DON'T send your resume... (1 Viewer)

[chookyn]

"There’s a rapidly emerging school of thought which suggests that job-seekers SHOULDN’T send resumes to any job opening. Including your resume only gives the PE (potential employer) an easy opportunity to disqualify you based on some small or otherwise meaningless detail in your resume, before you can go in there and sell yourself effectively."

job secrets revealed

^ really good tips, esp. for those with little experience!

 

[ND]

I disagree. If you don't send in your resume when it is required for the application, it shows that you can't follow instruction and they won't give you an interview.

 

[LeftrightOut]

First of all in any workplace with large staff numbers (govt/big business) your resume will be thrown in the bin by HR, because NO ONE ELSE READS YOUR APPLICATION TO START WITH. Your potential supervisor won't be reading your application first if it's a company with a HR dept so not putting down what they are looking for is only doing a disservice to yourself.

Secondly that guy has the idea of small business all wrong, small business grows fast because
a) it has low barriers of entry. I could say i'm a small business right now so i'm already employing 1 person.
b) it also has the highest failure rate because it is so easy to get into most people don't plan or have resources to keep going when times get tough. And everytime one small business fails there are a handful to a hundred other hopefuls thinking they can succeed at that same startegy. And finally
c) While a business is small it usually has low overheads so profits are high, once it grows so do the overheads resulting in reduced profit. Hey last year this business made $0 (didn't exist) this year it made $30k in turnover, wow I really did well with sales I better put on some more staff to sell more (profit might only have been $2k but some small business owners aren't good with numbers).
That's not to say that small business does not have a place in society and that they never succeed or grow large. The truth is many fail, and many simply struggle and have for decades. It's not some new secret that they employ a lot of people, but it's also not a secret that they are more likely to fail.

Thirdly the guy sounds like he is talking to people who only send in a resume without a cover letter. That is a bad thing to do, you should always send both.

And finally making any small employer waste their time chasing your credentials when they could be flooded with applicants anyway is a stupid strategy.

 

[seremify007]

Isn't it obvious to use a cover letter?

Btw I prefer to give people my resume, and then if they called me for an interview, I'd bring a portfolio which included school reports, awards, etc.. Although in most cases I posted in my resume as they requested and was offered interviews.

Although if you are just randomly sending your resume out to employers- then yes, that seems rather stupid without at least ringing them or their HR department up to find out if they even are looking for people.

On another note, I heard about 75% of small businesses fail in Australia... but they are a critical part of our society/economy.

 

[LeftrightOut]

Isn't it obvious to use a cover letter?

You'd think so wouldn't you, but by read that one page sales letter front page (that's all it is, just about every "Read more" link goes to his course) he does mention:

In our experience, if you send a letter containing things like this, you’ll probably get an interview. But send them only a resume and won’t get a damn thing because it says nothing about THEM. It won’t make you stand out at all.

He clearly says "send them only a resume" so he's saying that if you don't send a cover letter you're stuffed, true, but the extreme he takes it to is not.

Although if you are just randomly sending your resume out to employers- then yes, that seems rather stupid without at least ringing them or their HR department up to find out if they even are looking for people.

I have nothing against cold canvassing, we get a few part time teachers apply like that and put them on suitability lists. People can SPAM their stuff out wherever they like but just like email SPAM a lot of screeners get used to it and ignore it, I don't get a lot so I usually read it to see what skills are in the area.

On another note, I heard about 75% of small businesses fail in Australia... but they are a critical part of our society/economy.

They sure are, just think, every self employed person struggling to survive is now a "rich" business owner statistic and no longer an unemployment statistic Even better if it's a family run business, can throw more people into the mix. I can always take a walk around town and see empty shops, then a few months later they open up, few months later they close down, it's a shame, but we can only sustain so many take away shops and hairdressers
I always hated statistics, yes it's a high number to fail but how many of those totally fail (bankruptcy, total ruin) and how many never left the ground (lost a bit of money but bailed without too much damage) and how many just couldn't be bothered to re-register the business name and simply work under the table now? The degree of failure is also relevant which statistics never answer. Also there are several well known systems that peple consider to be their "business" when in actual fact it is not a business at all, these people probably count as the same statistics.

Can you tell it's a slow day at work?

 

[seremify007]

May I ask what you do?

Btw, I think it's good that people here generally have the initiative to try something new- I think that's what makes Australia such a great country. Sure Asia has the whole "focus on growth" thing going but everyone just works in big corporatiosn or really really really small shops (which aren't that plentiful); whereas in Australia alot of people see their work life as... maybe get a job for a while, get good at what you do, and then start your own business. I really admire that sorta thing- I think that is an important part of Aussie culture.

(ironically I'm asian... but i still admire that sort of thing- maybe day i'll have the guts to try something new)

 

[Not-That-Bright]

My parents employ about 100 people, when people send in resume's it is true that they often do pick up one picky little thing however you must realise that often there is no choice other than sending an email because there can often be >20 applicants and some need to be taken out before the interview process.

The reason small businesses probably fail so often is because they can't meet the demands of OH & S / Doing your own accounting / etc

 

[LeftrightOut]

May I ask what you do?

I live on the Internet
I teach, I consult and I speculate.

 

[chookyn]

hmmm... yeah usually. but i think this article is talking about ppl who randomly send out resumes to companies or leave them at stores... not proper applications, which of course you'd include your resume with.

there's some really great, unique job-seeking ideas on that linked site, including tips on how to make your cover letter stand out.

in a good way, of course.

 

[Gavvvvvin]

May I ask what you do?

Btw, I think it's good that people here generally have the initiative to try something new- I think that's what makes Australia such a great country. Sure Asia has the whole "focus on growth" thing going but everyone just works in big corporatiosn or really really really small shops (which aren't that plentiful); whereas in Australia alot of people see their work life as... maybe get a job for a while, get good at what you do, and then start your own business. I really admire that sorta thing- I think that is an important part of Aussie culture.

(ironically I'm asian... but i still admire that sort of thing- maybe day i'll have the guts to try something new)

Yeah starting your own business sure is an important part of Aussie culture

 

[iambored]

in a resume, do you list your subjects? what if the subjects show you have an interest in the area of the job? I can't list all my subjects because there are too many, but I feel dodgy listing some under what heading, relevant study?

 

[go_swans]

in a resume, do you list your subjects? what if the subjects show you have an interest in the area of the job? I can't list all my subjects because there are too many, but I feel dodgy listing some under what heading, relevant study?

yeah usually only the onlys that relate to the job

like if ur going for a job in say a restuarant as a waiter, u wouldnt list that u did visual arts, but u would list that u did hospitality

 

[seremify007]

If they ask specifically for all your yr11/12 subjects/units then you should put it- otherwise only mention stuff which is relevant, but make sure you ELABORATE on what it's taught you in terms of how it will be useful in the industry. I don't get how you can you have "too many" to list though? For my resume, I didn't mention subjects apart from in personal statement/introduction or in the cover letter.

 

[iambored]

If they ask specifically for all your yr11/12 subjects/units then you should put it- otherwise only mention stuff which is relevant, but make sure you ELABORATE on what it's taught you in terms of how it will be useful in the industry. I don't get how you can you have "too many" to list though? For my resume, I didn't mention subjects apart from in personal statement/introduction or in the cover letter.

i'm at uni
so I have done 16 subjects so far
When I was in highschool I used to just list all of them
I think I will just list relevant subjects, or find a way of grouping them

 

[ND]

Nah don't list them on your resume. In the cover letter, mention that you did subject X which got you interest in the field of .... or something like that. Also your academic transcript (which you have to submit with basically all jobs) has listed your subjects.

 

[seremify007]

You could make it a bit more subtle iambored- rather than just saying "I did blahblah and blahblah"... maybe you could say something along the lines of "I find such and such interesting based on my studies of blah blah at university... blah blah taught me this and that about something arather"... But this is more cover-letter material than anything else.

 

[LeftrightOut]

I flipped through some resumes today on teacher apps around here and really a lot of them miss points by not addressing the criteria properly more than how the page is formatted or how much they put into their application. To give you an idea for one of our admin positions in the front office one staff member had 16 pages for an application addressing the criteria for the job.

I guess the thing is if you want to put your subjects in throw in your results print out and mention the subjects if they fit the criteria as mentioned above.

all the jobs I have ever applied for fall into two types. The first is the official way where you do your cover letter, resume, CV, 3xphotocopies of all results and supporting documentation and lengthy addressing the criteria section. The other type through networks where it's pretty much just turn up and get paid. I don't know what kind of jobs you are going for but make sure if it has a criteria that needs to be addressed you do so on paper outside of your resume because the resume is just a summary of you in a professional context. That is don't go writing paragraphs on you enjoyed this subject and that subject in your resume.

 

[phemale_souljah]

Quick question, when listing subjects, especially for recent school leavers, do we put our course rank as well?

 

[seremify007]

Depends if it's favourable to you or not to include them.