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Originally Posted by oldtrader View Post
As someone that back in my corporate days, hired hundreds of people, and read thousands of resumes, I can tell you that being an Eagle Scout has no place on a resume. Who cares. You may think it is a great accomplishment, but should only be on a resume if you are applying for something to do with boy scouts.
Which was exactly why I asked why do you need to know "what" I consider an accomplishment.
What if I have nothing?
In this article posted earlier: Developing "WOW" Accomplishments for Your Resume Here are a few other examples of buying motivators: Made money for the company
Helped the company save money or reduce costs
Implemented processes that save time or increase work productivity
Improved company's competitive advantage in the marketplace
Enhanced corporate image or building company's reputation in its industry
I got none of that because I never worked in sales or other field that would warrant such "accomplishments"! THEN...in order to have ANY of that, one would have to be in a leading position. How could one make a company money etc., by answering calls in a call center? or typing word documents as an administrative assistant? or designing marketing materials for other companies? that's their job description, and should not be called an "accomplishment".
This "accomplishment" crap only pertains to higher positions and not bottom, non managing ones. As a better example: what would someone that worked at Walmart as a cashier should list as an accomplishment other than working at Walmart as a cashier which is horrible as it is! So, it would be like: "I survived working at Walmart as a cashier!"
Listing "accomplishments" is nothing more than bragging, and bragging is not cool. I list my education, my work history, and my phone number. I am also against cover letters, because we are made to write a different one for each position we're applying, and that is a waste of time considering that HR doesn't really care, has no empathy, and will hire within, or within relatives anyway. I am absolutely disgusted with the hiring process that changed when the RE market crashed. The hard working people are now punished for what banks and greedy realtors did.
Ah, I think I see the problem here: Most people apparently don't have any hobbies outside of their college frat volleyball games?
If that's true, then no wonder listing my hobbies on my resume actually gets me positive results. Mine actually reflect the fact that I have mature interests and enjoy intellectual pursuits, rather than being stuck at age 20 in perpetuity.
Well, perhaps you get results despite your listing of hobbies, and not because of them. You may feel your hobbies make you seem very well-rounded and interesting - well, consider this: you've read 50 resumes today. Do you REALLY care that some guy does XYZ outside of work? People tend to think they are more interesting than they really are. Some HR staff might be offended that you've decided to waste space and time by adding irrelevant info to your resume and their work day. It can go both ways. Few people are penalized for not adding hobbies.
Well, perhaps you get results despite your listing of hobbies, and not because of them. You may feel your hobbies make you seem very well-rounded and interesting - well, consider this: you've read 50 resumes today. Do you REALLY care that some guy does XYZ outside of work? People tend to think they are more interesting than they really are. Some HR staff might be offended that you've decided to waste space and time by adding irrelevant info to your resume and their work day. It can go both ways. Few people are penalized for not adding hobbies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kineticity View Post
Ah, I think I see the problem here: Most people apparently don't have any hobbies outside of their college frat volleyball games?
If that's true, then no wonder listing my hobbies on my resume actually gets me positive results. Mine actually reflect the fact that I have mature interests and enjoy intellectual pursuits, rather than being stuck at age 20 in perpetuity.
WOW....Thanks for enforcing my point on why HR's should be eradicated! I think your reply is really rude. You all ask for cover letters, and when prompted with one you complain that you don't care about what someone does? maybe you need to switch careers where you don't have to read resumes all day! You can't ask for elaborations, and (some prying into people's social media's accounts), and then turn around and be JUDGMENTAL of them! Shame on you.
WOW....Thanks for enforcing my point on why HR's should be eradicated! I think your reply is really rude. You all ask for cover letters, and when prompted with one you complain that you don't care about what someone does? maybe you need to switch careers where you don't have to read resumes all day! You can't ask for elaborations, and (some prying into people's social media's accounts), and then turn around and be JUDGMENTAL of them! Shame on you.
Are you being hired to perform a job or are you being hired because you happen to participate in a particular sport which has no bearing on your career? If your hobby is directly relevant, then put it there. If it isn't, leave it off. If you don't like the basic standards of hiring practices on resumes/CV in North America, then tough luck.
GET OVER YOURSELF if you think your irrelevant personal info matters to anyone except yourself?
I actually don't work in HR - I am a certified ESL teacher. One thing that most people forget about reading and writing documents is that people forget important information when there is too much superfluous crap.This is not "HR" judgement but general reading and writing sense.
Go put up a job ad on Craigslist and tell me how many hobbies you find interesting after 50 submissions. You are being asked to apply for a job, not a personals ad.
Enough to have overhauled my resume to include an increased number of appropriate keywords. I've read up on this stuff, and I used to work in an HR department. I won't claim to be an expert on the algorithms used for resume evaluation and sorting, but I'm no stranger to the fact that they exist.
And it doesn't matter how many of the right words are on your resume if the spelling and grammar suck and there's no sense that the applicant understands how to use punctuation. Unless the computerized system is also going to do the interviewing and then manage new employees, at some point a human being is going to be reading your resume and deciding whether or not to hire you.
That depends on what you're calling "professional" and I can think of one good reason why someone wouldn't: Lack of money to pay for it. Another might well be that the person in question actually knows how to write one well enough.
I've had my recently-overhauled resume read by a friend who happens to be a professional resume writer. He gave it two thumbs-up and suggested only one minor change. Note that I'm not suggesting that I'm an expert myself. However, for people who aren't looking to hire an expert on resumes, I can certainly do quite a bit with regard to grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting and general style.
You sound like you are much smarter and much more sophisticated than the average American. My comments were meant for the mere mortals looking for a job. With your knowledge, you will never be looking for a job.
But most people refuse to have a professional write it.
A lot of the professionals are scam artists. Any resume you send them they will tear apart and call it crap and tell you you need to pay them a few hundred to write it and they will then just use their template. Some honestly think there style is great but everyone elses is terrible.
I have never really had too many issues with my Resume. I use sections with bullet points and a short summary of qualifications section on top followed by details or work experience and most of the fluff (awards, educational details) is burried on the second page.
The best tip is to write it as clear and consise as possible and have a section on top that is a BPed summary and write it as though a 12 year old with ADD is your audience.
Every worker, including minimum wage employees, have accomplishments.
Employee of the Month?
Did you train anyone?
Did you learn any new skills?
Are you self taught in any software packages?
Do you type faster than last year due to personal effort?
Were you involved in any community or volunteer groups that taught you job skills?
Did anyone say anything nice about you on the job?
Were you promoted?
Did you get a raise or bonus?
Did you make your boss look good by something you did?
Did you come up with a way to make the task more efficient?
Did you set any goals and achieved them?
Did you handle more customers than before?
Did you attend a training session and use your new skills?
I could go on and on.
And in today's tough job market if you have no accomplishments and can't describe them effectively, you won't get hired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoProIP
Which was exactly why I asked why do you need to know "what" I consider an accomplishment.
What if I have nothing?
In this article posted earlier: Developing "WOW" Accomplishments for Your Resume Here are a few other examples of buying motivators: Made money for the company Helped the company save money or reduce costs Implemented processes that save time or increase work productivity Improved company's competitive advantage in the marketplace Enhanced corporate image or building company's reputation in its industry
I got none of that because I never worked in sales or other field that would warrant such "accomplishments"! THEN...in order to have ANY of that, one would have to be in a leading position. How could one make a company money etc., by answering calls in a call center? or typing word documents as an administrative assistant? or designing marketing materials for other companies? that's their job description, and should not be called an "accomplishment".
This "accomplishment" crap only pertains to higher positions and not bottom, non managing ones. As a better example: what would someone that worked at Walmart as a cashier should list as an accomplishment other than working at Walmart as a cashier which is horrible as it is! So, it would be like: "I survived working at Walmart as a cashier!"
Listing "accomplishments" is nothing more than bragging, and bragging is not cool. I list my education, my work history, and my phone number. I am also against cover letters, because we are made to write a different one for each position we're applying, and that is a waste of time considering that HR doesn't really care, has no empathy, and will hire within, or within relatives anyway. I am absolutely disgusted with the hiring process that changed when the RE market crashed. The hard working people are now punished for what banks and greedy realtors did.
Are you being hired to perform a job or are you being hired because you happen to participate in a particular sport which has no bearing on your career? If your hobby is directly relevant, then put it there. If it isn't, leave it off. If you don't like the basic standards of hiring practices on resumes/CV in North America, then tough luck.
GET OVER YOURSELF if you think your irrelevant personal info matters to anyone except yourself?
I actually don't work in HR - I am a certified ESL teacher. One thing that most people forget about reading and writing documents is that people forget important information when there is too much superfluous crap.This is not "HR" judgement but general reading and writing sense.
Go put up a job ad on Craigslist and tell me how many hobbies you find interesting after 50 submissions. You are being asked to apply for a job, not a personals ad.
HA! Glad we got to the BOTTOM of the problem! IF you post serious/real jobs on Craigslist why in the world would you expect appropriate candidates!? That's where people go when they can't find a job through career builder, indeed.com, etc. Craigslist is for outcasts who can't get jobs any other way! Most jobs on Craigslist as a DISGRACE to society as it is! Most want people to WORK FOR FREE, or peanuts!
HA! Glad we got to the BOTTOM of the problem! IF you post serious/real jobs on Craigslist why in the world would you expect appropriate candidates!? That's where people go when they can't find a job through career builder, indeed.com, etc. Craigslist is for outcasts who can't get jobs any other way! Most jobs on Craigslist as a DISGRACE to society as it is! Most want people to WORK FOR FREE, or peanuts!
Not 100% true. There are lots of scams or crappy jobs on Craigslist, but some legitimate companies post there and get good candidates. My company is one and I am responsible for training them and most have been great, 2 in fact I can see becoming trainers themselves. Its just sifting though the piles of junk that makes Craigslist a task. I have been at my place of work for years and its a good job that starts at a higher above pay then many places for those qualified.
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Mine actually reflect the fact that I have mature interests and enjoy intellectual pursuits, rather than being stuck at age 20 in perpetuity.
