Hobbies and interests – should I list them on my resume?

As a recruiter, what do I think when I see hobbies and interests on an applicant's resume? I determine if it pertains to the job vacancy they applied for. Everything on the resume gives me a better picture of the applicant.

You have to weigh the pros and cons. If you deliver meals on wheels or volunteer at the local literacy center, those are natural choices to share that info. If you like to gamble every Saturday night at the casino, or attend drag races you might want to leave those out. (unless you are applying for a job at a casino or speedway, lol)  So, bottom line is that listing hobbies and interests if they are outside of your career objective is not recommended, as it doesn’t promote you as a professional in any way.

There are two types of resumes: chronological and functional. A chronological resume lists your experience and education in order, starting with the most recent jobs or achievements. This type of resume is sometimes also referred to as reverse chronological resume, because the order of the listing starts with your current employment.  A Functional resume focuses on your qualifications, not your career timeline. It highlights your skills, rather than where and when you acquired or utilize them.  In other words, instead of listing your experiences by your job titles, your resume will contained sections titled by your skills such as verbal and written communication, customer satisfaction, project management, etc.

The functional resume style is recommended for students looking for internships or their first jobs out of college, for those with no professional experience, those who have not worked for a long time, or for career changers. This resume style lets you reference your hobbies and interests in a way that applies to your career objective.

Always, always keep in mind your career objective. You want to present yourself in a best possible light to your potential employer. So, the information on your resume absolutely has to answer one question: Why are you the best applicant for this job?

There are a few things to think about if you decide to include information that is not related to your professional experience. Facts pertaining to your volunteer positions, community work, interests and hobbies that might disclose your race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or any personal descriptors that do not directly impact your professional performance should definitely not be put on your resume. A functional styled resume does not require you to list names or organizations you have worked or volunteered for; so you can list the experience you have acquired without disclosing much demographic information. Caution,never create a separate page of your resume for hobbies and interests. That comes across as amateurish, and gives your resume less credibility. If in doubt, consider working them into your cover letter instead of the resume.

If you have taken online classes or completed seminars at local colleges or businesses that are applicable to your job, mention them. Any employer will welcome the knowledge that you have pursued the qualifications required, which makes you a perfect candidate for the job.

Last, but very important, proof read. Have a friend review your resume, or if you are a college student, ask for assistance from a career center at your school. Typos and non sequiturs are a turn-off for recruiters. Having another person review your resume will help uncover any items that may raise questions about your experience or education, as well as address if the inclusion of your hobbies and interests works to support your career objective. Perfecting your resume will assure that you show your recruiter that you are their absolutely best candidate for the job. If I had a quarter for every misspelled, oddly spaced, illogical or eligible resume that has passed the top of my desk in the last 20 years...

Job Search Cover Letters

Cover letters rock!  A good cover letter can set your resume apart fromt the crowd and actually get you an interview with our client.

I receive hundreds of resumes each month, but I only have a select few jobs to fill. I don't have time to interview every applicant although I do look at every resume. And those resumes with cover letters (and selected reference letters) usually go to the top of the stack for consideration.

You will want to personalize your cover letter with the name of the position you are applying for, as well as the company you are applying at.  You can create a template for yourself, but make sure each and every one of your cover letters, or email text, is personalized in one way or another. Humorously, I usually receive several resumes each week with cover letters addressing other companies or job posts.

 If you are authoring your cover letter as an email,  I recommend that you never send an obviously boilerplate “Attached please find résumé”. Do tell a bit about yourself, your interests and skills and a short summary (no bullets) of your career. There are many personal questions an interviewer is not allowed to ask by law, but if voluntarily supplied by you could show that you would be a good fit for a client's work culture and that could get you a first interview. But it works both ways; never list anything in a cover letter that could eliminate you from being considered for the job you want.

Remember that a staffing agency works for a client, and the client is our customer. Our clients go through an extensive interview process which tells us what they are looking for in their next employee. Let your cover letter paint a true picture about yourself. It will help us present you as the best fit candidate.

Always mention mutual contacts, and proofread carefully.

Help for Senior Job Seekers - Refining Your Resume

Are you a senior looking for work? In today's economy, many older people are finding themselves in need of a job. 

Do you feel out of the loop?  It helps to have some idea how to go about job hunting as a senior, because it is different from job searches as a young adult and very different from the job search techniques you might have been taught just a few short years ago. 
Here are some tips, and inspiration, to get you back into the world of work and hopefully increase your chances of success in getting that elusive job. 

Update Your Resume

Oh yes, I went there. Look carefully and objectively at your resume. You may find that it is extremely long after many years of experience. Perhaps several pages, in fact. What to leave and what to cull out? Consider going over your resume with someone who is an expert or experienced. (www.MyA1BestStaffing.com ) 
The experts can help you pare it down to include only relevant information and highlight pertinent skills and experience. Even if you don't go with an expert, do your research to find out what modern resumes look like and what employers want. The perfect resume five years ago is a dinosaur today. 

Some DO NOT’s:

• Don’t list your whole entire work history, this draws attention to your age and can actually make you seem overqualified to a recruiter (if they even read that far into it).  Fifteen to possibly 20 years max should be listed, chronologically, or your most recent three to four jobs. You can include those older jobs,  that you are proud of and which seem relevant to the position you are applying for, in a separate category possibly labeled ‘Additional  Experience’, but do not include those dates of employment.

• Ask yourself if those long-past skills and experiences are even still relevant in a modern workplace. I have seen  skills like ‘electric typewriter’, ‘key punch machine’, ’office intercom system’ and even ‘Teletype machine’ on resumes. I am not kidding. Hint: if there is a picture of an office machine on this site that you specialize in, then don’t list that skill on your resume.
( www.officemuseum.com/communications_equipment.htm )

• Don’t list your dates of graduation, neither High school nor college. It is a dead giveaway of your age and could cost you an interview. HR personnel are very good at counting back the years and eliminating otherwise excellent candidates based on their perceived age.

• Don’t leave huge gaps of unemployed years on the resume. List what you did during that time and word the responsibilities as they would apply to the job you are seeking. Be prepared to talk about it in the interview.

• Don’t include your references on/with the resume. Wait until the face to face interview and present a neatly printed short list of business and personal references. You can also have copies of your best reference letters ready to hand over with a confident smile.

Ok, you knew all that? So here are some important DO’s:

• Do pick a modern look for your resume and err on the side of plain, simple formatting. (unless you are applying for graphic designer leave the flowers and fancy fonts alone) And print on good medium heavy stock, plain white paper. Believe me, it will stand out.

• Do emphasize your transferable skills, even those you gained outside previous work. If they relate to the job you are applying for, put them on the resume. Ex: volunteer work titles and duties, self study foreign language classes, self taught computer skills, etc.

• Do describe how you used specific skills at your previous jobs and include examples of how you benefited the company. Ex: “Increased sales Leads by 35%”.

• Do downplay former executive job titles if you have retired and are seeking less stressful or even part time employment. Over qualification is a very real concern to HR personnel. Ex: “Finance Manager” instead of “CFO”

• Do get up to speed on the latest computer and social media jargon. If you have been left at the computer-age train station by choice, please reconsider. It is never too late to do some training. Most local colleges have technical classes for seniors that are short (6 wks or less) and to the purpose. And the purpose here is to make you the most desirable employee candidate. You'll have fun and be networking with others at the same time. In every skill set, self-improvement is never wasted.

This is week one of a six week article series by Cathy Townley-McGaughey, Recruiter and managing partner at A1 Best Staffing.

But I have to lie on my resume, just a little bit, to fluff it out!

NO. Do. Not. Lie.  Why? Because the staffing agency WILL find out and you WILL not be considered a placeable candidate.

I will explain why - and how - we catch those lies and what the most common lies on resumes are.

(Yahoo News posted an excellent article on this subject at  http://news.yahoo.com/top-10-lies-people-put-r-sum-133032231.html)

Most reputable staffing firms use third party vendors and software to ferret out dishonest applicants long before the process gets to client contact. After all, our client trust us to provide top candidates, so it is very important that we find and promote the best candidate for the job.

The costs for standard criminal country-wide background checks and standard skills tests are included in our basic rates and we run these on all final candidates (signed agreement form) selected as good skills matchup for an open job posting .

A1 Best Staffing uses Kenexa Prove It!, an IBM company, for our skills testing. We can test on over 1,500 assessments. No room for false skills claims here.

We partner with Intellicorp, a Verisk Analytics Company, for risk-assessment solutions and decision analytics. We personally phone and/or fax previous employers; verifying dates of past employment. The state of Texas prohibits former employers from stating false or defamatory information about your employment at their company.

Honesty really is the best policy when you fill out an employment application. A new employer can even fire you for lying on your application, after you have been hired!

If you are tempted to do any of the following, think again.

• Stretching dates of previous employment. 
• Inflating accomplishments and skills. 
• Enhancing titles and responsibilities. 
• Exaggerating education and claiming to have earned degrees you don't have. 
• Unexplained gaps in employment history. 
• Fake credentials. 
• Falsifying reasons for leaving prior employers. 
• Providing fraudulent references. 
• Misrepresenting military records. 

If you really can't land a job with your honest resume then do something about it, honestly. Need more training or skills? Do it now, there has never been a better time. Online classes and community college extended education classes are available and affordable for everyone. Check with your local TWC (Texas Workforce Commission) to see if you might be eligible for tuition reimbursement or for open programs that cover tuition costs. Some companies offer on the job training. 

Don't lie - just fix the problem.