Skills you can quickly learn to improve a resume (employees, secretary, employer)

[dgforgood]

So I found this fairly useful article, particularly for people struggling to find a job - it has about 20 skills that you can quickly learn and that companies are looking for.

inferest.com/careers/skills-that-improve-a-resume

Thought it might be useful to some other people here.

[HeadhunterPaul]

Originally Posted by dgforgood

So I found this fairly useful article, particularly for people struggling to find a job - it has about 20 skills that you can quickly learn and that companies are looking for.

inferest.com/careers/skills-that-improve-a-resume

Thought it might be useful to some other people here.

DG...


Any contribution towards people getting hired is a good thing.

I hope many people find your booklet helpful.
.....................

Of course, learning a new skill but not having any hands-on experience making that skill work to your advantage is like having a pail and shovel handy but no oysters in the pail....

Employers are most interested in what people are doing to show their initiative to improve processes (PI) vs. having a list of 'new skills' to show for having taken a course or two in something new. In other words, practical experience counts a lot and how one deploys their experience counts even more.

.....................

For most people who do not know how to be sure their resume gets noticed, a simpler idea is to use what you have already.

There may hidden gems in a resume that need to be brought out into the open.
................

How many times have we seen a resume from a secretary that talks about filing, typing and fixing appointments?

How about instead, a resume from a secretary that describes how s/he invented a new filing system that reduced the number of hours necessary to complete a process?

A system that reduced staff hours by 23% and resulted in a [wage] savings of approximately $124,000?

..............

A Purchasing Agent's resume that describes how that person consolidated vendors and renegotiated pricing, resulting in a reduction of vendors by 12% and a cost savings of $255,000 per year?

...............

A resume by a Warehouse Manager who established a new system of inventory utilizing the assistance of the IT department that resulted in a reduction of hours necessary to locate and pull products?

A new inventory system that resulted in a reduction of warehouse crew hours by 36% that resulted not only in a dollar saving of $175,000 but also decreased the time to fill orders by 28%, thereby increasing Customer Satisfaction ratings by 69%!

.................

So before you go to Google, trying to understand DFSS or rush out to buy more training that may or may not be useful, check your resume and see if you have hidden gems already buried in the text of your resume that with a little editing, can be brought forward for any prospective employer to see.

Now, out of a stack of 750 - 1200 resumes, you have now stacked the deck in your favor toward being seen as a competitive candidate.


Remember also, this kind of thinking is what gets you a raise.

So the next time you walk in to see the Boss to ask for a raise, be sure to show her/him these 'metrics' and you will go a long way toward convincing that person you not only should get that raise, maybe a promotion is in order, also...



Paul.....

..

[dgforgood]

Those are some good ideas - being able to sell what you have is a challenge in and of itself!

[HeadhunterPaul]

Originally Posted by dgforgood

Those are some good ideas - being able to sell what you have is a challenge in and of itself!

dg,


This is how resumes are looked at nowadays- they are called accomplishment oriented resumes...


The days of the job description oriented resume are gone.


Your contribution/suggestion is a good idea and, a resume with additional coursework but no corresponding achievements is like an unloaded firearm.




Paul

[HeadhunterPaul]

Originally Posted by dgforgood

So I found this fairly useful article, particularly for people struggling to find a job - it has about 20 skills that you can quickly learn and that companies are looking for.

inferest.com/careers/skills-that-improve-a-resume

Thought it might be useful to some other people here.

DG...

Hello, this is to explain something to you that I don't believe you are aware of...

You noticed when you posted I took the floor away and pointed it in another direction.

There was a reason for this and I am thinking it would be helpful for you to know what actually happened and why.


Your intent is very fine.

There is, however, a need in this fast moving world to mate skills with experience.

Simply said, learning a skill through a course given will, for the most part, not be considered a competitive edge unless there is experience to back up what was learned.

Just coming in with a cert or two or three will not raise any eyebrows and in fact will have an opposite effect of having people roll their eyes, instead.

Employers want people who are experienced.

A cert does not give you that and so, anyone else with the same cert and real world experience will trump that person.

I hope you are beginning to see where we are headed here.

For example, learning about Lean Methods or aka The Toyota Production System as well as Six Sigma (your "Kan Ban", remember?) requires special training.

Realistic training is done within the companies that are set up to train in these disciplines. I'm talking about regular companies, many are finance, many are manufacturing and they are often well-known for having in-house training for their employees. Many are judged to be better than others and once you are in industry enough you will learn to recognize these companies.

You use real-world situations to learn these skills. Real world situations that exist at the company where you work, where the training is being done.

You might think that schools that teach these skills are a venue for learning but in fact, it is generally looked at that off-site training/school training is not generally considered realistic.

At the least, getting certified in Lean and/or Six Sigma requires the completion of a couple of 'projects'.

On site/at work, the projects are right there at the employer's company.

With schools, these projects are virtual and are completed online.

And, since the execution of using these skills are done usually on a team basis, and there is no 'team' when completing an online course, the school-taught course has less value as a result.

Which means, of course, they are not looked upon with regard by employers.

And, as you can see it coming here....if there is a choice between a candidate with in-house training at a Fortune 500/1000 company vs. a candidate who took the same course online, well, you can see who is going to get picked.

So.....next time you want to contribute, be sure what you cut and paste to an Employment forum has real-world value.

The more you get involved, the more likely you are to help someone.

Just be sure you are not showing up at the forum with magic beans but with a real cow.


What I brought up today is a broad brush message that still has not reached everyone so I chose to use your platform to bring up something that most everyone can do to improve their resume.

And, as I said, what I discussed is the standard as to how a resume/person is assessed.


I hope you better understand my intent now.


Thanks,


Paul...
..

[ackmondual]

Still the age old problem... you need experience to get the job, but you need the job to get experience