I already sent it.

I had two people in two days’ time ask me for help with their job searches after they’d sent their resume to a company. They wanted me to call the company directly to pitch them because they didn’t get a response from sending in their resume. This happens often, the black-hole of resumes - no response from emailing a resume. It goes into a virtual pile of paperless resumes. 

Sadly, I can’t help. Once you send a resume you are considered a "prior" by human resources. This means that I basically have no claim to your resume anymore as my candidate; you become the company's. Occasionally, if they are a client we’ve been working with for years and if they’ve over looked you, they are fine with us presenting you. However, if we don’t have that relationship and you are in their system – they don’t want to talk to me let alone pay a commission.

Recruiters work for our clients. As much as we try here at TAG to help every candidate possible (the person applying for the job) we can’t. Our client, the company, their needs come first. We find and fill what they need. It’s one of the rough edges of recruiting. I’d love to start a candidate coaching/teaching division one of these days so we can help out people a bit more, but Dave prefers to stay focused on recruiting – which is fine. He’s still here working daily so we try to stick to what works for him.  

So, we recruit and work to find the proper candidates for our clients. If you do need help on your own, this blog is a good place to start! 

RESUMES are NOT: Half-truths ● Lies ● Fabrications ● Deceits● Misrepresentations ● Inaccuracies

Resumes are marketing tools to use to find a job. They are supposed to highlight how your skills will benefit a potential employer. It’s okay to change the resume to highlight your real skills and move them around in order of importance for a particular employer. Crafting a well written resume is a good thing; lying on a resume is not. Keep in mind that everyone checks the internet and Googles your background. Most employers check Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram etc.They will find what you are lying about.

Employers also do extensive background checks and will find any holes in your background that you have not disclosed. Employers may forgive a skipped job that only lasted a few months on a resume but they will rarely forgive that lack of disclosure on an employment application.   Treat applications like the legal documents they are. 

Resumes - Personal Statement vs. No Personal Statement

The latest resume question I've been getting is about the personal statement at the top of the resume. 

Just get rid of it! Put it in your cover letter. I don’t always read cover letters but many people do. The cover-letter-readers especially love reading a great personal statement that gives the client a good gut feel for who you are.

The newest trend in resume writing is bullets the top of the resume. It is a great thing to do.  It’s easy to change out and highlight what you want based on the company’s requirements. The top of your resume is valuable real estate and it should highlight all the reasons why the company should hire YOU - so use it well. 

If you do decide to stay old school with a personal statement make sure it doesn’t have too many I’s and me’s in it. What do I mean by that? The company wants to understand what you can do for them - but, it’s not about you, it’s about them. Now go update your resume! 

For resume writing tips go here http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8060489977260281178#editor/target=post;postID=5632614948864389561