Why Irrelevant Information is Vital to Your Resume!

One of the strongest opinions that most people have about resumes, is that the information within them must be “relevant.” It turns out, however, that many jobseekers, and even resume writers, are leaving off items that could have propelled their resumes to the top of the pile and resulted in a successful job search.

As an experienced, certified, and accomplished resume writer, a key function of my job is to conduct in-depth information-gathering sessions with jobseekers to gain insights into their careers that will be effective on their resumes. Time and time again, when inquiring into various specifics, I hear, “Oh, don’t put that in, it wasn’t relevant.” Or, “They don’t care about that.”

In one recent case, I was creating a resume (actually a Curriculum Vitae) for Brad, a medical student who had completed his M.D. and residency, and was applying for a highly competitive fellowship in New York that offered only two slots nationwide, with many applicants. He phoned me shortly after receiving the first draft to say that his supervising professor advised taking out the items I had inserted that described his summer camp counseling positions during his undergraduate years. The professor said, “That’s irrelevant, they don’t want to see that. Only put in your academic information.”

Based on my advice, Brad decided to keep the items about his summer camp counseling, and called me 6 weeks later to thank me, “Grant, the Director who interviewed me not only told me that he chose my C.V. because of the years of summer counseling, but he spent 10 minutes of the interview talking about it.”

It turns out the Department Director who interviewed (and later selected) Brad had two young children in a summer camp, and was anxious to learn more about how the counselors interact with the children. Incidentally, the fellowship Brad landed was in Oncology, not Pediatrics. He also expressed that he preferred fellowship candidates that not only demonstrated excellent academic and clinical accomplishments, but also had a background showing great “people skills.”

Although this is only one anecdote from thousands I have witnessed in my 14 years in the career development business, I have become convinced that it is often the “irrelevant” bit of information on a resume that catches the eye of the reader.

Grant Cooper is a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, author of numerous career-related articles published in journals, newspapers and online, and is the founder and president of Strategic Resumes, professional resume writers providing the best in resume writing services. For more information visit www.strategicresumes.com.

Choosing a Career

So many new, college freshman find themselves in an awkward position…choosing a major. These barely 19 year-old kids are asked to make a decision about what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Naturally some squander away the time undecided while others plow through some technical field without any real understanding of what career awaits them. The fact is that only one out of five students will actually continue in the field that they chose to study in college. Most students choose a major based on the amount of money they think they can make or the popularity of a particular degree plan. Their interests and passions usually take a back seat to the idea of money and popularity. But what else can we expect of our late teenagers?
The average American citizen changes career paths at least three times. Why is there so much pressure for college freshman to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their life, when odds are, they will change their minds in a few years (if not sooner). People are the most successful in their careers when they truly enjoy what they do and do a good job. It is most important to find your strengths and skills and attempt to find a job that includes those things. At nineteen, most people are not really sure what they are especially good at. They are still developing. Our educated society is much different form that of 100 years ago. People learn about many areas of study, and it takes some time to begin to distinguish what really suites someone and comes most naturally.
Finding this ultimate balance of activities you enjoy and also have the skills to perform is not any easy task. People spend their entire lives seeking this out. The important thing is to continue the search. There really is a career or job out there that is perfectly suited for everyone. Introspection, testing, research, and trying out different careers will add insight on what that job might be. If you find yourself in a job that you hate, stop doing it and try something else. Life is too short to spend miserably working to make a few dollars. Use professional services to help you in a career change, such as counseling, career coaching, professional resume writers, and job advisers. These can help make a career change less stressful by providing the information and organization you need to find the career you want. Finding a career should really be more about finding out who you are and what your purpose is on this earth. It is not a simple multiple-choice question that can be answered overnight, and no one should expect it to be that way. Be honest with what you want and what you can do, and the years will show what career is right for you.

Grant Cooper is a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, author of numerous career-related articles published in journals, newspapers and online, and is the founder and president of Strategic Resumes, professional resume writers providing the best in resume writing services. For more information visit www.strategicresumes.com.

Safe Online Job Searching

The computer age has changed the face of job searching tremendously. Massive job databases as well as individual company websites make it easy for jobseekers to find and contact those companies looking for new employees. Not only is locating and job matching made simpler, but submitting resumes is now an easier process as well. Cutting and pasting resumes into company forms as well as emails have negated hours of work that jobseekers once had to perform with older traditional methods of print and mail. Not only is it much faster, but job locating has become much more efficient by providing quick dialog between parties, diminishing the dreaded waiting period of hearing back from a company or employer. Though job searching has been vastly improved by the
Internet, the number of scams and frauds are also climbing rapidly. As a result, job seekers should be aware of the signs of fraud to protect themselves and their identities.
There are over 10 million identity theft cases every year, and the majority of those somehow involve the employment industry through the Internet. "Phishing" is the most popular form of identity theft where people use fraudulent emails to solicit personal information. By appearing to be legitimate and even familiar, seemingly interested job recruiters may ask for personal information. This might make some job-seekers leery of resume submitting on the internet, but a few simple scam detecting tips can keep you safe while enjoying the full benefits of job-searching online.
Any request for your personal information, especially social security number and credit card number, should be treated with extreme caution. Whether it is a job database or a financial banking system requesting personal information through email or pop-up, it could be a fraud. Most legitimate or reputable companies will not ask for this kind of information over email. There have been some cases of mirror websites and submission pages to solicit personal information that take on the appearance of a familiar institution (such as a bank). For this reason, every request is suspect. If you receive an information request that links you to a submission page, avoid clicking on the link. Instead, type the company name into a search engine or go directly to their website. After considering the legitimacy of the site, it is then recommended that you call the institution or company to confirm their existence and authenticity.
Every site that requests personal information must include a privacy statement (enforced by the Better Business Bureau), which explains the kinds of information they collect and for what purposes. If a particular company does not display such notice, they are not in compliance with the Better Business Bureau, and they should probably not be trusted. Encryption is another key factor that ensures the safety of private information. Anytime someone deals with a resume submission service, a professional resume writer, or any other site that asks for personal information, it is important to check to see that the URL at the top of the web browser (ie Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) includes the letters "https:" rather than just "http:" or that a padlock appears at the lower right corner of the screen. These are signs that the forms and submissions are encrypted, therefore making it difficult to manipulate for fraudulent purposes.
Lastly, it is so important to report job-search and resume submission scams to the proper authorities. It is very difficult to crack down on Internet fraud when most incidences go unreported. The IFCC (the Internet Fraud Complaint Center) is a great place to report suspicious information requests and actual fraudulent attacks. Keep your personal information guarded carefully, and make sure you investigate everything before submitting it on the Internet. The Internet has become the most valuable tool for job-searching, and there is no reason to pass that up. By putting these simple tips into action anyone can have a save job search online.

Grant Cooper is a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, author of numerous career-related articles published in journals, newspapers and online, and is the founder and president of Strategic Resumes, professional resume writers providing the best in resume writing services. For more information visit www.strategicresumes.com.