Get a job, any job

I've mentioned this before, but I figure people might be more likely to believe me if I find more people saying the same thing:

Why Hunting for a Great Job Will Hurt Your Career

Full-time job hunting can be a depressing, long-term experience. Even if you have to take a job far below your abilities (and perhaps way below your income requirements), you should always make sure you have some sort of job. Then you can spend your spare time looking for the perfect job.

• You'll avoid gaps in your resume.
• There may be quick promotion opportunities at the suboptimal job, if you perform well.
• There are better networking opportunities interacting with people at a bad job than sitting at home sending e-mails.
• When you take a job beneath your abilities, you really don't need to treat it like a long-term commitment. Don't feel guilty when a better job comes along.
• Not having even a bad job can easily lead to depression and feelings of worthlessness, which makes it even harder to get a job.
• It's possible to waste a lot of time on the Internet. Anyone trying to spend all day job hunting on the Internet is going to get bored and start visiting sites of lower and lower quality while surfing. At the end of the day, you'll have done 30 minutes of job hunting and 8 hours of web surfing. You might as well spend those 8 hours doing actual work instead - and getting paid.

Remember of course that being unemployed can also be a great time to get additional training - even an additional degree, if you have the means.

Resumes: Make it Quantifiable

In my work, I get the opportunity to interview potential employees. My primary duty is to make sure that they "know their stuff."

As I've reviewed resumes, I've discovered that the best resumes aren't always written by the best candidates. Many very good candidates have resumes that make me dread the interview. Then the interview goes quite well.

One of my favorite interviews was with a candidate who had put together a resume that made it sound like his last internship consisted of paper-shuffling and coffee delivery. His descriptions of his school work made it sound like he did well in his classes, but hadn't really worked on any really interesting projects.

When I spoke to him though, it quickly became clear that he'd left out all sorts of neat details about his projects. The project that had sounded like shuffling papers turned out to be incredibly complex, and he had been quite successful. He had completely left out the details of quite a number of interesting things that he had done, while filling up his resume with the usual fluff put in by candidates with no real skills.

A resume is not the time to be humble! It's the time to be honest - let the company know why you would make a great employee. Emphasize the successes you've had in your career and education, and point out the interesting and difficult parts of each project. Then find the most exciting items, and put them first. Take the least exciting items, and throw them out.

There are different standard formats for resumes - find the one that lets you highlight the interesting things you have done and learned the best. I, personally, use a chronological resume that focuses on my biggest projects and accomplishments. Check out some of the different formats here:

Resume or CV - Getting Noticed by Potential Employers

I especially like the quote on that page:

“Neglect not the gift that is in thee.”
1 Timothy 4:14

Resumes - Get Help

I wanted very badly to work at an aerospace company near the university where I was a student, so I sent in my resume every time they had a job opening. I was never even telephoned.

One day I discovered that the university had people who would assist students with resumes for free. I met with one of those fellows, who helped me out quite a bit. Honestly, looking at them side by side, I could hardly tell why the new version was better than the old. And the new resume was still a correct and honest representation of my abilities and experience. I sent it in to the aerospace company, as well as to another small aerospace laboratory. Not only did I get interviews with both companies, I was actually able to negotiate my starting wage up by about 25% because of how well the interview went.

If you are looking for a job, even passively, don't waste time sending in resumes that haven't been appraised by someone who knows what to look for.

If you are in school, there are probably people paid to help students improve resumes.

If you are being laid off (and not for performance reasons), many companies are quite willing to offer job-finding assistance. Find one of the HR people from the company to help you spruce up your resume.

Otherwise, find friends who are tasked with looking at resumes on a regular basis. Talk with the ward employment specialist to find people who are skilled in the area.

Getting a resume looked at, and an interview scheduled, can be very difficult. A polished, accurate resume definitely has a bigger effect than I'd expected.

More resume and job hunting tips:

Provident Living: Tips to Get You Hired