Employers view of your resume

Consider the employers objectives when submitting your resume. http://www.resume-writing-help.org

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resume, job, employment, resumes, resume sample, sample resume

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Before an employer agrees to an interview, they need to be convinced that you are a great candidate for the position. This is where your resume is an essential marketing tool. It demonstrates to an employer your skills, experience and writing ability. Make sure your spelling and grammar are impeccable.

You should be creative, bold and humorous in your Cover Letter, but always be yourself. Nothing impresses an employer more than your knowledge of them or the company. Try and key in on something that will make your cover letter stand out; find some pertinent information about the company. Of course you only want to focus on the positive.

Employers use the resume process to narrow their selection. They will choose the best of the best as perceived by what is in your resume. Your resume is your only initial sales tool to impress the employer enough to give you an interview. As the bad cliché goes – You can only make a first impression once.

It's important that your resume be as strong and positive as possible. A poorly organized and haphazardly written resume demonstrates to the employer that you are not serious about yourself, and if you are not serious about yourself, you are probably not going to be an asset to the company.

The questions that are going through the minds of employer are:

• Can you solve problems?

• What are your strengths / weaknesses?

• What are the benefits of hiring you over someone else?

• How will you fit into the company?

• Will you have a strong commitment to your job?

• How independent are you / can you be a team player?

• Are you a fast learner?

Don’t forget to do your homework about the company, its history, its goals, products, etc. You can apply this information and dramatically stand out with a creative cover letter! Find information about the company by reading the company’s website, brochures, do a Google search, and look at competitors. There’s tons of good information out there if you look.

If you submit a boilerplate cover letter and boring resume, you find yourself at the bottom of the resume pile.

Employers – 10 Questions to ask a Recruitment Agency

If you are an Employer looking for permanent staff, using agencies can be an efficient and cost effective method of recruitment. Do your homework carefully and you can concentrate on what you do best, running your business.

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If you are an Employer looking for permanent staff, using agencies can be an efficient and cost effective method of recruitment. Do your homework carefully and you can concentrate on what you do best, running your business.

Here are some example questions to ask

How will they charge? - Most agencies these days supply permanent staff on a contingency basis. This is where, you only pay the agency if you select and recruit one of their candidates. The popular term for this is “No placement no fee”.

What will they charge? - You need to make sure you understand how much using an agency will cost you. This is normally expressed as a percentage of first year salary. This will depend on a number of factors such as industry, location, level of role etc, but fees can often be between 10% and 30%. You might at first consider this to be rather a lot of money but just think how much its worth to you getting the right candidate with the minimum of fuss.

Is there a rebate structure? - Make sure that you agree to some form of rebate structure. Like it or not, some candidates will start a job and decide that its not for them and leave after a short time. You need to make sure that if this happens you can reclaim some of the fees paid to Recruitment Agency. This is normally done via a rebate structure. A typical example of this would be

If they leave within 4 weeks 80% of fees paid are refunded
If they leave within 8 weeks 50% of fees paid are refunded
If they leave within 12 weeks 20% of fees paid are refunded

However these scales vary between agencies. It is also becoming more common in competitive areas to see 100% refunds if the candidate leaves within 12 weeks.

What is their CV policy? – You need to make sure that they are going to make things easier for you and not just send through dozens of CV’s that they have on their books, just on the off chance. Most reputable agencies will have a definite policy on this and be able to give you an idea of the number and quality of CV’s in advance.

Any Client testimonials? – This is to help you ensure that you are dealing with the right agency. You don’t want to have to spend a lot of time explaining to them what your company does or how they do it etc etc. The best way to avoid this is make sure that they have satisfied clients in similar business to your own. This will also give you an idea of how experienced the agencies and their consultants are in your business area.

How many agencies should I appoint? – It is a good idea to have a small number of agencies working for you as long as they are all on a contingency basis. This way you maximise your exposure to potential candidates while not spending all your working day dealing with agencies. A good idea is to start with 3 to 5 of them & see how it works out. You can always add more if you need to later.

What about a specialist agency? – Where possible you should consider industry specific agencies this if possible. Although they may charge more in fees this may be offset by the fact that they will probably be able to advise you more knowledgably about the type of candidates available, market salary rates etc.

Are there any trade bodies? – A number of agencies are members of the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation), which represents the industry within the UK. You should try to confirm that they are members and that they conform to their code of conduct.

Will they do Candidate referencing? – You should check to confirm that the agency you plan to use both will confirm the identity of the candidates they send you but also if required can take up their references on your behalf.

And finally

Any other useful facilities?
Do you have an interview suite? – very useful facility as it means that you can interview prospective candidates at their offices.
Do you offer Psychometric testing / ability testing?
Can you provide salary survey information? – This enables you to offer the candidates a realistic salary

Remember, recruitment agencies can charge you quite a lot of money so make sure that they are working for you!

E & O E - Copyright 2005 CVwriting.net

Good Employers Want a Balance of Assertiveness and Agressiveness . How to Cultivate that Vital Balance

Employers often avoid hiring overly aggressive employees as they drive business away. However employers want and hire assertive employees because assertive behavior projects capability and promotes a healthy productive working environment. What are these traits and how can you create a healthy balance?

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interview , resume , employment , job , interviews , preperation , job market , employers , team

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Employers often avoid hiring overly aggressive employees as they drive business away. However employers want and hire assertive employees because assertive behavior projects capability and promotes a healthy productive working environment. What are these traits and how can you create a healthy balance?

Assertive behavior can be many things. It can be standing up for your rights, expressing yourself honestly, courtesly and comfortably as well as observing and respecting the rights of others.

Assertive behavior promotes equality and a healthy balance in human relationship. Assertion is based on human – right- especially the right to be treated with respect in all situations. Every person has the right to be listened to and taken seriously, to say yes or no with conviction, to express his or her opinion, and ask for what he or she wants.

Assertive behavior is critical to a successful job search and career potent ional because it conveys self-esteem and capability.

Employers hire people who behave confidently and are able to convey their job descriptions comfortably and clearly. They want employees who strengthen human relations and project competence in the workplace. They hire applicants who demonstrate assertiveness in interviews, resumes, and all communications. To reach your full potential, be assertive and tactful expressing yourself, and respect the rights of others.

Generally personality types fall into three general categories. Nonassertive, aggressive and assertive. Employers avoid hiring nonassertive and aggressive employees because they are often detrimental in the workplace.

People who are nonassertive have difficulty expressing thoughts or feelings because they lack confidence. They may become unhappy because they permit others to abuse their rights. They project their feelings of unhappiness others.

Aggressive based people often violate the rights of others with domineering, pushy behavior. Their goal is to dominate because they fear loss of control. Overly aggressive employees drive business away. The good employers who you would wish to work for usually identify such trouble and avoid hiring these types.

Assertive behavior is essential to career success. Assertive people are confident, express their needs and opinions comfortably, and are sensitive to the needs of others.
The type of employer that you would want to work for usually search out assertive employees as their behavior projects capability and promotes a healthy , productive working environment.

What are techniques by which you can develop assertiveness? Practice expressing your feelings and needs calmly and clearly. As well continually demonstrate acceptance and respect for others by praising them sincerely and honestly whey they perform or behave well.

The whole point is to deal with other people in a sincere and truthful way. Imitate friendships. Express your opinions in meetings or conversations particularly when you strongly believe or are knowledgeable about the topic. Don’t talk just to be noticed.
Contribute something to each conversation.

It may help to join a professional or service organization or club. You can always volunteer. This is good way to network and build your assertive skills.

Remember the type of employer that would have a pleasing, easy going workplace without great interpersonal conflicts is the place you want to be.

Generally the people who do the hiring in such progressive firms recognize the traits of the applicants that they wish to hire. A balance of assertive behavior without overly aggressive tendencies is preferred. Groom yourself for those personal traits.

Employers; Protect Your Employees Against Identity Theft

As more and more Americans are becoming victims of identity theft, many employers are increasing their level of security to protect their employees. A recent General Accounting Office report estimates that as many as 750,000 Americans are victims of identity theft every year. So, what can you do to protect your employees? Here are some ideas.

Employee files
HR (Human Resources) professionals will generally have a set of standard operating procedures when dealing with empl...

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Employers,Protect,Against,Identity,Theft

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As more and more Americans are becoming victims of identity theft, many employers are increasing their level of security to protect their employees. A recent General Accounting Office report estimates that as many as 750,000 Americans are victims of identity theft every year. So, what can you do to protect your employees? Here are some ideas.

Employee files
HR (Human Resources) professionals will generally have a set of standard operating procedures when dealing with employee information. Make sure employee files, both active and terminated, are under lock and key. More importantly, make sure that only the Human Resources office has access to this key. In normal cases, the Human Resources office will be the only department who has any reason to access the employee files.

Information Release
Unless an officer of the court provides you with a subpoena, your company should have a strict policy not to ever release employee information to any individual except the employee him/herself.

Clean Desk Rule
Does your company have a clean desk rule? If not, you’d better make sure one is instituted. This rule ensures that any employee who deals with any type of sensitive employee data clears their desk and files and that this information is under lock and key whenever they leave their workstation. Many financial and housing institutions already practice this rule.

Social Security Masking
In the past, entire social security numbers were used to identify an employee. With the increase in identity theft, (and the methods by which thieves acquire this information), employers are now using number masks. In other words, instead of identifying John Doe as 123-00-4567, he is now identified as Doe XXX-XX-4567. This is what is used when sending information via mail or email and has dramatically helped employers reduce identity theft.

Use It Then Lose It
After an employee processes data containing sensitive information, and if it is not required to be refilled, information should be destroyed. A common paper shredder can be purchased for about $50.00 at any office supply store and can be another weapon in your arsenal to protect your employees. Documents should be shredded either immediately after use or at the very least, the same day before the end of the work day. This avoids storing hundreds of documents that can cause your employees’ information to be stolen.

Identity theft causes months of grief and potentially thousands of dollars to fix. It’s up to employers to do their part in protecting them at the workplace. For more information, contact your Human Resources office or visit the social security administrations website at http://www.ssa.gov/

Going On With Life: Women Juggling Cancer And Career. U.S. Employers Rank Last As Source Of Support For Working Women With Cancer

For Shirley Mertz, continuing to work throughout the past 14 years as she battled breast cancer was not only natural but also critical to her well-being.

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Going On With Life: Women Juggling Cancer And Career. U.S. Employers Rank Last As Source Of Support For Working Women With Cancer

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For Shirley Mertz, continuing to work throughout the past 14 years as she battled breast cancer was not only natural but also critical to her well-being.

"After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, continuing to live a normal life was extremely important, and for me, normal meant working," said Mertz, a former assistant superintendent for a public high school district in suburban Chicago, Ill., who is now 59 and a full-time breast cancer advocate. "I was fortunate enough to have a sympathetic employer and compassionate co-workers, but I had to look outside my office for the support and information I needed to cope with cancer. I never really considered that workplace resources might be an option."

Mertz's experience is echoed in the results of a national Harris Interactive survey of working women diagnosed with cancer, which, astonishingly, found that a mere 1 percent of them consider their company a source of information or support in coping with their illness. Although they are generally satisfied with interpersonal support and report an ability to balance the demands of their illness and their careers, many survey participants are in fact suffering treatment-related difficulties on the job, such as fatigue, nausea and hair loss, but are not finding help in workplace programs. The survey was initiated by Cosmetic Executive Women Foundation's (CEWF) Cancer and Careers program and supported by a grant from Roche.

Carlotta Jacobson, President of CEW, a leading trade organization in the beauty industry, says it's essential for employers to find ways to anticipate and address the needs of their employees who have cancer.

"Our survey shows that, despite their stoic attitude, women with cancer often struggle with physical, emotional and other issues in the workplace," said Jacobson. "To address their needs, we've developed the Cancer and Careers program, which includes free information, guidance and tools for both employees and their managers."

Cancer and Careers is an online and offline resource for working women with cancer and their employers. The program's Web site, www.cancerandcareers.org, includes more than 100 online articles, downloadable tools, charts and checklists, and a searchable database of 400-plus cancer resources. CEWF also offers the Managing Through Cancer program to help managers, HR professionals and CEOs initiate policy changes, develop supportive ser-vices, and design flexible work arrangements.

CEWF's survey also revealed that women with cancer need more than just workplace support to help them address the challenges they face on the job. Nearly three-fourths of women surveyed expressed a desire for a less intrusive treatment to a working woman's lifestyle. Citing convenience and fewer side effects as rationale, 86 percent of women said they would prefer an oral chemotherapy treatment to intravenous administration.

"Because I took an oral chemotherapy pill instead of going to the clinic all the time for IV treatment, I missed fewer days of work and felt more like myself," said Mertz. "I also didn't have any hair loss, which helped me to maintain my self-esteem."