We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Seeking a Job - College Folks, Please Read

NoLine

NoLine

Well-known member
Albatross 2024 Club
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
8,674
Reaction score
443
Location
Texas/Belize
Handicap
12.2
For those of you who are college age and seeking your first "real" job or those who may be in the market, I implore you, please proof read your cover letters and resumes. This morning I have labored over 4 cover letters that were flat out embarrasing, one of which even used texting jargon. We are talking about folks who all claim to be finishing graduate school. I simply cannot interview someone if the basic art of writing a letter is lost on them. This creates serious doubt about their ability to carry on a simple, professional converation whether in person or in email.

So here is my tip for the day, after you write your letter, email or resume please give it to someone who is "willing" to critique and edit it for you. Two sets of trained eyes are always better then one and remember this letter is your first impression and may be your last.
 
Good tip!
 
This makes me feel even worse that I cannot find a job.
 
NoLine said:
For those of you who are college age and seeking your first "real" job or those who may be in the market, I implore you, please proof read your cover letters and resumes. This morning I have labored over 4 cover letters that were flat out embarrasing, one of which even used texting jargon. We are talking about folks who all claim to be finishing graduate school. I simply cannot interview someone if the basic art of writing a letter is lost on them. This creates serious doubt about their ability to carry on a simple, professional converation whether in person or in email.

So here is my tip for the day, after you write your letter, email or resume please give it to someone who is "willing" to critique and edit it for you. Two sets of trained eyes are always better then one and remember this letter is your first impression and may be your last.
Click to expand...
Are you a hiring manager?

Curious to know your thoughts - are the tips about keeping a resume to 1 page days over? I've seen people submit resumes that are 3-4 pages. They are ridiculously impressive with past employers, so they obviously want to document all possible.
 
Solid advice, I just wrote my first cover letter/resume not too long ago.
 
Perhaps proofreading a post about this, might be in order.
 
No, but if I don't like you it's not going to work out well.

Regarding the length of the resume, 1 page only. My attention span requires the "seller" to get straight to the point.
 
I r gud comunicater. I gots teh peeple skillz.
 
sleuth said:
Are you a hiring manager?

Curious to know your thoughts - are the tips about keeping a resume to 1 page days over? I've seen people submit resumes that are 3-4 pages. They are ridiculously impressive with past employers, so they obviously want to document all possible.
Click to expand...

1 page only. If you need more room, you are either BSing too much or including non-relevant info for the job you are chasing. Tighten up those margins and font size if it just bleeds into the second page
 
NoLine said:
No, but if I don't like you it's not going to work out well.

Regarding the length of the resume, 1 page only. My attention span requires the "seller" to get straight to the point.
Click to expand...

Yes yes yes. We interviewed a couple people recently and their resumes were jokes. They had good experience, but could not form a resume for the life of them.

One guy had been out of college 10 years and had a ton of relevant work. But his resume was 3 PAGES LONG because he detailed that he was a lifeguard in high school and he had high school accomplishments on there. Come on!

Seriously everyone, I have a lot of experience reading and writing resumes so I would be happy to help anyone that wants feedback.
 
It really blows my mind that people think they need multiple pages on a resume. No one seems to understand the idea of editing your resume to fit the job too - if you have that much experience, pare out your resume to include only the things that are most relevant to that particular position. The objective line is also severely misused in this sense - if you are submitting the same objective line for every career opportunity, you are using it incorrectly! Make sure it fits the position you are applying for.
 
Very good tips, but I have to do this.

NoLine said:
For those of you who are college age and seeking your first "real" job or those who may be in the market, I implore you, please proof read your cover letters and resumes. This morning I have labored over 4 cover letters that were flat out embarrasing, one of which even used texting jargon. We are talking about folks who all claim to be finishing graduate school. I simply cannot interview someone if the basic art of writing a letter is lost on them. This creates serious doubt about their ability to carry on a simple, professional converation whether in person or in email.

So here is my tip for the day, after you write your letter, email or resume please give it to someone who is "willing" to critique and edit it for you. Two sets of trained eyes are always better then one and remember this letter is your first impression and may be your last.
Click to expand...

  • "of you" is wordy and implied.
  • The second "those" is not necessary.
  • After "implore you", use the the word "to" instead of a comma and omit the word "please".
  • "proofread" is one word or, at the least, hyphenated.
  • Spell out numbers ten and less.
  • "flat out" should be hyphenated in this usage: the final statement or something inevitable.
  • "embarrasing" has another "s".
  • "all" is wordy and implied.
  • "converation" has an "s" after the "r" and should have a comma after the second "n".
  • It should be "whether in person or email." The "in" is implied. You could have said "whether face-to-face or in email" but you wouldn't say "whether in email or in face-to-face".
  • A colon should be after "day" instead of a comma. I would also capitalize the "a" in "after", but I don't think it is a rule.
  • "may be" reads correctly, but I think the correct word here is "maybe". "...may be" would work had you said "might be" instead of "is".
 
Smallville said:
Very good tips, but I have to do this.



  • "of you" is wordy and implied.
  • The second "those" is not necessary.
  • After "implore you", use the the word "to" instead of a comma and omit the word "please".
  • "proofread" is one word or, at the least, hyphenated.
  • Spell out numbers ten and less.
  • "flat out" should be hyphenated in this usage: the final statement or something inevitable.
  • "embarrasing" has another "s".
  • "all" is wordy and implied.
  • "converation" has an "s" after the "r" and should have a comma after the second "n".
  • It should be "whether in person or email." The "in" is implied. You could have said "whether face-to-face or in email" but you wouldn't say "whether in email or in face-to-face".
  • A colon should be after "day" instead of a comma. I would also capitalize the "a" in "after", but I don't think it is a rule.
  • "may be" reads correctly, but I think the correct word here is "maybe". "...may be" would work had you said "might be" instead of "is".
Click to expand...

Ouch, haha.
 
Pretty much common sense if you aren't an idiot. Good luck finding a job with misspelled words lol give me a break if you went through college and actually graduated I really can't figure out how you could make those mistakes. Yes this is coming from someone who just graduated last May and got a nice job. Go figure lol
 
I agree with most of this, but it is always important to know your audience. I work for the Gov't up here, and if your resume doesn't have the keywords...into the can.
Private business, sure. Keep it short and sweet, tailored to the employer.

Public sector? As long as it has to be and just keep hammering those buzzwords. They do NOT infer, they do not interpret. If it isn't there in the exact words, it doesn't count.
 
If ya'll need any help with them thar resumes, don't be scarred of sending me a pm :D
 
hmmmm...I think if someone makes a choice based on a resume or a cover letter they could be losing out anyway.

I know some GREAT sales reps that you wouldnt take the time to talk to. Which in my opinion would be your loss. You are the one hiring though and its your prerogative. That was just my opinion.
 
I taught at my career field's tech school in the USAF. It was when they graduated basic and progressed for basic skills training in our job.
I could not believe the disparity in skill levels when writing even the simplest of assignments.
I see my son's writing (Senior in HS) and flat out beg him to think about what he's writing and to do it like a real human trying to communicate something important.
 
I love that this thread is here! In my current role I am the director of Recruiting for a large financial services company and work primarily with career changers seeking a new full-time opportunity, and graduating seniors in college seeking our post-graduate internship program. I cannot even begin to describe in detail the horror I see day after day submitted to pass as a resume or cover letter. For reference, I viewed nearly 5,000 resume's last year, only moved 1,500 on to a phone screen or in-person interview, and determined quickly that many of them didn't really know what they wrote on their resume/cover letter. I (like many of my counterparts across the country) have diagnosed ADD, which I believe helps go through so many resume's as I read the person's name, college information (if supplied on the first page), and the first 2 bullet points of the first 2 jobs listed, and move on. I haven't viewed a second page of a resume unless the candidate was sitting in front of me to interview and they brought up something from there. Let me add my two-cents to the discussion:

First, make sure your font is clear, large enough to read, and does not include italics.
Second, your objective is to get the job you applied for... recruiters and hiring managers don't need a gradiose statement to figure out you want in, so leave it out and use the room for relevant information. I personally prefer a highlight of qualification section rather than an objective statement (if you have qualification to highlight, of course).
Finally, use hard evidence: I sold x number of widgets which qualified me as top producer 6 out of 12 months, or I managed x project to come in on time and under budget by x%. Thhe hiring manager is not going to care that you "contributed to team performance," (s)he is going to want to know how.

I'll try to help anyone (if I can) if you have any questions on this topic, just PM me and I'll return the message.
 
Lol this really doesn't need to turn into a "how to". There's thousands of places one can look for references and examples. Most of those places will even help you write one if need be. People just need to stop being so helpless.
 
One-T said:
hmmmm...I think if someone makes a choice based on a resume or a cover letter they could be losing out anyway.

I know some GREAT sales reps that you wouldnt take the time to talk to. Which in my opinion would be your loss. You are the one hiring though and its your prerogative. That was just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I hear what you are saying buddy but I just had a guy send me a 17 page resume. I don't have the time or the patience to read through it so I moved on to the next one. You have to be concise and have all words spelled correctly. I am pretty sure if you typed it on a computer the program you used has spell check on it, so take two seconds and use it.
 
yorkem said:
I hear what you are saying buddy but I just had a guy send me a 17 page resume. I don't have the time or the patience to read through it so I moved on to the next one. You have to be concise and have all words spelled correctly. I am pretty sure if you typed it on a computer the program you used has spell check on it, so take two seconds and use it.
Click to expand...
I understand what you mean buddy! My resume is to the point. But, it doesnt portray my awesomeness. I am a good sales rep. My resume isnt some built up resume though.
 
One-T said:
I understand what you mean buddy! My resume is to the point. But, it doesnt portray my awesomeness. I am a good sales rep. My resume isnt some built up resume though.
Click to expand...

It's the same way with my parents. They are both good at writing though, and know how to put together a solid resume.
 
Damaikis said:
It's the same way with my parents. They are both good at writing though, and know how to put together a solid resume.
Click to expand...
yeah, I have always hated the resume thing. To me, its a joke. I think its a good way to knock out the people who are not qualified. If I were a hiring manager, I would get people in front of me. Shaking hands and looking in ones eyes is more important than how well they use MS Word.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top