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Are you listed as the author of your resume? Do you know how to find out?

In my experience, most candidates are not aware that professional resume writers often list themselves and their companies as the author of your resume. I certainly would not want to send a resume like this!

Even worse, if you used a template from online – the author could be listed as, “EXAMPLE ONLY! Do Not Distribute.” Yikes! I actually received a resume like this to review.

So, I am going to let you in on the secret so you can make sure YOU are listed as the author of your resume.

This applies to MS Word, and I am using Word 2007, which is compatible with 1997-2003.

Go to the main menu and choose PREPARE. All the properties of your document are now visible and accessible. I use the following for my clients:

Author: Client last name, first name – Smith, John

Title: John Smith Resume

Subject: Resume

Keywords: great place to put your title or relevant keywords!

Category: I usually put the year it was developed: 2013

Status: Active

That’s it! Your resume is more professional already!

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You résumé should be written for a human audience, but increasingly, a human will not even see it unless it passes the filters of Applicant (ATS) and Résumé (RTS) Tracking Systems.

How do you ensure your résumé makes it to the top of the stack?  By remaining aware of advances in recruiting technology and knowing how these systems work when constructing your résumé.

Employers use this technology to reduce the time and cost of identifying suitable candidates to fill positions. Large companies and recruiters receive hundreds of résumés daily and using these screening programs allows many applicants to be sorted in a short amount of time.

These systems are becoming more sophisticated every day and the new résumé scanners are configured to read keywords and phrases in context:  how relevant and related the keyword is as well as well as how recent that skill was acquired and/or used.  This is in response to, among other things, the keyword dense “core competency” section of a résumé, an element incorporated to beat early tracking systems. A list of keywords is no longer going to cut it.

While listing keywords out of context is no longer recommended, they are still critical and must be incorporated into your résumé, and in a meaningful way. A great source of keywords is the description of the position to which you are tailoring your resume. (Don’t forget to put them in your cover letter too!)

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“References Available Upon Request”

This is the NUMBER ONE mistake I see on resumes. If you are writing your own resume, you are not to blame. There are STILL organizations out there that recommend this.  I am here to set you straight!

List references on a separate page. Do not include them on your resume.  Do not reference them on your resume. Save that valuable space for relevant skills and accomplishments.

Your reference sheet should match your resume and cover letter with the same heading and font size. Most organizations will request three professional references, so I recommend you have at least that many ready to go.

Choose three professional references; individuals can speak to the quality of your work, not just the quality of your character. Try to include a current (or former) supervisor who has direct experience with you and can share your strengths and talents.

Very important! Be sure to get permission from your references before listing them to avoid any surprises and ensure you will a receive favorable reference. You should also keep your references aware of your job hunting activities and let them know when you have secured a position.

According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, information verified in personal reference checks most often includes:

1. Former employers (job titles, dates of employment, salary information)
2. Degrees, school attendance, and academic accomplishments
3. Responsibilities in previous positions held

The two items most likely to derail a job offer are discrepancies in dates of previous employment and degrees earned. These are also two of the easiest items to check, as they can be verified directly.

When listing references, include:

• Name (I like to include Mr. or Ms.)
• title
• company
• business mailing address
• telephone number  (office and/or cell)
• email address
• Relationship:

So it would read: 

Mr. John Smith
Accounting Manager
AZY Accounting, Inc.
1234 Main Street
Any City, Any State, any zip
555-555-5555 (office)
johnsmith@azyaccounting.com
Relationship: Former Supervisor

In addition to your list of references and contact information, you may also want to consider providing a hard copy of your LinkedIn Recommendations.

After all:

“Résumés win interviews, but references win job offers,”

Martin Yate, author of the “Knock ‘Em Dead” career books.

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Don’t use résumé templates. I want to type that again Don’t use résumé templates.

Now, I will tell you why.

First of all, for the glaringly obvious reason that most still include an objective. Talk about behind the times. Objectives are obsolete. Nobody cares what you want. Blunt but true. Remove your objective if you have one. Some alternatives include a headline and/or a strong (but brief) summary. If you are experienced and accomplished, you don’t need one at all. Let your background speak for you.

Second, résumé templates are full of elements that are not compatible with Applicant and résumé Tracking System software. They are more likely to “choke” the system and cause it to discard your résumé. Imagine if the position for which you applied was the perfect fit for you and nobody even realized it?

The point of my post is that if you are going to list Microsoft Word as a skill on your résumé, you should know how to format a résumé in Word. Without templates and without tables.

MS Word is full of ways to make your document stand out if that is your goal. I will recommend having a résumé with a simple format for readability, but if you are set on a “designer format” – make it yourself in Word. Your designer format won’t look like everyone else’s and THAT is what will stand out. I guarantee you that the format that caught your eye is being used by thousands (if not more) of candidates – what do you think a hiring manager or recruiter thinks of your creativity and Word skills when presenting a résumé using a template? Don’t use templates.

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A few weeks ago, I was perusing a thread on Reddit regarding job searching and was a little surprised when a recruiter mentioned that applicants should use a Gmail email address when job hunting. Then several others agreed with him. He went on to explain that it demonstrates a candidate knows how to use up-to-date technology. I posted this on my Facebook page the following day. The responses varied from “great idea, will do” to “that is ridiculous!”

I have been suggesting it to my clients who do not already have Gmail. I let them know it is also a good way to keep all your job search emails in one place for easy tracking. No lost or missed emails!

I was reading another thread this weekend where the subject came up again and this is what I discovered. I included some of the answers from recruiters and hiring managers here:

“It’s pretty arbitrary. But for some reason, Gmail accounts just look more professional…”
“They’re shorter, for one. Plus most people have a higher opinion of Google, Gmail is the superior service, etc.”

“Thousands of companies, including many, many tech startups, use Gmail to host their corporate email.”

“I hire people and work through email almost exclusively. If I see that your name is @yahoo or @hotmail or @aol then I assume you don’t use computers often which is probably not the message you want to send… Change to Gmail.”

“Thousands of tech companies use Gmail as their corporate email provider. It’s cutting edge and built by a company nearly universally held in high regard for being innovative.”

“Having a Gmail account means that you are much more likely to know how to Google a piece of information and can make use of other technologies that Google offers for free i.e Picasa, Google Drive, etc.”

One human resources professional did note:

“The only reason I would recommend that you consider Gmail is because I have noticed that in general, hotmail and yahoo messages end up in my junk mail folders more often than Gmail messages.”

What does seem to be a factor is how much technical know-how is required for the position. The other option they liked was applicants who used personal domains: John@Smith.com.

If it can’t hurt and might help, I suggest you get yourself a Gmail address.

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