numerous callbacks and emails flooded my inbox. Okay, not really flooded (more like a drizzle), but I did successfully garner eight callbacks that turned into eight interviews. With practice, you can soon perfect the resume process.  So get on it and if you need any more advice, feel free to email me at cestreller@gmail.com. I am more than happy to assist a fellow job hunter!

Book Recommendation: Confessions of a Recruiting Director by Brad Karsh

Your resume is your first step to success; don’t trip.

Carissa “BizWiz” Estreller

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Tags: Carissa Estreller, Jobs, Resume

As a college senior about to graduate,  I’m doing my best to network with my colleagues and classmates. I go onto linkedin.com and type in their names in the search engine and the infamous words are displayed on my screen:

Suggestions:

•            Double check the spelling of your search.

•            Try modifying your search in advanced search or on the right side of this page.

•            Did you mean to search in Jobs, Answers, Inbox or Groups? If so, choose the appropriate category from the search dropdown above in the header.

Something in my head rings: WHY DON’T THEY USE LINKEDIN YET?

I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps, theyre using some sort of alias (bad idea!), they’ve blocked me, or they simply just don’t know how LinkedIn can benefit them.

I’ll go with my third option and hope to convince them to get one.  It’s 2010, this is the year where social media is going to evolve and reinvent how business relationships are created and maintained. Business cards no longer add the same effect, you can now say, “Just find me on linkedin.com.” Businesses are now blogging, Tweeting, and using Facebook.  And they are without a doubt updating their profiles on LinkedIn.  These small, medium, and large businesses are using this site to let you know what they are up to and how you can get involved!

To survive in the workforce, here’s something you need to know; network, network, and NETWORK.  The old school definition of networking has been retired and has now combined forces with the almighty social media, making it a lot easier and beneficial to you.  LinkedIn turns everyone in the business world into a huge network of colleagues.  It gives you the opportunity to link to your colleagues and their colleagues and then their colleagues.

For those in college, this is mandatory to help get a job.  Here is a personal example.  After working at iRise, I used LinkedIn to look for a job.  I browsed my co-workers’ connections and inevitably they were connected to other people I wanted to work for.  I then asked them to introduce me, and lo and behold, now I have options.  During this economic state, knowing someone is especially more important than ever.  LinkedIn maintains a professional outlet that neither Facebook nor Twitter can offer. Sometimes your private life has to stay apart from your professional one.

Now, if you don’t have one, get one! I promise, good things await!

Carissa “The BizWiz” Estreller

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Tags: Business, Carissa Estreller, College, LinkedIn, Social Media